Even as school district leaders’ interest in work-based learning continues to grow, high schoolers say their schools are still geared mainly toward preparing them for matriculation at four-year colleges—even if the students themselves are hoping to take a different post-graduation path.
The research from the RAND Corporation draws from three national surveys of district leaders, principals, and high school students fielded in spring 2026.
Most districts, nearly 80%, report offering career exploration courses or electives as early as middle school. In high school, almost 70% of districts say they have complete career and technical education pathways.
But far fewer offer hands-on work experiences, like internships and apprenticeships—only 37% and 21%, respectively. Teenagers say that their schools are much more likely to emphasize four-year college as a post-graduation plan instead of other options like two-year college, technical training, or full-time work.
Overall, students who don’t plan to get a bachelor’s degree are less likely to say that the information their schools are providing about post-grad options is aligned to their interests.
“Students who either feel unable to, or don’t, see four-year college as their best pathway do not feel as well served by high schools in terms of preparing for their future,” said Benjamin Master, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, and the lead author on the brief.
Providing this kind of career counseling is a longstanding challenge for schools, which. In a 2025 EdWeek Research Center Survey, nearly half of CTE educators said counselors at their school spend less time on CTE-related counseling than college counseling.
The trend is evident in other surveys of current high schoolers, too.
Recent findings from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation show that among high school students who don’t want to pursue a degree, only half feel prepared for the future, compared with nearly 70% of students who plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Given that more than a third of high school graduates don’t immediately enroll in either bachelor’s degree programs or community college, students who feel they aren’t prepared for other options may represent an unmet need, said Master.
“That’s a trend that high schools are going to have to contend with,” he said.
Students say they want work-based experiences, but don’t complete them
The RAND data show there are concrete steps that students want to take toward post-graduate plans that they have trouble reaching, Master said.
By 12th grade, the vast majority, more than 90%, say they want to complete some college-preparation activities, including talking with an adult about paying for their education, visiting a two- or four-year college, applying for scholarships, and filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
Not all students who say they want to reach these goals meet them; between 66-76% of 12th graders say they’ve taken these steps.
But the gap between how students want to prepare for post-grad careers and what they actually do in high school is larger.
By 12th grade, 71% of students say they want to visit an employer or workplace; only 39% of 12th graders had actually done so by the spring of that year. Sixty-six percent said they wanted to participate in an internship or apprenticeship, while only 22% of 12th graders had that experience.
“Employers are increasingly interested in students having some sort of skill or exposure to the workforce,” said Master. Students aspire to this too, but they don’t follow through
The data don’t explain exactly why high schoolers aren’t meeting these goals they have for themselves.
It’s possible that schools offer some options, like connecting students with internships, on paper—but the process students need to follow to take advantage of these experiences is complex or opaque, Master said. Ensuring students have access may also not be a top priority for districts, he added. Sustaining partnerships with industry is a longstanding challenge for districts.
“Their bread and butter is delivering coursework, rather than connections with employers,” he said.
Districts aiming to offer more of the work-based opportunities students say they want could start by measuring participation, Master said.
The RAND survey asked principals which post-graduate preparation activities schools set numeric targets for. Most schools, 63%, tracked students’ meetings with counselors about college or career plans.
But tracking more specific metrics was rarer. Only 38% had data on how many students filled out college applications; 15% knew which students accepted a full- or part-time job after graduation.
“What doesn’t get tracked doesn’t get done,” said Master.
