Overview

New York City’s Pathways initiatives, including the FutureReadyNYC (FRNYC) and Career Readiness and Modern Youth Apprenticeship (CRMYA) programs, are built on a shared vision: to ensure that students leave high school with the skills, experiences, and credentials needed to pursue rewarding careers in high-demand industries on a pathway to lifelong economic security. Together, these programs represent an important evolution and expansion of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in New York City. Across approximately half of NYC high schools and involving thousands of students annually, these Pathways initiatives represent both an expansion and evolution of the delivery, format, and scale of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programming within the New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). They provide a unique opportunity to study how such programming develops, evolves to meet changing expectations, and labor market demands, while reaching students in ways that potentially positively impact their future trajectories.  

MDRC, in partnership with the Research Alliance for New York City Schools, is conducting this study to take stock of the implementation and early outcomes of NYC’s Pathways initiatives. The study is exploring factors related to student participation in the core pathways components and assessing the relationship between participation and student college and career readiness outcomes. This will include an examination of how participation and outcomes vary by students’ race, gender, disability status, and English proficiency. By attending to these intersecting dynamics, the study aims to shed light on the conditions under which Pathways initiatives are associated with positive outcomes—and for whom. Our central research questions include:

• What does implementation of Pathways look like across different schools and settings? What are the facilitators and challenges of implementation?
   
• To what extent do students access and participate in the five core components of Pathways? How do levels of exposure to the five components at Pathways schools compare to those at schools without FRNYC or CRMYA?
   
• What factors (e.g., student background, school characteristics, industry partner) shape variation in participation and access?
   
• How is participation in career-connected learning related to positive outcomes such as improved attendance and a greater likelihood of being on-track for high school graduation? Are there particular components or combinations of components that are more strongly associated with positive outcomes than others? Under what conditions is program participation associated with positive outcomes—and for whom?

Career-connected learning has become a key pillar of education policy in NYC and across the country. Yet many questions remain about how best to implement these programs at scale, how program components contribute to outcomes both individually and in combination, how to ensure equitable access, and how integrated career-connected learning can support students’ postsecondary success. This study will generate actionable evidence for decision-makers and deepen our understanding of how to prepare all students for economic mobility and meaningful careers.