Post-school transitions in Washington State
Although the state of Washington has invested in policies to address inequities in educational opportunities for its learners, deep inequities persist in postsecondary degree attainment and earnings. Differences in the pathways young people take from high school to postsecondary education and work may be one mechanism causing these differences in outcomes. Much attention has been paid to traditional school-to-work routes, e.g., going straight to a 4-year degree program after graduating high school, but less is known about the relative effectiveness of other types of ‘non-traditional’ pathways such as dual enrollment, career and technical education, and occupation skills training programs. To identify important patterns in postsecondary education and employment in this new landscape, this project uses sequence analysis to examine students’ school-to-work pathways and their academic achievement and labor market implications. It will identify a typology of pathways and examine which ones lead to better postsecondary education and labor market outcomes. It will also consider variation across subgroups of students. Practically, it will consider whether there are pivot points at which policy could be most effective in influencing outcomes.
Outputs
Funder
Gates Foundation