Minnesota schools help every student build a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) by 9th grade. The plan identifies the student's interests, aptitudes, aspirations and learning style, maps a path to college or a career, and continues for as long as the student is enrolled.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

A PLP is meant to grow with the student, but interests and aspirations are hard to name before a student has seen what is out there. Without regular exploration, plans stay frozen at whatever a 9th grader knew on the day they filled it out.

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 Minnesota schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Minnesota

Minnesota's Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program, established in Minnesota Statutes section 124D.09, lets high school juniors and seniors take courses, full time or part time, at a participating postsecondary institution for high school and college credit. Eligible 10th grade students may also enroll in a career and technical education course through PSEO. The Minnesota Department of Education pays participating institutions, and students are not charged for tuition, required textbooks or required fees.

Students who explore careers and college majors in 9th and 10th grade, for example through daily exploration on a 13th Year™ kiosk, can plan PSEO courses that fit a clear goal before they enroll.

Official program information: Minnesota 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

  • Revisit aspirations often. Give students regular chances to explore so their PLP can change as they discover new interests.
  • Show every pathway. College, skilled trades, apprenticeships, military service and careers all belong in a Personal Learning Plan.
  • Connect aptitudes to options. Help students see which programs and careers fit what they are good at, not just what they have heard of.
  • 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 your hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. Students explore colleges, skilled trades, military service and careers every school day, giving them more to bring to their Personal Learning Plan. It supports, and does not replace, your school's PLP process and 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 Minnesota high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.