CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Safety in Secondary Construction Courses

A recent journal article examining accident occurrences reported by instructors in secondary construction programs revealed that among construction teachers participating in the Technology and Engineering Education (TEE)—Facilities and Safety Survey, 92% reported a minor accident occurrence in their construction courses in the past five years and 34% reported a major accident occurrence.

Researchers Tyler S. Love from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Kenneth R. Roy from Glastonbury Public Schools in Connecticut identified seven risk factors and 13 protective factors associated with an increase or decrease in accidents. The following list details some of the most significant factors highlighted by the researchers:

• Facilities and Equipment: Having a laboratory in the instructional area was significantly associated with an increase in accident occurrences, as was having a separate finishing room. Lockable storage cabinets, sinks in the instructional space and fume extractors for soldering activities were all linked to decreased accident occurrences.

• Class Size: Average enrollments exceeding 20 students were linked to increases in major accident occurrences and 52% of construction teachers in the study reported class sizes greater than 20 students.

• Safety Training: School district training was associated with reduced minor and major accident occurrences, but few construction and TEE teachers reported receiving safety training from their school district. More construction and TEE teachers reported receiving safety training from their undergraduate or graduate coursework.

• Teachers’ Background: Holding a teacher certification through an alternative pathway was a risk factor for accidents, while holding a bachelor’s degree in engineering was a protective factor.

The researchers note that “as students matriculate into postsecondary education programs and into the workforce, they will carry with them the safety knowledge and practices they developed during their secondary education experience” and recommend the following:

• Partnerships among school districts, industry, state departments of education and safety officers to share best practices and provide professional development and supports for increased safety in the classroom for instructors and learners.
• Ensuring access to CTE-specific coursework and safety training for alternatively certified instructors.
• Placing no more than 20 students in a construction course with one certified and safety-trained educator.

Read more from Love and Roy about specific safety considerations for CTE classrooms and labs in Techniques.

Perkins V Resources: Middle Grades & Career Development

Perkins V recognizes the importance of beginning career exploration as early as possible by enabling Perkins funds to be spent starting in grade 5. The legislation also includes new definitions and provisions that focus on expanding and improving work-based learning and career development.

As we continue our celebration of five years of Perkins V, take a look at these resources from ACTE and its partners with tips for and examples of effective strategies for career development and middle grades CTE:

• Broadening the Path: Design Principles for Middle Grades CTE: This Advance CTE and ACTE resource lays out a theory of action for CTE in the middle grades, defines outcomes for student learning, and introduces 10 design principles that should be part of any middle grade CTE program.

• Student Career Development series: This ACTE series of briefs and webinars dives into topics such as social emotional learning, work-based learning and equitable career development through technology.

• High-quality CTE Library: Student Career Development: ACTE’s online library of resources includes publications and more on how to empower and prepare learners for the workforce through career development.

CTE educators and career development professionals can use these resources to support career advisement, exploration and more, including programming in the middle grades.

Perkins V Resources: CLNA

As part of our celebration of the fifth birthday of Perkins V, this week we will be sharing ACTE resources that support CTE programs with implementation of the law.

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, informally known as Perkins V, mandates local recipients to conduct a comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) to be eligible to receive federal funding. The CLNA is a significant change in Perkins V that supports data-driven decision making and provides the opportunity for better alignment across planning, spending and accountability activities at the local level.

To help CTE programs with this new requirement, ACTE has developed or co-developed the following CLNA related tools and resources:

• Maximizing Perkins V’s Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment & Local Application to Drive CTE Program Quality and Equity: This ACTE tool assists readers in translating the language of the law into concrete actionable steps for conducting the CLNA whilst providing tips for program improvement founded on meaningful, data-driven consultation with stakeholders.

• ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework Self-evaluation: A Tool for the Perkins V Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment: The ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework™ and its companion self-evaluation can help local CTE leaders comprehensively evaluate program quality, scope, delivery, implementation and more for the CLNA.

• Lessons in Collaboration and Innovation: The Impact and Promise of the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment: This report from Advance CTE and ACTE elevates lessons learned from state and local CTE leaders regarding the first round of CLNAs and offers recommendations and enhancements to ensure that future CLNAs meet the promise of ensuring equitable access to CTE.

• High-quality CTE Library: Data and Program Improvement: ACTE’s online library of resources contains publications and toolkits focused on leveraging data and engaging in program improvement processes, such as the CLNA, to support CTE. 

These resources can help state and local leaders maximize their CLNA process. ACTE and Advance CTE have also collaborated on technical assistance to provide more targeted assistance to states and local CTE programs focused on effectively conducting the CLNA.

Research Roundup: CTE at Community Colleges

Analysis of Community College Health Care Training Programs: The Community College Research Center at Columbia University recently published a report in which researchers used 2019-20 data from the U.S. Department of Education to examine community colleges’ contributions to the health care workforce.

The results showed that community colleges are responsible for much of the health care programs and graduates in allied health, nursing, mental health and clinical laboratory science. Additionally, researchers looked at the demographics of community colleges and earnings outcomes that students achieve upon completion. The following represent some of the most notable findings:

• Community colleges were cited as responsible for 76% of all postsecondary programs in mental/social health, 68% in allied health and 58% in practical nursing. They were also responsible for similar percentages of graduates in those programs across the postsecondary sector.
• Public health programs were noted for their diverse recruitment with Latinx and African American students comprising 22% and 20% of all graduates, respectively.
• For many health care programs, certificates are more common than longer-term awards.
• Median hourly wages vary by program and attainment level, with the highest wages associated with two-year degrees in dental support services.

Community Colleges: Achieving Their Potential for Workforce Development: A report recently published by the American Enterprise Institute analyzed the role of public community colleges in preparing learners to enter the workforce and meet labor demand.

Community colleges are facing many hurdles, including providing academic and career supports, purchasing equipment for in-demand fields, the lack of Pell Grant access for students in non-credit programs, and the transfer disconnect with four-year institutions, among other things. Researchers highlighted some of the following recommendations for policymakers and administrators to better support these institutions:

• Update recruitment and hiring practices to attract instructors with relevant industry experience.
• Use labor market information and employer engagement to improve labor market alignment and better integrate work-based learning with classroom instruction.
• Create flexible pathways and stackable opportunities in and among for-credit and non-credit programs.
• Invest in staff who specialize in building relationships with employers and community partners.

The publication highlights examples such as Project QUEST in San Antonio, Texas, which offers community college training that supports the certification of students in high-earnings fields such as health care, manufacturing and information technology as well as the Good Jobs Challenge, which has awarded $500 million in grants extending into 2027 to regional workforce training partnerships of industry, community colleges, training partners, community-based organizations and unions.

Strategies and Resources to Align Non-credit and Credit Programs: Education Strategy Group recently published a series of resources, which share research, strategies and examples of success aimed at supporting community colleges in the pursuit of more closely aligning non-credit workforce training and degree-focused credit programs. Despite this separation often being beneficial, having two different systems internally can cause content duplication, lack of communication, missed opportunities to build and collaborate and an inequitable student experience, particularly for non-credit students.

Researchers propose the following key tenets for framework alignment:

• Treat non-credit students the same as those in for-credit programs. Ensure every institutional decision or action is taken with both types of learners in mind.
• Do not make non-credit programs an educational dead end. Instead develop seamless transitions between non-credit programs and credentials and associate degree programs.
• Reorganize for joint leadership between non-credit and credit departments and be prepared to modify institutional curriculum development and design processes for better alignment.
• Ensure that industry-focused programs are credit worthy and credit based with bridge tools like credit matrices, articulation and equivalency agreements.

CTE Among the Pathway Changes for Better Workforce Outcomes

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) recently released a report on youth and young adult pathway changes. More specifically, the report sought to identify 10 pathway changes with “the greatest potential to improve employment outcomes” for this population, considering the impact that pathway changes could have on a person’s future during critical junctures of their lives.

The 10 pathway changes involve a variety of initiatives such as increasing educational attainment toward a certificate, associate degree or bachelor’s degree; specializing in CTE at the high school level; working in the skilled trades; and working in STEM fields. For this analysis, CEW researchers created the Pathways-to-Career policy simulation model that uses longitudinal data to identify the pathway changes that would best increase a student’s chances of working a “good job.” The report defines a “good job” as one that pays at least $38,000 for younger workers and at least $49,000 for workers 45 and older in 2020 dollars, with 30-year-old workers with good jobs earning a median salary of $57,000.

The overarching takeaway from the analysis is that layered pathway changes are almost twice as effective as any individual pathway change, therefore it is important to invest across all three domains: educational attainment, career training and work experience.

When it comes to specializing in CTE in high school, this pathway change was the most likely to lead to good jobs for youth who are expected to graduate from high school but do not plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree by age 22. CTE was also a particularly effective pathway change for white learners, male students and low socioeconomic status (SES) learners; somewhat effective for Black/African American learners; and not effective for Hispanic/Latino learners.

In addition, the analysis shows that pathway changes produce different effects based on students’ race/ethnicity, gender and SES:

• The single most effective pathway change leading to “good jobs” is earning a bachelor’s degree by age 22.
• Most pathway changes are more effective for men than for women, particularly for men without a high school diploma in low-wage jobs who transition to skilled trades occupations.
• For Black students, earning a bachelor’s degree and working in a STEM or other high-paying occupation are the most effective pathway changes.
• For Hispanic/Latino learners, the most effective pathway changes are earning a certificate, associate degree or bachelor’s degree.

Researchers noted the importance of prioritizing pathway changes considering both effectiveness and the total number of individuals who could be affected by a particular change as well as differential impacts across race/ethnicity, gender and class. The best approach is to make strategically targeted interventions for underserved groups over a one-size-fits-all solution. For instance, the findings above suggest value in promoting CTE pathways that incorporate postsecondary credentials and lead to high-paying jobs for all learners and particularly for Black/African American students and Hispanic/Latino students.

One important caveat to this analysis is that it is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, an ongoing study that tracks the outcomes of a nationally representative sample of individuals who were aged 12-16 in the late 1990s. Therefore, this data predates many innovations in CTE program offerings and delivery that have occurred in the past 25 years. The researchers acknowledge that their analysis may understate the current impact of CTE on increasing access to good jobs.

Summit Gathers in D.C. to Discuss Workforce Development for Young Adults

The U.S. Department of Labor recently hosted workforce development advocates and professionals from around the United States at the Youth Employment Works Summit to discuss its new youth and young adult employment initiative that prioritizes these workers in developing the workforce of the nation. The initiative is called the Youth Employment Works Strategy and its goals are the following:

• Deliver accessible supportive services and workforce development opportunities for youth and young workers.
• Improve partnerships between the private and public sectors to increase investment in high-quality pathways for young people and develop a strong basis for the future workforce.
• Offer guaranteed paid work-based learning opportunities to ALL young people.

The summit featured guests from organizations like the United Federation of Teachers, New America, Jobs for America’s Graduates and professionals from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Transportation. The summit was intentionally diverse in the types of guests featured to demonstrate that better developing the nation’s workforce around young people is a collective effort that will require individuals from all walks of life.

The summit held multiple panels on topics such as worker and educational diversity, public-private sector partnerships, cross-agency collaboration and reimagining the secondary-level school experience for students throughout the nation. Panelists like Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, emphasized the importance of making CTE more accessible to all students in the country and putting less emphasis on building curricula around the traditional four-year degree path. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only about one-third of 18-24-year-olds enrolled in a four-year institution in 2020, with more than 60% of young people choosing a different pathway after high school. Weingarten also called for increasing career pathways access to all students around the nation.

The event was closed with remarks from U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, who reiterated the importance of the new initiative, the calls to action of all the panelists, as well as the importance of ensuring all learners around the country have access to CTE and work-based learning opportunities across state lines.

Research Roundup: Recent Postsecondary CTE Trends and Developments

The following research roundup will look at five reports by four different publishers that recently sought to analyze some of the most important issues surrounding community colleges and other institutions offering postsecondary CTE. The reports come from New America, the RAND Corporation, Columbia University’s Community College Research Center and Work Shift.

Getting Non-Degree Workforce Programs Right at Community Colleges: New America has released a multiple-part series that focuses on how to plan, deliver and use data to improve non-degree workforce programs at the community college level. The series was produced by the think tank’s Center on Education & Labor as part of the New Models for Career Preparation project, which aims to create stories and research for building a better understanding of non-degree workforce education with the ultimate goal of unlocking the full potential of non-degree workforce training. Researchers looked at literature to “synthesize, develop and pressure-test” a framework for non-degree programs at colleges. This work is based on five criteria for quality non-degree workforce programs:

• The program leads to quality jobs with strong labor market outcomes.
• The program advances equity and diversity in occupationally segregated jobs.
• The program opens doors to advanced credentials or degrees.
• The program is affordable.
• The program has strong completion rates.

Community Colleges Can Increase Credential Stacking by Introducing New Programs Within Established Technical Pathways: In a recent study conducted by the RAND Corporation, researchers analyzed stackable credentials in community colleges, their cost, their return on investment, as well as their value for students, government and local economies. The report analyzed the effects of the introduction of new certificate or associate degree programs in the Ohio community college system from 2004-05 to 2016-17. Researchers found that students who had just completed a credential program were more likely to re-enroll and earn more credentials within two years if their college had an additional program within their field of study. Additionally, researchers were able to confirm that further short-term enrollment did not significantly decrease student participation in employment or transfer to four-year university programs, showing that stackable credentials fit naturally within these students’ career and education pathways.

High-demand Jobs, High-cost Education: A recent Work Shift article by education reporter Lilah Burke looked at how community colleges around the country are innovating in the face of a major nationwide struggle to afford the necessary facilities and instructors for high-demand fields like microelectronics and biotech. Postsecondary institutions like community colleges are struggling to compete with the resources available to research universities in the field of experiential learning, which is needed to train the ever-rising number of operators or technicians needed in growth areas like semiconductor manufacturing. However, these institutions are finding creative ways around these challenges. The report looks at how four community colleges in Ohio, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina are succeeding in providing experiential learning to their students through incubators, partnerships with industry and government, and creative funding mechanisms from philanthropies and grants.

How Can Community Colleges Afford to Offer Dual-enrollment College Courses to High School Students at a Discount?: A recent report released by Columbia University’s Community College Research Center looked at the issue of high-cost dual-enrollment programs for community colleges. Researchers determined that in most parts of the country, colleges receive less funding per dual-enrollment student than they do for regular, non-dual-enrollment students, meaning that these programs are a financial burden for these institutions. The main purpose of the study was to explore how community colleges could continue to provide broad access to high-quality, sustainable dual-enrollment programs. Researchers analyzed the economics of dual enrollment from the perspective of three different community colleges to demonstrate the conditions under which dual enrollment can be made affordable and efficient.

New Resource: High Quality Framework Infographic

Today, ACTE published a new infographic that highlights ways to use the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework^TM and its companion self-evaluation instrument. The Framework helps CTE educators to assess quality in their CTE programs of study through more than 90 criteria organized under 12 elements, capturing the full range of activities across a CTE program.

As described by the infographic, the Framework and self-evaluation tool can be used by educators, administrators and leaders to support educator preparation programs, help new CTE instructors, identify professional development needs, conduct the Perkins V comprehensive local needs assessment and recognize CTE program quality. Since its launch in 2018, the online Framework self-evaluation has been used over 4,000 times to support CTE program of study quality across secondary and postsecondary programs and spanning all 16 Career Clusters®.

We encourage ACTE members and CTE supporters to read and share this infographic with colleagues and other CTE stakeholders to learn about how the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework ^TM can support CTE program improvement.

Click here to access more tools related to the Framework including publications, webinars, courses and more.

New Resource: High-Quality CTE Element Fact Sheets

Recently, ACTE published a new series of High-Quality CTE Element Fact Sheets. Each fact sheet describes one of the 12 elements and their criteria from the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework^TM, which is an evidence-based framework that defines high-quality CTE through more than 90 criteria organized under 12 elements.

Since Framework criteria are designed to be mutually exclusive across all elements to ensure that programs are not doubly rewarded or punished for criteria that they have not implemented, each fact sheet in this series also outlines how criteria from one element can add relevance to an assessment of progress on other elements.

You can find the High-Quality CTE Element Fact Sheets under the “Publications” tab here and other helpful tools and publications related to the Framework here.

Using ACTE’s Quality Framework to Support CLNA

Perkins V requires that school districts and institutions receiving federal funds conduct a comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) at least every two years to gauge how well aligned their CTE programs are to the needs of students, employers and communities. The first CLNA was conducted in fall 2019 and winter 2020 and many CTE educators are now gearing up for the second CLNA process. One tool that can support this effort is ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework and its companion self-evaluation instrument.

CLNA Requirements

Each state has created its own templates and resources to help local recipients conduct the CLNA and its own timeline for when CLNAs must be completed, but all state templates should include the following components identified in the legislation:

1. Student performance on federal accountability indicators, disaggregated
2. How programs are aligned to labor market needs
3. Whether programs are of sufficient size, scope and quality to meet all students’ needs
4. Progress toward implementing programs and programs of study
5. Efforts to improve recruitment, retention and training of faculty and staff
6. Progress toward improving access and equity

Using ACTE’s Framework for CLNA

ACTE’s evidence-based Quality CTE Program of Study Framework and self-evaluation tool can serve as the foundation of an assessment of program implementation, quality, access and equity as part of the CLNA. With more than 90 criteria organized under 12 elements, the Framework captures the full range of activities across a CTE program of study:

Standards-aligned and Integrated Curriculum	Facilities, Equipment, Technology and Materials
Sequencing and Articulation	Business and Community Partnerships
Student Assessment	Student Career Development
Prepared and Effective Program Staff	Career and Technical Student Organizations
Engaging Instruction	Work-based Learning
Access and Equity	Data and Program Improvement

Results from the self-evaluation may be particularly useful when responding to questions in a state’s CLNA template about program size, scope and quality and about implementation of programs and programs of study. Scores on specific elements of the Framework can apply to additional sections of the CLNA; for instance, responses to criteria in the Prepared and Effective Program Staff element can inform the section on recruitment, retention and training of faculty and staff while responses to criteria in the Access and Equity element can apply to questions on improving progress in those areas.

For more tips on how to use the ACTE Framework when conducting the CLNA, read our latest brief, ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework Self-evaluation: A Tool for the Perkins V Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment.