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This report examines the extent to which high school students are choosing to participate in work-related education after a decade of education reform in the US. The characteristics of students enrolled in alternative curriculum concentrations, i.e. career and technical (CTE), academic, dual (combining academic and CTE), and general, are examined using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. The characteristics of students who enrol in career pathways, tech prep, or any work-based learning (WBL) activity (defined as cooperative education, job shadowing, mentoring, school-sponsored enterprise, and internship/apprenticeship) are also examined. The report provides an analysis of socioeconomic, school experience, and CTE-related variables that could be predictors of: participation in curriculum concentrations, career pathways, tech prep, and WBL activities; high school academic achievement; and risky behaviors. The research indicates that CTE-related programs, supported by the school reforms, have helped in changing the course-taking pattern of youth participating in those programs, and made a significant contribution to students’ high school achievement.