Many people have misconceptions about career and technical education (CTE) that are grounded in an archaic view labeling CTE as “blue-collar stuff” for kids who aren’t on a college path. A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal, however, points out that “CTE today is far more demanding than vocational tracks a generation ago, which were often seen as dumping grounds for students who couldn’t handle college-preparatory classes.” Richard Kahn, the chief executive of a CTE school in Manhattan, says that his school’s goal is to “get everybody into the middle class economy.” In a guest piece on Flypaper in March, Sean Lynch of the Association for Career and Technical Education noted that CTE programs also “open doors to new career exploration opportunities, lower high school dropout rates, and engage at-risk students with interesting curriculum.”
But what does CTE look like on the ground? For answers to these questions, let’s take a look at Ohio’s career and technical education programs.
Beginnings
In Ohio, the law requires public schools to provide students the opportunity to take CTE courses beginning in seventh grade (though most students wait until high school to enroll). Ohio’s CTE programs are designed to align with the technical content standards of a chosen field (which allows for hands-on training and real work experience) and the state’s academic standards. This means that every CTE program is required to teach the state’s required academic content standards in math, ELA, science, and social studies (in Ohio, the math and ELA standards are Common Core).
The Ohio Department of Education lists eighteen career and technical programs, ranging from agricultural and environmental systems to law and public safety. Each program offers specific courses that must be completed, follows content standards specific to its field, and requires completion of a career-technical assessment. Several programs comprise multiple disciplines. For example, the law and public safety program offers pathways for law, emergency medical care, fire science, forensic science, and criminal justice.
Governance
Ohio has two main groups responsible for overseeing career and technical education: Career and Technical Planning Districts (CTPDs) and Joint Vocational School Districts.
CTPDs are local agencies that handle the administrative duties of CTE. There are currently ninety-one CPTDs in Ohio. They are made up of varying members—which can be school districts, charter schools, STEM schools, or others—but are run by one “lead” district that approves the various programs those members use. Hudson City Schools is the lead district for a CTPD called the Six District Vocational Education Compact, which also contains five other local school districts: Cuyahoga Falls, Kent, Stow-Munroe Falls, Tallmadge, and Woodridge. Each of these districts runs CTE programs that students from other districts in the CTPD are able to attend.
JVSDs, on the other hand, are direct education providers. They are similar to traditional school districts in that they serve students from a certain regional area, but they also exclusively offer specialized CTE programs. Many JVSDs, in addition to serving specific districts and areas, also utilize open enrollment: The JVSD must adopt a resolution that either prohibits or allows students from other districts to attend. In Ohio, there are forty-nine JVSDs (each one is a member of a CTPD). For example, the Lorain County JVSD is the lead district in a CTPD that also contains thirteen other traditional school districts.
Accountability and results
Just as the performance of district and community schools is measured and rated in a publicly released state report card, CPTDs also receive report cards (which are published online). CTPD report cards assign the same A–F letter grades that traditional district schools receive, and include three of the same components: achievement, graduation rates, and preparation for success. Two of the report card components, however, are measured using slightly different, CTE-specific metrics. The achievement component is measured by how many students pass the assessments relevant to their CTE program, while the prepared-for-success component is measured via dual enrollment, AP participation, and honors diploma numbers. CTPD report cards also include a post-program element, which measures the number of students who left high school the previous year and are employed, in an apprenticeship, in postsecondary education or advanced training, or in the military. This measure additionally tracks the number of students who left school and earned industry credentials.
While CTPD report card results vary, there is anecdotal evidence that the programs are moving in the right direction. Back in February, Education Week posted a piece highlighting two Ohio CTE schools that focus on global education. The Ohio Department of Education has an entire page devoted to CTE success stories. Joseph Neyhart, a graduate of the Toledo Technology Academy (TTA), discussed in a recent Huffington Post piece how today’s CTE is vastly different than “last century’s voc-tech programs.” Neyhart didn’t just get the hands-on experience that we might expect from a CTE program: He also participated in national competitions, earned a full-year internship at General Motors, and earned twenty-six college credits in classes like calculus, computer-aided design, and mechanical engineering. When Neyhart graduates from college (he just finished his freshman year), he’ll likely have a full-time position already set up—his boss at his new internship has already expressed interest in hiring him.
Of course, anecdotes aren’t real evidence of either success or quality. This policy analyst wants data, and lots of it, which is hard to come by due to the byzantine system of reporting for CTE programs in Ohio. Parents certainly deserve more and better information. What we do know is that there are CTPDs with lackluster results, just as there are CTPDs with great ones. (It is also worth noting that CTPDs in districts that have struggled academically, like Akron, Youngstown, and Lorain City, are posting some encouraging numbers.) There is promise and room for growth in CTE programs—but so far, they’re on the right path.
