CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

New Study on Effects of CTE

Male students who attend a Connecticut technical high school have shown to have higher graduation rates, improved wage-earning potential, higher attendance rates in 9th grade and higher 10th grade test scores, a new study from the CTE Research Network reports. These findings are based on data collected from the admission system of the sixteen technical high schools within the Connecticut Technical High School System, combined with other state data systems. Data was collected and analyzed on approximately 57,000 8th graders who applied to the oversubscribed system of high schools for school years 2006-07 through 2013-14. Using a quasi-experimental design, student outcomes were compared for those students just above the admission threshold and those just below the admission threshold.

The research shows that male students attending these technical high schools are about 10 percent more likely to graduate from high school. While these students are also 8 percentage points less likely to attend college; the researchers’ findings, as well as the findings from other studies, suggest that the negative effects on college attendance fade over time.

Other findings for male students who attend technical high schools include an increase in earnings by approximately 31 percent quarterly, and more quarters spent working (likely in part due to lower postsecondary attendance). Shorter term outcomes were also impacted, with improved attendance and test scores. Increases in both can improve high school graduation rates and potential future earnings, so may be predictive of those outcomes. Outcome gains were larger when the schools students would have attended offered fewer CTE courses.

While data was analyzed on female students as well, results were not statistically significant.

This study was funded by the Institute for Education Sciences.

Credentials: Defining Quality, Evaluating Outcomes

New resources from researchers and national organizations are adding to our knowledge about quality credentials, particularly non-degree credentials.

Defining quality for non-degree credentials: The National Skills Coalition (NSC) recently defined a quality non-degree credential and, in consultation with 12 leading states, developed a set of criteria that states can adopt for their own quality assurance systems. ACTE was among the national education and workforce organizations who were also consulted during the development process.

According to NSC, a quality non-degree credential—a postsecondary certificate, industry certification, occupational license or apprenticeship certificate—is “one that provides individuals with the means to equitably achieve their informed employment and educational goals. There must be valid, reliable and transparent evidence that the credential satisfies the criteria that quality:”

1. Substantial job opportunities (required)
2. Transparent evidence of the competencies mastered by credential holders (required)
3. Evidence of the employment and earnings outcomes of individuals after obtaining the credential (required)
4. Stackability to additional education or training (strongly preferred)

State policies can support equitable access to quality credentials through financial aid; supportive services (such as transportation, child care and housing assistance); career counseling, industry partnerships and work-based learning; stackable credentials; integrated education and training (IET) programs for low-skilled adults; and comprehensive data systems.

Counting credentials: A new report from Credential Engine estimates that the United States has at least 738,000 unique credentials across different providers. This number includes degrees as well as about 475,000 non-degree credentials such as postsecondary certificates, apprenticeship certificates, licenses, industry certifications, badges and more.

Knowing how many credentials are available is a necessary first step in learning more about credential value. To further this work, Credential Engine has been building the Credential Registry, a real-time source for credential information based on a common language and common definitions.

Credential outcomes:

• A report from Strada Education Network and Lumina Foundation, based on a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, finds that individuals with a certificate or certification but no college degree have higher full-time employment rates than their peers without a credential (85 percent to 78 percent) and higher median annual incomes ($45,000 to $30,000). They also perceive themselves as more marketable and report greater happiness. However, wage gains vary greatly based on occupation, and wage premiums are much larger for men than women.
• The findings of seven independent analyses link postsecondary certificates and other college-issued credentials to higher rates of employment. Earning gains are larger and more consistent for credentials that take at least six months to complete. While labor market benefits can be found in both the health care and manufacturing sectors, absolute earnings are typically higher in manufacturing.
• An analysis from ExcelinEd and Burning Glass examines data from three states to assess the relationship between CTE high school students’ attainment of credentials and their education and employment outcomes. Across all three states—Florida, Indiana and Kentucky—earning a credential was associated with an increase in on-time graduation. Florida CTE students who earned credentials were more likely to enroll in and graduate from community college. Similarly, evidence from Kentucky linked high school credential attainment with a greater likelihood of earning an associate degree. Finally, data from Florida and Indiana demonstrated that high school credential attainment was associated with higher wages.
• Recent research from Giani, Attewell and Walling (2019) evaluates the employment and earnings outcomes of one cohort of Texas high school graduates. The researchers found that individuals with some college but no credential were more likely to be employed 15 years later and earned more than their peers who did not attend postsecondary education.

Research Round-up: Workforce Preparation, Pre-Apprenticeships, Career Readiness Framework, Perceptions of Additional Education for Those Without Degrees

Recent publications describe various CTE topics ranging from perceptions of having students participate in workforce preparation to a proposed five-pillar framework to ensure high-quality career development systems.

Views on workforce preparation: PDK Polling found in their survey that few parents, teachers and other adults think that preparing students for work should be K-12 education’s primary goal. However, learning jobs skills is a priority among all groups. The three most broadly supported job skills subjects among parents are computer programming, health and medical studies, and information technology hardware and systems.

Framework for pre-apprenticeships: Pre-apprenticeships are designed to help students enter and complete an apprenticeship successfully. JFF developed a framework of six elements for administrators to use to evaluate if programs offered are both high quality and promoting equity:

1. Transparent entry and success requirements
2. Alignment with skills sought by local employers and high-quality apprenticeship programs
3. Culmination in one or more industry-recognized credentials
4. Development of skills through hands-on activities and work-based learning
5. Offering of academic, career exploration and wraparound supports
6. Transition into a registered apprenticeship or other high-quality apprenticeship program

Career readiness framework: In order for career readiness to become a top priority nationwide, the Coalition for Career Development proposes a five-pillar framework to ensure high-quality career development systems. These pillars show the areas that need reform; strategies that will be imperative for change; and the benefits that will come to students, educators and the economy.

Data on the need for additional education: A Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey reports that almost half of Americans feel they need more education. Adults without degrees are more likely to seek out additional education from employers rather than from traditional educational institutions. 

CTE in a 21st-century workforce system: RAND Corporation has released a report describing the need for an integrated, data-driven, equitable 21st-century workforce development and employment system to enable lifelong learning and career progress. Recommended strategies include secondary and postsecondary CTE and career development that responds to current and evolving needs.

New Department of Education Perkins-related Resources

In recent weeks, the Department of Education has released several new or updated resources related to CTE and Perkins V:

• An updated set of state Perkins profiles is now available at https://cte.ed.gov/profiles/national-summary. These profiles now contain the breakdown of state-level funding for FY 2019, the first year of Perkins V implementation, as well as copies of each state’s transition plan (available under the “Data Downloads” tab).
• A new video and discussion guide around Career Guidance in Perkins V is available at https://cte.ed.gov/legislation/perkins-v. The video features an introduction from Assistant Secretary Scott Stump and is designed to provide conversation starters for states and local leaders as they work to address this topic within state plans, and an example from the state of Pennsylvania about their work in this area.
• A new “CTE Data Story” has been released by the Department and is available at https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/cte/index.html. This interactive, visual piece integrates data from several sources, including the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 and the 2018 Perkins Consolidated Annual report, among others, to share information about CTE participation and outcomes.

2028 Employment Projections Show Relevance of CTE

WorkforceGPS has released long-term employment projections for 2018 to 2028 that cover more than 800 occupations and 290 industries at the national level. The report presents trends and projections for in-demand industries, and the growth and decline in different sectors.

The first key trend is the slowing population and slowing labor force growth. The analysis projects only half of a percentage point of growth in the labor force between 2018 and 2028, which is significantly slower than in prior decades. Though labor force and population growth are both slowing, labor force growth is declining faster than population growth because of the aging population. Unemployment is still low, even though the boost in employment that occurred between 2010 and 2018 is no longer present.

Another finding is that health care occupations are projected to increase faster than any other sector, with 6 of the 10 fastest-growing occupations related to health care. Following health care, the next two fastest-growing occupations are in personal care and service, followed by computer and mathematical occupations. The jobs that are projected to decline are production, office and administrative support, and sales and related occupational groups. Automation is mostly driving the decline in these areas.

The last key finding is that low-skilled occupations have the most job openings. However, occupations that require some kind of postsecondary education pay more and are projected to grow faster.

Racial Equity in CTE Programs

Addressing equity in middle-skills jobs is essential for the growth of the nation’s businesses, economy and workers. In order to advance racial equity, the National Skills Coalition recommends nine steps that states can take to increase the diversity in the workforce. These recommendations include adopting racial equity goals; investing in local infrastructure, technical assistance and guidance; providing support services; developing stackable credentials; removing barriers to educational entry; and utilizing industry and business partnerships to advance racial equity.

The report presents several recommendations specific to CTE. The first recommendation is to include racial equity goals in the new Perkins V state plans. The publication encourages states to build on federal requirements by adding specific goals for racial equity through access and outcomes measures. Other recommendations include increasing funding for classes that contextualize English language learning within CTE, increasing the diversity and inclusion practices of industry and business partnerships, and helping students find a career path more quickly. To achieve this, secondary CTE programs should combine high school credentials with postsecondary, industry-recognized credentials. Schools and programs need to invest more and increase technical assistance to enhance diversity and inclusion to achieve success.

Perkins V also addresses racial equity through the comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA), for which local recipients must review their data to find and address equity gaps for a number of students groups, including by race and ethnicity. Additionally, local recipients and states must report data disaggregated by gender, race and ethnicity, and special population status for federal accountability purposes.

To support CLNA, ACTE has developed a local guide to CLNA, which includes guiding questions to ask, materials to review and stakeholders to consult as part of evaluating the root causes of access and performance gaps and developing strategies to increase access and equity in CTE programs. In addition, Access and Equity is one of the 12 elements of high-quality CTE in ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework. Our related High-quality CTE Tools online library includes resources ranging from toolkits to reports, addressing topics such as inclusivity in promotional materials and strategies for equity gap and root cause analysis.

New Report on the Skilled Technical Workforce

The National Science Board (NSB) released a report titled, The Skilled Technical Workforce: Crafting America’s Science and Engineering Enterprise. Its findings are based on stakeholder engagement meetings with relevant organizations in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as nationwide listening sessions that NSB conducted with workers, students, businesses and educators.

NSB found four main challenges that the Skilled Technical Workforce (STW) is facing:

Meeting students where they are, and designing STW education around those needs. The researchers reported the need to center programs around students that work within the constraints of students’ lives. The researchers stressed that lifelong learning is the new reality, and in order to have a skilled and capable workforce, programs need to meet students where they are.

Building partnerships among STW stakeholders. Partnerships between government, industry and educational institutions should occur in order to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach. This allows communities to align curricula to meet local community needs.

Increasing awareness of employment and career opportunities in the STW. The report emphasizes that there are numerous paths to educational and career success. The paths should not be presented as an “either-or” option, instead, the STW should aim to complement rather than compete with other education paths. NSB reports that learners pursuing careers in the STW have opportunities for higher earning potentials, greater job selection and to pursue additional postsecondary STEM education.

Data gaps are creating challenges in establishing a system-wide approach to the STW. Stakeholders are finding it difficult to assess the STW in order to create new programs and partnerships, as well as disseminate information to the public about opportunities within the STW. NSB says that this will be a long-term project that will require the input of multiple organizations for data, however, it is crucial for the continued development of the STW for there to be system-wide data.

Based on the systemic challenges the STW faces, NSB proposes interconnected recommendations, relevant to CTE, for policymakers and STW leaders:

Change the message. The report states that there needs to be an acceptance of various educational paths that are complementary and interdependent. Students should be able to make an educational choice based on their own informed preferences.

Focus on the data. NSB recommends that data should be collected on a wide range of characteristics of the STW, and partnerships between stakeholders should develop to enable collaboration of resources and data.

Build partnerships. NSB recommends that STW stakeholders should work together to fit local community needs. To incentivize this, NSB says policymakers should further develop federal programs to require partnership participation from stakeholders.

Americans Support a Variety of Postsecondary Pathways

New America has released a report titled, Varying Degrees 2019: New America’s Third Annual Survey on Higher Education. The report is based on a survey of 2,029 Americans and their perceptions of education after high school and education’s contribution to economic mobility.

Relevant to CTE, the report found that Americans value various postsecondary educational pathways. More than eight in ten respondents felt comfortable with their child choosing an apprenticeship, technical degree/certificate, associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree.

Another CTE-related finding was that 90 percent of respondents answered that postsecondary education beyond high school will contribute to increased earning potential. While some respondents believed that a high school diploma alone can lead to a lasting career, significantly more recognized the importance of postsecondary education.

Both findings point to the increased understanding and appreciation across the country for the value of CTE, and for multiple paths to upward economic mobility. The survey indicates that the majority of Americans recognize that some type of postsecondary education is a critical component to achieving career success.

New Data on CTE Coursetaking in Different Locales

The National Center for Education Statistics recently released a new fact sheet in its “Data Point” series on the patterns of CTE coursetaking among students from different locales, including cities, suburbs, towns and rural areas. Titled “Career and Technical Education Coursetaking in 2013, by Locale,” the fact sheet draws data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, which includes students who graduated high school in 2013.

Previously released data shows that for 2013 graduates, of the 26.7 overall credits they earned, 2.6 of those credits were from CTE courses. This fact sheet breaks that data down further by the location of the students’ high schools. The new data show that It students in rural areas and towns earned more CTE credits than students in suburbs and cities, and fewer academic credits.  

In addition, —the research shows that  a higher percentage of CTE graduates were concentrators (using a new 2-credit definition to correspond as closely as possible to the requirement in Perkins 5) in rural areas (43%) and towns (45%) rather than suburban areas (34%) or cities (35%). Following this pattern, credit earners in rural areas and towns tended to be more concentrated in the CTE subject fields of agriculture and natural resources and construction. Students from towns earned more engineering, design and production credits than those in cities and suburbs; and students from towns, rural areas and cities earned more credits in healthcare than those from suburban areas. The other six CTE areas did not have any clear patterns in differences in credits earned among the locales.

 

Report Shows New Trends for CTE Students with Disabilities

A new study published by CALDER, the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research, adds to existing research by examining the trends of students with disabilities participating in CTE courses. To study these patterns, the researchers evaluated three different data sets, which included nationally representative data sets of high school students from 2000-01 to 2003-04 and from 2009-10 to 2012-13, and a statewide data set of Washington high school students between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

The researchers wanted to determine the differences in CTE coursetaking among three groups of students—students with learning disabilities, students with other disabilities and students without disabilities. The researchers examined two research questions to understand the relationship between CTE participation and students with disabilities.

How has the average number of CTE credits taken during high school changed over time for students with learning disabilities compared to the other two groups of students? They found that, nationally, occupational CTE credits taken declined from the early 2000s to 2013 for the students with learning disabilities and with other identified disabilities, but did not decline for students without disabilities. However, looking at the Washington dataset, participation for students with disabilities in occupational CTE courses stabilized after 2013.

How do these trends vary within different CTE occupational areas? The researchers found that Washington high school students with disabilities were participating more in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) CTE areas than in other CTE program areas. The percentage of students in the STEMM areas across all three groups increased from 15 percent to 25 percent between 2009 and 2018.

These findings illustrate that although there was a decline in CTE participation by students with disabilities in the early 2000s, in Washington, that decline has since stabilized and participation in the STEMM courses has increased. The researchers caution that, although STEMM CTE participation has been linked to positive outcomes for students with disabilities, the skilled trades and business sectors should not be forgotten as options for these students. They conclude by stressing the importance of states continuing to strive for more participation by students with disabilities in CTE courses, as it will help with both college and career readiness. 

On August 29, ACTE, collaborating with Penn State University’s Workforce Education program and the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT), hosted the first webinar of a five-part webinar series addressing programs, practices and partnerships among CTE and special education practitioners that support students with disabilities in CTE. The next webinar focus is on creating effective partnerships between special education and CTE professionals. The webinar will take place on September 19, 2019 3:00-4:30 pm EST. Learn more and register here.