On April 4, 2002, Assistant Secretary Carol D'Amico and the Office of Vocational and Adult Education convened, "Preparing America's Future: The High School Symposium," in Washington, D.C.

• View the symposium webcast
• Read the symposium summary
  MS WORD (140K) | PDF (1.7MB)

Prior to the symposium, OVAE commissioned eight papers in issues central to contemporary high schools. At the symposium, a panel composed of eight authors and seven expert respondents discussed these key issues. Panel members included policy analysts, foundation representatives, business and industry representatives, experts in secondary education, and educators.

• Panel details and Respondent Biographies

These papers are in MS Word. The downloadable icon brings up the full text, and the author's biography.

We are very interested in your feedback on these papers. Please email us with your comments.

• Re-conceptualizing Extra Help for High School Students in a High Standards Era MS WORD (161K)
  By Robert Balfanz MS WORD (19K), James McPartland,
  and Alta Shaw

• What Role Can Dual Enrollment Programs Play in Easing the Transition Between High School and Postsecondary Education? MS WORD (94K)
  By Thomas R. Bailey MS WORD (26K), Katherine L. Hughes, and Melinda Mechur Karp

• What Should Be the Federal Role in Supporting and Shaping Development of State Accountability Systems for Secondary School Achievement? MS WORD (239K) Also available: The slide presentation (as a MS WORD document (171K) based on the paper.
  John H. Bishop MS WORD (24K)

• Raising the Achievement of Low-Performing Students: What High Schools Can Do. MS WORD (436K)
  By Gene Bottoms MS WORD (20K)

• The Missing Middle: Aligning Education and the Knowledge Economy MS WORD (652K)
  By Anthony P. Carnevale MS WORD (22K) and
  Donna M. Desrochers

• What Ails U.S. High Schools? How Should They Be Reformed? MS WORD (74K) Is There A Federal Role?
  By Chester E. Finn, Jr. MS WORD (21K)

• The Role of Career and Technical Education in the American High School: A Student Centered Analysis MS WORD (98K)
  By Kenneth Gray MS WORD (19K)

• Beyond Empty Promises: Policies to Improve Transitions into College and Jobs MS WORD (157K)
  By James E. Rosenbaum MS WORD (19K)

In addition to the eight papers commissioned by OVAE that were presented at the Symposium, the Assistant Secretary also requested the paper "Youth at Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond" MS WORD (99K) by Janis Somerville. MS WORD(20K)

The papers presented here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, or the Assistant Secretary. The papers solely reflect the views and opinions of the authors.

Since the symposium, another ten papers have also been commissioned and received.