School-to-Career Programs and Transitions to Employment and Higher Education

The 1994 Federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) provided more than $1.5 billion over five years to support increased career preparation activities in the country's public schools. However, the STWOA was not re-authorized, so state governments face decisions about levels of funding support for school-to-career (STC) programs. Coupled with the availability of a new longitudinal data source with rich information on STC programs the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) it is therefore an opportune time to study the effectiveness of STC programs. This paper uses the NLSY97 to assess the effects of STC programs on transitions to employment and higher education among youths leaving high school, with a focus on estimating the causal effects of this participation given possible non-random selection of youths into STC programs.