The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 provides 5-year federal grants to help states implement school-to-work (STW) systems with broad collaboration among employers, organized labor, educators, and public agencies. All states have taken steps to create a statewide infrastructure. Local partnerships are widespread, but new and evolving. School-based and workplace components have received uneven attention. Early efforts most often build on vocational education programs. Participation in career development activities is high, but for individuals such activities are typically occasional and unconnected. Student involvement in integrated curricula is relatively uncommon. Integration of academic and vocational instruction is widely pursued. Developing work-based activities is the top priority of most local partnerships. Local constraints typically limit emphasis on paid positions with structured training and work experience. Workplace opportunities that students get through school are of higher quality than those they find. Few students have participated in multiple STW activities. Schools and employers play more active roles than postsecondary institutions in STW partnerships. Involvement of organized labor and parents is limited. Emerging issues are as follows: can states can fit STW in a coherent policy framework; can workplace learning be made meaningful to all students; and can curriculum be built consistently around career themes. (Contains 23 references.) (YLB)