Students who complete structured, multi-course career technical education (CTE) pathways have stronger graduation, earnings and postsecondary outcomes than those who only take standalone courses, according to a recent study from researchers at Boston College and the University at Albany.
Thoughtful design and expanded access are critical in improving outcomes for students. The report provides extensive guidance to support local educational agencies in their efforts to improve CTE in their schools.
“High-quality features such as integrated academics, structured work-based learning, and strong partnerships with employers and colleges are critical drivers of impact,” the brief states. “Effective strategies, such as exploratory opportunities before pathway selection, hiring teachers with industry experience, and building intentional partnerships, can broaden access, while rigid tracking, weak work-based learning, and out-of-field teaching risk undermining quality. By implementing evidence-based design principles, education leaders can ensure CTE fulfills its promise as a pathway to both higher education and meaningful careers.”
CTE lets students explore high-demand fields like health care, IT, construction and more while they’re still in high school by blending academics with hands-on training. For many students, research cited in the study shows that this real-world connection to their education leads to improved engagement, attendance, academic outcomes, graduation rates, and college enrollment and persistence.
About 85 percent of high school graduates in the U.S. have taken at least one CTE course, but these programs vary widely in structure and intensity. According to the report, “CTE can range from individual elective classes within a traditional high school to full-time career academies that shape a student’s high school experience.”
Additionally, CTE participation and career cluster enrollment vary significantly by race, gender and income with Black and Latino students overrepresented in lower-earning clusters and underrepresented in high-wage clusters.
To avoid such pitfalls, the report details practices to avoid, such as:
- Creating rigid tracking systems and prerequisites that steer students into CTE pathways based on early academic performance, ultimately reinforcing existing inequities by limiting access to rigorous coursework and postsecondary options.
- Adopting work-based learning (WBL) programs that are brief or unstructured — failing to engage students, build meaningful skills or benefit employers.
- Staffing CTE programs with teachers who lack formal training or experience in the subject area which can compromise program quality and student outcomes.
Rather, LEAs should consider the following:
- Students who complete at least three aligned courses in a CTE career cluster experience stronger outcomes than those who take stand-alone courses.
- The most impactful WBL programs are structured, skill-building and aligned to students’ interests and career goals.
- Partnerships with employers and with colleges strengthen the alignment between CTE programs and students’ college and career opportunities, which improves students’ understanding of the real expectations of the field.
- CTE teachers with industry experience or strong subject-matter test scores — even without traditional certification — tend to be especially effective.
- Providing students with the opportunity to explore multiple CTE pathways before choosing one may help reduce misplacement and boost engagement and retention.
- Practices such as multilingual outreach, personalized career advising, barrier-free scheduling, equity-focused data use and fair admissions processes are likely to make a meaningful impact in expanding access to and success in high-quality CTE pathways, particularly for students who have been historically underrepresented.
