CONCLUSION

The school-to-work strategy is still evolving. Indeed reforms have only just begun to address the potential for using school-to-work to prepare students for college. At this point, many school-to-work programs conflict with admissions to selective colleges, although this is not necessarily because such initiatives are not equally as or even more effective in preparing students for college and further learning. The evidence that we do have suggests that if school-to-work programs are well planned, students can learn academic skills, earn high grades, score well on tests, and gain access to college. Widespread acceptance of school-to-work as a strategy for preparing students for selective colleges will ultimately require significant changes in assessment and college admissions procedures. Although these are long-term goals, there are many steps that can be taken right now to improve this reform's potential to prepare students for college and to convince students, parents, and teachers that enrollment in a school-to-work program will not happen at the cost of college aspirations.

First, there remain many open questions about the design and implementation of the school-to-work model. What is the best balance between an experience-based individualized approach to education and a more traditional approach that emphasizes learning information? What is the appropriate balance between classroom work and experiences outside the classroom? How can the educational value of experiences outside the classroom be enhanced? What are the best methods for training teachers? How can the appropriate participation of employers be secured? Educators and employers are working on all of these problems. As progress is made and documented, it will be easier to make the case for school-to-work.

Second, the school-to-work movement needs to be better integrated into broader education reform efforts. This is not only to diminish the negative connotations that school-to-work has received through its association with vocational education but allow for a broader base of feedback on implementation issues. Educators are developing new approaches to school organization, assessment, and college admissions. While in many cases these remain controversial, they are not usually seen, as school-to-work is, as a threat to academic learning. School-to-work is entirely consistent with many of these developments and needs to be viewed as such.

Third, secondary school personnel need to continue to work with colleges to reduce the conflicts between school-to-work and the admissions system. Some progress can be made by trying to accommodate the reforms to the current system. Individual schools can improve their communication with the colleges with which they work, but in the end broader changes in college admissions will probably be necessary.

Finally, skeptics are justified in asking for more systematic evidence. While it is understandable that reformers, government agencies, and foundations want to move ahead with innovative programs rather than waiting for time-consuming studies, this pressure to expand without substantial proof of effectiveness should not deter programs from collecting student outcome data to be used in the future. Although there are still many open substantive questions that need to be resolved, school-to-work represents a significant change in educational strategies with the potential to benefit all students by better preparing them for college and career opportunities.