Individual Plans of Study (IPS): personalized education and career plans for middle and high school students¶
Element · All elements
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 5 studies (3 review, 1 qualitative, 1 theoretical),q1–q3· 0 of 5 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study
Description¶
Individual Plans of Study (IPS) are an instructional/guidance component described in this REL Central publication as "education and career plans that are tailored to each student’s personal interests and skills". They "help guide and focus their efforts throughout middle and high school", giving each student a personalized plan connecting academic work to postsecondary college and career goals across the secondary grades.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Tailoring to each student’s personal interests and skills, so the plan is individualized rather than generic
Constraints¶
- The publication describes IPS as associated with outcomes through research on practices; it does not report a direct experimental test of IPS effectiveness
Target Learners¶
- middle and high school students
Target Learning Goals¶
- college and career readiness
- academic engagement
- career-relevant knowledge and skills
Claims¶
- IPS implemented with adult support and regular review may increase students’ academic engagement, agency, career-relevant knowledge and skills, and college/career drive [+W]
- Students want curriculum connected to real life, careers, and life skills, and report that the majority of the high school curriculum lacks real-world application [+W]
- Learners invest more effort in tasks they perceive as interesting, personally important, or useful to their future goals. [+M]
- Purpose in learning increases engagement, self-regulation, and academic performance [+W]
Related Elements¶
Examples¶
Key Sources¶
- REL Central. (2023). How Individual Plans of Study Can Support Students’ College and Career Readiness and Success. REL Central. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/regions/central/
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
element |
id |
individual-plans-of-study-ips |
title |
Individual Plans of Study (IPS): personalized education and career plans for middle and high school students |
description |
Individual Plans of Study (IPS) are an instructional/guidance component described in this REL Central publication as "education and career plans that are tailored to each student’s personal interests and skills". |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-09 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — rel-central-2023 |
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