Since the passage of the Carl D. Perkins legislation in 1990 and the School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) in 1994, considerable funds and effort have been put into tech prep and school-to-work programs. To determine the extent to which these programs actually improve educational opportunities for students, case studies were undertaken of six sites in different states, each employing a different STWOA model. Tech prep and STWOA policies and documents at the sites were reviewed and site visits were conducted. During the visits, administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, employers, and approximately 150 secondary and post-secondary students were interviewed. In addition, all tech prep and STWOA students at the sites were surveyed regarding their educational goals, perceptions related to school- and work-based learning, and personal characteristics, with completed surveys being received from 124 students. In general, the study found that the students did make definite plans for the future, but that they often did not fully understand those plans. In addition, over 80% of the students felt that their academic courses applied to the real world. Finally, while 80% of the high school and 88% of the community college students worked, few of the students indicated that school officials had helped them find a job. Descriptions of the six case study sites are included. (Contains 31 references.) (BCY)