High schools could better prepare many students for college and careers by adopting the applied teaching strategies used by career- and technical-education programs, according to a new report from the Southern Regional Education Board.

The report says many students would have an easier time learning academic skills if their teachers applied two strategies commonly used by good career and technical programs: project-based learning and problem solving. Because a growing number of technical jobs require advanced academic skills, career- and technical-education programs would benefit from changes in teaching that kept students more engaged in their regular academic classes.

Among its recommendations, the report urges states to create panels composed of high-school and college educators and employers in high-demand fields. Their charge would be to design high-school courses that blended academic and technical content and to encourage students to pursue specialized career preparation after they graduate. —Peter Schmidt