Do School-to-Work Programs Help the "Forgotten Half"?

This paper tests whether school-to-work (STW) programs are particularly beneficial for those less likely to go to college-often termed the "forgotten half"-in the absence of these programs. The empirical analysis is based on the NLSY97, which allows us to study six types of STW programs, including job shadowing, mentoring, co-operative education, school enterprises, tech prep, and internships and apprenticeships. There is strong evidence that the effects of STW programs are concentrated among those in the forgotten half, which we define as those in the bottom half of the distribution of the predicted probability of college attendance. In nearly every case in which we find a significant effect of STW program participation for the forgotten half, we find a significant effect only for this group. In about one-third of these cases, the effect is significantly different for this half of the distribution. The evidence indicates that participation in some STW programs, especially for men, increases education and employment and decreases idleness among the forgotten half.