Socioeconomic Status, Higher-Level Mathematics Courses, Absenteeism, and Student Mobility as Indicators of Work Readiness

Abstract

Work readiness has been discussed in the literature since the 1980s as economic difficulties and increasing competitiveness of global markets led American manufacturers to reconsider roles, responsibilities, and skills needed of workers (O'Neil, Allred, & Baker, 1992;U. S. Department of Education, 1983). Assessing the work readiness of high school students is important because they tend to be employed in entry–level jobs after graduation and increasingly these jobs require higher skills and knowledge than students may possess (Alvarez, Gillies, & Bradsher, 2003;Lippman & Keith, 2009;National Governors Association, 2010). This skills differential is important to career technical education (CTE) because CTE has been at the forefront of providing workplace skills training in secondary and postsecondary schools throughout the past century (Scott & Sarkees–Wircenski, 2008).