Idaho State Board of Education rule requires that, no later than the end of grade eight, each student develops a parent-approved Career Pathway Plan for their high school and post-high school options. High schools then review and update the plan with the student each year.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

The plan asks an eighth grader to look ahead to options after high school, and it asks high schools to revisit that thinking every year. An annual review adds little if the student has seen nothing new since the last one. Without regular exploration, the Career Pathway Plan can become a course list that is approved once and rarely questioned.

What students tell us

Across the 13th Year™ network, students are most open early, and their options narrow as graduation gets closer:

  • 32%of 9th graders are weighing more than one path after high school. By 12th grade, 16% are.
  • 53%of 9th graders are interested in more than one career field, compared with 33% of seniors.
  • 11%of 9th graders say they are not sure yet what comes next. Only 2% of seniors say so.
  • 23%of students planning on college are also considering another path, such as the skilled trades, the military, work or a business of their own.

For planning, that means the most valuable exploration happens in the first years of high school, while students are still open to what they find.

Figures come from more than 3,800 responses students submitted at 13th Year™ kiosks and school links across the 13th Year™ network in 2026, not only Idaho schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Idaho

Idaho supports college credit in high school through Advanced Opportunities, a state program administered by the Idaho Department of Education under Idaho Code Section 33-4602. Students who attend an Idaho public school and are enrolled in grades 7 through 12 may use a state allocation for eligible options such as dual credit courses, overload courses, exams and workforce training. To take part, the student and a parent or guardian sign an Advanced Opportunities participation form, which is kept by the school.

Students who explore careers and interests early, for example through daily exploration on a 13th Year™ kiosk, can choose dual enrollment courses that build toward a specific goal instead of collecting unrelated credits.

Official program information: Idaho Department of Education →

What students need before the planning meeting

The most productive planning conversations happen when a student walks in with something to talk about: a career they read about, a program that surprised them, a question about the military or an apprenticeship. That kind of curiosity comes from exposure, and exposure works best when it is frequent, self-directed and part of the school day.

Practical ways to build exploration into the year

  • Give each annual review something new. Idaho high schools review and update the Career Pathway Plan with the student every year. Encourage students to explore colleges, trades, military service and careers before that conversation so they arrive with questions.
  • Build on middle grades career exploration. Idaho law has students complete a career exploration course in grade 7 or grade 8. Keep that momentum going in high school with exploration students can do on their own time.
  • Connect exploration to the Future Readiness Project. Beginning with the Class of 2028, students complete a Future Readiness Project by the end of grade twelve. Students who have explored real options have a stronger starting point for it.
  • Make exploration self-serve. Let students explore on their own time, so counselor time goes to the conversations that need it.

Where the Student Pathway System™ goes

13th Year™ places an interactive college and career kiosk in a school's hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. What students discover about colleges, skilled trades, military service, scholarships and careers gives them more to bring to each annual review of their Career Pathway Plan. It supports, and does not replace, Idaho's Career Pathway Plan process and school counselors.

For administrators, the questions are usually privacy and workload. The 13th Year™ platform is FERPA aligned and designed with student privacy considerations in mind. It does not access the high school's student information system, and no student data is sold. Kiosks come at no cost to the school, and 13th Year™ delivers, installs and supports every kiosk, so it is built to support your counselors, not burden them.

See how 13th Year™ supports Idaho high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.