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While ensuring readiness for postsecondary success for every student is the perennial north star for counselors and administrators, each school year brings new cohorts of students with their own developmental journey, varying available resources, and changes in the economy that alter the job market which students will enter. And these factors all influence the preparation graduates need for successful entry into higher education and efforts at professional certification. As the calendar turns to 2025, there is an opportunity to look back on the year and reflect on the topics and themes that have been top of mind for educators over the course of the past twelve months.Ìý

A Unique Year

As we reflect on this time, it is important to remember that this year–and this cohort of graduating seniors–have been impacted by some noteworthy and unprecedented factors and events. This past year saw the rollout of a brand new FAFSA form and process, which proved to be incredibly challenging for students, families, and those supporting them. The fall of this year saw the conclusion of the ESSER funding that had been made available to the education community to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Thus, this school year saw many districts having to make difficult choices about budgeting and staffing due to reduced financial resources. Schools and districts are still grappling with how to support students in the wake of lingering impacts from the pandemic–including increases in absenteeism, teacher turnover, and a general decrease in student enrollment. And seemingly constant changes in both the college application processes and job markets students will meet have further complicated the processes and systems for best supporting students.Ìý

It is important to keep this backdrop in mind to understand what schools and districts have faced. By looking at our engagement metrics–and which resources and posts have been most popular–we can see which issues have been most resonant with practitioners this year and better understand the current and emerging college and career readiness (CCR) landscape.Ìý

In looking at the pieces of content that most engaged our CCR community, key approaches, themes, and areas of focus emerged:

Empowering students with tools and information is an ever-present focus.Ìý

It is essential that students are invested in their CCR planning as they are the ones who will have to live with the outcomes of the decision-making and efforts. Counselors and administrators recognize that when students have ownership over their own learning, planning, and goal setting, they are more likely to stay motivated and engaged. Because of this, there is profound value in empowering students with resources and guidance so they can deeply explore college and career options on their own; reflect on their passions, strengths, and preferences; and find the best intersection of those variables in both the short- and long-term. These efforts drastically increase postsecondary persistence as more students will continue their path in a mindset that allows them to learn, grow, and develop into fulfilled adults.Ìý

To accomplish this, it can be vital for students to lead many parts of the college and career exploration and planning process. Counselors and administrators aim to provide students with access to resources that allow them to explore a broad range of postsecondary options. They know that students need information early in their high school years to understand how different decisions will impact options down the road. And they seek to give students opportunities for self-reflection so that they can come to understand what is important to them, what passions drive them, and what should be prioritized in the postsecondary planning process.Ìý

Popular posts that emphasize finding ways to empower students and families to make active and intentional decisions in the postsecondary planning process include:ÌýÌý

• Ensuring an Informed and Cohesive Course Selection Process: Ìý

• Encouraging a Thoughtful Consideration of College Options: College Visit Student Experience Guide & Checklist and Getting the Most out of College Visits: Questions to Ask & Consider

Embedding career development and exploration is a top priority, across all CCR pathways.Ìý

The expectations of the labor market for high school graduates have seen major shifts in the past several years. Many industries have begun to embrace non-bachelor degree certifications as sufficient preparation for hiring. Additionally, rising costs for traditional four-year schools in higher education have resulted in increased enrollment in community colleges and technical schools. Rapid job growth in advanced manufacturing, cyber security, utilizing artificial intelligence, and other technology based fields is changing funding in higher education and that is beginning to have a cascading impact on high school graduation pathways. And concerns over the long-term impacts of financing expensive college degrees with student loans and other forms of debt have increased the need for students who do plan to go onto a four-year college degree program to maximize the value of that time in preparing for a career.Ìý

To that end, there has been an elevation on ensuring that career exploration and readiness transcend all CCR pathways. With that, counselors, educators, and administrators are continually looking for resources to support career development activities throughout the four years of high school, with a special prioritization on expanding work-based learning opportunities for students.Ìý

Popular posts that focus on embedding career exploration and development include:

• Innovative and Student-Centered Career Exploration Resources: Career Exploration Guide For K-12: 75+ Career-Based Activities Students Will Actually Love
• Engaging and Innovative Approaches to Work-Based Learning: ¿ªÔÆÈ«Õ¾appÏÂÔØ' Innovative Approach to Work-Based Learning with "Student Sourced Opportunitiesâ€�
• District Spotlight on the Successes of Work-Based Learning Partnerships: Benefits Of Investing In WBL Programs: Launching High School Students into Healthcare Fields

Supporting students and families in completing FAFSA and securing financial aid is a key concern and priority.

Applying for and securing financial aid is often the lynchpin for many students to go on to realizing their postsecondary dreams of attending a college or university. Counselors and administrators spend countless hours each year communicating with students and families about the importance of FAFSA, how to access the platform to complete the form, and other necessary steps for securing and making decisions about financial aid. This past year, supporting students and families in this area took on even greater levels of importance. Early in the year, counselors scrambled to help students and families submit the FAFSA after a botched rollout caused multiple barriers to completion. With these challenges, and the corresponding reduction in FAFSA applications nation-wide, counselors were forced to spend additional time working with students and families to understand their financial aid options and other ways to access assistance. And with the start of the 2024-25 school year, counselors had to once again plan for the unknown with another year of shifting timelines and uncertainty over how to best provide support to students and families.Ìý

Popular posts that focus on FAFSA and financial aid support for students include:

• Information on This Year’s FAFSA Rollout As it Was Released: 2025-2026 FAFSA: What We Know Now and FAFSA Opens for Pilot Phase

• Supporting Students and Families in Understanding Financial Aid Packages: How to Read a Financial Aid Letter

Counselors and district leaders are continually looking to identify best practices and implement the most effective resources for their students.Ìý

All who work in and around schools recognize that the college and career readiness landscape is continuously evolving. The experiences available to students, the breadth and depth of specialized course offerings in high school, and the postsecondary options for students have all expanded at a rapid pace. As CCR has been elevated to a key area for states and districts to assess their educational success, and, in order to measure that, reporting requirements for districts on CCR metrics like industry certifications, career pathway involvement, and work-based learning opportunities have increased. Along with these trends, the landscape of tools and resources available to support both students, educators, administrators in doing this work have also grown by leaps and bounds.Ìý

It is clear that counselors, educators, and administrators are actively and regularly looking to identify approaches that have proven successful in other districts. This includes digital tools to automate processes, can allow for CCR steps to be embedded into existing school operations, and–most notably–empower students to have the resources available to them to drive their CCR exploration and planning. And all of this is occurring amidst a backdrop of shrinking budgets–with the conclusion of the ESSER funding program, inflation, and overall struggles with enrollment and attendance–which has forced schools and districts to assess the value and utilization of current district programs, tools, and resources and ensure that the resources and platforms they choose to use are the most effective to meet their needs.Ìý

Posts that spotlight successful practices and approaches include:

• District Stories Spotlighting Success Using the ¿ªÔÆÈ«Õ¾appÏÂÔØ Platform to Streamline and Automate State Reporting of CCR Metrics: How Pattonville School District Expands on Missouri’s ICAP Requirements with ¿ªÔÆÈ«Õ¾appÏÂÔØ & Supporting Vail School District's Arizona ECAP Requirements With ¿ªÔÆÈ«Õ¾appÏÂÔØ

• Guidance on Planning Beyond ESSER Funding: ESSER Is Ending: 4 Things Districts Can Do Now

• Identifying the Most Effective CCR Platform: Evaluating College and Career Readiness: Improvements in the shift from Naviance to ¿ªÔÆÈ«Õ¾appÏÂÔØ

Wishing All a Happy 2025!

Reviewing the selection of the most engaged articles from the past year reflects and illustrates the deep passion the education community has for increasing student postsecondary success, their interest in learning from peers, and constant consideration of whether new tools and approaches will be beneficial and cost-effective for their students.Ìý It is our privilege at ¿ªÔÆÈ«Õ¾appÏÂÔØ to have been a resource for the CCR community in 2024 and we look forward to sharing timely, valuable, and engaging resources in the coming year.ÌýÌý

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