This document summarizes a conference on career and technical education (CTE) in Arizona. It discusses the benefits of CTE programs, including higher graduation rates, reduced absenteeism, increased likelihood of postsecondary enrollment, and better employment outcomes. CTE is presented as a way to address skills gaps and improve economic mobility, especially for low-income students and those at risk of dropping out. The conference brought together various Arizona business and education organizations to discuss expanding access to CTE.

1. ACTEAZ Summer Conference
July 2016

2.  Arizona Business and Education Coalition
 Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
 Arizona Manufacturers Council
 Arizona Manufacturing Partnership
 Arizona School Boards Association
 East Valley Chambers of Commerce
 East Valley Partnership
 Expect More Arizona
 Tucson Hispanic Chamber
 Greater Yuma Economic Development Council
 Governor Ducey
 And more……………….

3.  In the last two years……….
 43 states approved new funding for CTE programs and initiatives
 29 states have worked to elevate, support and incentivize business
education partnerships and work-based learning
 32 states passed policies to encourage learners to earn industry-
recognized credentials
Careertech.org

4. 100 communities across Arizona – representing over 90% of
our population – have voted to tax themselves in order to
support JTEDs.
87% of Americans and 89% of public school parents agree
that students should receive more education about career
choices while in high school

5.  …despite acknowledged improvements…..the long-term negative impacts of the
skills gap on workers, families, business, governments and the economy are
potentially far-reaching
 CTE provides an opportunity to bridge that gap, by providing real world, hands-on
exposure to fields to students while they are still in school and can choose a
pathway to a growing career
 95% of American CEOs believe their companies suffer from a skills shortage

6.  Splits 9-12 grade years into two separate paths: one of core requirements in the
freshman and sophomore years, followed by two final years that focus on different
avenues to graduation depending upon students’ interest.

7.  “There is more than one path to Heaven.”

8.  People are saying the right things

9.  It is learning that works

10.  Worked on a long term project
 Project was based on a real world problem
Sound familiar?

11. Positive correlations with graduation, academic
achievement and career success.
26.1% of young people who could recall no contact with
employers whilst at school went on to be come NEET(Not
in Employment, Education or Training). Reduced to
4.3% for those in work-based learning.
Dr. Anthony Mann, Education and Employers (2013)

12. Getting kids to school and graduating on time

13. ON THE RISE
The analysis of data from Tucson Unified School District
and Mesa Public Schools found:
1. The hazard of dropping out was reduced by 70% for Mesa
students and 50% for Tucson students who had taken 2
or more CTE courses
2. Taking two or more CTE courses reduced absenteeism by
3 days for CTE students in Tucson.
Compared to students who shared the same socio-
economic and academic characteristics but
did not take CTE
Source: On The Rise report, http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/products/rise-role-career-and-technical-education-arizonas-future

14. Four year graduation rate is 98%

17. Sending them on to worthy post secondary destinations

18.  “According to data from the National Center for Education
Statistics, the majority of CTE students in high school continue on
to postsecondary education, and those who join the workforce
outright or work to supplement their incomes as they pursue further
education are often in a better financial situation than high school
graduates who did not pursue CTE.”
Techniques Magazine, February 2014

19.  78% of CTE concentrators enroll in postsecondary education, full
time, within two years of graduation
 About one third of all dual enrollment credits—about 600,000 in
all—are eared in CTE courses
 Students in postsecondary CTE programs are more likely to be
employed within five years than those in an academic field of study
Source: Careertech.org

20. THE PARADIGM
IS SHIFTING

21.  68% start college
 Only 40% complete college
 53% of grads are unemployed or underemployed
 Student loan debt now exceeds auto loans, credit
card balances and home-equity loan debt … $1.3
trillion

22. “Millennials make less
money, are more likely to
live in poverty and have
lower rates of
employment than their
parents did at their ages
20 and 30 years ago.”

23.  47% of all new jobs 2010-20 are middle skills jobs
 48% of current labor force are middle skill jobs
 86% of companies have experienced labor shortages….up from 53% in
2013
Source: Harvard Business Review
Who Can Fix the Middle-Skills Gap? January 2015

24.  Students with greater exposure to CTE are more likely to graduate
from high school, enroll in a two-year college, be employed, and earn
higher wages.
 CTE is not a path away from college: Students taking more CTE
classes are just as likely to pursue a four-year degree as their peers.
 Students who focus their CTE coursework are more likely to
graduate high school by twenty-one percentage points compared to
otherwise similar students (and they see a positive impact on other
outcomes as well).
 CTE provides the greatest boost to the kids who need it most—boys,
and students from low-income families.

27.  For the first time in 50 years, a
majority of U.S. public school
students come from low income
families.
 CTE can fix the “mobility
escalator”

29.  Children living in poverty have a higher
number of absenteeism or leave school all
together because they are more likely to
have to work or care for family members.
 Dropout rates of 16 to 24-years-old
students who come from low income
families are seven times more likely to
drop out than those from families with
higher incomes.
Dosomething.org

30. Poverty really matters
“CTE is the Rx” CT
E

32.  America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow’s Jobs, National
Governors Association
 Opportunities and Options: Making Career Preparation Work for
Students, National Council of Chief State School Officers
 Holzer, Linn and Monthey. The Promise of High Quality Career and
Technical Education. October 2013
 Catellano, Sundell, Overman, Richardson and Stone. Rigorous Tests of
Student Outcomes in CTE Programs of Study: Final Report. April 2014
 OECD. Skills Beyond School—Synthesis Report. November 13, 2014
 New America. New American Education Policy: Beyond the Skills Gap
Making Education Work for Students, Employers and Communities.
October 2014
 The State of Working in America”

33. For more CTE research visit:
• The CTE Research Clearinghouse at
http://www.acteonline.org/clearinghouse.aspx
• National Association of State Directors of CTE Consortium
www.careertech.org
• The National Research Center for CTE at www.nrccte.org
• Association for Career and Technical Education
www.acteonline.org