Recent reports from TIMSS and NAEP have highlighted the inadequate preparation our high school students have in academic areas. Research among American businesses by Training magazine has found that increasing numbers of employers are providing remedial education; up from 18% in 1984 to 43% in 1995. As our economy becomes more technology-based, the number and level of skills required for success in most careers increases as well.

From these real-world needs has arisen an area of education called career-to-work. Its main idea is to increase the academic preparation of high school students by offering all of them standards-based curricula in a rigorous instructional setting, using effective pedagogy, while at the same time providing exposure to the world of work. The effect will be to better prepare our students for the world of work they will enter after completing their schooling.

To achieve this, schools must provide direction to student learning while nurturing individual choices based on personal skills, interest, and strengths. This can be done by providing information about future careers, pointing out knowledge and skills required for specific careers, providing the needed knowledge and skills in high school coursework, and offering coursework specifically geared to career preparation. The activities in this Different Angle address the first two of these strategies.