Measuring Educational Quality and Improvement in College and Career Pathways - Report on College and Career Pathways Research Symposium

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

A research symposium report examining how college and career pathways improve student outcomes and educational quality. The program frames four student-experience strands—data use, achievement, opportunity gaps addressed through supports and access, and student engagement—then maps existing knowledge, identifies gaps, and sets priorities for further inquiry. The event convenes researchers and policy-focused organizations to connect evidence to pathway interventions, inform study design, and plan collaborative research projects across the field.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages43

Reading Time1 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Structure and Goals for the Day

Student Experience Strands

Lunch Keynote Speaker

|

Measuring Educational Quality and Improvement in College and Career Pathways:

| | | --- | --- | | | | Report on College and Career Pathways Research Symposium: Measuring Educational Quality and Improvement in College and Career Pathways – The Secondary Student Experience October 17, 2017 at the Clark Kerr Campus, UC Berkeley Introduction College and career pathways represent a significant national educational reform movement supported by federal, state, and philanthropic funders. High school pathways combine career and technical education with rigorous academics, work-based learning, and student supports to provide equitable access to postsecondary opportunities. Strong research evidence supports this specific combination of interventionsas a means to interrupt the opportunity gap and address the underlying causes of disparate high school outcomes. Measuring Educational Quality and Improvement in College and Career Pathways was an opportunity to reflect on what is known about student outcomes in pathways, determine what is yet to be learned, and begin to propose research to accomplish that work. This symposium, the first of a planned series of four symposia focused on pathways research, is a joint effort by multiple research-based organizations active in policy development: College and Career Academy Support Network (CCASN), UC Berkeley; WestEd; SRI International; the California State University (CSU) Teacher Education programs, and the CSU Collaborative for the Advancement of Linked Learning; Jobs for the Future; the Learning Policy Institute, ConnectEd; the Linked Learning Alliance, PACCCRAS (Promoting Authentic College, Career, and Civic Readiness Assessment Systems) Working Group; and MDRC. Structure and Goals for the Day Forty-two (42) participants attended the day-long symposium, representing research and advocacy organizations and institutions of higher learning (see Appendix 1) . The day was structured with plenary presentations on four strands ofthe student experience in college and career pathways, then subgroups by strand to map the current knowledge base, identify gaps, and prioritize focal questions for further research. After a policy overview at lunch, researchers then broke into new subgroups to collaborate and plan research projects. The agenda for the day is included in the program that follows this section. Based on their expertise, attendees had been assigned to one of the four student experience strands that were selected to begin the day. These were: • Data use in pathway interventions and design • Student achievement in pathways • Addressing opportunity gaps through student supports and access • Student engagement in pathways Attendees completed pre-work prior to the symposium, submitting bibliographies of research in their assigned strand. This work was compiled by strand as a foundation for subgroup work mapping the knowledge base to identify knowledge gaps. This annotated bibliography is included as Appendix 2. | | Registration & breakfast
Welcome: Introduction to symposium & goals for the day

Coffee break & transition to break-out rooms

Lunch speaker: California Assembly member Dr. Shirley Weber

Afternoon break & transition to break-out rooms

| | --- | --- | LUNCH KEYNOTE SPEAKER ASSEMBLYMEMBER SHIRLEY WEBER was elected in November of 2012 to represent California’s 79th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Bonita, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City and San Diego. Born to sharecroppers of Hope, Arkansas, Shirley Weber has lived in California since the age of 3. She attended UCLA, where she received her BA, MA and PhD by the age of 26. Prior to receiving her doctorate, she became a professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) at the age of 23. Dr. Weber also taught at California State University at Los Angeles and Los Angeles City College bef

FAQs

What is the purpose of the symposium report on college and career pathways?

The report presents reflections on what is known about student outcomes in pathways, determines what remains to be learned, and begins proposing research to advance that work.

How is the day structured to organize pathway research topics?

The symposium uses plenary presentations across four strands of the student experience, followed by subgroup sessions to map knowledge, identify gaps, and prioritize research questions.

What four student-experience strands guide participants’ work?

The strands are data use in pathway interventions and design, student achievement in pathways, addressing opportunity gaps through student supports and access, and student engagement in pathways.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob