What are Career Academies?

1. Definition of Career Academies according to the National Career Academy Coalition.

• a small learning community comprised of a group of students within the larger high school, who take classes together for at least two years, and are taught by a team of teachers from different disciplines
• a college preparatory curriculum with a career theme, enabling students to see relationships among academic subjects, and their application to a broad field of work
• partnerships with employers, the community, and local colleges, bring resources from outside the high school to improve student motivation and achievement

2. A national directory of high school that have career academies can be found at The Career Academy Support Network.

3. Since 1993 MDRC has carried out the most prominent ongoing longitudinal study of career academies. The study is entitled “Key Findings from Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood” and was written by James J. Kemple with Cynthia J. Willner. The following is from their website:

• The Career Academies produced sustained earnings gains that averaged 11 percent (or $2,088) more per year for Academy group members than for individuals in the non-Academy group — a $16,704 boost in total earnings over the eight years of follow-up (in 2006 dollars).
• These labor market impacts were concentrated among young men, a group that has experienced a severe decline in real earnings in recent years. Through a combination of increased wages, hours worked, and employment stability, real earnings for young men in the Academy group increased by $3,731 (17 percent) per year — or nearly $30,000 over eight years.
• Overall, the Career Academies served as viable pathways to a range of postsecondary education opportunities, but they do not appear to have been more effective than options available to the non-Academy group. More than 90 percent of both groups graduated from high school or received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, and half completed a postsecondary credential.
• The Career Academies produced an increase in the percentage of young people living independently with children and a spouse or partner. Young men also experienced positive impacts on marriage and being custodial parents.