Partnerships between schools and the business community will be critical to ensuring the success of these programs. As states and local communities undertake major changes in how they prepare and help students make the transition from education to employment, they will need to draw on baseline data and examine the best practices of programs throughout the country. Many of these programs combine a demanding core academic curriculum with practical work-based application. By forging closer links between the schoolhouse and the workplace, student motivation in school will be spurred and students will see the connection between what they learn in school and the workplace. As this data shows, there is both some good news and bad news.
Important challenges remain.