Question

Do Career Academies improve labor market outcomes for students?

Why are we asking?
First developed some 40 years ago, Career Academies restructure large high schools into small learning communities around career themes, follow rigorous curricula that include academic and career-oriented courses, and offer opportunities to participate in work-based learning activities. The growth of Career Academies (there are more than 8,000 today) has been fueled by MDRC’s random assignment evaluation of the model. Tracking students for 12 years, our study found strong and sustained impacts on students’ labor market outcomes, most notably earnings, especially for African-American males.

Working Toward a Solution

Report

Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Work, Education, and Transitions to Adulthood

Eight-year findings on Career Academies — a popular high school reform that combines academics with career development opportunities — show that the programs produced sustained employment and earnings gains, particularly among young men. Career Academy participants were also more likely to be living independently with children and a spouse or a partner.

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Report

Making It Happen

MDRC and Bloom Associates developed and piloted a program to help Career Academies, a popular high school reform, build college and career exploration programs for their students. This report presents lessons learned from its implementation in 18 academies in California, Florida, and Georgia.

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Brief

Striking the Balance

This “snapshot,” published by the National High School Center, takes a close look at implementation of the Career Academy model in one high school in Oakland, California.

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