Students across Illinois, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, often lack equitable access to high-quality college and career pathways that incorporate early college credits, career-connected learning, and advising experiences. Even when these opportunities exist, schools and their partners struggle to understand how particular pathway components influence student outcomes—including course selection, credential attainment, postsecondary enrollment, and employment. Without data on what works, for whom, and under what conditions, it’s difficult for schools to prioritize investments, align supports, or meaningfully engage employer and community partners.
This challenge is compounded by fragmented data systems that operate in silos across districts and institutions. While many schools are beginning to track student progress through college and career pathways, they often lack the necessary infrastructure to connect experiences to outcomes or to facilitate continuous improvement. As a result, students miss opportunities for reflection and guided decision-making, and districts are unable to identify which pathway elements have the greatest impact.
Our Cohort
Through the Regional Acceleration of Model Pathways (RAMP) initiative, EdSystems is working with five regions across Illinois—each anchored by a community college—to strengthen and scale college and career pathways programs. These regions span from urban Chicago to rural southern Illinois, including City Colleges of Chicago, Rock Valley College, John A. Logan College, Shawnee Community College, and Prairie State College. Together, we will engage approximately 30 to 45 high schools in building more equitable, coherent, and data-informed pathway systems.
Our Role
We are providing technical assistance to help districts enhance early college access, advising and navigation supports, and career-connected learning experiences aligned with state policy frameworks. Our support will help schools develop structured pathway sequences, integrate work-based learning, and ensure students receive personalized guidance as they navigate their college and career options.
A central innovation of this project is the development of student reflection tools that create intentional touchpoints after each work-based learning experience. These tools will help students document their takeaways, track evolving interests, and make informed decisions about next steps. Reflection data will give districts actionable insights into which experiences most effectively influence student decision-making, enabling them to strategically invest in high-impact opportunities.
Additionally, we are supporting the development of regional data infrastructures that connect high school and postsecondary systems. By building interoperable platforms with shared metrics and monitoring protocols, we will help educators analyze student data and share insights to refine the quality of pathways across their schools.
Through this work, we aim to create a replicable model that demonstrates measurable increases in equitable student participation and prepares all students for postsecondary and career success.
