High school graduation is often treated as the pivotal moment when one becomes an adult. But for many young people today, adulthood unfolds unevenly over time, through a mix of work, further education, financial pressure, stalled plans, and gradual independence.
Turning the Tassel: What Generation Z Says About Life After High School Graduation focuses on that post-graduation reality. It’s a first-time survey by a nonprofit called Agency, as well as The Harris Poll. They queried more than 5,000 district and charter high school Gen Z students born between 1997 and 2012 who graduated between 2015 and 2025, examining outcomes such as salary, postsecondary degree attainment, homeownership, and civic engagement.
The findings are mixed, which is why the report deserves attention. Most survey respondents are working full-time. Most have pursued some further education or training after high school. And three in four say they believe they are headed in the right direction. But many also say they were underprepared for what they’re doing, financially fragile, and trying to find stable footing in work and adult life.
That picture fits what other recent Gen Z research has found. Gallup, Jobs for the Future, and the Walton Family Foundation reported in 2025 that fewer than 30 percent of high school students feel “very prepared” to pursue the postsecondary pathways they are considering, and even among students very interested in a pathway, fewer than half feel very prepared to follow it. Too many are trying to plan their futures without enough clarity, guidance, or confidence.
The Agency-Harris analysis reports that about three-quarters of recent graduates enrolled in some postsecondary education or training after high school. That suggests that Gen Z understands that a high school diploma by itself often is not enough. Young adults know they need more learning, more skills, more credentialing, or more direction after graduation.
But the report also shows how difficult it can be to persist. Completion rates were 60 percent for certificate programs, 51 percent for online courses or bootcamps, 48 percent for four-year degree programs, and just 39 percent for two-year degree programs. Starting is common. Finishing is much harder.
This gap between aspiration and completion may be one of the most important findings in the report. American education is still very good at telling students to dream big. It is less effective at helping them navigate the space between aspiration and attainment.
Students are often urged toward college and career readiness. But many leave high school without a clear sense of which pathway fits them, what the tradeoffs are, and how to persist when the first plan falters.
The employment findings offer further cause for concern. While about half (49 percent) report working full-time, 18 percent are working part-time, and nearly one-fifth (19 percent) are looking for work. Among employed graduates, the largest share works in service and customer-facing roles, followed by education, healthcare, and caregiving. Smaller shares work in office and professional roles, skilled trades and labor, or science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields.
The report also shows that recent graduates are more likely to land in shrinking job sectors than in growing ones, even as demand rises in healthcare, skilled trades, advanced manufacturing, and technology. So too many young adults are entering adulthood through jobs that may not offer a durable opportunity.
Some outcomes show differences between district and charter public schools. For example, charter high school graduates are more likely than their district peers to say that they were encouraged to break barriers or defy expectations (71 percent versus 58 percent). Charter graduates who enrolled in two-year community colleges are also more likely to persist and complete: Only 7 percent drop out or fail to finish, compared to 20 percent of district school graduates.
We also learn that less than one-quarter of recent graduates own their own homes. More than 40 percent live rent-free with family or friends. Eighty percent are registered to vote, but only 55 percent say they have voted in a federal election, and 45 percent in a state election. This generation is engaged and trying but also delayed in achieving the stability that previous generations associated with adulthood.
What, then, should K–12 leaders and other stakeholders do with this message from Gen Z?
First, policymakers should be clear about their definition of high school success. Graduation rates and test scores still matter. But if the point of schooling is to prepare young people for adult life, then states and districts should pay more attention to tracking and reporting on what happens after graduation: employment, postsecondary enrollment and completion, earnings, and civic participation.
Second, school systems should make pathway advising an earlier and more serious part of secondary education. The report shows that about three-quarters of recent graduates pursue some form of postsecondary education or training, but many do not complete it. That suggests a weakness in navigation and persistence more than a lack of aspiration. Students need much more help understanding the range of choices before them, what those choices cost, and where they lead.
Third, educators should connect academics more deliberately to adult life. One of the clearest signals in the report is that many young adults leave high school without feeling prepared for postsecondary coursework, even though college-going remains common. At the same time, employed graduates are concentrated in service and customer-facing roles, while smaller shares enter STEM, skilled trades, or professional sectors.
Fourth, schools and community partners should expand access to experiences that make the future visible. Dual enrollment, early college, work-based learning, career exploration, and college and financial-aid advising should be part of the core design of high school, not peripheral programs for a few students. The report itself points to stronger use of advising, flexible scheduling, and academic supports as part of the pattern associated with better postsecondary outcomes.
Fifth, parents should begin these conversations earlier and widen them beyond the default four-year college script. The lesson of this report is that, while college plainly matters, it is also not the only route. Parents can help by talking with their children earlier about degrees, certificates, apprenticeships, military service, and career-connected learning as real pathways to adult success.
Sixth, students themselves should treat high school less as a checklist and more as a launchpad. In addition to taking the right high school courses, students should pursue other activities and experiences that prepare them for adulthood. One of the strongest findings in the report is that graduates who felt more prepared in areas like time management, career planning, and money management were better positioned for life after school.
Gen Z is giving adults a message that is simple and demanding. While acknowledging that high schools can’t solve all the problems these young people describe, high schools can do more. This includes giving young people more visibility into their potential choices after high school through experiences, including career exploration and internships.
The tassel still turns in a single moment. But life after high school does not. It unfolds through a series of decisions, opportunities, detours, and supports. If schools want to claim success, they should be judged not only by who walks across the stage, but by how well students can move forward once they leave it behind.
