Is career and technical education (CTE) a path into the middle class for today’s high school students? It’s certainly the goal as modern day CTE attempts to give students the skills and training required for long-term success in today’s high-growth industries.
Unfortunately, little is known about whether “new vocationalism” improves student outcomes. In an effort to shed some more light on the topic, Fordham partnered with Shaun M. Dougherty of the University of Connecticut to study CTE in Arkansas. The new report, Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes?, uses a rich set of data from the Arkansas Research Center (ARC) to follow three cohorts—more than one hundred thousand students—from eighth grade through college and/or the workforce.
The key findings include:
- 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 21 percent more likely to graduate high school 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.
We encourage you to take a look at the report by downloading it here.
