Career Readiness

Carter Crabtree, a Daviess County High School junior, learns to stack landscaping blocks with a mini excavator at a demonstration set up by Barnard Landscaping during the Homebuilder Association of Owensboro's annual Construction Career Day on Apr. 24, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky.
Carter Crabtree, a Daviess County High School junior, learns to stack landscaping blocks with a mini excavator at a demonstration set up by Barnard Landscaping during the Homebuilder Association of Owensboro's annual Construction Career Day on Apr. 24, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky. Leaders in education discuss how career-tech education programs can support non-college-bound students, in an online webinar.
Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP
College & Workforce Readiness How Can Educators Support Students Not Going to College?
A bipartisan panel talks about slowing trends in college-going—and what it means for schools.
Jennifer Vilcarino, June 5, 2025
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3 min read
Jennifer Norrell, superintendent of East Aurora School District 131, meets with district leaders for the School Leadership Team's weekly meeting to discuss a college readiness presentation for students at East Aurora High School in Aurora, Ill., on Dec. 4, 2024.
Jennifer Norrell, the superintendent of East Aurora School District 131, meets with district leaders for the School Leadership Team's weekly meeting to discuss a college-readiness presentation for students at East Aurora High School in Aurora, Ill., on Dec. 4, 2024. She has led efforts to expand and enrich the kinds of post-high school pathways the school offers, both in core academics and in career-technical fields.
Jamie Kelter Davis for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness 3 Ways Leaders Develop College and Career Pathways Designed to Serve All Students
Two EdWeek Leaders To Learn From share how they built these systems from the ground up.
Sarah Schwartz, June 2, 2025
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3 min read
Genny Willis, the Academy Teacher instructor at Smyrna High School, listens to a roundtable of students in the program in a classroom in Smyrna, Del., on Oct. 15, 2024. At Smyrna High School, there are career pathways and experimental learning opportunities to help students use practical applications towards careers after graduating high school, which can include internships, advanced classes, and specific on the job training.
Genny Willis, an instructor at Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Del., listens to a roundtable of students on Oct. 15, 2024. At Smyrna High School, there are career pathways and experimental learning opportunities to help students use practical applications towards careers after graduating high school, which can include internships, advanced classes, and specific on-the-job training.
Michelle Gustafson for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness High School Grads Lack Clarity on Next Steps, Survey Shows
Recent high school graduates share insights on what would have changed their trajectory in a new survey.
Elizabeth Heubeck, May 20, 2025
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4 min read
Carter Crabtree, a Daviess County High School junior, learns to stack landscaping blocks with a mini excavator at a demonstration set up by Barnard Landscaping during the Homebuilder Association of Owensboro's annual Construction Career Day on April 24, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky.
Carter Crabtree, a Daviess County High School junior, learns to stack landscaping blocks with a mini excavator at a demonstration set up by Barnard Landscaping during the Homebuilder Association of Owensboro's annual Construction Career Day on Apr. 24, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky.
Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A How Schools and Businesses Can Work Better Together
Businesses and schools often don't understand each other's needs.
Lauraine Langreo, May 14, 2025
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5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion How One Organization Is Helping Grads Find Jobs
For students to succeed in school and careers, we need a new playbook.
Rick Hess, May 13, 2025
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6 min read
Fourth graders Kysen Dull, left, and Kyree Davie try out some masonry work as they put a brick in place with help from Owensboro High School masonry students during Career Day at Cravens Elementary School in Owensboro, Ky., on Nov. 4, 2024.
Fourth graders Kysen Dull, left, and Kyree Davie try out some masonry work as they put a brick in place with help from Owensboro High School masonry students during Career Day at Cravens Elementary School in Owensboro, Ky., on Nov. 4, 2024. Putting on Career Day events is one way students can be exposed to career options at an early age.
Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A How This Schooling Model Puts Career Preparation First
The president of the National Career Academy Coalition talks about matching potential careers with local economic needs.
Lauraine Langreo, April 29, 2025
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4 min read
Illustration of a young man balancing and walking on pencil tips that look like poles and dressed in a graduation cap and gown.
iStock/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness The Skill Students Need Most to Succeed in Future Jobs
Hint: It’s not necessarily factoring polynomials.
Arianna Prothero, April 21, 2025
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4 min read
Then and Now, JD Vance, manufacturing, trade schools and jobs
Liz Yap via Canva with Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP<br/>
College & Workforce Readiness Then & Now Why JD Vance’s Changing Rhetoric on Tariffs Matters for Schools
In a 2017 Education Week interview, Vance said education, not protectionism, is key to a strong American workforce.
Evie Blad, April 11, 2025
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7 min read
Monica Wardlow, from left, with Citizens First Bank, works with Warren East Middle School seventh graders Autumn Simmons and Aaleah Richie Wednesday, March 13, 2019, during Junior Achievement's JA Girl$ financially literacy program at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College in Bowling Green, Ky. The JA Girl$ program is a gender-specific initiative designed to teach girls and young women about financial literacy, career preparation, and entrepreneurship.
Monica Wardlow, from left, with Citizens First Bank, works with Warren East Middle School 7th graders Autumn Simmons and Aaleah Richie Wednesday, March 13, 2019, during Junior Achievement's JA Girl$ financial literacy program at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College in Bowling Green, Ky. Junior Achievement aims to bring real-world experiences into the classroom.
Bac Totrong/Daily News via AP
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A How One Educator Is Tackling the Question, 'Why Do I Have to Learn This?'
Monica Goldson, a long-time educator, is working to link learning to real-world experiences with Junior Achievement.
Elizabeth Heubeck, April 4, 2025
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6 min read
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
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College & Workforce Readiness Whitepaper How District Leaders Can Champion Career Readiness
This guide provides a clear roadmap for administrators to implement impactful, real-world learning initiatives.
Content provided by Discovery Education
Students at Skyline High School work together during an after-school tutoring club.
Students at Skyline High School work together during an after-school tutoring club.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Student Well-Being Video The Skills Employers Want Most in the AI Age All Have Something in Common
Explaining how SEL can help students prepare for the working world may help more families get behind it, educators say.
Alyson Klein, March 28, 2025
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2 min read
Jailer BS
College & Workforce Readiness Video This High School Program Is Preparing Students to Be Detention Officers
For high school students interested in fields in criminal justice, this district’s program gives them the opportunity to graduate with a job in the field.
Lauren Santucci, March 25, 2025
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3:01
College & Workforce Readiness Spotlight Spotlight on CTE and Beyond: Expanding Opportunities for Students
This Spotlight will help you explore innovative approaches to CTE, real-world learning experiences, and more.
March 21, 2025
Photograph of a Black male teacher writing on a whiteboard table with a group of diverse high school or college students.
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College & Workforce Readiness The College Board Adds Two New AP Courses. Here’s What Makes Them Different
The College Board is launching career-focused AP courses in business and cybersecurity to equip students with real-world skills.
Alyson Klein, March 19, 2025
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11 min read
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