CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Research Roundup: Neurodiversity in the Workplace, Student Financial Aid Eligibility and Guided Pathways

Embracing Neurodiversity at Work, Unleashing America’s Largest Untapped Talent Pool: In the face of the growing workforce challenges facing the U.S. economy, the American Enterprise Institute has published a report that advances the understanding of the opportunities and challenges of building environments that empower neurodivergent workers’ strengths and needs. Researchers estimate there could be as many as 67 million neurodivergent Americans across the U.S. and that the unemployment rate for neurodivergent adults is 30% to 40%, roughly eight times the rate for individuals without disabilities. 

More findings below:

• One in 36 American adults (2.8%) have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one in 22 American adults (4.6%) have ADHD, and between 3% and 7% of Americans have dyslexia.
• Some estimate that the unemployment rate for workers with ASD is 85% and underemployment is also a significant problem. However, 60% of adults with ASD who receive vocational rehabilitation services gain employment.
• The number of neurodivergent job candidates is growing, with approximately 700,000 to 1 million ASD youth turning 18 by the end of this decade, nearly double the rate that experts previously expected.
• Employers are reporting shifts to skills-based hiring practices because of difficulties in filling open positions, an approach that may elevate performance on job-relevant skills above performance in job interviews and related social situations.

The authors recommend, among other actions, supporting education-to-career pathways for neurodivergent individuals and investing in and improving workforce development and job training and coaching programs.  

Who Deserves State Financial Aid? Eligibility Criteria for Students Entering College: The Education Trust recently published a report that explores the state financial aid funding profiles of 10 states across the nation to shed light on the status quo for equitable access to postsecondary education. Researchers found that since 2008, state funding for public two- and four-year colleges and universities experienced a deficit of $6.6 billion when adjusting for inflation, leading to rising prices for students and families.

Among the recommendations from the report is to make state financial aid available to students attending postsecondary institutions less than full time.

While the publication does not address program length, another option for increasing access for learners is to expand Pell grants to cover the costs of high-quality, short-term education programs to help more Americans earn credentials, enter the workforce or begin new careers. These programs are offered by postsecondary institutions, can be for-credit and non-credit, are in demand and can lead to high-skill, high-wage careers. Click here to learn more.

Guided Pathways Practices and Early Academic Success in Three States: A recently published Community College Research Center study examined the guided pathway practices of 62 community and technical colleges across Tennessee, Ohio and Washington to explore whether the implementation of guided pathways is associated with improvements in student outcomes. The study found that in the four years after statewide adoption, Tennessee students earned between 1.6 and 4.6 more college-level credits.

More findings from each state below:

• CTE program maps are associated with an increase in fall-to-fall persistence rates (OH), college-level math credits earned in the first year (OH), and college-level STEM credits earned in the first year (WA).
• Program-specific math sequences, mandatory advising and progress monitoring are positively associated with college-level math credits earned in the first year (OH).
• Practices related to helping students get on a program path are positively associated with fall-to-fall persistence (WA).
• Practices that organize paths to student goals and keep students on a path to completion are associated with improved credit attainment (TN).

Opportunities to Contribute to Career Clusters® Framework Revisions

In late 2022, Advance CTE, who holds the registered trademark for the current 16 national Career Clusters^®, embarked on an extensive initiative to update and revise the National Career Clusters Framework to reflect the modern workforce.

As the revision process progresses, Advance CTE recently announced that they will be hosting a webinar on June 6 to provide a “first look” at a draft revised Framework. If you are interested in attending to learn more, you can register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WHN6-w-JQGWeQVi6BwiZnQ#/registration.

In addition, after the webinar, a National Validation Survey will be distributed to allow detailed feedback on the draft Framework. You can sign up for an invitation to participate in the survey, as well as to receive other updates, at https://careertech.org/contact-us/.

More information on the Career Clusters revision process, including progress to date, fact sheets, frequently asked questions and more can be found at https://careertech.org/what-we-do/career-clusters/advancing-the-framework/.

Gen Z's Participation in CTE

Several recent articles have highlighted the growing interest among “Gen Z” youth and young adults in CTE-related careers. Generation Z is generally used to refer to individuals born roughly between 1997 and 2012 (with some debate on specifics), so currently covers individuals from middle school through young adulthood – many of whom are choosing to enroll in CTE programs.  

The coverage of the changing interests of this generation emphasizes that there are significant labor shortages in skilled trades, including fields such as manufacturing, welding and construction. While many have debated how to fill these gaps and solve this issue, Generation Z has been showing an increased interest and participation in skilled trades programs and migrating away from four-year pathways.  

Data is starting to support this trend as well. Enrollment in community colleges with a high CTE-program focus increased 16% from 2022 to 2023, as noted by the National Student Clearinghouse. In addition to this, 54% of Gen Z surveyed by New America have stated they believe a high school diploma is enough to secure a sustainable and lasting job upon completion. While in most cases, some postsecondary education is actually needed for careers with family-sustaining wages, this exemplifies the perception of today’s students. This shift is not only evident in how Gen Z pursues education, but even in the labor market in fields such as carpentry and HVAC maintenance, where Axios suggests that the median age of workers is younger than it has been in past decades.  

The rising costs of postsecondary education, impact of the pandemic, rising student loan debt and high wages for many skilled trade workers are all mentioned as potential contributors to this shift.  

In a podcast recorded for the Wall Street Journal, reporter Te-Ping Chen noted that some of the primary reasons that younger people might be gravitating toward skilled trades are compensation and security. Wages in the skilled trades are increasing; the median pay for new hires in the construction industry is around $48,000 compared to $39,000 for new hires in professional services.  

Additionally, student loan debt has been a nationwide conversation of late, given the efforts of the Biden Administration to pass legislation to offer borrowers forgiveness of up to $20,000. This was followed by a new proposed forgiveness plan after the Supreme Court rejected the original proposal. The new student loan forgiveness plan would only apply to borrowers who entered repayment 20-25 years ago, but the conversation has elevated discourse in this area and gotten the attention of Gen Z learners. CTE programs and career training pathways such as apprenticeships often leave students with substantially less student debt, making it financially attractive for youth just beginning their careers. 

Chen, alongside NPR contributor Windsor Johnston, also pointed out that there is much less concern with skilled trades professions being compromised by evolving technology such as AI. Rather, new technologies are introduced in these fields to increase appeal toward younger generations.  

Gen Z is gravitating toward the skilled trades at a rate that will significantly impact the future of these industries as the demographics of workers shift, and as the nature and public perception of these jobs evolve as well. The perception shift also has the potential to significantly impact CTE program enrollment and demand, and policymakers will need to ensure the education and workforce systems have the capacity to meet the needs of all students.  

Updated Resource: Arts, Media and Entertainment Sector Sheet

Today ACTE published CTE: Developing the Arts, Media and Entertainment Workforce as part of our revamped series of Sector Sheets describing CTE’s role in growing the workforce for vital industry sectors. The Sector Sheet series is published with support from ACTE's long-time partner Pearson.  

This Sector Sheet describes how CTE supports the arts, media and entertainment workforce, which employs about 3 million people nationwide. It also shares information on occupations, earnings and credentials that enable individuals to succeed in the animation, game design and visual effects; performance, music and live entertainment; and media production sub-sectors.

In addition, the Sector Sheet demonstrates the importance of CTE in developing this workforce by describing how CTE prepares learners through courses, industry credentials, work-based learning, career and technical student organizations and more. 

Both the newer and older Sector Sheets are available on the ACTE Sector Sheet webpage for download and use. We encourage you to share these tools with students, families, counselors, policymakers and others to spread the message about CTE and its benefits for learners and the workforce.  

Research Roundup: Work-Based Learning Data Collection, Equitable Postsecondary Value and Dual Enrollment Data

Building Robust District Work-Based Learning Data Collection Systems: A recently published report by the CTE Research Network showcases the promising practices of six school districts across the nation that have gone well beyond the minimum for work-based learning (WBL) data collection and use.

Recommendations on how school leaders can improve WBL data collection below:

• Begin data collection as early as possible by creating records of learner career interests and activities.
• Systematically capture learner skill gains so they can be assessed as an outcome measure through tagging predefined sets of skills or using a structured employer evaluation form.
• Track student career interests and WBL participation through individual learning plan databases.
• Minimize data collection errors by implementing formal systems that restrict entries to first-hand sources such as teachers, students, employers and school-level WBL coordinators.
• Prioritize data quality and integration across systems.

Researchers also emphasized the need for longitudinal data systems that link education and employment records.

ACTE is one of the lead organizations in the CTE Research Network.

Geographic Variation in Equitable Postsecondary Value Among Community Colleges: The American Institutes for Research has released a report that quantifies the value that postsecondary institutions provide to students by using publicly available data to measure learners’ earnings against the Postsecondary Value Commission’s Postsecondary Value Framework. Experts determined that community colleges hold a positive value for students from the 2008-09 and 2009-10 beginning cohort with a median economic return of $2,800 compared to people whose highest attainment is a high school diploma. In particular, pathways that result in employment within health care and manufacturing were associated with increased economic value for students.

Understanding Dual Enrollment: The Community College Research Center recently published a policy fact sheet on dual enrollment (DE) summarizing what we know from the research. Researchers noted that 82% of high school students nationwide report attending a school that offers DE courses.

Top-level findings, insights and recommendations below:

• Unequal access to DE is prominent with White students participating in these courses at twice the rate of their Black and Hispanic classmates. Individuals with disabilities and English learners are also significantly underrepresented.
• Over 1.5 million learners annually enroll in DE courses nationwide with more than a million of those individuals taking them through two-year institutions. In fact, secondary students account for approximately 20% of community college enrollments.
• Standardized placement tests are the main method for determining eligibility, although researchers question their validity and whether they perpetuate inequities.
• The most frequent model for DE delivery is college-level coursework taught at the high school. Students who take courses on a college campus are less likely to pass the DE course but more likely to enroll in community college after high school.­
• Traditional DE models are less costly overall than Early College High School (ECHS) models despite ECHSs being designed to offer programing at low or no cost to learners.

Research Roundup: Data on CTE Offerings, Student Perceptions of Postsecondary Education and Transfer Outcomes

NCES Data on CTE Offerings in Public Schools: NCES has published the results of its January 2024 edition of the School Pulse Panel, the U.S. Department of Education’s monthly data collection effort of vital information in public education.

The results include the following:

• 86% of public high schools reported offering CTE.
• Schools comprised of more than 75% students of color were the least likely to report offering CTE courses.
• Schools in rural settings are more likely to report offering CTE.
• 62% of public high schools reported having graduation requirements that include college and career milestones.

Student Perceptions of American Postsecondary Education: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with HCM Strategists and Edge Research recently published a study on recent trends in postsecondary enrollment. The data is composed of survey responses from 18- to 30-year-olds who did not complete or never enrolled in postsecondary education (referred to as non-enrollees) as well as high scohol juniors and seniors.

Key insights are listed below:

• Non-enrollees are increasingly seeing “excellent or good value” in coursework that leads to a certificate or license.
• Both cohorts of respondents (non-enrollees and high schoolers) believe that in today’s market a good job requires certification as proof of someone’s skills (65% and 69%, respectively).
• Among supports that would be extremely helpful, both cohorts cited debt elimination as the most important support, followed by guidance to navigate the college experience (high school students) and help identifying career skills and interests (non-enrollees).
• High schoolers get most of their information about postsecondary education from school counselors (47%), parents (44%), college websites (37%) and teachers (34%). Non-enrollees obtain most of their information from Google searches (39%), college websites (34%), social media (29%) and peers (23%).

Transfer and Progress Report, February 2024 Edition: The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has released more data from its transfer and progress report, which was created to serve educational leaders and policymakers addressing enrollment impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through detailed and readily available data in the clearinghouse platform.

Key insights from the report below:

• Overall upward transfer enrollment along all pathways increased by 7.7% with over 39,000 students moving up a level in their educational journeys.
• The 2022 cohort of students enrolled at the community college level grew by 851,000 new students, representing an increase of 7% compared to the 2020 mid-pandemic cohort. This increase impacted most racial and ethnic groups, particularly Hispanic students. Gains were also high among students aged 20 and younger.
• Over two-thirds of students who started at community college and completed an upward transfer earned a credential within six years, compared to only 30.7% of lateral and 22.7% of non-transfer students.

OCTAE Releases Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on Advancing Gender Equity in CTE

The Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the U.S. Department of Education has released a letter designed to share recent progress around gender equity within CTE programs and highlight areas of success. The Perkins Act continues to place a priority on encouraging students to pursue programs that lead to careers that are non-traditional for their gender, making this a critical issue for CTE leaders as well as the economy, as many fields are struggling with staffing shortages due to a lack of employment interest and retention among one gender.  

The first part of the memo includes a review of historical data trends around gaps in CTE and workforce participation by gender. Key insights included:  

• Between 1990 and 2019, there was no major differences in the share of male and female graduates who earned at least one credit in CTE subject areas such as information technology, construction and architecture, all non-traditional occupations for women.  

• In 2021-22, there was more than 2.8 million CTE high school concentrators across the nation, 46.7% of which were female.  

• Between 1990 and 2019, gaps narrowed between male and female participation in architecture and construction; manufacturing; and transportation, distribution and logistics, but largely because male participation declined. The gap also narrowed in human services, although female continue to have stronger participation.  

• Females made progress in closing the participation gap with males in agriculture, food and natural resources between 1990 and 2019, but the gap widened in IT, continued to be large in engineering and technology, and a new gap emerged in business and marketing.  

• During the 1990–2019 timeframe, a gap emerged in male-female participation in health sciences, with females participating at higher rates.  

• In STEM Occupations requiring less than a baccalaureate degree, women comprised only 25% of the workforce in 2021, highlighting the need for more progress in secondary level training efforts. 

The memo then highlighted results from several states that have made progress closing gaps in participation by gender in some fields. Profiles are included of Arkansas’ efforts to expand female participation in computer science, Washington D.C.’s partnership with a national organization to evaluate and take action on male-female participation gaps in STEM and architecture and construction fields and Kansas’ efforts to increase the number of male concentrators in health science pathways to address critical shortages of nurses and other health care professionals.  

 The report emphasizes that these efforts represent a considerable initiative by state leaders to go above and beyond the bare minimum requirements of Perkins V for advancing gender equity, and that significant progress is unlikely if efforts are confined to only legal requirements. 

Updated Resource: Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security Sector Sheet

Today ACTE is releasing CTE: Developing the Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security Workforce, the latest in our revamped series of Sector Sheets describing CTE’s role in growing the workforce for vital industry sectors. The Sector Sheet series is published with support from ACTE's long-time partner Pearson.  

These revised Sector Sheets include job opportunities in each sector and descriptions of how CTE prepares learners for the workforce in each sector, all in a new format featuring more streamlined text and additional graphics to make these advocacy tools even more effective. 

This Sector Sheet describes how CTE supports the law, public safety, corrections and security workforce, which employs about 5 million people nationwide. It also shares information on occupations, earnings and credentials that enable individuals to succeed in the emergency medical and fire, legal services and law enforcement sub-sectors. Finally, the Sector Sheet demonstrates the importance of CTE in developing this workforce by describing how CTE prepares learners through courses, industry credentials, work-based learning, career and technical student organizations and more. 

As we move forward with the revamped Sector Sheets, both the newer and older Sector Sheets will remain available on the ACTE Sector Sheet webpage for download and use. We encourage you to share these tools with students, families, counselors, policymakers and others to spread the message about CTE and its benefits for learners and the workforce.  

Research Roundup: CTE Student Impacts, Artificial Intelligence and Sector-based Training Programs

What We Know About the Impact of CTE: A recently published report by the CTE Research Network explored the causal effects of CTE on student outcomes through a systematic review of literature spanning the past 20 years. The report concluded that CTE has a positive impact on student outcomes such as academic achievement, high school completion, employability skills and college readiness in comparison to those who did not take any CTE courses.

More findings and insights below:

• Students who participate in CTE in high school are more likely to be enrolled in a two-year college or be employed after graduation than their non-CTE counterparts, with no statistically significant impact on four-year college enrollment.
• The literature review found no statistically significant negative impacts of CTE participation.
• Researchers highlighted CTE’s impacts on student achievement in postsecondary education as well as CTE’s effect on discipline, attendance, degree attainment and earnings as current research topics for which evidence is lacking.
• Researchers determined that not enough evidence exists about different CTE delivery models to distinguish impact or effectiveness.

ACTE is a lead in the CTE Research Network.

Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The American Enterprise Institute has published a report that analyzes how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect jobs, skills and the evolution of work through the automation of a variety of tasks. Experts found that AI could add approximately $2.6-$4.4 trillion annually across the globe through industries such as banking, software, technology and the life sciences, highlighting the importance of adapting educational curricula across the nation to accommodate this technology.

According to the analysis, most studies have found to date that AI’s effect on employment has been minimal. While predictions for the future vary greatly, the expectation of skills that are likely to be impacted by AI has shifted over the years from manual tasks to tasks such as writing.

The following list shares recommendations on how state and federal policies can support workers as they navigate this new technological era:

• Invest in sector-based training programs as a worker-centered approach.
• Support displaced workers through job counseling and relocation and financial support during the retraining, transition and job search processes.
• Authorize worker-owned personal employment training accounts through federal legislation.
• Invest in career guidance and counseling, particularly in areas with high concentrations of low-income students.

Sector-based Training Programs: MDRC recently published a report on sector-based training programs that provides insight into the factors that enable sector-based programs to be successful. Researchers discovered that training providers are struggling to provide proper services to workers, with lack of funding and capacity for data collection and analysis seriously hindering their options for program advancement and improvement.

The following list describes insights and recommendations on sector-based training struggles:

• Providers report frequently suffering from data overload with little to no capacity to digest and interpret data.
• Funding opportunities from third parties often lead to rushed expansion that overextends staff and hinders original program models, structures and ideologies.
• Limited staff capacity hinders development and sustainability of industry partnerships, often leading to insufficient pathways for workers and incorrection perceptions of training programs.
• Interviewees identified personal and professional alumni networks as crucial supports.

Extending the Runway: A 50-State Analysis of Middle School Career Exploration

American Student Assistance® in collaboration with Education Strategy Group recently published a report that explores the resources and mechanisms that state leaders, school administrators and CTE educators are leveraging to implement and expand middle grades career exploration.

Researchers noted a worrying trend of 45% of young Americans in Generation Z who say a high school diploma is all they need to get financial security, while 72% of U.S. jobs are expected to require some form of postsecondary education by 2031.

Experts suggest that the solution to better prepare learners to make decisions about their careers is intervention at an earlier age in the form of middle grades career exploration. Most states having identified middle grades career exploration as an important component of a student’s education (73%), have dedicated funding to support such activities (92%), and have policies that require some type of middle grades career exploration (92%). Twenty-seven states require students to develop an individual career and academic plan in middle school. Additionally, all but one state reported offering material supports for schools and districts to guide their middle grades career exploration work, often in the form of templates, tools, lesson plans and platforms.

Despite this recent progress, only 11 states (22%) have explicitly codified the term middle school career exploration in state statute. In addition, only 20% of states collect data on middle grades exploration while only 14% include this topic in their state or federal accountability systems.

When it comes to funding, the majority of states (96%) have allocated some funds to support middle grades career exploration although amounts vary greatly. Forty-one percent of states fund middle grades exploration only through federal sources such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

School administrators are most frequently using this money to invest in customized online platforms that facilitate students’ career planning. Three states report using their funds to increase districts’ capacity through career advisors and coaches, while only a few states are dedicating funds to specifically support career and technical student organizations with middle grade chapters.

The following recommendations describe how Perkins V and CTE can be leveraged to support middle grades career exploration:

• Use state Perkins V and ESSA plans to set middle grades career exploration expectations and to monitor quality and data collection.
• Revise state policies that limit students’ abilities to access diverse career exploration opportunities, including restricting CTE course enrollment by grade point average or grade level.
• Ensure explicit commitment to middle grades career exploration in local Perkins V subgrantee applications.
• Use Perkins V to set aside funds to support professional development and to encourage localities to prioritize middle grades career exploration in grant applications.