ACTE recently analyzed data from the National Center for Education Statistics 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) for relevant CTE teacher data such as demographics, distribution, vacancies, salaries and credentials, among other topics.
Vacancies
One of the most interesting findings is that almost one-third of public schools that reported CTE teacher vacancies in 2020-21 found those vacancies very difficult to fill or were not able to fill them. Relatedly, 28 states and territories reported CTE teacher shortages to the U.S. Department of Education in 2023-24.
Distribution
The data shows the highest percentages of public CTE instructors in business management, family and consumer sciences, and agriculture and natural resources. However, more than 10% of CTE teachers are captured in the “other CTE” category, indicating a mismatch between the taxonomy of CTE program areas in the NTPS and how programs are categorized in the field. Additionally, most public CTE teachers are located in rural and suburban locales – 33.3% and 30.6%, respectively – while towns have the lowest percentage of CTE teachers.
Demographics
Across CTE program areas, women comprise 55% of teachers while men make up 45%, with major variations across career fields. Black teachers make up 7.9% of public CTE teachers, compared to 6.1% across all public teachers, and 6.8% of CTE teachers are Hispanic, compared to 9.5% overall. Most concerningly for CTE advocates, CTE teachers are older than the public teacher workforce in general: 12.7% of CTE teachers are 60 years of age or older, compared to 7.9% overall.
Salary
The majority of public CTE teachers work full time, and in 2020-21, they earned an average base salary of $59,806 annually – less than other subject areas. However, public CTE teachers are more likely than teachers overall to receive additional compensation for extracurricular activities and for student performance.
Background and Credentials
About 38% of public CTE instructors entered teaching through an alternative certification program, a much higher rate than overall instructors (19.4%), with only natural sciences teachers close at 30.2%. Before going into teaching, 65.5% of public CTE teachers worked in the private sector. In addition, CTE teachers are more likely to have an associate degree or less – 10.9% compared to less than 1% overall – and are less likely to hold a regular or standard teaching certificate – 80.5% compared to 89.8% overall.
Morale and Influence
Last but certainly not least, how do CTE teachers feel about the profession? Public CTE teachers report similar levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction as teachers overall. Around 37% of public CTE teachers somewhat or strongly agree that they would leave teaching immediately if they could get a higher-paying job – about the same as all teachers (37.8%). On a positive note, 30.7% of all public school CTE teachers say they have a great deal of influence on curriculum – more than most other subject areas.
To learn more about this data, check out tables from the NTPS or perform your own data analysis with PowerStats.
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