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Published in August 2026, Preparing Students for What Comes Next: Educator and Student Perspectives on Career-Connected Learning in K–12 Schools is a research report from RAND's Education, Employment, and Infrastructure division. The report draws on national survey data from three RAND survey panels to examine how K–12 schools structure career-connected learning and how students experienced that programming in the 2025–26 academic year.
The report draws on three data sources:
RAND's report found that career-connected learning for high school students centers heavily on four-year college pathways. Two-thirds of high school students reported hearing an emphasis on attending a four-year college, while technical training, apprenticeships, and other pathways received significantly less emphasis.
Students from families with incomes above $75,000 were more likely to report hearing emphasis on four-year college than lower-income peers.
Students who do not want to pursue a bachelor's degree rate their school's supports more negatively than college-bound students. Only 13% of students not seeing a bachelor's degree reported that school information "very much" matched their interests, compared to 27% of those seeking a bachelor's degree or higher.
Most district leaders said they began introducing career-connected learning in middle school, with 79% of districts offering career exploration courses or electives, and 73% offering invited speakers. However, out-of-school programming for career learning remains uncommon, offered by only 26% of districts.
Students consistently plan to pursue work-related learning at higher rates than they actually complete it. By spring of their senior year, only 39% reported visiting an employer or workplace, though 71% had planned to do so. Only 22% had participated in an internship or apprenticeship, though 66% had planned to do so.
Only 37% of districts offer any internships and 21% offer apprenticeships.
Lastly, most principals set numeric targets for college-pathway milestones, but just 32% of high schools track whether students are accepted to college, and only 15% track whether students secure employment after high school.
Career-connected learning has become an increasingly prominent focus in education and workforce policy as employers report placing higher value on candidates with diverse skills and experiences, and as public confidence in the four-year degree as a default pathway erodes. Nonetheless, school guidance systems remain disproportionately oriented toward four-year college pathways, despite many students seemingly desiring to explore non-degree pathways.
The report is part of RAND's ongoing American School District Panel research program, which conducts nationally representative surveys of public school district leaders twice per year.
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