High-quality career and technical education (CTE) - as distinguished from older models of vocational education - has great potential to improve student educational attainment and worker earnings, as well as outcomes for firms and the US economy. [The authors] begin by making the economic case for high-quality CTE, based on the limited number of young Americans who currently achieve four-year college degrees and the relatively weak employment outcomes of most who do not, as well as relatively high job vacancy rates observed for some American firms and sectors. [The authors] describe the current
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High-quality career and technical education (CTE) - as distinguished from older models of vocational education - has great potential to improve student educational attainment and worker earnings, as well as outcomes for firms and the US economy. [The authors] begin by making the economic case for high-quality CTE, based on the limited number of young Americans who currently achieve four-year college degrees and the relatively weak employment outcomes of most who do not, as well as relatively high job vacancy rates observed for some American firms and sectors. [The authors] describe the current state of CTE in America, in which overall outcomes have become fairly strong but high variation remains in the quality of programs around the country.
[The authors] highlight the most important characteristics of high-quality CTE programs - which include being part of career-oriented systems in secondary and postsecondary schools, with access for both youth and adults; an emphasis on strong career options for all students, including those bound for two-year and four-year colleges (to relieve the stigmatization of CTE programs and avoid the 'tracking' of CTE students away from college paths); the integration of rigorous academic curricula into CTE, along with the teaching of rigorous technical and employability skills in project-based or work-based settings; professional development for staff and support services for students (especially the disadvantaged or those whose academic preparation has been weak); as well as the use of appropriate assessment tools and accountability based on them. A number of promising CTE models that incorporate these characteristics are described, along with the challenges that limit the extent to which these models have been replicated and scaled; additionally, the limited evidence from rigorous evaluations of high-quality CTE models to date is summarized. [The authors] then discuss a number of federal and state policies that would encourage the expansion of high-quality CTE, along with continuing research and evaluation on their effectiveness.
Published abstract.
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