The Development and Design of an Exit Program for High School Career Pathway Graduates

This project is about a new concept; a program that will change the way we assess high school students. The purpose of this project was to design and implement an assessment portfolio process entitled The Tiger Futures Program for Ephrata High School in the state of Washington. The program was designed as a three-year pilot program beginning in the 2000-2001 school year and fully implemented by 2002-2003. At that time it will become a graduation requirement. The program involved career pathways, portfolios, and exit interviews. The results showed that the program followed state and district standards and requirements. It also provided opportunities for students to have hands on experiences related to future career and employment choices, take ownership and pride in their work, and work on speaking, writing, presenting, organizing, and evaluating skills. Recommendations for the 2001-2002 school year are discussed