Under Tennessee State Board of Education High School Policy 2.103, students begin developing a High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) in grade eight. The plan was previously called the four-year plan. It covers grade eight through the two years after high school and is reviewed at least annually.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

The HSBP asks students to look past graduation, to the two years that follow it. That is a hard question for a student who has seen only a few colleges, trades or careers. Without exploration, the annual review can become a quick update to a document instead of a real conversation about direction.

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

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Tennessee

Tennessee supports dual enrollment through the Dual Enrollment Grant, a lottery-funded grant administered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) under Tenn. Code Ann. ยง 49-4-930. Students apply each academic year through the TSAC Student Portal. At two-year and four-year colleges and universities, students become eligible once their high school classifies them as juniors or seniors, while students who have completed eighth grade may qualify for the grant at a Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

Students who explore careers and majors early can use their Dual Enrollment Grant courses on credits that count toward a clear goal, and daily exploration (for example on a 13th Year™ kiosk) can help them get there sooner.

Official program information: Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation →

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

  • Follow the career assessment with exploration. Tennessee students take a career aptitude assessment in grade seven or eight. Give students a way to look into what those results suggest before the plan takes shape.
  • Make the annual review a real check-in. The HSBP is reviewed at least annually. Students who have explored options between reviews bring new interests and better questions to each one.
  • Look past graduation day. The HSBP reaches through the two years after high school. Exploring colleges, skilled trades, military service and careers helps students fill in that part of the plan with real options.
  • 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. Students who explore on their own time have more to bring to the High School and Beyond Plan, especially the part that looks past graduation. It supports, and does not replace, Tennessee's High School and Beyond 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 Tennessee high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.