The Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the House Committee on Education and Labor (now the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities) asked the Office of Technology Assessment to examine the potential opportunities and possible pitfalls of work-based learning that would be supported by the School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA). Three main questions are addressed: (1) What are the alternative models of work-based learning and how effective are they? (2) What new learning technologies could support work-based learning? and (3) How can employers be persuaded to provide work-based learning experiences for students? This report assesses the potential of work-based learning as a component of the school-to-work transition systems that are currently being developed in many states and local school districts. Chapter 1 reports the findings about work-based learning and the STWOA. Chapter 2 discusses the history of work-based learning in the United States as well as problems with school-to-work transitions and provides an overview of STWOA. Chapter 3 describes and analyzes the apparent advantages and disadvantages of five learning processes that can be used in work settings: experiential learning, work-group learning, mentoring, workplace instruction, and technology-assisted learning. Chapter 4 discusses various ways that work-based learning can be structured with respect to the following: the types of students who are served; the program objectives; the coordination with schooling; the timing, intensity, duration, and progression of work-based experiences; the settings of work-based learning; and the issue of payment for students. Chapter 5 describes various models of school-to-work transition programs with work-based learning and summarizes the evidence on their effectiveness. These models are youth apprenticeships, clinical training, cooperative education, school-to-apprenticeship programs, school-based enterprises, and career academies. Chapter 6 considers the factors that influence whether or not employers will participate in work-based learning programs. (YLB)