To arrive at the key components of a comprehensive school-to-work transition strategy, researchers for the study reported here reviewed the literature in the field of school-to-work transition and also consulted with numerous experts in the field. To determine how many states have adopted the components of comprehensive strategies, the researchers conducted a telephone survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, contacting in each state the offices of the governor and the chief school officer. Four states that had formally adopted a comprehensive strategy were identified (Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin), and a school district was visited in each of these states. The four states were undertaking action on several interrelated components of a comprehensive school-to-work transition strategy, namely: processes for developing academic and occupational competencies, career education and development, extensive links between school systems and employers, and meaningful workplace experiences. State and local officials and educators cited numerous obstacles, including lack of information on what other jurisdictions have done, employer reluctance to provide workplace experiences, parental aversion to their children's participation, and educator belief that targeting provisions in some federal categorical grant programs limit use of those funds. It is concluded that the federal government could help by disseminating evaluation results and other information on the lessons learned in various state and local initiatives and by providing advice on ways that schools could use existing categorical grant money. (Appendixes include the objectives, scope, and methodology of the study and additional details on district, school-level, and state-level actions.) (YLB)