Where Credentials Meet the Market: State Case Studies on the Effect of High School Industry Credentials on Educational and Labor Market Outcomes

States should graduate students from high school prepared for the challenges they will face in college and their careers. Many states are working toward this goal by improving the quality of career and technical education (CTE) programs, and have looked to industry-recognized credentials as one component of this improvement. However, there is limited research on education and labor market outcomes associated with earning an industry credential in high school. This report addresses that gap. It builds on the foundation laid in "Credentials Matter: A National Landscape" to examine the impact of credential attainment on long-term student outcomes. This second report analyzes the credentials students earn in high school and their impact on students' secondary completion, postsecondary enrollment and completion, and wage earnings. It provides insights into the return on investment of earning a credential in Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky--three states that collect rich, student-level data that includes credential attainment at the student level. [For "Credentials Matter. Report 1: A National Landscape of High School Student Credential Attainment Compared to Workforce Demand," see ED612414.]