CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Updated: Investing in CTE Yields Big Returns

ACTE has updated its fact sheet about the economic benefits that CTE programs have for learners and communities across the country. The Investing in CTE map shows just a sampling of CTE's financial impacts across different states and localities:

• Five years after earning a CTE credential in Ohio, on average, individuals receive a more than 220% return on investment.
• Iowa Community College alumni employed in the Iowa workforce generate $4.8 billion in added income for the state’s economy.
• Secondary CTE concentrators in Massachusetts, on average, make $3,359 more in annual earnings seven years after graduating high school than non-CTE concentrators.

Please share this infographic, along with ACTE's other fact sheets, with fellow CTE advocates, the media, policymakers, and students and families to communicate the many benefits of CTE.

A Deep Dive into Perkins V Enrollment and Performance Data

In October, the U.S. Department of Education released data from states’ Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) submissions for program year 2020-21 – the first year that states reported performance data under Perkins V. The dataset includes CTE participant numbers, CTE concentrator numbers and CTE concentrator performance on Perkins accountability indicators, including the secondary program quality indicators new under Perkins V.

In a previous blog post, ACTE shared high-level takeaways from the dataset. Here, we will offer a more in-depth look at the data, which can be accessed through the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network. This online data hub includes national- and state-level summaries, a new dashboard of national- and state-level performance data and the customizable Perkins Data Explorer.

CTE Participants: In 2020-21, there were almost 12 million participants in CTE nationwide, including 8.3 million secondary CTE participants and 3.5 million postsecondary participants. In total, the number of female and male CTE participants was roughly equal, with more male CTE participants on the secondary level and more female CTE participants on the postsecondary level. When disaggregated by race and ethnicity, the data shows that:

• About 5.5 million CTE participants identified as white
• 2 million identified as Hispanic/Latino
• 7 million identified as Black or African American
• 606,000 identified as Asian
• 417,000 identified as two or more races
• 170,000 identified as an unknown race
• 116,000 identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native

When disaggregated by special population status, the data demonstrates that:

• About 5.3 million CTE participants were from economically disadvantaged families
• 5 million were preparing for career fields nontraditional for their gender
• 1 million were learners with disabilities
• 683,800 were English learners
• 213,000 were single parents
• 168,000 were out-of-workforce individuals
• 138,00 were individuals experiencing homelessness
• 116,000 were youth with an active-duty military parent
• 5,000 were youth who were in or had aged out of foster care

CTE Concentrators: There were about 3 million secondary CTE concentrators and close to 1.9 million postsecondary CTE concentrators nationwide in 2020-21, for a total of about 4.9 million CTE concentrators. As with CTE participants, the number of female and male CTE concentrators was roughly equal, with more male CTE concentrators on the secondary level and more female CTE concentrators on the postsecondary level. When disaggregated by race and ethnicity, the data shows that:

• About 2.4 million CTE concentrators identified as white
• 1 million identified as Hispanic/Latino
• 677,000 identified as Black or African American
• 226,000 identified as Asian
• 146,000 identified as two or more races
• 77,000 identified as an unknown race
• 43,000 identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native

When disaggregated by special population status, the data demonstrates that:

• About 2 million CTE concentrators were from economically disadvantaged families
• 1 million were preparing for career fields nontraditional for their gender
• 384,000 were students with disabilities
• 205,000 were English learners
• 127,000 were single parents
• 105,000 were out-of-workforce individuals
• 42,000 were individuals experiencing homelessness
• 38,000 were youth with an active-duty military parent
• 14,000 were youth who were in or had aged out of foster care

Because states have different ways of operationalizing the legislative definition of concentrator in Perkins V, cross-state comparisons and data aggregated across states should be interpreted with caution.

Concentrator Performance: 2020-21 marked the first year that local recipients and states reported CTE concentrator performance on the Perkins V accountability indicators. For each indicator, states set measurable targets to meet, known as state-determined performance levels.

Secondary Performance

• All states met their targets for secondary CTE concentrators’ four-year graduation rate, with an average graduation rate across the nation of 96%. In addition, all six states that chose to measure the extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate met their targets.
• 34 states met their targets for reading and language arts proficiency, 32 states met targets for mathematics proficiency and 32 states met targets for science proficiency.
• 47 states met their targets for post-program placement, defined as concentrators who are in postsecondary education, advanced training, military service, national service, the Peace Corps or are employed after graduation.
• 46 states met their targets for nontraditional program concentration, which measures the percentage of concentrators from underrepresented gender groups studying for career fields in which individuals of that gender comprise less than 25% of the workforce.
• Among the 22 states that chose to measure attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials, 17 states met their targets and 227,765 CTE concentrators attained recognized postsecondary credentials.
• Among the 12 states that chose to measure attainment of postsecondary credits, 10 states met their targets and 98,877 CTE concentrators attained postsecondary credits.
• Among the 29 states that measured participation in work-based learning experiences, 23 states met their targets and 128,019 CTE concentrators participated in work-based learning.

Postsecondary Performance

• 48 states met their targets for postsecondary placement, defined as concentrators who remain enrolled in postsecondary education or pursue advanced training, military service, national service, the Peace Corps or employment after graduation.
• 48 states met their targets for attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials.
• 47 states met their targets for nontraditional program concentration.

Owing to different definitions as well as different measurement approaches, cross-state comparisons and data aggregated across states should be interpreted with caution.

Data Collection Challenges: Locals and states faced numerous challenges in collecting and reporting 2020-21 Perkins data. These include:

• New definitions for secondary CTE concentrators
• New program quality indicators on the secondary level
• COVID-19 impacts such as waivers for academic assessments, which affected academic proficiency indicators, and fewer opportunities for hands-on and work-based experiences
• Ongoing challenges in collecting data that originates in other systems, such as post-program employment data

Reporting for measures like placement and work-based learning participation will likely improve over time as states continue to improve their data systems.

Research Roundup: Apprenticeships and Internships

Youth Apprenticeship Outcomes: A recent report by the Project on Workforce at Harvard University examines retention, completion and outcomes for youth apprentices in the Colorado CareerWise program, a three-year youth apprenticeship program in which students split their time between the classroom and the workplace with the goal of continuing onto postsecondary education and/or employment. Researchers analyzed the outcomes of over 200 apprentices from 2017 and 2018 cohorts as well as application data from 2019 to reveal the following:

• About 39% of participants completed their apprenticeship or accepted a full-time employment offer with their apprenticeship host site prior to the three-year mark. Of program completers, 57% received an offer from their employer, 59% entered the same industry as their apprenticeship occupation and 57% pursued postsecondary education.
• Interest in one’s apprenticeship field and registered apprenticeship status were drivers of program retention. Apprentices from high-poverty schools and Black apprentices faced more barriers to completion, which lowered their retention rates.
• In the 2019 applicant pool, females were underrepresented while applicants’ race/ethnicity closely matched the population of Colorado’s public school system. Additionally, students from schools with high shares of low-income students were less likely to apply and to be accepted.

The Apprenticeship Landscape: This month, Work Shift released a guide providing an overview of the evolving landscape of apprenticeship programs in the United States. The report covers how employers, non-profit intermediaries and postsecondary institutions are modernizing apprenticeship programs and features a case study on how North Carolina’s community colleges have grown their apprenticeship programs through retention and inclusion efforts. Additionally, the report discusses the impact of apprenticeship scholarship programs, the role of labor unions and the heightened focus on technology apprenticeship programs.

Internships & Experiential Learning Experiences: In August, Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse surveyed more than 2,100 students enrolled in two- and four-year institutions about their experiences with internships and experiential learning, such as community service, undergraduate research or student teaching. The following are some key findings from the survey:

• Overall, 39% of students have not participated in an internship or experiential learning activity, with students at two-year institutions more likely to report not participating in these experiences than those at four-year institutions.
• Around 57% of students who participated in internships were paid, 14% earned credit and 11% received both.
• When asked how their institution could help them find and secure internships, most students said they would like to see their institution partner with companies to offer internships and create pathways to hire interns and work with organizations that help students find internships.
• Students said that financial assistance, guidance on networking and workshops on internship success are internship-related supports they would most like to see from their postsecondary institution.

Work-based Learning Data Collection Study: Recently, the CTE Research Network announced that it is conducting a new study over the next year that will compile and synthesize best practices that school districts are using to collect work-based learning (WBL) data. As a part of the study, the CTE Research Network is inviting nominations for districts or CTE programs with innovative or exemplary WBL data collection. The goal of the study is to help district administrators and data coordinators apply best practices to improve their WBL collection. If you would like to nominate a district or CTE program, contact project director Kelly Reese at kreese@air.org.

Debt Outcomes for Postsecondary CTE Programs

In October, the Urban Institute released a research report that examines the debt outcomes of postsecondary CTE programs, including associate degree and certificate programs. Researchers used a variety of sources such as the College Scorecard to explore debt, earnings and debt burden levels (debt as a share of earnings) of learners two years after graduation for six fields of study: health sciences, business and marketing, computer and information sciences, repair services, protective services and culinary services.

The data used in this analysis does not capture students who graduate without debt because they pay for their education out of pocket or have federal Pell Grants – a sizeable proportion of students in postsecondary CTE programs. For instance, about 42% of community college students in 2017-18 received Pell Grants.  

Among students in postsecondary CTE programs who graduate with debt, the researchers found the following:

• The median debt of postsecondary CTE programs is $16,077. However, this figure varies significantly by field of study: students in computer and information sciences graduated with the highest median debt while students in repair services graduated with the lowest median debt, in part because programs in repair fields tend to be shorter in length.
• Two years after graduating, median annual earnings for graduates are about twice graduates’ median debt, $32,234, with the highest-earning programs being health sciences and computer and information sciences and the lowest earning being personal and culinary services.
• Together, a student’s chosen field of study and credential level contribute the most to CTE program outcomes, particularly when it comes to earnings. Institutional characteristics also play a significant role, particularly for debt and debt burden outcomes.
• While, in the aggregate, student demographics and labor market characteristics are not significant drivers of debt and earnings outcomes, significantly lower earnings for graduates of programs with large shares of women and people of color make it more difficult for these individuals to pay off debt.

The report concludes with policy, program and research strategies that can help students maximize the value of their postsecondary CTE credentials. Strategies mentioned include providing strong career guidance about institutions, fields of study and credential types; assisting adult learners and women with debt relief; removing barriers to high-value programs; examining debt and earnings outcomes beyond two years after graduation; and capturing outcomes for students who do not complete a CTE program of study.

To help more people access CTE programs without incurring debt, ACTE supports expanding Pell Grant access to short-term programs. Expanding Pell grants to support the costs of high-quality, short-term education programs will help more Americans earn credentials and enter the workforce – or begin new careers – in high-wage, high-demand industries like manufacturing, health care and transportation.

Research Roundup: STEM and Construction Education and their Workforces

Computer Science Education: In September, the Code.org Advocacy Coalition, Computer Science Teachers Association and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance released their 2022 “State of Computer Science Education” report, which summarizes the national and state landscape of K-12 computer science (CS) education policy, access and participation throughout the past year. The following are a few national-level trends pulled from the report:

• About 53% of high schools offer at least one foundational CS course, representing a 35% increase from 2018, but only a 2% increase from the year prior.
• Urban and rural high schools and schools with higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students were less likely to offer foundational CS coursework.
• When looking at the 36 states with available CS enrollment data, only 5.6% of students are enrolled in a foundational CS course.
• Approximately 23 states have adopted or updated 35 policies to make CS a foundational subject, including 18 states that allocated over $50 million to fund CS.

The report also includes a dedicated section for each state so that readers can explore recent CS education data specific to their state. To learn more about the connection between CTE and CS education, as well as STEM more broadly, check out ACTE’s newly released “STEM is CTE” fact sheet.

Diversity in the Tech Workforce: Recently, Wiley Edge published a report that discusses diversity in the technology workforce and what actions the industry is employing to improve equity in the field. Researchers surveyed 2,000 18- to 24-year-old individuals both working and not working in a tech-based role, as well as interviewed 200 senior business leaders about their technology teams to reveal the following key findings:

• Although 57% of businesses stated that they work hard to foster an inclusive company culture, 43% said they are facing challenges retaining diverse employees.
• Half of technology workers stated that they have felt uncomfortable in a job because of their gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background or neurodevelopmental condition.
• About 39% of businesses struggle to recruit diverse entry-level tech employees. However, the same percentage says that they are more likely to hire, or exclusively hire, from top universities.

Keeping Pace with the Manufacturing Innovations: A study by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Autodesk discusses how current manufacturing training must be modernized to prepare learners to enter a field that is expected to evolve rapidly over the next 5 to 10 years due to technology advancements. Based on multiple literature reviews as well as surveys with industry and education representatives, the study concluded that learners will need to be equipped with more technical, employability and interdisciplinary skills. Included in the report are also recommendations for education, industry and government stakeholders to consider in order to improve manufacturing training.

The Construction Labor Market: In October, the Home Builders Institute released their annual Construction Labor Market Report. The report compiles findings from a variety of sources, such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, to provide an overview of the current state of the construction industry labor market, including workforce shortages, job growth, wages and demographics, among other metrics. The following are some of the report’s key findings:

• Currently, construction employment totals 7.7 million, and the average annual number of occupational openings in construction is 740,000.
• The number of women working in the construction field is growing, with women comprising 11% of employees in the industry during 2021, a nearly 2 percentage point increase since 2017.
• Average hourly earnings for construction workers increased by 5.5% over the past year, reaching $35.

First Look at Fall 2022 Postsecondary Enrollment

Recently, the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) released a first look at postsecondary enrollment estimates for the fall 2022 semester. Compared to the fall prior, overall undergraduate enrollment declined by 1.1%, returning to pre-pandemic rates of decline, with community colleges overall and CTE certification programs experiencing improved enrollment trends.  These much smaller declines are a significant improvement over last fall’s enrollment numbers, which showed a 2.1% decline in undergraduate enrollment and a 5% decline for community colleges.

In fall 2022, enrollment losses at community colleges slowed significantly, with only a 0.4% drop since fall 2021, compared to four-year institutions that experienced much greater declines. According to NSC, improvements at community colleges can be largely attributed to an 11.5% enrollment increase among dually enrolled high school students. Additionally, overall freshman enrollment levels at community colleges increased by 0.9% since the fall prior, stabilizing freshman enrollment at community colleges for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

A closer look at the demographics shows that enrollment for all students of color at community colleges increased since fall 2021, especially for Latinx (2.9%) and Native American (1.9%) students and students who identified their race as “Other” (4.1%), with gains being even larger for freshman students of color. In contrast, white student enrollment declined by 4.7%. Additionally, the 18- to 20-year-old age group at community colleges grew by 1.4% since fall 2021 compared to a sharp decline among the 25- to 29-year-old age group (-9.2%).

When looking at enrollment by credential type, associate degree programs declined the most by 1.7% followed by bachelor’s degree programs that declined by 1.5% since fall 2021. In contrast, enrollment in undergraduate certificate programs increased by 2.5%.

NSC also included estimates for enrollment in the top five majors by credential type. For certificate programs, CTE programs such as precision production (7.2%), business management (6.9%) and mechanic and repair technologies (3.3%) increased significantly compared to the fall prior while health professions declined by 3.4%. For associate degree programs, enrollment in computer and information sciences grew by 10.1%, while business management (-0.5%), health professions (-5.0%) and security and protective services (-7.6%) declined.

Currently, NSC has not released their final report on 2022 postsecondary enrollment numbers. Once released, ACTE hopes to examine the full list of CTE programs that experienced enrollment growth or declines.

New Resource: “What is Work-based Learning” Fact Sheet

Today, ACTE released a new fact sheet titled “What is Work-based Learning?” describing the full range of work-based learning (WBL) experiences offered through CTE.

WBL enables students to learn about careers, build connections with industry professionals, and develop and practice technical, academic and employability skills needed for career success. It occurs on a continuum, ranging from short-term experiences like workplace tours and guest speakers to more sustained activities like internships and apprenticeships. This fact sheet describes and visualizes stages of the WBL continuum, including awareness, exploration, preparation and participation, and defines common WBL learning experiences.

We encourage ACTE members and CTE advocates to share this resource with students and families, education and workforce leaders, and policymakers to improve the public’s understanding of WBL and the many applied, real-world opportunities offered by CTE.

OCTAE Releases First Year of Perkins V Performance Data

Today, the U.S. Department of Education released data from states’ Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) submissions for program year 2020-2021 – the first year that states reported performance data under Perkins V. 

Today’s release includes CTE participant numbers, CTE concentrator numbers and CTE concentrator performance on the Perkins accountability indicators, including the secondary program quality indicators new under Perkins V. The data can be accessed on the Perkins Collaborative Research Network in several formats:

• National and state-level summaries showing funding distribution, CTE participant data, CTE concentrator enrollment by Career Cluster, and CTE concentrator performance data
• A new dashboard of national- and state-level performance data, which can be filtered by gender, race/ethnicity, special populations and Career Clusters
• The Perkins Data Explorer, which enables users to generate custom reports on CTE participation, concentration and performance

We’ve shared several takeaways from this dataset below. Please note that national-level average performance should be interpreted with caution, owing to differences in how states define each indicator, particularly for the placement, postsecondary credential attainment and secondary program quality indicators:

• In 2020-21, there were almost 12 million participants in CTE nationwide, including 8.3 million secondary CTE participants and 3.5 million postsecondary CTE participants.
• In 2020-21, there were about 3 million secondary CTE concentrators and close to 1.9 million postsecondary CTE concentrators nationwide.
• The top four Career Clusters among secondary concentrators were Health Science; Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; Business Management & Administration; and Arts, A/V Technology & Communications.
• The top four Career Clusters among postsecondary concentrators were Health Science; Business Management & Administration; Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security; and Information Technology.
• The average four-year graduation rate for secondary concentrators across the nation was 96%.

In addition to exercising caution when interpreting national averages, please also remember that COVID-19 may have impacted data for the 2020-21 program year, particularly in regards to performance on academic assessments and secondary program quality indicators such as recognized postsecondary credential attainment and work-based learning participation.

We encourage CTE educators to explore their state’s disaggregated data, and ACTE will be digging into this data and will share additional findings and takeaways with the CTE community soon.

Research Roundup: Post-Pandemic Effects and Online Learning

COVID-19 Relief Spending: Recently, FutureEd analyzed COVID-19 relief spending plans from a nationwide sample of 5,000 K-12 school districts and charter organizations and conducted additional research with the 100 largest K-12 school districts in the United States about their plans for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) aid. The following summarize key trends from the report on COVID-19 relief spending plans among K-12 districts:

• Staff numbers: The majority of school districts in the national sample and the largest districts plan to use funds to hire new teachers and pay teachers and other staff.
• Recruitment and retention: Around 20% of school districts in the national sample and 47% of the largest districts are using ESSER funds to recruit and retain teachers.
• Financial incentives: Roughly 33% of the largest districts are using funds for additional pay and stipends to help with teacher retention, and 10% of districts in the sample are offering retention bonuses.
• More hours: One-third of the largest districts are dedicating relief funding to pay teachers a stipend for working additional hours.
• Professional development: About 43% of school districts in the national sample plan to use relief funding for professional development.

Post-Pandemic Practitioner Reflections: Last month, the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) released the latest issue in their peer-reviewed, practitioner-focused themed journal on adult education. This issue features nine articles with reflections from and innovations used by adult education practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some topics the articles discuss include serving English learners, developing statewide collaboration, devising innovative learning strategies for incarcerated learners and using remote learning to expand access to adult education.

Online Course Enrollment & Completion: A report published by the University of Florida studied the impact of online course enrollment on community college students’ degree completion, with an emphasis on outcomes among traditionally underserved student groups. The author examined 2009-19 transcript data from a high-enrollment community college and found that students who enrolled in some, but not all, online courses were more likely to earn their associate degree and/or bachelor’s degree. In contrast, students who enrolled in all online courses were less likely to earn a degree. Both trends held true for Black, Hispanic and low-income student groups.

Online Learner Perspectives: In the spring of 2022, Wiley University Services surveyed 2,500 high school graduates nationwide that had been enrolled, were currently enrolled or planned to enroll in a fully online undergraduate or graduate degree or certificate program in the next 12 months to better understand online learners’ motivations, preferences and outcomes. The following highlight key findings from the report:

• One in three respondents hadn’t considered an online program until the COVID-19 pandemic, with most of these respondents being young adults.
• Online learners’ top motivations to apply to an online program included affordability (59%), program completion time (33%) and accreditation (32%).
• Although most online learners prefer asynchronous and fully online programs, of the 18% of online learners who must complete lab work for their program of study, the majority stated that they would prefer to complete these courses in person.
• About 36% of current online learners and recent graduates reported a salary increase, 26% began a new job, 22% switched careers, 20% were promoted, 19% started their careers and 18% have more responsibilities at work.
• About 60% of online learners are open to pursuing an alternative credential, including trade credentials, industry certifications and non-credit options such as micro-credentials and digital badges.

ACTE’s recently updated “What is a Credential?” fact sheet defines different types of credentials, including alternative credentials, to help CTE advocates and stakeholders better understand the credential landscape.

Updated Resource: “STEM is CTE” Fact Sheet

Recently, ACTE released an updated “STEM is CTE” fact sheet to describe how CTE is developing students’ science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills and preparing students to enter the STEM workforce.

CTE programs across the 16 Career Clusters® enable students to master STEM skills, such as computational thinking, that are increasingly required for both STEM jobs and for jobs not classified as STEM. CTE students also earn STEM industry credentials most requested in job as well as  educational credentials that allow them to pursue high-wage STEM careers in areas like data science, cybersecurity and data center operations.

We encourage ACTE members and CTE advocates to share this resource with students and families, education and workforce leaders, and policymakers to improve the public’s understanding of the connection between and the benefits of STEM and CTE.

Relatedly, this past week, the U.S. Department of Education announced their new “YOU Belong in STEM” initiative. This initiative will focus on improving student outcomes in STEM by promoting positive conditions for learning and development, such as by increasing students’ sense of belonging in the STEM classroom. In the coming weeks, the Department will provide more information related to guidance and technical assistance to elevate STEM teaching and learning.