This report presents the first product of a comprehensive 5-year evaluation of a major federal effort, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), which provides 5-year federal grants as "seed money" to design systems involving work-based learning, school-based learning, and connecting activities. The report is based on extensive site visits in 8 states and 39 communities, and a survey of a representative sample of high school seniors in the same 8 states. This initial evaluation effort has resulted in 10 conclusions, such as: (1) School-to-Work (STW) has generated considerable interest and effort among educators and employers; (2) states have begun building a system by creating employer incentives, promoting career development models, and providing technical assistance to local partnerships; and (3) two of the eight states visited (Kentucky and Oregon) have made STW reforms a central part of the state's more general school reform agenda affecting all students. Individual sections of the executive summary address: the vision of a STW system, evaluation of STW implementation, state approaches to STW implementation, approaches to career development, changes in curriculum (school-based learning and students' work-based activities), large scale participation in diverse STW activities, making local partnerships work, and emerging issues for the future. (DB)