Archived Information

The Role of Career and Technical Education in

High School

Virginia R. Miller

Prepared for: Office of Vocational and Adult Education

U. S. Department of Education

February 2002

This paper was prepared for the Office of Vocational and Adult
Education, U.S. Department of Education pursuant to contract no.
ED-99-CO-0160. The findings and opinions expressed in this paper do not
necessarily reflect the position or policies of the U.S. Department of
Education.

The Role of Career and Technical Education in High School

Virginia R. Miller

# Introduction

America's attempts to revitalize education have been steeped in
controversy and have resulted in the initiation of multiple reform
policies over several decades. Too often schools have tried to implement
what is tantamount to the reform policy *du jour*, at times focused on
targeted populations and specific programs, then just as quickly
refocused on whole school reform. The result has been confusion and
consternation across all aspects of public education, negatively
affecting many stakeholders in the system.

Defining what educational content is necessary for all youth has become
both vexing and contentious. The focus of American education has been
debated throughout the past century. The debate on whether the focus of
schooling is to be academic, vocational, or a mixture of the two,
continues today. Faced with the stagnant and lackluster achievement of
comprehensive schooling and a vocational education system that has too
often been considered a warehouse for low-achieving students, the call
for transforming all education has gained support from all levels of
government. High standards, high-stake assessments, and greater
relevance to the world of work are the central tenets of current reform.

Beginning with the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (P.L.
103-382) and Goals 2000 (P.L. 103-227), through the recently passed
Leave No Child Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), federal funding of
elementary and secondary education programs require state assessments to
be aligned to state content and performance standards as a condition of
funding eligibility.

In addition to these standards and accountability reforms, two
initiatives currently playing a major role in education reform
activities are School-to-work (STW), or School-to-Careers (STC), and
whole school reform. Both STW and whole school reform are driving much
of the current curriculum redevelopment and education restructuring.

## School to Work {#school-to-work .OVAE}

As business and education leaders widely concurred that American
students are inadequately prepared, not only for further education, but
for successful careers, high schools in the early 1990's began to
organize all or parts of their curricula around career training and
preparation. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
Education Act of 1990 spurred renewed interest and experimentation in
this area. Four years later, career focused education became the
cornerstone of federal education reform policy.

Congress passed the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (STWOA,
P.L. 103--239) to address the failure of America's primary, secondary,
and vocational education systems to produce graduates with marketable
knowledge and skills. This legislation was designed to provide an
umbrella philosophy for many activities that were intended to
systematically restructure all education for all students. The STWOA
centered education restructuring around school-based learning and
work-based learning. Vocational education was no longer to be a stand
alone program. All education at all levels would now take on attributes
of career training and preparation.

Embodied in the STWOA are the central concepts of the School-to-Work
philosophy -- integration of academic and vocational education,
workplace competencies, and explicit connection of learning with
careers. Contextual, or applied learning, is the hallmark of this
philosophy. Proponents of STW argue that students will attain higher
levels of academic achievement when learning is placed within the
context of the workplace. It is believed that education must be relevant
to the real world, particularly the world of work, to foster in students
a desire to achieve greater levels of learning. Proponents assert that
integrating academic and vocational education in every discipline,
across all subjects, at all grade levels, in all schools will produce
higher achievement.

To varying degrees, the defining features of STW have been absorbed in
other education reform efforts including state academic standards, Title
I grants to local educational agencies, New American High Schools, Small
Learning Communities and whole school reform models. Many of these
activities encourage teaching and learning in the context of real-life
applications and careers. The infusion of career based education
throughout the curriculum as academic and technical curricula are
integrated across all subject areas and grade levels is substantially
changing the delivery and focus of K-12 education despite the lack of
evidence substantiating the need for such dramatic reform.

## Whole School Reform {#whole-school-reform .OVAE}

Since the passage of Goals 2000, many major educational programs
targeted to specific populations have been replaced by whole school
reform measures. Designers of reform models recognized the capability of
whole school reform to act as a vehicle to expand delivery of contextual
learning and career focused education to more schools through federally
funded programs. While whole school reform is not the only means by
which education can be altered to deliver contextual or career focused
education, STW proponents viewed it as an advantageous opportunity to
combine STW principles with other reform practices in one model. STW
concepts continue to be sustained through inclusion in whole school
reform models despite the sunsetting of the STWOA. For example, the
Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Act (CSRD) provides increased
federal funding for whole school reform and specifically lists reform
models that meet federal funding criteria, many which incorporate STW
principles.

Many questions and concerns surround the effectiveness and necessity of
both STW and whole school reform. Whole school reform models, even
absent STW principles, are problematic in practice. The majority of
whole school reform models, endorsed through federal legislation and
funding, reflect the prevailing wisdom of modern educators, many of
whose ideas are rooted in questionable pedagogical practices.

Historically, progressive education has rarely lived up to its promise.
Its main features, student centered learning, teacher as facilitator,
thematic learning, the project method, discovery learning, authentic
assessments, and emphasis on developing higher order thinking skills
have yet to prove effective in consistently raising academic
achievement. Progressive methodologies have successfully impacted
achievement levels in only a small number of schools -- affluent schools
attended by highly motivated students. Traditional schools have
experienced greater success in raising student achievement, especially
among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Beyond their ineffectiveness to impact achievement levels, whole school
reform models are often expensive to implement and maintain. Teachers,
whose time is limited, are typically overwhelmed by training, committee
requirements, and curriculum development. Resource allocation and
staffing needs over several years of implementation result in burdensome
costs to districts. Furthermore, reform models are often implemented
piecemeal due to many factors including conflict with existing district
policies and teacher practices.

Some districts, dissatisfied with results, are totally abandoning whole
school reform for a more traditional approach to education despite
having made the major investments of time, money, and effort needed to
implement whole school reform. A prominent example of a district
discarding whole school reform is the Memphis City Schools. After six
years and \$12 million, Memphis City Schools abandoned whole school
reform in June of 2001 due to stagnant or declining test scores on state
tests in mathematics, reading, and English. Other districts nationwide
are also abandoning whole school reform on a large scale, including San
Antonio and Miami-Dade County.

These examples are important because it is seemingly assumed that there
exists a core set of well proven, comprehensive whole school reform
initiatives. That simply does not agree with observable data. The
majority of whole school reform initiatives can not provide substantial
evidence of effectiveness in improving student achievement. A 2001 RAND
report notes that only about half of schools involved in a study of
whole school reform made gains relative to their district. Incorporating
STW principles into whole school reform does not make whole school
reform any more effective. Neither does linking STW to whole school
reform make STW any more effective.

## Economic Considerations {#economic-considerations .OVAE}

STW has been a business driven education reform for the past two
decades. Proponents perceive a growing lack of American skilled labor
capable of meeting the demands of the 21^st^ century workplace. Labor
market inefficiencies are faulted for producing a mismatch of job
openings and worker skill level. Guided by the influential Commission on
the Skills of the American Workforce (CSAW) 1990 report, *America's
Choice: high skills or low wages!*, business is ardently promoting
education reform, steeped in STW principles, that entails integration of
academic and technical education at all grade levels, work-based
learning, national skill standards, and skill certification.

It is argued that the United States possesses "the worst school-to-work
transition system of any advanced industrial country...Education is
rarely connected to training and both are rarely connected to an
effective job service function." (CSAW, 1990, p. 4). Proponents of STW
contend that not everyone will or should go on to college, as census
numbers indicate that the majority of jobs in America do not, and will
not, require a college education. They point out that while only 20
percent of jobs in the future will require a four year degree or higher,
our educational system has in the past been fixated on providing
academic curricula aimed at college preparation for all students. The
majority of future jobs are projected to be in the professional and
technical degree professions requiring only two years of post-secondary
work or apprenticeships.

It is also argued that American businesses are transitioning to high
performance workplaces requiring high skills related to a flexible
technologically based organization where decisions are forced down to
empowered front line workers.

In light of these arguments, the current American system of education
has come to be portrayed as inefficient, uneconomical, and out of date:

-   Inefficient -- Labor trends and needs are ignored in the education
    of students.

-   Uneconomical -- Public dollars are wasted by providing unnecessary
    education to those who are unlikely to need a college education.
    Moreover, U.S. labor markets are perceived as chaotic as well as
    uneconomical. Job shopping and searching is viewed as wasteful,
    while the marked churning and instability of the U.S. youth labor
    market is considered costly.

-   Out of date -- Business is transitioning to high performance work
    organizations requiring workers skilled in problem solving and
    decision making, skills which the current American education system
    is incapable of producing.

Therefore, according to STW proponents, American education must be
restructured to provide a smooth transition from school to work and
equip students with the skills directly applicable to their career
interest. Education and economics must meld in order to ensure U.S.
competitiveness worldwide.

This is a questionable course at best, for market realities do not
support the underlying arguments of STW reform. First, STW initiatives,
including work-based learning and the explicit connection of students to
business, are heavily influenced by Northern European systems of
education, in particular the German education and training model.
However, such initiatives are based on speculation and questionable
interpretations of existing evidence (Heckman, Roselius, Smith, 1994):

-   There is no evidence that the German apprenticeship system is any
    more effective in promoting skill formation. (p. 84)

-   Lower youth unemployment in Germany is a result of regulations that
    compel German youth to stay in school or participate in
    apprenticeship programs until age 18. (p. 84)

-   German apprentices leave the firms that train them at very high
    rates and often take jobs in occupations different from those in
    which they are trained. (p. 84, 99)

-   Wage growth rates for German apprentices are comparable to American
    youth. (p. 117)

-   The assertion that German labor is more productive than U.S. labor
    is a myth. (p. 84)

-   Proponents have failed to demonstrate that high performance
    workplaces actually increase productivity. (p. 85)

-   Very few American businesses are participating in the new high
    performance workplace revolution. (p. 92)

Secondly, characterizing the U.S. youth labor market as uneconomical and
wasteful denies the value of job searching and shopping. Job shopping
permits youth to learn more about their own skills, aptitudes,
interests, and suitability to careers while moving through a series of
jobs. It is an activity that requires thought and effort, while
promoting individual growth.

Thirdly, the perceived economic value of career and technical education
is not substantiated. Research shows that education oriented to specific
workplace skills and job training produces graduates who are less
versatile and unable to change occupations without substantial
retraining. By contrast, graduates of a rigorous academic education can
readily learn new skills and adjust to new jobs. STW programs may have
greater impact on securing entry-level positions at higher wages, but do
not lend to improved future labor market outcomes. There is little
positive evidence to date that STW programs positively impact adult
labor market outcomes.

As American educators, business leaders, and policy makers look abroad
for solutions, the education and training systems of Northern Europe are
increasingly criticized for their narrow training that limits future
individual growth and life options. Critics of STW have correctly warned
of the limiting effects of education directly linked to perceived skill
needs of a particular labor market at a certain point in time.

Finally, academic education does have economic value and translates to
improved future labor market outcomes. It has been demonstrated that
higher educational attainment is positively related to earnings. More
years of schooling result in better jobs, higher earnings, and greater
potential for occupational achievement. Although education in and of
itself does not guarantee higher income, the benefits accrue with time.
Academic education nurtures cognitive abilities essential to
post-secondary education success and occupational advancement. For the
non-college bound student, an academic education maintains the
individual's options for future post-secondary education. On the job,
academic skills provide opportunity for advancement and enhanced
productivity in the workplace. Often upward mobility is dependent on
educational attainment. A comprehensive academic education opens doors
to opportunities far in the future, including avenues not considered at
a younger age.

Though education has always had economic implications, there are other
benefits implicit to an academic education beyond securing gainful
employment or occupational advancement. Knowledge of history, science,
mathematics, and literature is valuable regardless of whether it leads
directly to a job. Academic education exposes students to the great
thoughts and ideas of every age and discipline which enlightens minds,
and civilizes mankind. It is considered to be the type of education that
is necessary for a person to be free.

Businessmen, as well as college professors, regularly point to the lack
of academic skills in today's high school graduates.

-   According to a 1998 report by the National Association of
    Manufacturers (Carnevale, 1998), "40 percent of all 17-year-olds do
    not have the necessary math skillsand more than 60 percent do not
    have the necessary reading skillsto work in a \$33,000 per annum
    production job at a modern auto plant." (p. 17)

-   More recently, the American Management Association reported that
    38.3 percent of job applicants tested in 1999 lacked sufficient
    skills for the positions they sought. (p. 1)

-   Both the 1998 and 2001 Public Agenda polls of employers and
    professors revealed that the greatest dissatisfaction with recent
    high school graduates' skill levels lies in basic academic knowledge
    and skills -- math, writing, spelling and grammar.

-   A 1997 Investor's Business Daily poll queried business leaders from
    the top ten percent of publicly-traded U.S. companies on the skill
    set they favored in applicants; 79.2% stated general skills
    (reasoning, analytical, broad knowledge) while only 17% stated
    specific skills (task-specific skills such as computer programming).

Curiously, education reformers have responded to this academic skills
shortfall by redefining the issue as a lack of workplace skills.
Disguising academic deficits as work skills deficits cheats students and
society alike. The fact that many job applicants lack the literacy and
math skills necessary to perform anything but rudimentary job
assignments is not the result of the schools' failure to teach workplace
skills; rather, it is the result of their failure to teach literacy
skills and essential academic knowledge.

The Hudson Institute's landmark report on workforce development,
*Workforce 2020: Work & Workers in the 21^st^ Century*, correctly
relates:

> If America could increase the number of traditional high school
> graduates with the appropriate reading, writing, math, reasoning, and
> computer skills, it could go a long way toward filling available jobs
> and laying a suitable foundation on which workers could upgrade their
> skills once in the workforce. (p. 134)

## Reform Impact: School to Work {#reform-impact-school-to-work .OVAE}

Due to STW's major impact on the current delivery and focus of K-12
education, serious consideration must be given to its effectiveness and
impact on academic achievement. If the principles of STW are to be
applied to all students and its defining features applied in current
education reform nationwide, contextual learning, career majors, and
work-based learning must be capable of raising academic achievement
apart from conveying occupational competencies and skills. If it does
not, then this reform is merely advancing the academic mediocrity of the
current vocational system throughout all public education. Transforming
all education to vocational education is surely not the desired goal.
All students, including vocational and technical, must be challenged by
higher academic standards.

Early STW research was mainly focused on the implementation and process
of reform. But a high degree of completion of the reform implementation
cannot be employed as a proxy for the actual results of the program.
However, more recent studies are assessing the impact of STW on student
engagement as well as academic achievement. Many studies do conclude
that STW programs support youth development and career preparation; that
employers are enthusiastic about STW; that teachers see value in STW;
and that STW improves attendance, grades, and graduation rates (Hughes,
Bailey, Mechur, 2001).

However, there is very little evidence that student participation in STW
improves learning. To date STW has not proven to increase the academic
achievement of students as measured by standardized test scores.

-   A study of 100 students participating in the Cornell Youth
    Apprenticeship Demonstration Project found that the youths did gain
    job-related skills and knowledge, but there were no effects on
    academic achievement (Hamilton & Hamilton, 1997).

-   A random-assignment study found that participation in a career
    academy had no effect, either positive or negative, on standardized
    test scores (Kemple, Snipes, 2000).

-   A report produced by the Institute on Education and the Economy
    concluded that "research regarding STW students' achievement on
    standardized tests is inconclusive. The few existing studies
    indicate that there is little, if any, effect on test scores."
    (Hughes, et. al., 2001).

These studies reaffirm the conclusion reached in a 1996 U.S. Department
of Education study that, while "\[m\]ost \[STW\] programs are reported
to be effectively teaching occupational skills at a sufficient
level...less commonly, gains in academic skills are reported." (U.S.
Department of Education, 1996, p. 40).

According to the largest study of STW conducted to date, Mathematica
Policy Research's National Evaluation of School-to-Work Implementation,
many schools experience a tension between the priority to raise academic
standards and the interests of STW implementation (Hershey, Silverberg,
Haimson, 1999):

-   It has been difficult in evaluation site visits to identify clear
    plans for promoting \[academic\] skills in workplace activities that
    STW partnerships have arranged. (p. 141).

-   Efforts by states to raise academic standards are occurring
    independently of STW. (p. 141).

-   In some cases, \[STW\] activities can occur only in ways that
    > intrude on academic class time. Even when they are part of special
    > courses, they consume time that students could otherwise devote to
    > elective academic courses. (p. 142-143).

-   Despite the theory that STW-type activities can contribute to
    > academic attainment, the absence of rigorous evidence applicable
    > to their own schools often leaves frontline staff feeling caught
    > between the pressures of competing priorities. Moreover, when
    > academic teachers embrace \[STW\] ideas about making learning more
    > applied and contextual, their early efforts sometimes appear to
    > retreat from high standards. (p. 142-143).

-   Teachers are often concerned that incorporating more practical and
    hands-on learning will detract from the more traditionally defined
    academic skills they consider critical to their students' success in
    standardized testing, college admissions, and more advanced study.
    (p. 73).

-   Students often face a trade-off between taking the time to pursue
    electives with career content and using their elective options to
    take more advanced traditional academic classes. (p. 144).

## Reform Impact: Work-Based Learning {#reform-impact-work-based-learning .OVAE}

Questions surround another fundamental component of STW -- work-based
learning. As a result of STW, and in particular the STWOA, the number of
high schools offering work-based learning experiences such as
internships, school-based enterprises, cooperative education, and other
programs that directly link school and work has increased nationwide. It
is assumed that student learning is reinforced through both the
application of academic knowledge in the workplace and workplace
activities reinforcing school-based knowledge.

However, work-based learning has not been proven to reinforce academic
learning. Research evidence provides no strong support for the academic
reinforcement claim.

-   More often than not interns' tasks were productive for the work of
    the office or site. (Hughes, et. al., p. 32).

-   Except for students who were taking courses in clerical skills and
    data entry in school, the academic reinforcement functions were
    minimal. Thus, in general, the work of the internships was
    functional to the organization, as would be expected, but hardly
    academic. (Hughes, et. al., p. 32).

-   Students who participated in structured work-based learning worked
    more hours than students who just had jobs, were less likely to take
    a mathematics and science course during their senior year, and had
    lower achievement than students who just had jobs. (Bottoms,
    Presson, 1997).

-   The richer learning experiences of school-sponsored, work-based
    learning do not offset the loss of learning that occurs when
    students leave school early and fail to take high-level mathematics
    and science courses in their senior year. Data from the 1996 *HSTW*
    Assessment offer little evidence that work-based learning
    experiences are an acceptable substitute for chemistry, Algebra II
    and demanding language arts courses. (Bottoms, Presson, 1997).

Other studies conducted by the National Center for Research in
Vocational Education (Stasz, Kaganoff, 1997 ) and Mathematica Policy
Research, Inc. (Haimson, Bellotti, 2001) also point out the lack of
rigor and academic application in work-based learning experiences.

-   Students are rarely assigned challenging tasks unless they receive
    substantial amounts of training. (Haimson, Bellotti, 2001, p.19).

-   Even when internships are connected to the school curriculum, many
    opportunities to practice or reinforce academic skills are not
    provided. (Haimson, Bellotti, 2001, p.38).

-   Student tasks tend to be primarily clerical, requiring little
    creativity. (Stasz, Kaganoff, 1997, p. vi).

-   Problem solving skills centered around procedural aspects of work
    not substantive, technical matters. (Stasz, Kaganoff, 1997, p. vii).

David Stern of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education
observes that most evidence claiming improved academic achievement
through work-based learning is anecdotal -- interviews and surveys of
participating students and employers. He comments that:

> All of these studies, however, rely on reports by participants
> themselves about what they are learning. Objective measures, and
> comparisons with non-participants, are lacking. We cannot tell whether
> the positive reports indicate a true effect of \[work-based
> learning\], as opposed to the effect of recruiting participants who
> are enthusiastic about \[work-based learning\] to begin with, or the
> Hawthorne effect of participating in something innovative that
> attracts attention. (Stern, 1997).

"\[W\]ork-based learning proponents who stand on the reinforcement claim
as a way to convince skeptics of the program's value are standing on
thin ice." (Hughes, Moore, Bailey, 1999, p.36).

## Reform Impact: Career Academies {#reform-impact-career-academies .OVAE}

Career Academies are growing rapidly across the nation due to the
impetus of STWOA. Over 1,500 high schools have implemented the approach
as a response to the many problems they face. Established over 30 years
ago, the Career Academy initiative was originally designed as a
vocational training program targeted at students considered to be at
high risk of dropping out of school. Over the past decade the primary
goals and target populations of many Career Academies have changed.
Today it is widely accepted that the Career Academy initiative should no
longer be distinctly vocational but should seek to prepare a broad range
of students, from high-performing to high-risk students, for both work
and college. It is specifically identified as a "preferred approach" by
the STWOA. Only recently has research attempted to determine the
relative effectiveness of Career Academies on the educational outcomes
for the broad cross-section of students it seeks to serve.

Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation's (MDRC) Career Academies
Evaluation (Kemple, Snipes, 2000) provides new evidence on engagement,
performance, and initial transitions to post-secondary education and
employment for Career Academy students. Their findings reveal Career
Academies:

-   Increase the level of interpersonal support students experience. (p.
    ES-2).

-   Increase participation in career awareness and work-based learning
    activities. (p. ES-2).

-   Reduce dropout rates, improve attendance, increase academic
    course-taking, and increase the likelihood of earning enough credits
    to graduate on time for students at high risk of dropping out. (p.
    ES-2).

-   Had little or no impact on most indicators of students' engagement
    and performance for low risk sub-groups. (p. 44).

-   On average produced little or no change in outcomes for medium-risk
    subgroups. (p. 44).

-   Do not improve standardized math and reading achievement test
    scores. (p. ES-3).

-   When the findings are averaged across diverse groups of students in
    the full study sample, it appears that the Career Academies produced
    only slight reductions in dropout rates and modest increases in
    other measures of school engagement. These aggregated findings,
    however, mask the high degree of variation in effectiveness among
    different groups of students and across different program contexts.
    (p. ES-3).

-   When data are averaged across the diverse groups of students and
    sites participating in the evaluation, it appears the Career
    Academies produced only modest improvements in students' engagement
    and performance during high school. (p. 44).

MDRC does stress the importance of recognizing that Career Academies
affect groups of students differently depending on the background
characteristics students bring with them into the program (Kemple,
Snipes, 2000, p. 43).

The most recent MDRC evaluation (Kemple, 2001), released December of
2001, gives further insights into the effectiveness and impact of a
Career Academy's career-focused education. Career Academies:

-   Had little influence on course content and classroom instructional
    practices.

-   Left standardized test scores unchanged.

-   Relative to similar students nationally, both the Academy and
    non-Academy groups had high rates of high school graduation, college
    enrollment, and employment.

-   Had little or no impact on high school graduation rates and initial
    post-secondary education and employment outcomes. The Academy
    group's relatively high outcome levels were matched by those of the
    non-Academy group. This was true for subgroups of students at high,
    medium, and low dropout risk.

STW's inability to impact standardized test scores is a serious concern.
Widely considered an effective measure of student learning, standardized
tests are envisioned to play a greater role due to the standards and
accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In
an era of high-stakes testing, STW may be viewed as more of an
impediment to student and school academic success.

## Contextual Learning {#contextual-learning .OVAE}

The underlying learning theory on which STW initiatives rest is
contextual or applied learning. The integration of academic and
vocational curricula is said to be necessary in order to connect the
work students do in school to the demands of the 21st century workplace.
The assumption that this type of active learning will raise student
achievement while providing the economically necessary skills sought
after by employers is more theoretical than empirically based.

The most common form of integration is the infusion of work tasks and
examples into academic courses -- making academic courses more applied.
Despite its wide appeal, relatively little evidence exists that supports
contextual learning and curricula integration's actual ability to
improve student achievement. A review of several studies of applied
academics by Stern, Kaganoff, and Eden (1994) found:

-   Little hard evidence that participation in an integrated program
    affects student learning. (p. 42).

-   Nearly every study had serious methodological or conceptual flaws
    that cast doubt on reported findings. (p. 42).

-   No study could link integrated program participation to economic
    competitiveness. (p. 41).

Lauren Resnick of the University of Pittsburgh, a leading theorist and
proponent of constructivist and contextual learning, notes that,
"Despite broad interest in contextualized learning programs, there is
little systematic evidence about their effectiveness, especially with
respect to meeting academic standards in math, science, and
English/communications." (Resnick, Jury, 2000).

Some of the foremost cognitive psychologists in the United States, John
Anderson, Lynn Reder, and Herbert Simon of Carnegie Mellon University,
are among those whose work refutes current education policy. They
conclude that both constructivist education theory and contextual
learning claims are unproven and, in several respects, at odds with
well-known scientific findings. In fact, such methods may be detrimental
to learning as knowledge becomes situation-bound and context-specific,
leaving the student unable to generalize and transfer his knowledge to
new and different situations.

Youth who learn contextually do not perform well when basic knowledge
and theoretical thought are required. What is known of contextual
learning demonstrates it is likely to be highly variable and uncertain.
It does not instill knowledge and skill effectively, securely, or
universally. What students remember remains uncontrolled, contingent,
and largely irrelevant to definite and responsible learning goals
(Hirsch, 1996, p. 218).

Contrary to the more commonly implemented contextual/applied learning
integration, findings do suggest that making vocational courses more
academic improves student academic achievement. Vocational students who
completed a challenging curriculum comparable to college-preparatory
courses, including English, mathematics and science, obtained higher
achievement test scores (Rock & Pollack, 1995; Bottoms, Fox, New;
Bottoms).

In spite of weak results, STW maintains prominence because federal
policy has too long relied on accepted educational research and theory
that has conformed to the constructivist and contextual philosophy. Too
often education research is dominated by ideological conformity and
anti-empiricism. A body of scientific research exists that counters
current dogma, but is seldom acknowledged, let alone applied in the
education community. It is time to open the forum for discussion so that
all evidence and empirical research can contribute to formulating sound
education policy and practice.

## Reform Impact: What Works {#reform-impact-what-works .OVAE}

To determine what, if any, STW education reform concepts produce
positive results, it is necessary to sift through the many elements.
Often concurrent reforms are implemented in conjunction with
career-focused education. A perceived success of STW may not be
attributable to career-focused education or integrated curricula.
Rather, success may arise from the concurrent implementation of other
reforms. Strategies that have shown evidence of being more likely to
raise student achievement are as follows:

-   All students complete a challenging curriculum that includes college
    preparatory courses in English, mathematics, and science.

-   Increased graduation requirements.

-   All students complete either algebra or pre-algebra by the end of
    eighth grade.

-   Teachers set high expectations for all students through challenging
    lessons and rigorous assignments.

-   Students are taught by teachers who are knowledgeable in their
    subject.

-   Early and continual guidance and advisement concerning
    post-secondary options and choice of high school courses.

-   Creation of small learning environments, including smaller high
    schools and schools within a school.

All of the above strategies can be implemented without a career focus
and absent contextual or work-based learning requirements. Optional
career-focused and work-based learning programs must be offered to
provide flexibility and alternative education paths for those students
who voluntarily choose such.

Aside from providing opportunities for students to gain occupational
skills and work related attitudes, the strongest argument for many STW
initiatives is higher student motivation and engagement. Though early
studies point to higher completion rates for graduation requirements and
lower dropout rates, these findings were not substantiated by the latest
MDRC study. Evidence does suggest, however, that many STW programs have
a positive impact on keeping high risk students in school by providing
an alternative option that engages and motivates them to complete their
education.

These outcomes cannot be dismissed. Increasing the likelihood that high
risk students remain in school and graduate is significant when
considering the societal and economic penalties faced by high school
dropouts.

However, caution must be taken in assessing these findings, for at this
time only students who elect to participate in STW programs are
enrolled. This self-selecting process likely skews the resulting program
outcomes. Students who take the initiative to enroll are pre-motivated
and it is this motivation that may account for these positive effects.
An initiative that benefits self-selected students does not necessarily
benefit all students. Career and technical education must not be the
focal point of all high school education. Rather, it must be one of many
options open to all students. The current dramatic move to restructure
high schools around a series of career fields is accelerating and
unwarranted.

Many districts and schools, including Minneapolis; Boston; Chicago;
Denver; Houston; Prince George's County, MD; Lancaster County, PA, and
others have moved in this direction. The Minneapolis school district
provides an pertinent example of restructuring the high school
curriculum wholly around specific career areas. Students' career choice
requires approval based on teacher recommendations, test scores or grade
point averages, and writing samples as condition of acceptance. The
approved career area will determine the classes each student will take
as well as the school they will attend. Changes of a student's career
choice requires process and approval and is not guaranteed. If approval
is given, the student may need to transfer to a new school and begin
again earning credits towards the new career interest.

These dramatic changes are unwarranted. Unsupported by research and
unsuccessful in meeting all students' needs, reformers have merely
exchanged one "one size fits all" approach for another. There is a built
in systemic rigidity that restricts the student who has a change of mind
concerning their chosen career (which is a likely scenario for a
teenager). Further, research findings on enrollment and attrition rates
for Career Academies from recent MDRC studies do not support the current
expansion of career-focused education. Students voluntarily chose to
participate in the Career Academies, yet less than 60 percent of the
students remained in the programs throughout high school. Many leave due
to loss of interest in the occupational area. The demand for career
focused education may not be at the level proponents project. More
importantly, research findings highlight the importance of individual
choice. Parents and students must be afforded the opportunity to freely
pursue the educational options that best suit their needs and interests.
If the "one size fits all" academic education is not adequate for all
students, neither is the "one size fits all" career-focused education.

Requiring all students to be immersed in career-focused education
blindly ignores the fundamental right of individual choice and the
realities of adolescence. Ninth and tenth grade students should not be
required to concentrate their education on one career interest. Any
degree of specialization in the curriculum narrows the focus of
education and limits individual flexibility and opportunity for the
future. Career focus and decision choices should remain open as long as
possible. All students must be given a solid academic grounding
(preferably college preparatory) that is essential for keeping open many
life choices and options. Driving career focused education into ever
younger grades exacerbates the problems already noted. Most students are
simply not prepared to make such weighty life decisions at the beginning
of high school, much less in junior high or even elementary school.

Students can be better prepared for life choices through informed and
thoughtful counseling. The need for quality guidance and career
awareness to help guide students through the expected times of youthful
indecisiveness cannot be overstated. Sadly, studies suggest that few
students receive adequate guidance counseling, particularly urban
students who are especially in need of support.

Providing students and parents with early and continued assistance in
setting goals and encouragement to complete challenging academic courses
leads to higher achievement and post-secondary enrollment. Too often
students do not even know they lack the necessary academic skills and
knowledge needed to meet their personal goals. Over three-fourths of
urban career and technical students desire to continue their education
after high school, but few are prepared to succeed in college, and fewer
still realize it.

Guidance must begin earnestly in the middle school years so that all
students are apprised of the critical necessity to complete core
academic courses through the junior and senior years. The use of career
fairs, field trips, skills and interest inventories, and elective career
interest courses provides exposure to the world of work, allowing all
students to gain valuable information regarding future options. Career
awareness is distinct from career focused education and does not include
work-based learning, internships, and job shadowing although these types
of programs should be available to all students who have a desire to
participate. No student should be required to center courses around a
particular career focus.

## Policy Implications {#policy-implications .OVAE}

Educational reform should not be about the integration of technical and
academic education for the purpose of ensuring high school graduates
possess occupational skills relevant to certain careers. Rather, reform
should be about improving academic requirements for all students,
college and non-college bound, to ensure that their future life options
are not constrained. A continued emphasis on high academic standards
with challenging coursework in core academic subject areas must be
required of all students.

Though it is difficult to mandate reform through legislation as local
capacity and will cannot be controlled from the federal or state level,
federal policy should strongly encourage the following:

-   Policymakers must be cautioned against "one size fits all"
    legislation. Educational initiatives that are smaller in scope can
    yield great gains in achievement. It is not necessary to package
    various initiatives into one model to produce results. The emphasis
    on whole school reform in federal policy is costly and meeting with
    growing resistance. More emphasis must be given to encouraging
    educational initiatives smaller in scope, more affordable, and
    proven to positively impact student achievement. In so doing, local
    districts and schools will find the flexibility needed to implement
    policy that is applicable to conditions existing in individual
    schools and is best suited to their unique student needs.

-   Halt funding of education reforms that utilize contextual learning
    for all students and all subjects. Define core academic courses as
    free of contextual and applied learning elements. Federal policy
    must prevent the infusion of workplace competencies in academic
    subjects, particularly in elementary and middle school curriculum.

-   Utilize federal funding not just for failing schools, but for
    failing students. Provide funding grants directly to parents and
    students for remedial and tutorial services through both public and
    private providers.

-   Encourage locally developed accelerated learning schedules aimed at
    bringing failing students up to grade level.

-   Teacher quality must be improved to support higher academic
    expectations. Teacher preparation and development that requires
    teachers be qualified in their subject area and promotes higher
    expectations for all students must be supported. Initiate funding
    for teacher development to improve content knowledge and performance
    so to better support students in meeting higher standards.
    Vocational teacher preparation should include training on how to
    incorporate academic skills into vocational courses.

-   Teacher development must incorporate higher expectations for all
    students, particularly for career and technical education students.
    Funding for training in the design of more challenging assignments
    and incorporation of more literacy skills in technical education is
    required.

-   Alternative certification routes that bypass teacher education and
    training programs will open the door to a vast pool of potential
    applicants from the professional and retired ranks, as well as
    liberal arts majors. Compressed classroom management training and
    mentoring controlled at the district level is but one way to provide
    alternative teacher training to applicants already qualified in the
    subject matter.

-   Technical and career education must not ignore the elementary and
    middle school years. Promotion of proven reading and mathematics
    instruction in the elementary grades will ensure that students are
    prepared when entering ninth grade to do high school work. The lack
    of basic reading and math literacy skills often results in student
    failure and lack of engagement in the high school years. Federal
    policy initiatives that encourage and demand stronger academic
    requirements during the middle school years will have enormous
    impact on the success of all students to meet post-secondary and
    occupational goals. Requirements can include: all students complete
    pre-Algebra or Algebra I by the end of eighth grade and increasing
    the number of students who complete honors English or a comparable
    English course.

-   Policy promoting increased core academic requirements for graduation
    for all students will not only improve post high school
    opportunities, but better prepare students for high-stakes tests and
    improve achievement levels for all sub-groups nationwide.

-   Policy promotion of improved guidance and career awareness beginning
    in the middle school years and continuing throughout high school and
    focusing on academic requirements must occur. Funding for guidance
    staff development and resources for effective awareness programs
    must be a priority.

-   Federal policy must encourage and fund initiatives that provide
    options for all students at multiple stages of their high school
    careers -- including job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships,
    and work-based learning. A vibrant, voluntary vocational education
    should allow free movement in and out of career and technical
    education with no penalty. Such a system will attract both career
    and college-bound students while complementing, not supplanting,
    academic education.

-   Implement federal tax credit legislation to encourage corporations
    and individuals to contribute to education initiatives that have
    been shown to be effective.

## References {#references .OVAE}

American Management Association. (2000). "Workplace Testing, Basic
Skills, Job Skills, Psychological Measurement, Summary of Key Findings."

Anderson, J.R., Reder, L.M., Simon, H.A. "Applications and
Misapplications of Cognitive Psychology to Mathematics Education." at

*http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu/papers/misapplied-abs-ja.html*.

Berends, M., Kirby, S.N., Naftel, S., McKelvey, C. (2001).
*Implementation and Performance in New American School: Three Years Into
Scale-Up.* Santa Monica, CA: RAND, MR-1145-EDU.

Bodilly, S. (2001). *New American Schools' Concept of Break the Mold
Designs: How Designs Evolved and Why.* Santa Monica, CA: RAND
MR-1288-NAS.

Bottoms, G. "Putting Lessons Learned to Work: Improving the Achievement
of Vocational Students." Research Brief. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional
Education Board.

Bottoms, G., Fox, J.H., New, T. "The 2000 *High Schools That Work*
Assessment: Improving Urban High Schools." Research Brief. Atlanta, GA:
Southern Regional Education Board.

Bottoms, G., Presson, A. (1997). "Work-Based Learning: Good News, Bad
News, and Hope." Research Brief Number 7. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional
Education Board.

Bottoms, G., Creech, B., Johnson, M. (1997). "Academic and Vocational
Teachers Working Together Contribute to Higher Levels of Student
Achievement. Research Brief Number 9. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional
Education Board.

Carnevale, A. (1998). *Education & Training for America's Future.*
Washington, DC: The Manufacturing Institute.

Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. (1990). *America's
Choice: high skills or low wages!* Rochester, NY: National Center on
Education and the Economy.

Haimson, J., Bellotti, J. (2001). *Schooling in the Workplace:
Increasing the Scale and Quality of Work-based Learning.* Princeton, NJ:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Hamilton, M.A., Hamilton, S.F. (1997). *Learning Well at Work: Choices
for Quality.* New York: Simon and Schuster.

##### Heckman, J.J. (2000). "Policies to Foster Human Capital." Research in Economics, 54, pp. 3-56.

##### 

Heckman, J.J., Roselius, R., Smith, J. (1994). *U.S. Education and
Training Policy: A Re-evaluation of the Underlying Assumptions Behind
the "New Consensus."* in Labor Markets, Employment Policy, & Job
Creation. Lewis C. Solomon and Alec R. Levenson, editors. Milken
Institute Series in Economics and Education. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press.

Hershey, A.M., Silverberg, M.K., Haimson, J. (1999). *Expanding Options
for Students: Report to Congress on the National Evaluation of
School-to-Work Implementation*. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy
Research, Inc.

Hirsch, E.D., Jr. (1996). *The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have
Them.* New York, NY: Doubleday.

Hollenbeck, K. (1992). *Postsecondary Education as Triage: Returns to
Academic and Technical Programs.* Upjohn Institute Staff Working Paper
92-10. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

Hudis, P. (2001). *Making Schools Career-Focused.* Princeton, NJ:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Hughes, K.L., Bailey, T.R., Mechur, M.J. (2001). *School-to-Work: Making
a Difference in Education.* Columbia University: Institute on Education
and the Economy, Teachers College.

Hughes, K. L., Moore, D. T., Bailey, T. R. (1999). "Work-Based Learning
and Academic Skills." IEE Working Paper No. 15.

Judy, R.W., D'Amico, C. (1997). *Workforce 2020: Work & Workers in the
21^st^ Century*. Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute.

Kemple, J.J. (2001). *Career Academies: Impacts on Students' Initial
Transitions to Post-Secondary Education and Employment*. New York, NY:
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Key Findings.
\[www.mdrc.org/Reports2001/CareerAcademies/CA2001_ExecSum.htm
12/27/01\].

Kemple, J.J., Snipes J.C. (2000). *Career Academies: Impacts on
Students' Engagement and Performance in High School*. New York, NY:
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation.

Kemple, J.J. (2001). *Career Academies: Impacts on Students' Initial
Transitions to Post-Secondary Education and Employment*. New York, NY:
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation.

Mirel, J. (2001). *The Evolution of the New American Schools: From
Revolution to Mainstream.* Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.

Neumark, D., Joyce, M. (2000). "Evaluating School-To-Work Programs Using
the New NLSY." Working Paper 7719. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of
Economic Research.

Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (1996). *Study of
School-to-Work Initiatives: Studies of Education Reform.* Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and
Improvement.

Public Agenda. (1998, 2001). "Reality Check." New York, NY: Public
Agenda, at *http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/rc2001/reality.htm* and
*http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/reality/reality.htm.*

Resnick, L., Jury, M., "Contextualized Learning of Academic Subject
Matter: State of the Art," Learning and Work Research Projects, Learning
and Research Development Center, at
*www.lrdc.pitt.edu/research/old/law98.htm* (March 6, 2000).

Rock, D., & Pollack, J.M. (1995). *Mathematics course-taking and gains
in mathematics achievement.* Washington DC: U.S. Department of
Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Stasz, C., Kaganoff, T., Eden,. R.A. (1994). "Integrating Academic and
Vocational Education: A Review of the Literature, 1987-1992." *Journal
of Vocational Education Research*, Vol. 19, No. 2. pp. 25-72.

Stasz, C., Kaganoff, T. (1997). *Learning How to Learn at Work: Lessons
from Three High School Programs.* Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

Stern, D., Dayton, C., Raby, M. (2000). *Career Academies: Building
Blocks for Reconstructing American High Schools*. Berkeley, CA: The
Career Academy Support Network.

Stern, D. (1997). *The Continuing Promise of Work-Based Learning.*
Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

U.S. Department of Education. (1996). *Study of School-to-Work
Initiatives: Studies of Education Reform*. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Viadero, D. "Memphis Scraps Redesign Models In All Its Schools."
*Education Week*, July 11, 2001, 1.

Viadero, D. "Whole-School Projects Show Mixed Results." *Education
Week*, November 10, 2001, 1