A new report from Insightful Education Solutions examines whether states have the foundational conditions — well-structured pathways, reliable data, workforce alignment and public transparency — needed to credibly assess and improve their career technical education (CTE) programs.
Despite the explosive expansion of CTE in recent years, the report finds that among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, pathway-level completion and outcomes data are frequently missing or inconsistent, as is assessment of workforce alignment and public transparency.
“States across the country are increasingly relying on education-to-career pathways as a critical strategy for preparing young people for work and advancing state and regional economic priorities. At the K-12 level, career and technical education (CTE) serves as the primary vehicle through which states organize and deliver education-to-career pathways at scale,” the report states. “Expectations for K-12 CTE have expanded well beyond exposure to careers. Today, policymakers, employers, and families look to CTE pathways to deliver effective preparation, including clear sequences of learning and experiences that lead to postsecondary success, in-demand jobs, and economic mobility.”
Researchers analyzed programs for statewide structure, data collection and reporting practices related to K-12 CTE, as well as student data from the 2023–24 school year, to try and identify trends across four factors:
- Structure: Whether the state clearly organizes CTE programs down to the pathway level
- Data: Whether the state collects and reports pathway-level student participation and outcomes data
- Workforce alignment: Whether CTE student activity reflects state workforce priorities
- Transparency: Whether pathway information and data are easily accessible
Key findings
Among the report’s main conclusions: CTE pathways are not consistently defined or structured across states. Some states do not clearly articulate what constitutes a pathway or distinguish between broad program areas and occupationally aligned pathways. Some allow local educational agencies to decide from a wide range of options, leaving states unable to reliably determine which pathways students are progressing through, what completion represents, or how pathway participation connects to postsecondary or workforce outcomes.
Pathway-level completion and outcomes data are frequently missing or inconsistent. While all states report basic information on student participation and concentration in CTE, data on pathway completion and related outcomes are fragmented or reported only at a high level (e.g. industry sector or career cluster), which limits many states’ ability to distinguish exploratory participation from meaningful pathway completion, assess learner access across pathways, or track how student progress aligns with economic priorities over time.
Workforce alignment cannot be credibly assessed without clear structure and completion data, meaning many states can’t reliably assess alignment between student activity and workforce demand or distinguish exploratory participation from meaningful pathway completion.
Public transparency of K-12 CTE pathway information and data is uneven and limited. No state was fully transparent. In many states, information and data are not posted publicly or are difficult to locate and interpret. In others, the public information request process was complicated and lengthy. This limits stakeholders’ ability at the state and regional levels (including employers) to understand student pathway activity and take informed action to strengthen local offerings and outcomes.
“Taken together, the findings suggest that the lack of K-12 CTE program readiness is a major barrier to understanding and improving pathway effectiveness in many states,” according to researchers. “The report’s overall readiness ratings reinforce this conclusion, showing that many states are still building the foundational capacity needed to move from assumptions to demonstrated effectiveness. Gaps in program readiness do not typically reflect a lack of commitment or investment, but rather inconsistent definitions, unclear expectations, and limited use of existing data.”
Recommendations
The report includes several detailed recommendations for policymakers aiming to prioritize K-12 CTE programming. Researchers noted that state leaders cannot credibly evaluate or improve K-12 CTE pathways without clear program structure, usable pathway-level data and public transparency.
Among their recommendations:
- States should clarify what constitutes a pathway, standardize completion expectations, improve documentation of existing programs and set clearer expectations for how data are collected, analyzed and reported.
- To better ensure workforce alignment, states should document how pathways connect to priority occupations, establish routine processes for reviewing pathways against workforce priorities, and make pathway-level participation and completion data accessible to stakeholders.
- Workforce misalignment often reflects patterns of student pathway participation and completion, rather than the absence of aligned program offerings, suggesting states determine why students pursuing pathways with weaker labor-market opportunities; whether or not factors like access, scheduling, communications or advising practices are shaping pathway choices; why students are pursuing pathways with weaker labor-market opportunities; and if current funding formulas, accountability systems or credential incentives unintentionally reinforce misaligned participation.
