Programs of Study as a State Policy Mandate: A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative. Executive Summary

This executive summary outlines key findings from the final technical report of a five-year study of South Carolina's Personal Pathways to Success Initiative, which was authorized by the state's Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) in 2005. The Personal Pathways initiative is a K-16, career-focused school reform model intended to improve student achievement and preparedness for postsecondary education and high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand jobs. EEDA was designed to achieve these results through a focus on career awareness and exploration at all school levels and through the creation of locally relevant career pathways and programs of study (POS). The goals of EEDA are closely aligned with those of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, otherwise known as Perkins IV, which allowed researchers to conduct an examination of the effects of the Perkins Act in the context of a highly supportive state policy. The study's goals were to measure specific impacts related to the state policy and the development of POS; the study examined the policy in its early implementation years and in the context of high school. [For the full technical report, see ED574462. For Technical Appendix A: Implementation of the Education and Economic Development Act, see ED574467. For Technical Appendix B, see ED574466.]