New information on how CTE is offered in public school districts was released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). According to the data, which was collected in spring 2017, 98 percent of public school districts provided CTE programming to high school students in the 2016-2017 school year
Public school districts described a diverse delivery system for CTE: 83 percent of districts offer CTE in comprehensive high schools; 43 percent offer CTE at part-time area career centers; 35 percent provide CTE for high schoolers on postsecondary campuses; and 12 percent offer CTE at full-time CTE high schools. About one-third of districts reported that all of their CTE programs align with postsecondary programs, and another one-third reported that most of their programs align with postsecondary.
Many school districts offer students in CTE programs the opportunity to earn college credit (73 percent) and academic credit (61 percent). While 77 percent of districts provide on-the-job training, internships, practicums, clinical experiences or cooperative education, only 20 percent of districts reported that all or most of their CTE programs require work-based learning.
Finally, districts reported that the most significant barriers to offering CTE programs are funding (50 percent of districts); recruiting and retaining teachers in high-demand fields (44 percent); and facility limitations (43 percent). When it comes to barriers to student participation, 25 percent of districts reported scheduling restrictions; 23 percent reported difficulty finding work-based learning opportunities; and 20 percent reported issues with transportation for work-based learning.
This report contributes to a growing body of data on CTE and career readiness, including recent NCES data on non-degree credentials and new nationwide Perkins performance data from the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education. Check out the full report at https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2018028.
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