Developing the IT Workforce: Certification Programs, Participants, and Outcomes in High Schools and Two-Year Colleges.

Skill standards and certification tests have figured prominently in recent efforts to improve schools' information technology classes. Mathematica completed the first national study of high school and college information technology skill certification programs. In addition to documenting the prevalence and size of these programs in 2002, this report examines the mix of students participating, the issues programs face, and the extent to which students secure certifications and achieve other important outcomes.