National Dissemination Center Professional Development Speaker Series

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National Dissemination CenterProfessional
DevelopmentSpeaker Series

• Is High School Career and Technical Education
  Obsolete?
• Kenneth Gray, Penn State

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• Now that all good jobs require a university
  degree, and virtually all teens pursue a degree,
  a student's time is better spent in high school
  academic courses, not CTE?

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CTE is to some teens what advance
placement/honors courses are to others.Namely,
a relevant and effective alternative to the
traditional academic program.
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Definition of Career and Technical EducationCTE

• A high school program that offers a minimum of
  three one-credit courses in a single specific
  labor market preparation area.

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Background to the Question

• Preference for baccalaureate education and the
  one way to win mentality.
• Academic standards and high stakes tests

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Background to the Question

• The national high school dropout rate is 25.
• One third of high school graduates go to work.
• The six-year baccalaureate graduation rate is
  50.
• The underemployment rate among four-year college
  graduates is 43.

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Background to the Question

• Labor Market Realities
• 71 of all jobs do not require any postsecondary
  education
• Of the 30 fastest growing jobs half do not
  require a four-year degree
• Of the jobs with the largest growth, 70 do not
  require a four-year degree.

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Background to the Question

• The other way to win
• The majority of workers with associate degrees
  have the same annual earnings as university
  grads.
• The greatest opportunity is in technical
  occupations that require high school or
  pre-baccalaureate technical education.

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CTE StudentsExposing the Stereotype

• 24 high school students complete a CTE sequence
  of three of more courses in a single labor market
  area.
• Of this group, 83 also complete an academic
  concentration (CTE/ACA). The 17 that do not are
  primarily special education students.

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CTE StudentsExposing the Stereotype

• There are no meaningful gender or racial
  differences between CTE concentrators and
  academic students.
• While CTE/ACA students enter high school with
  lower 8th grade academic achievement scores than
  academic students, there is no difference in
  achievement levels between the two groups when
  they graduate.

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CTE StudentsExposing the Stereotype

• 60 of CTE students pursue postsecondary
  education. Of this group, 60 enroll in
  postsecondary pre-baccalaureate one and two-year
  technical programs.

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The Rational for CTE

• Equity
• Economic Development

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The Rational for CTE

• Equity -A Relevant Education -An Effective
  Education For all high school students.

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Insuring A Relevant High School Education For
All Teens

• 1/3 do not go on to college. It is unlikely this
  number will change in the future.
• 40 of all CTE academic credits are earned by at
  risk students.
• CTE is the most effective dropout prevention
  curriculum in the American high school.

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Insuring A Relevant High School Education For
All Teens

• High school tech prep is the only program that is
  specially designed to prepare students who wish
  to pursue postsecondary pre-baccalaureate
  education.

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Insuring an Effective High School Education for
All Teens

• CTE concentrators, when compared to non-college
  bound general education students, are
• More likely to graduate from high school
• Earn higher wages
• Experience less unemployment

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Insuring an Effective High School Education for
All Teens

• The academic achievement of CTE students is
  virtually the same as academic students upon
  graduation.
• 60 of CTE students pursue postsecondary
  education. Of this group, 60 enroll in
  postsecondary pre-baccalaureate one and two-year
  technical programs.

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Economic Development ArgumentThe Technical Work
Force

Blue-Collar Tech. Workers
Professional
25
56
19
Technicians
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Economic Development

• There is an international shortage of technicians
  trained at the pre-baccalaureate community
  college/technical college level.
• Technicians, not engineers, are the key to
  economic growth. Firms recruit engineers
  internationally, but look to the local labor
  market for technicians.

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Economic Development

• Students enrolled in the high school college
  preparatory curriculum are not interested in
  pre-baccalaureate postsecondary technical
  education.
• Tech prep is the only high school program of
  study that addresses this shortage.

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Economic Development

• There is a nexus between a strong technical
  college system and a strong high school CTE
  system.
• High school CTE is the main feeder into
  postsecondary technical education below the
  university level.

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If CTE is not Obsolete, What Form Should it Take?

• Alternative One
• Traditional CTE
• Performance objectives occupational skills
  Outcome objectives employment

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The Question of MissionWhat is the Role?

• Alternative Two
• Integrated CTE/ACA
• Performance objectives occupational academic
  skills
• Outcome objectives postsecondary education or
  employment

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The Question of MissionWhat is the Role?

• Alternative Three
• Related Academics ACA/CTE
• Performance objectives academic skills
• Outcome objectives postsecondary education

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Case for the Integrated (CTE/ACA) Model

• Promotes academic proficiency
• Is supported at the local level
• Is relevant to both work and college bound
• Is effective at dropout prevention

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CTE is to some teens what advance
placement/honors courses are to others.Namely,
an relevant and effective alternative to the
traditional academic program.