Key points:
- As college enrollment drops steeply, students say they didn’t understand their career options
- From curiosity to clarity: Showcasing career paths to young learners
- Career-connected learning builds a more employable, future-ready generation
- For more news on career readiness, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub
New research points to a growing disconnect between students’ education and their preparedness for real-world success.
The third annual Post-Graduation Readiness Report from YouScience draws from a national online survey of over 500 high school graduates from the classes of 2021 through 2024, and trends across six graduating classes dating back to 2019.
The report uncovers a deepening crisis: Students are navigating a rapidly changing world with outdated tools and minimal guidance. The findings demand urgent action to redesign how we prepare young people for life after high school.
Just 35 percent of 2024 graduates are heading to a four-year college–a steep drop from 55 percent in 2019.
Nearly 72 percent of students report feeling only moderately, slightly, or not at all prepared for life after high school.
Seventy-seven percent say they would have been more engaged in school if they better understood their strengths and career options.
Of those attending college, only 56 percent have declared a major, and 42 percent of them have already changed it–many more than once.
Half of graduates say they lacked work-based learning experiences, and 45 percent wanted better access to career counseling.
“This year’s data makes one thing clear: today’s students are open to new paths, but they lack the tools and guidance to make confident, informed decisions,” said Edson Barton, CEO of YouScience. “We must rethink what it truly means to prepare students, not just academically, but practically, for a world that values skills, purpose, and adaptability.”
The data also highlights significant gender disparities. Males are far more likely than females to graduate high school with no plan at all (14 percent vs. 8 percent), while females remain more likely to follow the traditional four-year college route (68 percent vs. 46 percent).
Too many classrooms still lack career-connected learning opportunities that help students see how their education applies in the real world. In fact, 50 percent of respondents said schools could have offered more work-based learning opportunities and 41 percent said schools should have helped them better understand their aptitudes. Far too often, students are relying on shallow, interest-only tools that miss the mark and fail to uncover the deeper aptitudes that shape potential and purpose. Without that level of insight, students are left guessing instead of planning.
With patchwork solutions and vague career advice failing students, education, business, and policy leaders should take immediate steps to close the readiness gap:
- Start early with aptitude and interest discovery–too many schools are using outdated, non-scientific tools to help guide students
- Ensure every student has access to personalized, aptitude-based career assessments and counseling
- Expand real-world learning, from industry certifications to work-based experiences
- Equip families to have early, informed conversations about career options
“Students don’t need more generic advice, they need meaningful career exposure, real data about their strengths, and practical experiences that connect learning to life,” Barton added. “This report gives us a roadmap. It’s up to all of us to act.”
This press release originally appeared online.
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