Issues: At-Risk Young People

Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation

MDRC designs and evaluates projects that serve young people who have dropped out of high school (or are at risk of dropping out) and that seek to connect them with educational and work opportunities.

The Latest

Working Paper

Career and Technical Education: Current Policy, Prominent Programs, and Evidence

High school and college students need more and better training to find jobs in the quickly evolving technical workforce. Courses of study in career and technical education (CTE) aim to provide these skills. This working paper examines the challenges to providing CTE and highlights the need for further research.

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Working Paper

Career and Technical Education (CTE) for Climate Jobs

Changing labor market needs—particularly with regard to the clean energy sector—highlight the importance of developing new career and technical education (CTE) pathways. This working paper provides an overview of CTE policies and examines the need to improve the education and training pipeline to expand the climate workforce.

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Key Documents

Report

Boosting the Life Chances of Young Men of Color

Evidence from Promising Programs

A review of high-quality studies, this paper highlights interventions — in education, employment and training, and second-chance programs — that have demonstrated positive results for young men of color. It comes as policymakers and philanthropies focus new attention on investing more to build opportunities for these young men.

Serving Out-of-School Youth Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (2014)

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) emphasizes targeting out-of-school youth with training and services that are employer driven and linked to labor market demand. Drawing upon available research and on-the-ground experience, this paper summarizes existing knowledge that can guide implementation of key WIOA provisions for serving out-of-school youth.

Engaging Disconnected Young People in Education and Work

Findings from the Project Rise Implementation Evaluation

Project Rise offers education, a paid internship, and case management to young adults who lack a high school credential and have been out of work and school for at least six months. Participants, who were attracted more by the educational instruction than by the internship, substantially engaged with the program.

CTE Advise: Advising Tools in Secondary Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	MDRC Center for Effective Career and Technical Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	The Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy Pilot Evaluation Focus Area: Youth Employment Student Services Job Retention and Advancement Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Classroom Services, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Washington
STRIVE Future Leaders Implementation Study Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Mentoring, Case Management, Career & Technical Education, Behavioral Interventions, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania	Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Focus Area: Youth Employment After-School/Out-of-School Time Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Student Services, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York	GED Bridge: Strengthening the Link into College and Careers Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion Locations: Wisconsin
Project Rise Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York	Chicago’s New Communities Program Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Elementary and Middle School Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Populations with Low Incomes Locations: Illinois	YouthBuild Evaluation Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services
Social Innovation Fund Project with the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation Focus Area: High School Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Population: Children and Schools Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, Reading Instruction, Student Services, Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment, Classroom Services, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Curricular/Instructional Reforms	Mayor’s Fund & Center for Economic Opportunity Social Innovation Fund Project Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Asset Building, Financial Incentives, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas

GED 21st Century Learning Pathways Pilots Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, GED Completion Locations: New York	Social Impact Bond Project at Rikers Island Focus Area: Youth and Juvenile Justice Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Corrections and Reentry Population: Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, Classroom Services, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Locations: New York	Evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Residential Youth Programs, GED Completion Locations: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin
Youth Villages Transitional Living Program Evaluation Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Intervention: Case Management Locations: Tennessee	LaGuardia's GED Bridge to Health and Business Program Focus Area: Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion Locations: New York

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Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation

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