“Giving your high schooler the tools to plan for their future.” Notice what I did there? This isn’t a post that will tell you how to plan your teen’s future. This is about giving your child the tools they need to understand themselves better and plan their lives.
You know how teenagers seem to be able to find the best snacks in the house without you having to serve it up to them? You’re going to use the same general principle with these planning tools. As a general rule of thumb, I try to use free resources whenever possible. For example: Almost all the standardized test providers offer free practice tests online.
Life and Career Planning
This really is the starting point. For your high schooler to figure out what courses are best for them, your child should start thinking about what they want to do when they graduate. I’m not saying that a high schooler needs to commit to a particular career plan. I actually think that committing to a career plan in high school is counter-productive. My personal philosophy is that each high school student should get a broad enough education that they have a solid foundation for any career choice once they graduate. The name of the game is “Keep options open.” If someone is too young to drive, vote, or drink, then maybe they shouldn’t be forced to choose a career right now. Now, this isn’t to say that your high schooler should drift through the next four years aimlessly. They should focus on learning as much as they can about a wide variety of topics.
Life and Career Planning Resources for Teens
- “What Color is Your Parachute for Teens?” By Carol Christen and Richard N. Bolles helps high schoolers get a better idea of what their interests are and what they want to spend their time doing. Ebook available through your local library’s Libby App
- High School Guidance Counselor
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seriously. This is a wonderful resource for information about jobs and career planning. Want to know what job openings are forecast to do over the next few years? They have the data.
- Summer jobs and internships
- Informational Interviews give students an idea of what a particular career is like. Career Day (assuming that it’s still a thing) will only take a teen so far in understanding what a job actually involves.
High School Course Planning
I should probably let you know that the different areas of post-high school life planning are connected. For example, knowing that you are interested in engineering will help you decide to pick up more advanced math and science classes while you’re in school. It will also help you decide to do more engineering-related extracurricular activities and competitions. Let’s say that you know that you are interested in engineering and want to go to the University of Pittsburgh. With that information, you can see what the graduation requirements are at Pitt, check to see what their AP and community college credit transfer policies are, and plan your high school curriculum accordingly.
Standardized Test Preparation
The purpose of most standardized tests is to assess skills and knowledge that a student has acquired. High schoolers should prepare for state-mandated standardized tests and tests that will help them with their future careers.
AP Exams
Advanced Placement or AP exams assess the amount of information a student has retained in their AP courses. Since some colleges will give students credit for certain AP courses, high schoolers can challenge themselves and save money.
PSATs
The PSAT tests are college-readiness tests that also come with a scholarship opportunity. The College Board site is a good source for information about the PSATs and includes free practice tests.
The College Board offers three different PSAT tests: the PSAT 8/9, the PSAT 10, and the PSAT/NMSQT.
- The PSAT 8/9 tests readiness for the PSAT
- The PSAT is a 10th grade option that is similar to the PSAT but doesn’t count as a qualifying score for the National Merit Scholarship
- The PSAT is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The National Merit Scholarship Programuses the PSAT score as a qualification to compete for their award. So, aside from acting as a practice run for the SAT, the PSAT score can help students get extra money for college.
SATs, ACTs, and the ASVAB Test
The SATs and the ACT
The SATs. The one standardized test most people think of when they think of standardized tests. The ACT is kind of like the SAT’s equally talented but overlooked younger sibling. Both tests have been widely used as a “merit-based”1 way of screening college applicants. But, in recent years, some colleges, universities, and states (Illinois and Colorado) have moved away from requiring standardized tests in general. Some of it is pandemic-related. Some of it is because people question the effectiveness and fairness of those tests. Regardless of whether this shift is temporary or permanent, your high schooler should prepare for the tests.
What is the ASVAB?
“The ASVAB is a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military.” The ASVAB site has some practice questions, but full practice guides are available.
- There’s a debate over whether these standardized tests accurately predict performance in college or test high school achievement. I’m not addressing that debate here. ↩
