NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

ISSUE

BRIEF

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement NCES 1999–072

August 1999

Students Who Prepare for College and a Vocation

Table 1.—Percentage distribution of public high school graduates

according to curriculum specialization in high school:

1982, 1990, and 1994

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (forthcoming). Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, NCES 2000-029.

Washington, DC.

0 10 20 30 40 50

Technology and

communications

Business

Health care

Child care

and education

Marketing

and distribution

Agriculture and

renewable resources

Trade and industry

Personal and

other services

Food service

and hospitality

Total 18%

3%

10%

11%

12%

16%

43%

27%

25%

15%

Figure 1.—Percentage of public high school graduates with a

vocational concentration who also completed a college

preparatory curriculum, by vocational program area:

1994

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1994

National Assessment of Educational Progress High School Transcript Study.

Curriculum specialization 1982 1990 1994

 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

College preparatory only 8.1 25.9 32.2

Vocational concentration only 33.1 25.0 20.9

Both vocational concentration

 and college preparatory 0.6 2.8 4.5

Other/general 58.2 46.3 42.4

High schools have traditionally focused on preparing students for entry-level

jobs or for postsecondary education. Recently, federal legislation (e.g., 1990

and 1998 Perkins Acts) has encouraged a more integrated approach for all

students, one that maintains college entry as a viable option while also providing a stronger foundation in work skills and applications. One group of students whose high school course of study may reflect these changes are those

who complete both a vocational and a college preparatory curriculum. Currently, little is known about this small group of students. This issue brief

focuses on these students, examining their vocational course taking, academic

achievement in high school, and postsecondary participation.

Student participation in vocational education and a college

preparatory curriculum

For this issue brief, public high school graduates were categorized into four

curriculum groups: college preparatory only, vocational concentration only,

both vocational concentration and college preparatory, and general preparation.1 College preparatory graduates completed a course of study that was

consistent with the prevailing entrance requirements at public four-year colleges.2 Vocational concentrators completed three or more credits in a single

occupational program area (such as business). Of particular interest for this

issue brief are the students who met both the college preparatory and vocational concentrator criteria. General preparation students met neither the vocational nor the college preparatory requirements.

Between 1982 and 1994, there was an increase in the percentage of students

completing a college preparatory curriculum and a decrease in the percentage

completing a vocational concentration (table 1). Reflecting the general trend

toward more college preparatory coursework, the percentage of graduates completing both a vocational concentration and a college preparatory curriculum

increased from 0.6 percent in 1982 to 4.5 percent in 1994. Among college

preparatory high school graduates, the percentage who also completed a vocational concentration increased from 7 percent in 1982 to 12 percent in 1994.

Among vocational concentrators, the percentage who also completed a college preparatory curriculum increased nine-fold, from 2 percent in 1982 to 18

percent in 1994 (not shown in a table). Within specific vocational areas,

however, students were not equally likely to have completed a college preparatory curriculum. High school graduates who concentrated in food service

and hospitality were less likely than the average vocational concentrator to

have also completed a college preparatory curriculum, while students concentrating in technology and communications or in business were more likely

than the average vocational concentrator to have also completed a college

preparatory curriculum (figure 1). In fact, 43 percent of the graduates who

concentrated in technology and communications also completed a college preparatory curriculum.3 We do not know enough about technology/communications and business programs to say what about them may particularly attract

college-preparatory students. But we do know that these are the two vocational program areas in which computers are most extensively used (U.S. Department of Education 1994). This “high tech” focus could increase the appeal of these programs to a broader range of students.

1 This analysis uses transcript data from the High School and Beyond Sophomore Cohort 1982 High School Transcript Study, the 1990 and 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress High

School Transcript Studies, and the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 High School Transcript Study. See U.S. Department of Education (forthcoming) for a complete description of the

data sources.

2 This included 4 credits in English; 3 credits in mathematics at the algebra 1 level or higher; 2 credits in biology, chemistry, and/or physics; 2 credits in social studies with at least 1 credit in U.S. or

World History; and 2 credits in a single foreign language.

3 In the current NCES secondary school course taxonomy, all computer courses are classified as vocational within the technology and communications program area. In earlier taxonomies, computer

classes taught in a mathematics department were classified as academic.

Achievement test gains

Table 2 compares the test-score gains of students in the different curriculum

groups. To partially control for differences in initial achievement levels, the

test-score gains are grouped according to the students’ 8th-grade test quartile.
Issue Briefs present information on education topics of current interest. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. All differences are statistically

significant at the 0.05 level. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item nonresponse,

measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.

This Issue Brief was prepared by Lisa Hudson (NCES) and David Hurst (ESSI). To obtain standard errors or definitions of terms for this Issue Brief, contact Lisa Hudson at NCES

202-219-1419. To order additional copies of this Issue Brief or other NCES publications, call 1-877-433-7827. NCES publications are available on the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov/.

Table 2.—Average test score gains between 8th and 12th grade in mathematics and reading for 1992 public high school graduates according

to 8th-grade mathematics and reading test score quartiles, by curriculum specialization in high school

—Too few sample observations for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (forthcoming). Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, NCES 2000-029. Washington, DC. The achievement tests were conducted as part of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS).

Curriculum specialization Mathematics Reading Mathematics Reading Mathematics Reading

 Total 20.8 16.6 25.1 19.5 29.2 23.0

College preparatory only 27.6 19.9 29.2 21.9 30.5 24.4

Vocational concentration only 19.0 15.5 22.3 17.6 26.4 19.9

Both vocational concentration and college preparatory — 19.9 27.4 20.5 29.8 23.6

Other/general 20.7 16.7 24.3 19.0 27.5 21.7

Lowest quartile Highest quartile Middle two quartiles

The test-score gains for students who completed both a vocational concentration and a college preparatory curriculum were statistically indistinguishable

from those who completed a college preparatory curriculum only, and these

students generally out-performed their peers who focused on a vocational concentration only. For instance, among students whose 8th-grade mathematics

scores were in the middle two quartiles, those who completed a vocational

concentration and a college preparatory curriculum gained an average of 27

points on the mathematics test between 8th and 12th grade. Students completing the college preparatory curriculum only made similar gains (29 points),

while the average academic gain of those who had a vocational concentration

only was lower (22 points).

Postsecondary participation rates

High school graduates who complete both a vocational concentration and a

college preparatory curriculum may do so in an effort to keep their education

and employment options open. These students should be prepared to enter a

job in the occupational field in which they took vocational courses or to enroll

in a postsecondary institution. However, based on their enrollments two years

after graduation, most of these students appear to be college-bound.

Among 1992 public high school graduates, those who completed a vocational

concentration and a college preparatory curriculum were about as likely to

have enrolled in a postsecondary institution by 1994 as their exclusively college preparatory peers (90 and 94 percent, respectively), and much more likely

to do so than students who completed a vocational concentration only (52

percent) or who had a general education preparation (70 percent) (table 3).

The public 4-year enrollment rates of high school graduates who completed

both a vocational concentration and a college preparatory curriculum were

also similar to high school graduates who completed a college preparatory

curriculum only (57 and 54 percent). These public 4-year enrollment rates

were higher than those for students who completed a vocational concentration

only (24 percent) or a general education preparation (34 percent). High school

graduates who completed both a vocational concentration and a college preparatory curriculum were also about as likely as college preparatory-only graduates to enroll in a community college and were less likely to do so than students who completed a vocational concentration only or who had a general

education preparation.

Conclusion

The percentage of high school graduates who complete both a vocational concentration and a college preparatory curriculum is small, but increased markedly between 1982 and 1994. High school graduates with concentrations in

vocational areas that use computers most extensively, such as business and

technology/communications, generally appeared to be the most likely to have

also completed a college preparatory curriculum. The academic achievement

gains and postsecondary participation rates of high school graduates who completed both a vocational concentration and a college preparatory curriculum

were similar to those who completed a college preparatory curriculum only,

and generally higher than students who completed a vocational concentration

only.

While students who complete both a vocational concentration and a college

preparatory curriculum tend to be college-bound, these findings suggest that

they may increasingly find it useful to take courses in a vocational field. At the

same time, other analyses have found that the academic course taking of all

vocational concentrators has increased (U.S. Department of Education, forthcoming). These course taking trends suggest that students are increasingly

integrating vocational and academic learning at the course level, and that students in the high-tech fields of technology/communications and business are

particularly likely to follow the broader course of study envisioned by recent

federal legislation.

References:

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

1994. National Assessment of Vocational Education Final Report, Volume II:

Participation in and Quality of Vocational Education, Washington, DC, p. 93.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (forthcoming). Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, NCES

2000-029. Washington, DC.

Table 3.—Percentage of 1992 public high school graduates enrolled

in a postsecondary institution by 1994, and of those

enrolled, percentage distribution according to type of first

institution, by curriculum specialization in high school

* Includes private, not-for-profit 2-year; public vocational-technical; and private, for-profit institutions.

NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (forthcoming). Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000, NCES 2000-029.

Washington, DC.

Private,

not-forPublic profit Public

Curriculum specialization Enrolled 4-year 4-year 2-year Other*

 Total 74.3 41.0 17.5 35.5 6.1

College preparatory only 93.6 53.8 26.7 17.3 2.1

Vocational concentration only 51.8 23.7 6.5 57.0 12.8

Both vocational concentration

 and college preparatory 89.9 57.1 15.5 23.7 3.6

Other/general 70.3 33.5 13.0 46.1 7.4

Of those enrolled,

 type of first institution