CTE: The Piece that Completes the Future Workforce Puzzle

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CTE  The Piece that Completes the Future
Workforce Puzzle
Preparing todays youth for the workplace of
tomorrow

• James R. Stone III
• Director

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Agenda

• Labor market and education context
• A framework for high school improvement
• The role of CTE in high school improvement
• A few issues

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Context Myth reality

• The Workplace, the School-place

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Have you heard this

• India China are producing more engineers than
  U.S.
• US produces 222,000 engineers
• India produces 215,000 engineers
• China produces 352,000 engineers

Duke University Study, 2006
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More Rhetoric

• If trends in U.S. research and education
  continue, our nation will squander its economic
  leadership, and the result will be a lower
  standard of living for the American people. By
  2015 the country needs to double the number of
  bachelors degrees awarded annually to U.S.
  students in science, math, and engineering.
  (National Summit on Competitiveness 2005)
• The United States faces an unprecedented
  challenge to its long-term global economic
  leadership. And a fall from leadership would
  threaten the security of the nation and the
  prosperity of its citizens. High school students
  in the U.S. perform well below those in other
  industrialized nations in the fields of
  mathematics and science and thus we need to
  make STEM education a national priority.
  (Council on Competitiveness 2004).

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What the data show

• SE occupations make up only about one-twentieth
  of all workers,
• and each year there are more than three times as
  many SE four-year college graduates as SE job
  openings Urban Institute, 2007.
• 435,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents a
  year graduated with bachelor's, master's, and
  doctoral degrees in science and engineering. Over
  the same period, there were about 150,000 jobs
  added annually to the science and engineering
  workforce. . www.businessweek.com/print/smallbiz/c
  ontent/oct2007/sb20071025_827398.htm
• SE wages have actually declined in real terms
  and unemployment rates have increased Rand, 2006

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To be college and work ready, students need to
complete a rigorous sequence of courses
To cover the content American Diploma Project
research shows students need to be college and
work ready, high school graduates need to take

• In math
• Four courses
• Content equivalent to Algebra I and II, Geometry,
  and a fourth course such as Statistics or
  Precalculus

• In English
• Four courses
• Content equivalent to four years of grade-level
  English or higher (i.e., honors or AP English)

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The Solution

• Rigor

MORE
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Achievement Flat or Declining in Reading, 17
year olds, NAEP
79 at or above modal score
70 at or above modal score
12.9 Academic Credits
19 Academic Credits
Note Long-Term Trends NAEP
Source NAEP 2004 Trends in Academic Progress.
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NAEP Science Scores High School
3.2 Credits
1.5 Credits
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HS Achievement In Math
3.6 math credits
2.4 Math Credits
1.7 Math Credits
Note Long-Term Trends NAEP
Source NAEP 2004 Trends in Academic Progress and
NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress.
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Taking more math is no guarantee

• 43 of ACT-tested Class of 20051 who earned A or
  B grades in Algebra II did not meet ACT College
  Readiness Benchmarks in math (75 chance of
  earning a C or better 50 chance of earning a B
  or better in college math)
• 25 who took more than 3 years of math did not
  meet Benchmarks in math
• (NOTE these data are only for those who took
  the ACT tests)

ACT, Inc. (2007) Rigor at Risk.
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It is getting worse
Your child is less likely to graduate from high
school than you were the United States is now
the only industrialized country where young
people are less likely than their parents to earn
a diploma, Houston Chronicle, Libby Quaid,
10/23/08
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Source One-Third of a Nation (ETS, 2005)
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81 of dropouts said real world learning may
have influenced them to stay in school

• Bridgeland, et al - Gates Foundation Report, 2005

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Transition to college The Challenge
31 Leave with 0 Credits
68 Graduate HS in 4 Years
18 Graduate a 4-College in 5 Years
100 Start 9th Grade
40 Start College
27 Start Sophomore Year
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Source Education Weekly March 2005
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Remediation

• Once many of these same students get into
  college, 40 of four-year students and 63 of
  two-year students require remediation. (a report
  from Education Commission of the States)

Patrick M. Callan, Joni E. Finney, Michael W.
Kirst, Michael D. Usdan and Andrea Venezia, The
Governance Divide A Report on a Four-State Study
on Improving College Readiness and Success (San
Jose The National Center for Public Policy and
Higher Education, 2005).
Source NCES (2003), Remedial Education at
Degree Granting PS Institutions in fall 2000
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College Degree At What Cost?
According to the Public Interest Research Group's
Higher Education Project, 39 percent of new
graduates with loans carry an "unmanageable debt,"
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The Emergent Workplace
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Recall the assumptions the emergent workforce
requires

• More emphasis on mathematics, science,
  engineering and technology
• More emphasis on college for all
• All students need the same 4x4 curriculum

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What the data show

• 94 of workers reported using math on the job,
  but, only1
• 22 reported math higher than basic
• 19 reported using Algebra 1
• 9 reported using Algebra 2
• Among upper level white collar workers1
• 30 reported using math up to Algebra 1
• 14 reported using math up to Algebra 2
• Less than 5 of workers make extensive use of
  Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Calculus, or Geometry on
  the job2

• M. J. Handel survey of 2300 employees cited in
  What Kind of Math Matters Education Week, June
  12 2007
• Carnevale Desrochers cited in What Kind of
  Math Matters Education Week, June 12 2007

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College for all?

• Current Population Survey (2000)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002)

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40 percent of (college grads) not enrolled in
graduate education say they are employed in a job
where a college degree is not required.

• Paul Barton, ETS, 2006

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The Real Labor Opportunity

• Middle Skill Occupations

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Labor Market Skill Distribution - 2016
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Middle Skill Occupations (B.A./B.S. NOT Required)
Occupation Air Traffic Controller Storage and
distribution manager Transportation
manager Non-retail sales manager Forest fire
fighting/prevention supervisor Municipal fire
fighting/prevention supervisor Real estate
broker Elevator installers and repairer Dental
hygienist Immigration and Customs
inspector Commercial pilot
Salary 102,300 66,600 66,600 59,300 58,920

58,902 58,720 58,710 58,35
0 53,990 53,870
Farr, M. Shatkin, L. (2006) The 300 Best Jobs
That Don't Require a Four-Year Degree. (US
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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HS Reform and Work Facing Labor Market Realities

• No support that those not going to college need
  to be qualified to enter college credit courses
  in order to enter the workforce.
• Becoming qualified for college-level classes or
  for entering a job directly out of high school is
  not the sole purpose of a high school education,
  e.g. preparing citizens to participate in a
  democracy.

Barton, P (ETS, 2006)
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What Employers Really Need
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What are the real school problems?

• A high and rising drop out rate
• Students who graduate are lacking in basic math
  and science skills
• Most students think they are going to college but
  do not prepare for it or any other possible future

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Improving the high school experience

• A conceptual framework

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High school is the last education opportunity
paid for wholly by the public. Its purpose has
to be to do the best it can to provide all who
leave it the foundation necessary to enter, or
further prepare for, adult life.

• Barton, 2006

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The real challenges of education reform are

• Engagement attending school and completing
  (graduating) high school
• Achievement academic (and technical) course
  taking grades, test scores
• Transition to postsecondary education without
  the need for remediation and to the workplace

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FINDING SOLUTIONS TO THE REAL PROBLEMS OF
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION REFORM

• WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CTE?

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CTE and School Engagement
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Recent NRC Research

• Convergent findings from multiple studies
• As participation in CTE courses increases, the
  graduation rates increase
• Ratio 12 is optimal
• For over-age students already at risk for not
  graduating, merely enrolling in more CTE courses
  will not keep them in school.

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CTE Structures and Pedagogies and Dropping Out

• Students in or Career Majors are 16 more likely
  to graduate from high school.
• Students in Tech Prep are 30 more likely to
  complete high school.
• Students who participated in specific WBL
  activities are 18 more likely to complete high
  school.

Stone Aliaga, 2005
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CTE What do we know?

• CTE keeps kids in school
• CTE helps kids focus their PS education plans
• CTE is an economic benefit to participants and to
  states
• CTE-based structures can affect achievement and
  transition of youth to college and work, but . .
  .

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Role of CTE in HS Improvement Preparing for
productive adulthood What to teach

• General employability skills
• SCANS
• Skills for the 21st Century
• Occupational/technical skills
• Cluster based
• Pathway based
• Occupation based
• Job based
• Occupational expression of academic knowledge

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strategies

• Pedagogic and Structural Opportunities

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The Pedagogies of Quality CTE

• Project based learning
• Contextualized learning
• Labs
• Shops
• Job shadowing
• Internships
• School-based enterprise
• Cooperative education
• Apprenticeships
• Leadership development
• Professional development
• Service/social engagement
• Competitive events

• Classroom instruction
• Work based learning-WBL
• Career Tech Student
  Organizations-CTSO

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Classroom Instruction

• Integrating curriculum

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Curriculum Integration Approaches

• Incorporating more academics into CTE
• Incorporating more CTE into academics
• Vertical alignment (articulation)
• Senior projects
• Career Academies
• Career Clusters

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One ApproachMath-in-CTE

• A study to test the possibility that enhancing
  the embedded mathematics in Technical Education
  coursework will build skills in this critical
  academic area without reducing technical skill
  development.

1. What we did 2. What we found 3. What we
learned
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Key Questions of the Study

• Does enhancing the CTE curriculum with math
  increase math skills of CTE students?
• Can we infuse enough math into CTE curricula to
  meaningfully enhance the academic skills of CTE
  participants (Perkins III Core Indicator)
• Without reducing technical skill development
• What works?

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Study Design Participants

• Primary Role
• Implement the math enhancements
• Provide support for the CTE teacher
• Teach their regular curriculum

• Participants
• Experimental CTE teacher
• Math teacher
• Control CTE teacher

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What we tested Professional Development

• CTE-Math Teacher Teams occupational focus
• Curriculum mapping
• Scope and Sequence
• On going collaboration CTE and math teachers

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What we tested The Pedagogy

• Introduce the CTE lesson
• Assess students math awareness
• Work through the embedded example
• Work through related, contextual examples
• Work through traditional math examples
• Students demonstrate understanding
• Formal assessment

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What we found

• Students in the experimental classes scored
  significantly higher on Terra Nova and Accuplacer
• The effect 71st percentile 67th percentile
• No negative effect on technical skills
• 11 of class time devoted to enhanced math
  lessons
• Five core principles emerged

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Replicating the Math-in-CTE ModelCore
Principles

• Develop and sustain a community of practice
• Begin with the CTE curriculum and not with the
  math curriculum
• Understand math as essential workplace skill
• Maximize the math in CTE curricula
• CTE teachers are teachers of math-in-CTE NOT
  math teachers

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Power of the New Professional Development Model
Old Model PD
Total Surprise!
New Model PD
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Workbased Learning

• WBL Approach
• Labs
• Shops
• Job shadowing
• Internships
• School-based enterprise
• Cooperative education
• Apprenticeships

• Potential Learning
• All aspects of an industry-curriculum integration
• Relevance of academics
• SCANS/21st Century Skills
• Skills leading to industry certifications
• Career development

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What do they know, we dont?

• Nations enrolling a large proportion of
  upper-secondary students in vocational programs
  that include heavy does of WBL have significantly
  higher
• school attendance rates
• higher upper-secondary completion
  rates
• college attendance

Bishop Mane, 2004
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Career technical student organizations
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CTSOs Claim to Provide or Build
Community Involvement, Citizenship
Teamwork, social skills
Technical, Academic, and Employability Skills
Relevance - real world
Leadership Skills
Self Confidence
Industry Connections
Scholarships
Positive Attitudes and Work Ethic
Recognition for Accomplishments
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A cluster or pathway approach to solving the
problem of high school

• Strategy to organize instruction and student
  experiences around career themes (Focus on an
  industry cluster of related occupations)
• Incorporates existing school reform strategies
  (career academies, career pathways, small
  learning communities, Tech Prep)
• Connects to business and higher education

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A Clusters and Pathways Approach Core Elements

• Incorporate secondary and postsecondary elements
• coherent and rigorous content
• aligned with challenging academic standards
• relevant career and technical content
• coordinated, non-duplicative progression of
  courses that align secondary education with
  postsecondary education
• Lead to an industry-recognized credential or
  certificate at the post secondary level, or an
  associate or baccalaureate degree.
• May include dual enrollment

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For more James.Stone_at_nrccte.org

• www.nccte.org