Isn’t it unrealistic, and even wrong, to expect students to choose a career as early as the 9th grade?

Yes, it is both unrealistic and wrong, and choosing a career path is not the objective of giving students the option of enrolling in an industry–focused pathway of academic and technical study. Rather each pathway adopts an industry theme to offer students a real–world context for better understanding the academic and technical foundation they will need to succeed in whatever future postsecondary option or career path they choose. And, precisely because mastering the broad foundation of academic and technical knowledge is the primary objective of each pathway, students can easily switch pathways should they decide that another industry focus is more attractive. Nothing about a multiple pathways approach causes students to feel "locked in." That said, for students who do have a strong sense of what they want to do—in both career and further education—multiple pathways offer the opportunity to pursue that interest in depth. Students not only will develop a deeper understanding of the academic and technical knowledge relevant to their career choice, but also will have the opportunity to develop more specific occupational skills that will give them a leg up in the labor market.