The vast majority of high school students plan to attend college--and believe that a bachelor's degree all but guarantees them a high-paying job. What many of them don't know is that those who are not well prepared are not likely to graduate. They also don't realize that plenty of career-focused certificates and associate's degrees lead to…

Enrollment at America's community colleges has exploded in recent years, with five times as many entering students today as in 1965. However, most community college students do not graduate; many earn no credits and may leave school with no more advantages in the labor market than if they had never attended. Experts disagree over the reason for…

This article explores institutional attributes that matter for two-year college students and how they vary by different subpopulations of students, with an eye toward understanding what institutional attributes better support the success of underprepared students. In particular, the authors address the following questions: (1) Which institutional…

While much research has examined how education influences work outcomes, fewer scholars have questioned whether or how school-labor market relationships might influence educational outcomes. With their rising enrollments and growing occupational programs, 2-year colleges are an increasingly important site of the school-to-work transition. Using…

This chapter examines the factors influencing Latino students' enrollment and access to information in fourteen midwestern two-year colleges. (Contains 1 table.)

High schools have responded to the poor labor market primarily by encouraging college-for-all policies, leading the majority of seniors to plan to get college degrees, even those who perform poorly. School policies focus too narrowly on academic achievement, overlooking soft skills like motivation, dependability, attention to quality, and social…

Research indicates that the "college for all" policies encouraged by well-intentioned but misguided educators are preventing many students from getting crucial information about how they are doing, seeing the full range of their desirable options, assessing the appropriateness and likely outcomes of available options, and identifying actions that…

This book discusses problems facing U.S. high school graduates who do not continue their education, noting that many cannot find jobs, and those who do are often stuck in low-wage, dead-end positions. At the same time, employers complain that high school graduates lack the necessary skills for today's workplace. The book looks at new studies of…

Identifies the three elements of the school-to-work transition as schools, employers, and the relationship between them. Suggests that this transition could be improved if schools make academic instruction vocationally relevant, employers base hiring on applicants' achievement in school, and school-employer linkages are created and designed…

Interviews with teachers in a detracked high school found that detracking was well-implemented, and teachers were initially enthusiastic, but there were three unanticipated outcomes: irresolvable conflicts; a uniformity that deprived faster students of challenge and slower students of mastery; and doubts about the legitimacy of the class, even in…

Over the past three decades, colleges have experienced revolutionary changes, and the enrollment revolution has had a particularly profound impact on 2-year colleges. We describe the new kinds of students who are entering college today and the ways that colleges have begun to adapt. Then, analyzing interviews with students and administrators and a…

Interviews with 27 counselors in 8 high schools demonstrate that counselors do not like to give students bad news about their college prospects and do not believe that they have the authority to do so. Counselors' unwillingness to act as gatekeepers may prevent students from getting the information they need. (SLD)

Compares employers' stated needs for entry-level workers possessing better academic skills with their training programs and hiring practices to supposedly meet this need. Discovers a dichotomy between the stated needs and the corrective practice. Most remedial training emphasizes short-term job skills and hiring practices do not reward academic…

Presents case studies and multivariate analyses that show that prefectures in Japan with the most egalitarian detracking reforms had the most flight from public to private schools and the emergence of the most within-school grouping. Discusses implications for the design of tracking policies. (Author/SLD)

This study examined the career and college advice that high school counselors and vocational teachers gave to students who were unlikely to seek a 4-year college degree. Transcripts of interviews conducted with 35 guidance counselors and 80 vocational teachers from 12 Chicago metropolitan high schools between 1992 and 1995 were examined in regard…