Two recent analyses conclude that CTE has little to no negative impact on college attendance and completion, and positively impacts high school persistence, on-time graduation and earnings. The benefits are stronger for more specialized CTE courses and courses taken later in a student’s high school career.
In Linking the Timing of Career and Technical Education Coursetaking With High School Dropout and College-going Behavior, researchers Gottfried and Plasman conclude that CTE is associated with lower instances of high school dropout and a higher probability of graduating on-time, particularly for CTE courses taken in 11th and 12th grades.
In Vocational and Career Tech Education in American High Schools: The Value of Depth Over Breadth, researchers Kreisman and Stange find that individuals reap higher earnings from taking more advanced/specialized CTE courses in high school:
- Students taking three courses in a particular career pathway see, on average, a 3.2 percent wage premium
- Students taking four courses in a pathway, including at least two advanced courses, see a 6.2 percent wage premium
Both studies find little indication that CTE deters students from attending college. Kreisman and Stange demonstrate a very small negative impact on postsecondary attendance from taking more CTE courses. However, for CTE students who do enroll in postsecondary education, those who earned advanced CTE credits in high school are more likely to complete college.
This research illustrates the benefits of pursuing a CTE program of study that takes students beyond introductory knowledge into building specialized skills and exploring specific careers.
Update: An alert reader suggested we clarify that these research studies use data that was collected starting 15-20 years ago. This predates more recent innovations in CTE. Using older data is not uncommon in education research; however, findings would likely be different, perhaps even better, using data from today's CTE students.
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