CTE

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CTE High School Reform

• Making the Case

James R. Stone III Director james.stone_at_louisville
.edu
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The work reported herein was supported under the
National Dissemination for Career and Technical
Education, PR/Award (No. VO51A990004) and /or
under the National Research Center for Career and
Technical Education, PR/Award (No. VO51A990006)
as administered by the Office of Vocational and
Adult Education, U. S. Department of
Education.However, the contents do not
necessarily represent the positions or policies
of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education
or the U. S. Department of Education, and you
should not assume endorsement by the Federal
Government.
Disclaimer
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CTE in High School Today

• CTE programs in over 11,000 comprehensive high
  schools, several hundred technical high schools,
  1,400 area vo-tech centers, and 900 Voc/Tech HS
• 98 of high school students take at least one
  CTE course
• More than 40 invest in 3 or more SLMP courses
• 1 in 4 students major in CTE by taking 3 or
  more courses in a single SLMP

Source 2000 Transcript Studies
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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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The Holy Trinity of HS Reform

• 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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Engagement
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of 9th Graders who complete High School
68
Source One-Third of a Nation (ETS, 2005)
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National Graduation Rates for the Class of 2001
Urban Institute, 2002
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National Graduation Rates 1998 and 2001 The
problem of engagement
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Carnegie Grows!
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When do they leave?
9th grade 10th grade
11th grade 12th grade 5th year

From Plank, forthcoming
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Why they leave
Source The silent epidemic Perspectives of high
school drop outs (2006) by Civic Enterprises at
www.civicenterprises.net
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CTE and School Engagement
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A later study
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The overage problem
For older students, however, we are inclined to
speculate that the social stigma or awkwardness
of a potential role inconsistency troubles them
in a way that swamps or overwhelms potential
effects of many other aspects of the educational
experienceincluding the CTE-to-academic ratio.
Quite likely, to be older than is normal as one
enters and proceeds through high school is to be
attracted or called to certain behaviors or
involvements that are at odds with the life and
allegiances of a typical high school student. As
we make this speculation, we recall that an older
students standardized test performance was not
among the significant predictors of dropping
out. We strongly suspect that social roles and
feelings of fit and contentment are more relevant
to the social psychology of these adolescents
than are assessments of ones academic competence.
Steven Plank, 2005
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Graduation School and CTE Effects




From Castellano, Stringfield Stone, Forthcoming
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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 STW
  activities are 18 more likely to complete high
  school.

Stone Aliaga, in press
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Achievement
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Here is part of the problemReading
Performance17 year olds
A Nation At Risk
NAEP Scores cited in Stringfield, Castellano,
Stone, 2001
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More ProblemsScience Performance 17 Year Olds
A Nation At Risk
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CTE Students are Improving Adding more rigor to
the school day and the results
NAVE 2004
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NAVE Conclusions

• Students who take both a strong academic
  curriculum and a vocational program of
  studystill only 13 percent of high school
  graduatesmay have better outcomes than those who
  pursue one or the other.

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But wait, theres more . . .

• A study of Arizona high school students
  Stanford-9 scores, Elliot and Knight (2002) found
  that when they statistically controlled for
  extraneous variables (e.g., disproportionately
  large numbers of students from special population
  groups in CTE programs), apparent test score
  deficits for CTE students were negligible.

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CTSOs The Test
General Student Population Class (same school)
CTE Class with CTSO
B
A
General Student Population Class (same school)
CTE Class-No CTSO
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CTSOs Early Findings
Note Leadership positions in the CTSO had no
effect on any outcomes
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CTE-WBL and Achievement Relationships

• No WBL 2.99 college GPA
• No community service 3.02 college GPA
• 58 with NO HS WBL college GPA above 3.0

• HS WBL 3.08 college GPA
• Community service 3.11 college GPA
• 64 of with HS WBL college GPA above 3.0

Swail, Watson S., and Kampits, Eva (2004).
Work-Based Learning and Higher Education A
Research Perspective. Washington, DC Educational
Policy Institute, Inc.
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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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Transition
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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
Source NCES (2003), Remedial Education at
Degree Granting PS Institutions in fall 2000
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• 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).
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College for All The Reality
Percentages by Race and Ethnicity

• By age 29
• 34 of white
• 18 of African Americans
• 10 of Hispanic
• Have bachelors degrees

Hoffman, N. (2003)
Venezia, A., M. W. Kirst, et al. (2003)
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College readiness (2005 ACT tested students)
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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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Post Secondary Transition

• CTE does not increase probability of pursuing
  PSCTE
• CTE does not reduce probability of stopping out
  of PS

• CTE increases two-year degree choice
• For CTE students that do continue, CTE increases
  the likelihood of pursuing a Associates degree
  or certificate
• CTE does not increase the need
  for PS remedial education

NAVE 2004
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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, and

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Perkins IV requires . . .

• Develop challenging academic and technical
  standards and related challenging, integrated
  instruction

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One approach

• Math-in-CTE An evidenced based approach to
  improving academic performance of CTE students

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The Problem Math PerformanceOf American Youth
NAEP Scores for 17 Year olds
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12th Grade Math Scores 2005
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Parents education and student outcomes
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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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The number of 17-year-old students taking
advanced math classes has also increased -- with
17 percent studying calculus and 53 percent
studying second-year algebra --  it is unclear
why that trend has not resulted in higher average
math scores over all.

•  

http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ltt/results20
04/
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Math-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.

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A cautionary note

• 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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Why Focus on CTE

• CTE provides a math-rich context
• CTE curriculum/pedagogies do not systematically
  emphasize math skill development

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The Experimental Treatment

• Professional Development
• The Pedagogy

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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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For more information or to get on our mailing
list . . .
james.stone_at_louisville.edu www.nccte.org