In Washington, the High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) is a state graduation requirement. Under RCW 28A.230.212, each student is administered a career interest and skills inventory beginning by the seventh grade, which informs eighth grade course taking and an initial plan. With staff support, students update the plan annually, at a minimum, so that course taking stays aligned with their goals for education or training and a career after high school.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

The HSBP starts with a career interest and skills inventory, but an inventory can only reflect what a student already knows. When students have seen few options, the goals they record are thin, and the annual update becomes a task to finish. The plan works best when students bring real curiosity to it.

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

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Washington

Washington's Running Start program, set in state law beginning at RCW 28A.600.300, gives 11th and 12th grade students the right to take college courses at the state's community and technical colleges and at certain public universities. Students do not pay tuition for Running Start courses, though they may need to pay college fees, buy their books and provide their own transportation. Washington also offers College in the High School, a dual credit program in which students in grades 9 through 12 take college courses taught at their high school.

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

Official program information: Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) →

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

  • Feed the annual update. Students update the High School and Beyond Plan at least once a year. Give them time to explore colleges, skilled trades, military service and careers before that update, so there is something new to record.
  • Link exploration to graduation pathways. Washington students meet at least one graduation pathway option. Exploration helps students see which pathway fits the goals in their plan.
  • Keep the platform as the record. Washington districts are transitioning to SchooLinks, the state's universal online HSBP platform. Hallway exploration can spark the interests that students then record in the official plan.
  • 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 have explored their options bring clearer goals to each High School and Beyond Plan update. It supports, and does not replace, Washington'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 Washington high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.