Education and Work Plans of U.S. High school Students

A new Data Point report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides a look at the education and work plans of high school students

This report uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, which follows a cohort of public school students who were in 9th grade in 2009. The Data Point examines the 2013 plans of the cohort as of 2012, when most of the students were in the 11th grade. The findings include:

• Most students expected that postsecondary education would be their primary activity in 2013, while about one-fifth expected their main activity to be work;
• A higher proportion of female than male students expected their main activity to be postsecondary education; and
• Students' expectations for postsecondary education increased as family socioeconomic status increased.

About three-quarters of public high school students were required to have a graduation, career, or education plan as of 2012, according to a new study released today (May 10). This new Data Point from the National Center for Education Statistics looks at the use of these plans, which are designed to help students align their curricula with career goals.

Among the findings:

• About 40 percent of public high school students were required to create their own personalized plan, while 23 percent selected a plan from among those offered by their school. 
• About 5 percent were assigned a plan by their school; and
• About 11 percent of public high school students developed a plan that they submitted to their school and met with school staff at least annually to review or revise their plan.

The data used in this report were drawn from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009,a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of students who were in the ninth grade in 2009.