This document summarizes key research on career and technical education (CTE). It finds that CTE programs have increased in popularity and recognition in recent years, with more states incorporating career readiness strategies and measures into education policies. Research shows CTE students have higher graduation rates, satisfaction levels, and career preparation compared to non-CTE students. However, some studies caution that while CTE provides early benefits, students may lack general skills for lifelong career adaptability. The document also notes debates around the quality of CTE programs and ensuring access for disadvantaged students. Overall, it reviews research presenting both benefits and potential limitations of CTE.

1. WHAT THE
RESEARCH SAYS
Mid-Winter Conference
February 2018
Brought to you by your ACTEAZ

2. Love
indicators
• Media mentions of CTE have quadrupled
In 2016, 42 states carried out a total of 139 policy actions relevant to
CTE
• ESSA –49 states included at least one strategy to expand career
readiness. 35 states incorporated a career-ready focused measure
in high school accountability and 20 state identified career readiness
as an explicit priority
• 91% of parents of students in CTE believe their child is getting a leg
up on their career, compared to only 44% of prospective parents
• 82% of CTE students are satisfied with their ability to learn real world
skills in school, compared to only 51% of non-CTE students
• House passage of Strengthening CTE for the 21st Century—sponsored
by 29 Republicans and 11 Democrats
• The only topic agreed upon by Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos, Randi
Weingarten and Al Franken

3. Everyone is talking about Career
Literacy
■ 54% of American companies report having vacancies for which they cannot find
qualified workers 1
■ 55% of the job seekers surveyed blame gaps in their education for their lack of
skills 2
■ 42% attribute the problem to a lack of knowledge about potential career
opportunities 2
■ Only 25% of job seekers report receiving career path counseling in high school 2
■ 41% say they wish they had received more career guidance 2
■ 87% of Americans believe students should have more education about career
choices 3

6. The Downside to Career and
Technical Education
The Atlantic
“Yet new international research points to a significant downside of such programs:
Students may benefit early in their careers, but are harmed later in life as the
economy changes and they lack the general skills necessary to adapt.”

7. “Career Ready” out of High School?
Why the Nation Needs to Let Go of That Myth
Anthony Carnevale and Andrew Hanson
“Unlike old-fashioned vocational education, high school-level career and technical
education doesn’t really prepare people for jobs directly after high school.”
“…the existence of career-ready high school graduates is a myth.”
“Even the much heralded Career Academies haven’t been shown to land students in
living wage jobs, even eight years after graduation.”

8. Not All Career and Technical Education
Programs Are Created Equal
Jenny Abamu
“There is a significant difference between the quality of CTE programs.”
“If students get into programs that are not challenging and don’t lead to postsecondary
opportunities, that is a risk.”
“The three components of a high-quality CTE offering include work-based learning…student
organizations…and an integrated, standards-aligned curriculum.”

9. CTE Revamp Squeezes Out the
Disadvantaged
Catherine Gewertz
“For years, CTE advocates have worked hard to shake the holdovers of previous
generations’ ‘vocational education.’”
“More recently, the top priority of CTE has been building academic rigor into its
programs.”
“But, a painful byproduct of that push, in some cases, has been to marginalize low-
income and minority students.”

11. Increased scrutiny of CTE in Arizona
■ Legislative changes: 2016--HB 1525; 2017—HB 2229
■ A-F
– College and Career Readiness Rubric

12. But, there is still far more love
than “other”

13. CTE works!
■ It is learning that works

14. ENGAGEMENT
Getting kids to school and graduating on time

15. National Statistics
■ The graduation rate for CTE concentrators is about 93%, approximately 10
percentage points higher than the national average.1
■ A 2016 study in Arkansas found that students who concentrated in CTE programs
were 21 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than their
peers. 2

16. 2015-16 Arizona CTE Concentrator
■ Four year graduation rate is 99%

17. ACHIEVEMENT

18. Achievement
■ According to the College Board, the data show that
reading and math scores of CTE students are above
those of students overall, as well as their graduation
and placement rates.
■ According to the National Center for Education
Statistics students who participate in CTE programs
of study definitely outperform peers. CTE students
enrolled in science or STEM-centric fields of study—
including agriculture, IT and engineering technology
scored at and above average on the 12th grade NAEP.
In fact, the highest 12th grade NAEP scores in science
were earned by CTE concentrators in agriculture, IT
and engineering technology. 1
■ In Indiana CTE concentrators performed 10
percentage points higher on Algebra exams than non-
CTE students.2

19. TRANSITION
Sending them on to worthy post secondary destinations

20. Transition
■ 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
earned in CTE courses
■ 84% of adult CTE concentrators went from CTE study to further education
or employment within six months of completing their program
Source: Careertech.org

21. Fordham Institute report on CTE--
2016
■ 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.

22. MAJOR THEMES

23. Middle Skill Jobs
■ 47% of all new jobs 2010-20 are middle skills jobs1
■ 48% of current labor force are middle skill jobs1
■ 86% of companies have experienced labor
shortages….up from 53% in 20131
■ 52% of Arizona jobs are middle skill2
Source: Harvard Business Review
Who Can Fix the Middle-Skills Gap? January 2015
Middle Skill jobs…called New Collar Jobs by
some….are where significant opportunity lies.
These are jobs requiring more than a high
school diploma but less than a baccalaureate
degree

24. Degree Inflation
There are roughly 6 million vacant jobs in the U.S.
Part of the reason they remained unfilled is
“degree inflation.”
Example: In 2015, almost 70% of job postings for
production supervisors asked for a bachelor’s
degree despite the fact that 16% incumbent
workers in this position possessed such.
Hardest hit by degree inflation are high-achieving,
low income students, only 14% of whom receive a
bachelor’s degree

25. Degrees of
OpportunityMark Schneider and Rooney
Columbus
■ Many associates degrees and certificate
programs offer valuable routes into the
middle class—28% of workers with
associates earn more than median
earnings for workers with bachelor’s
degrees
■ Majors matter greatly with respect to post-
secondary earnings—no matter the degree
level—and skills-oriented programs in
health, engineering and other technical
fields are more remunerative
■ While state flagship universities offer many
opportunities for employment with high
earnings, there are many high-return
programs at regional universities and
community colleges
■ Beware of the ROI…..

26. Skills vs.
Degrees
Entering a “prove it” economy
Credentials are increasingly the storage
unit for skills
Temporal structure of life—get your
learning, then get your job—is no longer
linear; it is looped.
Focus in job screening needs to be skill-
based rather than degree-based.

27. The
Credential
“The job culture is moving to smaller and smaller
credentials and continuous education”
Anant Agarwal
CEO of edX
Proliferation of credentials offered by shorter,
non-degree programs like Udacity, MissionU,
edX, trade organizations (American Hotel and
Lodging Institute), companies (Jiffy Lube,
IBM) and community colleges.
Increased emphasis on badges, micro-
credentials, certificates, licenses and
certifications
Credly creates digital badges and stores
information about the competencies they
represent. Think of a driver’s license….

28. Bringing
order to the
chaos
Determining what credential mean is a
challenge to students and employers.
Many efforts are underway to make sense of it
all.
Credential Transparency Initiative has become
Credential Engine
Look for an app this summer called “Workit”

29. The new (and not so new) challenge:
children living in poverty

30. The Social mobility escalator is
broken
■ For the first time in 50 years, a
majority of U.S. public school
students come from low income
families.

31. Youth Poverty is a Huge Challenge

32. Labor Force by Age

33. Disconnected Youth-Ages 16-24: 2016
9.0
9.1
9.2
10.6
11.4
12.2
12.2
12.5
12.8
13.1
13.5
13.5
14.0
14.0
14.2
14.5
15.0
15.2
15.4
17.2
Nebraska
Wyoming
North Dakota
South Dakota
Colorado
Kansas
Utah
Montana
Oregon
Washington
California
Western Region
Idaho
Hawaii
Texas
Nevada
New Mexico
Arizona
Oklahoma
Alaska
Source: Opportunity Nation, 2016

34. Economic Trends
YOUNG ADULTS ARE FALLING BEHIND: Youth Labor Force Participation has been
falling, and roughly one-out-of-seven youth (16-24) are not in school or at work.
PROLIFERATION OF LOW PAID JOBS: Of the ten occupations that will create the most
jobs in the West, nine pay less than $33,000 a year
EDUCATION IS CRITICAL: Those with a high school degree or less have lost millions of
jobs since 2008. Job gains have gone to those with at least some post-secondary
education.

35. The
Challenge
Less than half of young adults earn a
bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree or
industry-recognized credential by the age of
30.
“There is no end to the good we can do.”

36. Career and Technical Education

39. Suggested Reading:
■ Doughtery, Shaun. “Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve
Student Outcomes.” Fordham. April 2016.
■ Catellano, Sundell and Richardson. “Achievement Outcomes Among High School
Graudates in College and Career Readiness Programs of Study.” Peabody Journal of
Education. Volume 92, 2017. Issue 2
■ Pappano, Laura. “Is the College Degree Outdated?” Higher Education. April 27, 2017.
■ Stringfield and Stone. “The Labor Market Imperative for CTE: Changes and Challenges
for the 21st Century.” Peabody Journal of Education. Volume 92, 2017. Issue 2.
■ Stone. “Introduction to Pathways to a Productive Adulthood: The Role of CTE in the
American High School.” Peabody Journal of Education. Volume 92, 2017. Issue 2.
■ Carnevale, Smith and Strohl. “Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements
Through 2020.” Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. 2013.

40. Need more information?
For more CTE research visit:
• The CTE Research Clearinghouse at
http://www.acteonline.org/clearinghouse.aspx
• The National Research Center for CTE at www.nrccte.org
• Association for Career and Technical Education www.acteonline.org
• Advance CTE at www.careertech.org