Prince George’s County Public Schools and five other jurisdictions are enabling students to fast-track a high school and college degree in technology. Program data is showing impressive enrollment and completion rates but career outcomes are still unclear. 

According to a recent The Edu Ledger article, Maryland’s early college programs are showing promising signs that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (Blueprint) can help students get a head start on college but careers outcomes are less clear. A recent look at the state’s P-TECH programs, a strategy adopted prior to the Blueprint, found particularly strong results at Frederick Douglass High School in Prince George’s County, where nearly 95% of students enrolled in 2024-25 were on track to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree within four years.

Statewide, P-TECH has also been credited with helping drive Maryland’s broader growth in dual enrollment. These programs embody the Blueprint’s goal of giving students meaningful postsecondary opportunities before they graduate high school, while reducing the cost and time required to earn a college credential. The next measure of success, however, will be what happens after students complete those credentials.

The Blueprint calls for college and career readiness pathways and a career and technical education system aligned with industry needs — meaning success cannot be measured solely by enrollment, credits earned, or degrees completed. Students also need to acquire skills that employers actually need and have a clear path into jobs, paid work-based learning, and registered apprenticeships. The recent P-TECH review highlights this challenge: while 75 students in the Prince George’s County program had paid internships, employment outcomes for graduates were not available, and a state review previously identified a need for stronger industry involvement and closer alignment between educational programs and labor-market needs.

That workforce connection was also a key point raised by Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey Wright at the 2026 MACo Summer Conference. While discussing the Blueprint’s progress and challenges, Wright emphasized the need for more apprenticeship opportunities and more businesses to participate. The state has invested significantly in expanding youth apprenticeships, including $12.2 million through the Maryland Works initiative to strengthen industry-aligned apprenticeship infrastructure.

The early results from P-TECH and other college-access programs are encouraging, but the Blueprint’s longer-term test will be whether Maryland can attract enough businesses and build enough employer partnerships to turn those educational opportunities into credentials of value, apprenticeships, and jobs that match the skills students are being taught. Success here would align with a major premise of the Blueprint which was to bolster Maryland’s economy by providing both the education and the market in Maryland, rather then just preparing the students who then move to another state with the newly acquired skills.