By Jon Alfuth, Celina Pierrottet and Caroline Flower
Across the country, states are wrestling with a fundamental question: How can high schools better prepare young people for an increasingly complex future?
In States’ Role in Transforming High School: Evidence, Trends, and the Path Forward, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) examines how state leaders, especially state boards of education, can move beyond our traditional one-size-fits-all high school model and empower communities to build high school experiences that meet the needs of today’s students. We partnered with NASBE on this report, which argues that state boards are uniquely positioned to lead on creating the conditions for lasting change and highlights how several states are putting that idea into practice.
The paper comes at a key moment in our country. Forty percent of today’s Gen Z high schoolers say they do not feel prepared for the future, three in 10 say they don’t feel like they belong in school, and just under half of Gen Z K-12 students report that they enjoy going to school every day. As chronic absenteeism rates remain stubbornly high, these data points emphasize the importance of rethinking the high school experience so it meets the needs of all students. The report draws on lessons from a multi-state network focused on high school transformation. It lays out a vision for how states can create a policy environment that empowers communities to address these statistics head-on and make school more meaningful to students.
The report highlights key trends and strategies emerging across states to develop a theory of change and help states understand how to tackle high school transformation. If state leaders develop a co-created vision and engage stakeholders in doing so, define measurable outcomes that encompass a more holistic high school experience, and remove barriers and invest in innovations that work, they enable communities to build local capacity to continuously improve and pursue local solutions. This, in turn, allows for systems and innovations that are better aligned to what students today need.
The report also offers practical examples of how different states are changing their policy systems and structures to support high school transformation. Some examples include:
- California’s recently launched Secondary School Redesign Pilot, which supports local innovation and elevates existing models that can inform efforts to scale redesign.
- Washington’s Future Ready Taskforce, which introduced more flexibility into the state’s graduation requirements and was part of recommending a statewide mastery transcript.
- Indiana recently has built a dashboard around the state’s profile of a graduate to report on progress towards learning goals for K-12 students and crafted graduation seals that reward mastery of durable skills.
- Kentucky recently passed legislation codifying structures to support local accountability system development into state statute.
- Missouri has coupled Individual Student Planning as a program component of the Missouri Comprehensive School Counseling Program and provides support to school counselors in developing this plan through regional career advisors.
For education leaders, policymakers and practitioners interested in high school redesign, the report offers both practical examples and broader lessons about systems change. It shows how states can help remove barriers, build alignment across sectors and create opportunities for more relevant, engaging and future-focused learning experiences. As the report notes, meaningful transformation requires more than isolated programs. It depends on coordinated efforts that connect policy, practice and community priorities in service of young people.
Whether you’re exploring competency-based education, college and career readiness, durable skills or student-centered learning, this paper provides a timely look at the role states can play in helping every learner graduate prepared for what comes next.
About the Authors: Jon Alfuth is a senior director of state policy at KnowledgeWorks; Caroline Flower is a project and administrative support associate at NASBE; and Celina Pierrottet is an associate program director at NASBE.
