CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Research Round-up on Equity

Equity in Dual/Concurrent Enrollment: The College in High School Alliance has released another policy snapshot exploring state approaches to ensuring quality for dual/concurrent enrollment in high school programs. In order for states to provide early college courses in high schools, the researchers suggest using existing structures for oversight and regulation and adapt them to the dual or concurrent enrollment space, or create new requirements, such as program accreditation, to ensure students have access to quality college in high school programs.

Success Stories of Equitable Dual/Concurrent Enrollment Programs: A new report from the Community College Research Center examines nine dual enrollment programs in Florida, Ohio and Washington which have successfully closed or narrowed equity gaps among Black, Latino, Indigenous or Pacific Islander students in dual enrollment programs. Based on these case studies, the researchers provide five principles secondary schools and community colleges can use in their dual enrollment programs:

• Set a shared vision and goals that prioritize equity.
• Expand equitable access.
• Provide advising and supports that ensure equitable student outcomes.
• Provide high-quality instruction that builds students’ competence and confidence.
• Organize teams and develop relationships to maximize potential.

Tracking Measures of Success: To understand if states were collecting and reporting data on measures that would help students prepare for college and career success, Bellwether Education Partners researched whether states were tracking effective measures of success. In the report “College and Career Readiness, or A New Form of Tracking?” the researchers identified opportunities for and obstacles to career and college readiness, as well as highlighted states that were not reporting any measures, states that were tracking the most common measures, and states that were designing measures to ensure equity and discourage tracking of certain student subpopulations into particular career paths.

Racial Equity Through Social-Emotional Learning: The Committee for Children released a brief discussing strategies to promote racial equity through social-emotional learning policy. The researchers discuss different policy strategies to employ in K-12 education to promote racial equity in schools:

• Promote culturally responsive teaching. 
• Implement anti-racist education and Black studies.
• Incorporate trauma-informed approaches to education. 
• Reform school safety and discipline practices. 
• Diversify and support the educator workforce.

State Directors of Community Colleges’ Perceptions on CARES Act Funding: According to 38 state directors of community colleges who responded to a survey about CARES Act funding for higher education in 2020-21, most directors thought the additional CARES Act funding helped, even though they think community colleges will face financial hardship during this fiscal year, especially rural and regional colleges. A majority of directors think that more funding is needed to support and improve broadband access to address the equity issues in this area exposed by the pandemic, as well as more funding for counselling and advising and faculty training. 

Achieving Equity in Work-based Learning Programs: High-quality work-based learning opportunities can be used to advance equity and economic opportunity, according to a new report from Brookings, which ACTE contributed to. The researchers suggested three key elements for work-based learning programs:

• Positive relationships with adults that support growth and development.
• Social capital that provides information and contacts regarding employment.
• Work experiences that offer opportunities for hands-on learning and expose young people to new environments and expectations.

New Tools for Effective CTE Data Reporting

Advance CTE and ACTE recently released two resources to support state CTE agencies and local CTE programs with effective CTE data reporting and communication. These resources, which include templates for fact sheets, presentations and other communication materials, can help CTE leaders and policymakers make more informed decisions and respond to federal requirements for public accessibility of CTE data.  

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) pushes states to improve the public accessibility of CTE data by requiring state agencies and local recipients to share data on the performance of all CTE students, and subgroups of learners, and make this information available widely and through a variety of user-friendly formats. These increased requirements for data transparency and communication give CTE leaders an opportunity to reimagine their approach to public reporting with a focus on accessibility and understanding. 

 In March, Advance CTE and ACTE convened a Shared Solutions Workgroup to explore strategies for effective CTE data reporting and communication. Over a series of meetings, the workgroup co-designed a set of tools and resources to help states improve their CTE data reporting:  

• Beyond the Numbers: Design Principles for CTE Data Reporting provides nine principles for developing effective and accessible CTE data reporting tools. 
• Beyond the Numbers: A Toolkit for Communicating CTE Data breaks down six steps for communicating CTE data, from identifying a strategic goal and audience, to creating materials, to building an action plan. It includes models and templates that users can download to build their own engaging infographics, presentations and other materials to communicate their data.  

These resources were developed with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Next Chapter Communications.  

Downward Trends for Postsecondary Institutions

Over 16% fewer first-year students are enrolling in postsecondary institutions compared to last year, according to new data from The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Inside Higher Ed published a helpful complimentary analysis explaining the findings. The declines are not as prevalent in public and private non-profit four-year institutions as they were in community colleges, where enrollment is down 9.4%, with an even steeper 23% enrollment drop in first-year students at community colleges. Certificate and associate degree programs across all institutions are also experiencing a decrease in enrollment. 

Typically in a recession when unemployed or displaced workers are looking to reskill or upskill, community college enrollment is expected to spike. Community colleges are closer to home for displaced workers and often the most affordable postsecondary option. During this economic downturn due to COVID-19, it was predicted that the trend would follow the same pattern, but so far it has not. 

Douglas Shapiro, the executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse, listed students’ lack of access to the internet in order to complete online courses and the difficulty of translating hands-on learning to a remote setting as some of the potential factors for decreased enrollment. Due to the lack of enrollment and potential budget cuts because of the economic downturn, community colleges are worried about steep cuts to their funding allocations, which could have large, lasting implications, potentially exacerbating equity and access gaps among disadvantaged students who access higher education through community colleges. 

Research Round-up: Community College Transfer Rates, Displaced Workers Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Dual Enrollment Snapshots

Report on Community College Transfer Rates: The Public Policy Institute of California researched transfers from community colleges to four-year institutions to examine progress and barriers to success. Some of the key findings from the report are: there is a gap between those wishing to transfer to a postsecondary institution and those that actually do; transfer rates are higher for students that complete 12 units and take an English or Math course within the first three years; equity gaps among Latino students and other student groups show that a higher rate of students hope to transfer to a four-year institution but do not.  

Data on the Race and Ethnicity of Teachers and Their Students: A new report from the National Center on Education Statistics (IES) uses data from the public school teacher data file of the 2017–18 National Teacher and Principal Survey to examine the race and ethnicity of teachers and their students. That year, 79 percent of public school teachers were White and non-Hispanic. Researchers did find that there were more Black and Hispanic teachers in schools  where the majority of students matched that race/ethnicity, however, numbers of minority teachers were still low.  

Dual Enrollment Snapshots: The College in High School Alliance is creating a series of policy snapshots to allow users to explore specific policy issues that are impacting college-in-high-school programs such as dual enrollment and early college high school. The first snapshot released provides an equity-based rationale for re-examining eligibility requirements for programs to adopt multiple measures for dual enrollment eligibility such as grade level, attendance, projects, teacher nominations and others, provides examples from other states, and suggests action steps for state policymakers when considering changes to dual enrollment eligibility requirements.

Report on Displaced Workers Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions: A new report examines workers’ enrollment responses following mass layoffs using employer-employee-student matched administrative data from Ohio. Researchers found that only about 10% of displaced workers  enroll in postsecondary institutions, and many of those would have done so even without the displacement event. Of those that enroll, about 29% of displaced workers complete a degree.  

New Research on Technology-Based Career Advising for CTE Programs: There is limited research on schools adopting technology-based career advising for CTE programs in order for programs to equitably serve students. Because of the limited research, MDRC is partnering with Naviance and YouScience to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of technology-based career advising tools and complete a cost-effectiveness analysis. The study will assess the effect on student’s understanding of career pathways, CTE course-taking patterns, engagement with the school and progress toward graduation. 

New Data on Massachusetts Early College Program: Data from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education show that students who participated in Massachusetts’ Early College Initiative were more likely to earn college credits while in high school, complete financial aid applications and to enroll in postsecondary institutions than the students who did not participate in the initiative. The goal of the initiative was to reduce equity gaps and increase postsecondary completion rates for students of color, first-generation college students and those from low-income backgrounds.  

Preparing Middle Schoolers for Rigorous High School Pathways: A new report from the Center for American Progress lays out the components necessary for middle schoolers to be effectively prepared for high school pathways that lead to postsecondary and career success. ACTE’s prior work on middle grades CTE was cited in this report, and the researchers recommend:

• rigorous instruction to ready students for high-quality high school coursework
• counseling and exploration for career pathways and college preparation
• opportunities for teachers to connect and learn from industry, secondary and postsecondary programs.
• information on college and career pathways and family engagement 
• exposure to role models who deviate from cultural and occupational stereotypes

COVID-19 Research Round-up (Part III)

Adapting the Workforce for a Post-COVID-19 World: AEI recently issued a report on how to adapt the current workforce system to meet the growing demand for training by unemployed workers as a result of the pandemic. The researchers emphasize flexibility and worker support as the key pillars of change that will be essential to moving forward.

Interest Rising in Short-term Credentials: This in-depth article from Inside Higher Ed explores the growing interest in short-term and online credential programs as a result of the pandemic. It includes links and references to a variety of research on the topic, and discusses the outlook for the future of alternative pathways to postsecondary credentials. 

COVID-19 and Rural Higher Education: In this “Issue Focus” report, MDRC conducted a series of virtual meetings with rural higher education leaders and stakeholders in the spring and summer to better understand what is working and where more research is needed for postsecondary institutions during the pandemic. Four key strategies emerged from these meetings:

1. Make courses mobile-friendly to allow students to complete their courses on their cell phones.
2. Provide internet-able devices to students and families.
3. Widen broadband access to all students.
4. Ensure students continue to connect to a community even when online.

Compilation of EdWeek Strategies for Leading Schools Through the Pandemic: Education Week recently published a new summary of their comprehensive coverage for helping to steer schools through the COVID-19 pandemic, including links to key resources on in-school safety and online learning. Suggestions are included for how these resources might be used now that schools have resumed.  

Bring CTE Programs Online: Though COVID-19 has caused many challenges for CTE programs, this EdTech article highlights some advantages to bringing CTE programs online. Online CTE programs allow students flexibility to learn from anywhere and at one’s own pace, to develop 21st century skills needed for the workplace, and take courses at a cost-effective rate. The article provides tips and resources on how to successfully teach remotely, and highlights ACTE’s Questions to Consider found in the “High-quality CTE: Planning for a COVID-19 Impacted Year” Guide, as well as ACTE’s High-Quality CTE webinar series.

Reskilling and Recovery Network Launched: The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, the American Association of Community Colleges, Lumina Foundation, Siemens Foundation and 20 states have collaborated to create the Reskilling and Recovery Network. This Network was formed to help reskill workers in the wake of COVID-19. The Network will work to build partnerships between community colleges and industry, create a collaborative network to learn from best practices and provide technical assistance for virtual activities. 

Bringing Access to CTE Programs by Adapting to Online Platforms: An article from Education Dive recognizes that COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for CTE programs, but adapting CTE programs remotely could expand access to students in today’s pandemic and in the future. Remote programs can provide students flexibility by allowing them the option to learn at their own speed and learn anywhere with a WiFi connection. Another long-term benefit the researchers mention is that students are learning 21st century digital skills needed for jobs in today's workforce.

Prioritizing Postsecondary Attainment for Economic Recovery: The Education Strategy Group created a resource that details how states are adapting and innovating efforts to increase higher education attainment in order to jumpstart the economic recovery in light of COVID-19. Researchers call for mass upskilling and training of displaced or low-skill workers in order to allow for these workers to adapt and pivot to new employment options. 

Resilient Skills: A recent report from EMSI highlights the skills that remain most in-demand even during the economic recession. By examining job postings, researchers concluded that the most resilient skills were a mix of “human” skills, such as communication, management and critical thinking; and technical skills, generally either in technology or core business operations.  

New Findings on Credentials

ExcelinEd and Burning Glass Technologies recently hosted a webinar to discuss their new report Credentials Matter Phase 2: A 2020 Update. This report examines whether the credentials being earned by high school and postsecondary students are aligned with employers’ demands. 

As this report was the second phase of a longer research project, which includes state surveys and examination of supply and demand data, the researchers compared the findings from 2019 to the findings in 2020. They reported five main findings:

1. 33 states are now collecting data on credentials earned by secondary students, compared to 28 states in 2019. 
2. Across the country, states still do not have a consistent definition of an “industry-recognized credential.”
3. Consistent across both years of the study, employers often do not explicitly request credentials in job descriptions, even if they are required.
4. States continue to face challenges aligning credentials being earned by students to employer demand. Only 19% of credentials earned were demanded by employers in 2019, and the number fell to 18% in 2020.
5. Postsecondary student credential data was added to the website and report in 2020; only four states submitted this data.

Of the most-earned secondary credentials, only three of the top ten are aligned with the top 10 credentials employers demand. However, the findings do show postsecondary credentials aligning fairly well with employer demand, and that credentials earned by postsecondary students mostly align with occupations that pay a living wage.  

Based on these findings, the researchers propose policy recommendations for states related to credentialing: 

• Clearly communicate to all stakeholders involved
• Establish clear definitions
• Collect data on credential attainment and offerings
• Strengthen data quality
• Regularly evaluate and provide transparency when reporting students outcomes
• Expand access and equity to credentials and high-value occupations.

The researchers also provided a COVID-19 case study to identify changes in  employer demand for industry-recognized credentials that have occurred during the pandemic, and potential ramifications for the future economic recovery. One key finding was that between March 2020 and May 2020, there was a 41% decrease in weekly job postings, though many critical worker positions and those with credentials in critical positions, experienced lower declines. Researchers also predicted that due to the pandemic, many career pathways and credentials will most likely need to automate more quickly than was previously expected. During and after COVID-19, the researchers predicted that those with credentials, especially technical and software focused credentials, may require frequent updating to stay current with the skills employers demand in the job market due to the changing demand caused by COVID-19. 

Due to these changes caused by the pandemic, they advised that in order for workers to be prepared for the shifting demand in the economy and the workforce, states will need to:

1. Increase the use of labor market data by stakeholders.
2. Reassess career pathways and consider key post-COVID-19 occupations.
3. Give students and parents information on job demand, wage and risk information.

New Research Paper on Short-term Postsecondary Programs

Today, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) released a new report on short-term postsecondary CTE programs. ACTE, along with Advance CTE, partnered with NASFAA on the research for the report, including helping to distribute the local survey and hosting focus groups at last year's VISION conference, in an effort to gather more information about these growing programs.

The report, "An Analysis of Existing Short-Term Postsecondary Programs," covers diverse topics including what these programs offer, who they serve, how graduates fare in the workforce, and the challenges both institutions and students face related to short-term programs. Information gained from the research shows the strong value of programs and the important role they play in preparing students, particularly adults, for in-demand jobs. Key findings include:

• The majority of institutions agree or strongly agree that their short-term programs benefit the local economy, adult learners, and other students, and that expanding short-term program is of interest to industry representatives, educators, and local leaders.
• The business sector is one of the most significant driving forces behind short-term program development. Employers offer input into program designs to provide students with in-demand skills.
• Institutions often face difficulty filling short-term programs with sufficient enrollments because prospective students cannot afford the costs, and colleges can be reluctant to build short-term certificate programs that are not financial aid eligible, even when they would benefit students and employers.
• Many short-term certificates are already embedded in longer certificate or degree programs, or are considered “stackable” credentials that build upon previous credentials and may feed into degree programs.
• States and institutions would be interested in offering more short-term programs if the programs were eligible for Federal Pell Grants and could serve more students.
• Even if short-term programs became eligible for federal financial aid, however, most institutions stated they could not shorten many existing programs because of state, industry, and academic standards.

The information gathered from participants reinforced ACTE's goal to expand postsecondary financal aid to quality short-term programs to ensure all students can have access to these important opportunities. For more information on our HEA priorities, visit ACTE's website. 

Updated Tool for Identifying CTE Programs Leading to Non-Trad Careers

Last week, the Department of Education's Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education released an updated "Crosswalk" to help CTE leaders identify programs that prepare students for non-traditional fields. The new crosswalk can be found on the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network at https://cte.ed.gov/accountability/linking-data. In addition to the crosswalk itself, other materials include an introduction that explains the data sources, methodology and decision rules that were used to complete it.

The crosswalk updates earlier versions developed by the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, and relies on linking CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) codes to SOC (Standards Occupational Classification) codes, as well as occupational data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each program code is labeled whether it is non-traditional for males and whether it is non-traditional for females, and the percent of each gender employed in related fields is included as well.

As a reminder, non-traditional fields are defined in Perkins V as "occupations or fields or work, such as careers in computer science, technology, and other current and emerging high skill occupations, for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work." Because Perkins requires state and local recipients to report on the percentage of CTE concentrators of the underrepresented gender enrolling in programs leading to non-traditional fields, grantees need a uniform way to identify programs to include in reporting.

States are not required to use the new crosswalk to identify non-traditional programs, as they may rely on other data sources to make those decisions. Be sure to check with your state CTE office about their plans for the new crosswalk and whether the programs identified as non-traditional for the purposes of data reporting and supports will be updated!

Research Round-up: Educator Self-Study Guide for Career Readiness, Labor Market Returns for Community College Graduates, Evolving IT Training Programs

Momentum Metrics for Postsecondary Success: The Education Strategy Group and Level Up Coalition released a report that introduces a framework of postsecondary transition metrics to help states and communities transition students to and through higher education. These metrics are known as Momentum Metrics, and help teachers and administrators identify individual students' needs for resources and supports, as well as aggregate level information about advising programs and policies. There are eight metrics that represent the most predictive indicators of postsecondary preparation, retention and success.

Career Readiness Self-Study Guide for Educators: A new educator self-study guide was created by the Institute for Education Statistics and the Regional Laboratory Southeast to provide guidance and reflection on strengths and challenges of career readiness practices, and to start conversations among educators when planning and implementing district and school career readiness activities. A template is included in the guide for data collection and guiding questions for educators to discuss to ensure students are able to earn high school diplomas and transition successfully to enter into a workforce training program or a career.

Long-Term Labor Market Returns for Community College Graduates: This report explores how associate degrees and certificates affect labor market returns. The researchers use administrative data from Ohio to examine student outcomes up to 11 years after initially entering into a community college. The researchers found that the value of an associate degree grows substantially after graduation, leading to higher paying jobs, more long-term job stability and a greater likelihood to earn a living wage. The findings from certificates show the returns being relatively flat over time, but are “more sensitive to assumptions about individual-specific earnings trends.” 

Community College Attributes Impact on Future Earnings: Researchers studied the relationship between community college attributes and the mean earnings of community college graduates. Of the 53 variables that were studied, 12 had a significant impact on mean earnings of students, including the socio-economic status around the community college, student demographics, students who graduated in two-years, students who received a Pell Grant or federal student loan, and more. These findings highlight the challenges community colleges face when demographics of students change, cost of tuition increases, and students need additional supports to complete credentials.

Evolving IT Training Programs: As the IT industry continually evolves, JFF provides recommendations to IT training providers to ensure IT is offered equitably, and is better connected to the workforce. To help IT participants be successful in the field, JFF recommends providers connect training participants to accelerated career advancement opportunities.  The report also lays out key considerations for providers and employers to address as a means to decrease barriers and increase equity in the IT field.

COVID-19 Research Round-up (Part II)

Data on the Impact of COVID on Postsecondary Institutions: A new resource from Watermark explores how postsecondary institutions can evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and discover what has changed and what will come next. In order to understand this, researchers sent out a survey to postsecondary professionals to gauge the effects on current and planned teaching, assessments, student feedback, faculty activity reporting and reviews and cataloging curriculum management. The survey results provide insights on the impact of the virus and promising practices that can improve the delivery of teaching in the fall. 

Impact of COVID on Community Colleges: The Community College Research Center created a resource which contains a series of essays on the different aspects of the impact of COVID-19 on community colleges. The topics of the essays include funding, enrollment, student experience, instruction, student supports and more. 

Importance of Transparency on Report Cards During COVID-19: The Data Quality Campaign has created a short infographic for schools to use to ensure that transparency and public trust continues to be at the forefront when reporting state and local data on ESSA Report Cards during COVID-19. The infographic provides both short- and long-term actions that school leaders can take in their decision-making and recovery efforts, and as they  present updates on recovery efforts and provide transparency on how schools are moving forward.

Using Data During COVID to Prioritize Resources: Another short infographic from the Data Quality Campaign was published to show the importance of using data as a tool during COVID-19 to help prioritize resources that are needed to invest in policies and programs that best serve the community. This resource provides short-term guidance on investing in data systems, gathering information from the community and mobilizing research partnerships to start answering complex questions. The long-term guidance suggests that leaders need to manage their research agenda and modernize cross-sector longitudinal data systems to identify solutions to present and future challenges. 

Homework Gap During COVID: One out of three Black, Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native households do not have home access to high-speed internet, and 16.9 million households do not have high-speed internet access to successfully complete online learning, according to a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. These results are from a 2018 American Community Survey that show that many children lacked high-speed home internet service and a computer. COVID-19’s shifts to remote instruction have resulted in a an exacerbation of this “homework gap.” The researchers call on Congress to invest $6.8 billion to cover immediate costs related to high-speed home internet access and devices in the next COVID-19 relief package. 

Compilation of Surveys Performed on Education During COVID: During these unpresented times, many surveys were performed by various groups to understand the impact of COVID-19 on education. Below are some of the surveys that focus on the delivery of education during the pandemic:

• Data on School Districts Approach to Pandemic: Preliminary results from two reports were released by the American Institute for Research (AIR). The first report is preliminary survey data investigating the reaction of school districts when the pandemic hit. The responses are from approximately 500 school districts and cover a range of topics from school closures to challenges and approaches for distance learning to meeting the needs of special populations. The second report is preliminary data on how school district leaders approached the difficulties from the pandemic, such as how schools innovated in the spring and some of the promising practices and challenges districts faced during the pandemic. 
• Perceptions on In-Person Learning for the Fall: The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published survey results on public perceptions of schools resuming in-person schooling. The results show only 8% of respondents think K-12 schools should open for normal in-person learning and about half of the respondents think that major adjustments are needed if in-person school resumes. These perceptions are also shared among respondents regarding in-person postsecondary institutions. 
• Teachers and Parents Perceptions on Schooling in the Spring: Chalkbeat performed a national and state survey consisting of parents, students, educators and principals on the perceptions of online learning in the spring. Failures of the spring term included lack of internet access and technological devices by primarily Black and Hispanic students and students from low-income families and low student engagement with schoolwork. The survey does show that respondents thought most teachers made a rapid switch to online learning and most parent respondents gave high marks to their child’s school. 
• Postsecondary Students on Online Learning During the Pandemic: College Pulse interviewed 5,000 postsecondary students in two- and four-year colleges to understand how COVID-19 impacted students’ learning and what the priorities of students are in postsecondary education. The researchers found that most students were satisfied with how their school responded to pandemic. One of the main priorities of the respondents for attending a postsecondary institution is to obtain a credential for their desired career, which will require continued support for CTE programs and CTE educators. 
• Postsecondary Students Satisfaction with the Spring Semester: Digital Promise and Langer Research surveyed about 1,000 postsecondary students to understand students’ experiences during the spring semester. Despite student satisfaction decreasing after the shift to remote learning, respondents felt positively about the way the faculty handled the shift and reported that many faculty held live sessions for questions and comprehending content and over half reported that lecturers were live instead of prerecorded. The satisfaction with courses positively correlated with how much the faculty engaged and made the course interactive.
• Postsecondary Faculty Satisfaction with Online Learning: Tyton Partners performed a national survey of approximately 4,800 postsecondary faculty to understand their satisfaction with online learning. Respondents who were the most satisfied with the learning in their classes were the faculty who used the largest range of instructional practices. These faculty were twice as likely to have prior experience teaching online courses and significantly more likely to have access to a campus-based teaching and learning center or other forms of support. 

New Tool to Ensure CTE is Prioritized in the Fall: Advance CTE created a resource to help state CTE leaders take actionable steps to prepare and implement strategies for the fall to adequately support CTE students through high-quality CTE programs. The tool is organized into seven key topics that must be addressed in order to achieve high-quality programs:

1. Equity and access
2. CTE teachers and faculty
3. CTE instruction
4. Assessments and credentials
5. Work-based learning 
6. Counseling and advisement 
7. Career Technical Student Organizations