Recent high school graduates surveyed by Achieve report gaps in their preparation for college and career. Both respondents who went onto college and those who did not state that their most significant gaps are in work and study habits, oral communications and public speaking, and science. In addition, students who did not pursue postsecondary education also describe serious gaps in mathematics and in applying what they learned in school to real-world situations.
Findings also indicate that students need and want more opportunities for career exploration and real-world learning: Only 28 percent of respondents report that their school did a very good job encouraging them to explore various professional/career opportunities.* Respondents also cite real-world learning opportunities as the number one thing that would have encouraged them to work harder in high school and be better prepared for the future.
Greater investments in CTE can improve access to the real-world learning and career exploration that students want and need.
* This sentence was corrected on January 23.
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