During the first phase of this TCTS project, REL staff support district and Niswonger Foundation partners to develop and prioritize research questions and document data available to monitor implementation of career and college preparation initiatives and student outcomes. Phase II will support Foundation partners to use available data to create user-friendly and replicable data reports to answer those questions identified in phase I. Phase II will also support district partners to properly interpret these data reports and use them to make decisions that impact student access to and success in relevant programs and interventions.

In response to local needs identified by both educators and employers in northeastern Tennessee, REL Appalachia is engaging district and school leaders to enhance their understanding of research-based strategies that build students' employability skills for career success. This training project is intended to help leaders serve young people in varied career pathways, from those considering college to those intending to enter the military or workforce after high school graduation.

CareerConnect is a program that provides students with the opportunity to explore career paths, develop essential employability skills, earn workforce readiness credentials, and gain real-world work experience. REL staff are conducting a randomized controlled trial to study the impact of CareerConnect on student outcomes, including students’ perceptions of their employability skills, ACT WorkKeys scores, career and technical education course completion and concentrator status, and earning an industry credential. REL staff will also use a mixed-methods research design to assess implementation across the 23 high schools in the study, assess the associations between levels of implementation and impact, and conduct a cost analysis of CareerConnect.