Essential Question 14

About this Essential Question

This question examines both high school completion rates and the quality of transitions to college or the workforce after high school. On-time graduation and a smooth transition to college or the workforce are crucial pathways to later educational and economic success, and system practices can either support or hinder these outcomes. For example, early career exploration and advising boosts the likelihood of graduation and post-graduation success. Text messaging interventions and summer advising can decrease the share of graduating high school seniors who intend to attend college but do not matriculate in the fall. And work-based learning and CTE programs can help set students up for success in the workforce. School leaders, transition coordinators, and workforce development partners can use this question to understand where students go after high school, identify where additional supports may be needed to support their transitions, and develop strategies to help all students successfully transition out of high school.

Probing Questions

Use these probing questions to dive deeper on the essential question or approach it through a different lens. Feel free to adapt these questions further or come up with your own.  

• How do students define successful transition after high school graduation? How do districts and schools define and measure this? How well do current measures align with students’ priorities?  
• How do rates of high school graduation and immediate transition into further education, training, or employment vary based on where high school students live and attend school? How do they vary by student race and ethnicity, gender, English learner status, income level, disability status, and/or first-generation college student status?
• How do school policies and practices—such as early warning systems, career and technical education programs, and financial aid advising—help or hinder on-time high school graduation and transitions? What other factors—such as availability of jobs paying a living wage—may influence student success? How do contributing factors vary across schools and districts?  
• How might we better support all students to graduate high school on time and transition to further education, training, or employment after graduation? What policies or conditions could be improved? Who needs to be involved? 

PowerBI Report

The PowerBI report for Essential Question 14 offers insights into the progression of a single cohort of students who entered 9th grade for the first time and tracks their journey from high school graduation to postsecondary enrollment. This report was developed by the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) Open Source Community (OSC).

Image