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January 2002
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Course Taking, Test Preparation, and Career Academy Programs
Findings from a Field Study
Thomas J. Smith
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One of the nation's most widely adopted school reform initiatives designed
to help smoothe students' transitions to careers and to postsecondary education,
Career Academies operate as "schools within a school." In collaboration
with local employers, the Academies develop college preparatory curricula
with a career-oriented theme and aim to provide Academy students a coherent
and distinctive educational experience. Yet Academies must also reckon with
the realities of the larger educational environment of which they are a
part — including the need to meet district and state curriculum prerequisites
for graduation and to have students take, and pass, the high-stakes standardized
tests that purport to measure educational progress. Based on interviews
with school administrators, counselors, Academy coordinators, teachers and
students, this paper investigates how course selection is monitored and
test preparation is managed for students registered in Academy programs.
It delves into the interactions between — and, at times, conflicting
goals of — the Academies and the larger school communities of which
they are a part as scheduling and test preparation choices are made. And
it recommends how Academies can better achieve their unique program objectives
while also adapting to externally imposed requirements.
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Funders
Support for this paper was provided by The Wallace Foundation.
The findings and conclusions presented in this report do not necessarily represent the official positions
or policies of the funders.
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