Economic Prosperity After High School: How One Northern California School District's High School Academic Experiences Can Better Prepare Students for College and Career

As we progress into the 21st century, we find ourselves at a transition point in the field of education. Preparing students for future careers and economic prosperity requires a dramatic change in the traditional American high school education system. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to identify if the participants’ high school experiences provided the skills necessary for college and career preparation after graduation, ensuring their economic prosperity as adults. Three research questions were addressed in this study: (1) If students graduate from high school unprepared for college and career after graduation, what is the economic impact on the community? (2) Does the completion of career-related programs such as career pathways, career technical education (CTE), or science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) prepare students for college and career? (3) Does A-G course completion, participation in honors programs, early college, or dual credit courses completed in high school prepare students for college and career? This population was identified because they would have time after graduation from high school to provide answers if their high school education program affected their college and career success or lack thereof. The findings demonstrated that the participants’ high school college and career preparation could influence students’ future economic success as adults. Also, the findings suggest that the specific types of experiences the participants had while in high school that led to their economic success varied and depended on the type of educational programs, opportunities, experiences, support, and motivation they had in high school