Volume III

Figure 3.1
Skill Standard Taxonomy

Interest

Level

Purpose

Public

Public and
Private

Private

Level 1:
Broad-based
academic and
work-related
standards and
certification.

Level 2:
Occupational
cluster or industry
skill standards
and certification.

Level 3:
Occupational or
job-specific skill
standards and
certification.

Used by secondary
schools. All students
must attain these
standards before
graduation from high
school.

Used by secondary,
postsecondary, and other
training institutions to
assist in school-to-work
transition.

Used by firms or training,
institutions for imparting
job-specific skills.

specialized technical skills at higher levels of task complexity. For example, the
skills and knowledge necessary for effective job performance as an operating-
room.nurse include that which is required of all workers (Level 1), patient care
personnel (Level 2), and registered nurses (Level 3). Likewise, trained auto
mechanic would require the skills and knowledge necessary for high school

graduation (Level 1), the transportation industry (Level 2), and the occupation of
an auto mechanic (Level 3). Although overall skill and knowledge requirements
are more rigorous at Level 3, the breadth of skills is narrower, because students
concentrate studies within a smaller area.

While skill levels are fairly distinct, they need not be mutually exclusive.
Depending upon the industry, the demarcation between Level 2 and Level 3
skills may be somewhat fluid. Substantial overlap may exist across levels and
along a continuum of skills, with differences within industries determining not
only when a student moves from Level 2 to Level 3, but what constitutes an
industry or cluster.

64

hiadustrial Skill Standards



Volume Ill

We do not know how many of the current tech-prep initiatives will survive, and
how many will develop into mature programs. The first does not imply the
second, because a new tech-prep initiative could continue as a simple advanced
placement program for a long time, without becoming a fully developed
tech-prep program. The maturation of tech-prep initiatives and the nature and
extent of student participation, student retention, and student cutcomes are
subjects that will require close scrutiny in the future.

THE ROLE OF PERKINS IN LOCAL TECH-PREP EFFORTS

The discussion of implementation suggested that the Perkins Act was responsible
for the rapid growth in the number of tech-prep initiatives in the early 1990s. For
example, in 1990-91, the last year under the old Perkins Act, 23 percent of regular
districts reported having tech-prep programs. In 1991-92, the first year of the
new Act, 41 percent of districts reported doing so, a relative increase of 78
percent. New starts then leveled off: 1992-93 saw only a 12 percent relative
increase in the number of districts with tech prep, from 41 percent to 46 percent.

Further, district administrators often credit Perkins with influencing their
decisions to undertake tech-prep initiatives. In the 1993 Followup Survey, 43
percent of administrators in all districts with tech prep said the Perkins Act
played a large role in their decision to develop a tech-prep program. The Act was
cited as an important influence more often than any other factor in a list of eight,
in part, no doubt, because of the grant money it provides for tech prep.

Finally, multivariate analyses in Chapter 1 showed that the perceived influence
of Perkins in districts was associated with a gieater increase in the number of
steps taken to implement tech prep than-was any other factor.

Beyond the general influence of Perkins on tech prep, ‘ve would expect school
districts and postsecondary institutions receiving Perkins Title III tech-prep
grants to have more fully developed tech-prep initiatives than those not
receiving grants. Indeed, the Omnibus Survey data show that among the school
districts developing tech prep, those receiving Title III funds are more likely to
have taken specific implementation steps than those without funds (Table 5.6).
This is true of every category of activity in both regular and vocational districts.

The evidence also suggests that Perkins tech-prep funds may have more impact
in vocational districts than in regular districts. In seven of the ten implementation
steps listed, the difference between funded and unfunded vocational districts is
greater than the difference between funded and unfunded regular districts.

At the postsecondary level, Title [II fund recipients are more likely than other
institutions to take certain steps to develop tech-prep programs, but the tendency
is not as pronounced as at the secondary level (Table 5.7). Funded community
colleges are more likely than unfunded ones to hire tech-prep coordinators,

Tech-Prep Programs 123 19



Volume III

committed to vocational education may have enrollment increases as a result of
that commitment, and also may integrate programs for the same reason.

Information from the case studies supports the interpretation that integrated
courses increase vocational enrollments. In the case study sites, the more
rigorous applied academic courses, such as Principles of Technology, are popular
and tend to attract higher achieving students who would not ordinarily take
vocational education. (It should be added, though, that “PT” is sometimes
counted as an academic course, rather than a vocational course.)

State and federal reform activities appear to have little or no direct effect on
vocational enrollments. State leadership, state support for assessment, and
perceived effects of America 2000 are not significantly associated with enrollment
changes when the other factors are taken into account. State support for
integrated programs shows a marginally significant relation to enrollments: An
increase from “little or no support” to “very good support” is associated with an
additional 3-percent increase in enrollments.!8

A plausible explanation of these findings is that some federal and state education
reforms have positive indirect effects on vocational enrollments. That is, federal
and state reforms promote integration efforts in districts, and these local changes,
in turn, tend to increase vocational enrollments. The data do not prove that this
happens, but they are consistent with this explanation.

Local program improvements show significant positive associations with
vocational enrollments, even after other factors are controlled. Adding or
expanding career exploration programs and adding or expanding student
leadership programs each are asscciated with a minimum 12 percent increase in
vocational enrollments. On the other hand, the addition of job placement
activities is not significantly related to enrollments after other factors are
controlled. These findings suggest that some local program improvements may
help increase vocational enrollments (or alternatively, that these programs are
expanded in response to growing enrollments).

Finally, it is no surprise that problems with the image of vocational education
among students and parents are significantly and negatively related to vocational
enrollments. As the problems become progressively more serious, enrollments go
down. A change from no problem to a serious problem is related to a minimum

9 percent enrollment decrease.

In all, the correlations and regression analyses suggest that the districts with
unchanging vocational programs are losing vocational enrollments and those
making improvements are gaining them. The data also suggest that improving
programs and adopting integration may help to improve vocational enrollments.

eg

18 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education



Volume III

In particular, the possibility of relating jobs that students obtain on their own
to work-related education in school should be explored. A similar approach
could be taken with JTPA jobs in the summer youth programs.

At the same time, the government should conduct rigorous outcomes
evaluations of existing work experience programs. The development of work
experience programs should proceed in an evolutionary way, consistent with
economic principles. The government should carefully assess the potential of
these programs for expansion and evidence pertaining to their employment
outcomes before considering any major commitment of resources to them.

Work-Based Learning 151


Volume III

RECRUITING NEW EMPLOYERS

Finding employers to participate in work-based programs can be very difficult,
as the programs require a substantial commitment of employer time and other
resources. Understanding why those employers who choose to provide
work-based experiences do so may in turn provide useful insights into the
process of expanding work-based programs.

Why Employers Participate

The National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce (EQW)
surveyed 270 firms that participated in co-op or youth apprenticeship programs.
Employers in the survey indicated two motives for participating in work
experience programs: (a) to perform a community service and (b) to recruit new
workers.4! Bailey reports the same two motives.*?

The EQW survey found that many employers were interested in contributing to
improving school programs and to helping students acquire skills needed in the
workplace; these same employers demonstrated a desire to give something back
to the communities that supported their businesses. Though some of the smaller
work experience programs may be able to exist on such goodwill, it is doubtful
that a large-scale effort can be maintained on goodwill alone.

This study also reported that “firms interested in recruiting new entry-level
workers indicated that these work-based programs are a ‘good deal’ for the
employer.” 43 For firms that consider students as potential employees, training
costs become investments in the future of their own organizations. In addition,
those firms trust participating schools to act as screening agents and to send
them students who have the skills necessary to become productive workers.
Obviously, firms are in business to make a profit. Thus, when work experience
programs reduce the cost of finding and securing workers, employers have
strong incentives to participate in them.

Obstacles to Employer Participation

Two of the largest obstacles to recruiting additional employers are (a) the costs of
training youth and incorporating them in the workplace, and (b) the view held
by many employers that today’s youth are poor-quality workers and that older,
more experienced workers are both preferable and available. Each of these
obstacles will be addressed in turn.

Cost of Training Youth
Regardless of benefits to firms, providing paid employment and structured

workplace training is very costly. Costs include both wages for students and staff
time for training and supervision. A recent study by the Manpower Demon-

146 Work-Based Learning


FINAL REPORT
aati

CONGRESS »

VOLUME TI

PROGRAM PAL PIQOW EATEN Te
PDUCATION REFORM



Volume III

Despite the rapid spread of tech-prep efforts, most programs that are far enough
along to enroll students are fairly small.!! According to the Omnibus Survey, in
the few regular districts reporting tech-prep enrollments in 1992, the median
number of students in subject-specific tech-prep programs (agriculture, business,
etc.) ranged from 18 to 27, depending on occupational field. (See Tables A-5.5

and A-5.6.) In vocational districts, the medians ranged from 16 to 40. Both regular
and vocational districts typically had programs in two occupational areas.
Altogether, the programs in regular districts had a median 54 students, those in
vocational districts, a median 44 students.

These are not trivial numbers, and in some districts they may comprise a
substantial proportion of vocational students. Nevertheless, most of the tech-
prep programs reporting numbers of students are a long way from
encompassing the “middle half” of high school students that are the focus of the
original tech-prep model. In addition, we need to be careful in interpreting all
these tech-prep estimates. Local definitions of programs and students vary
widely, and many respondents may want to report on their tech-prep programs
even though they do not meet survey definitions. Further, field researchers who
have visited many tech-prep programs have cautioned that programs often look
less substantial on site than they do in survey data.

Retention in Tech-Prep Programs

The 1993 Followup Survey finds that about 475 districts had Perkins-defined
tech-prep programs in which some enrollees had finished the secondary part of
the program and that some 399 district programs had sent students on to the
postsecondary pari. We can estimate student retention and transition rates for
these programs. According to the district administrators, a median 79 percent of
their tech-prep students complete the secondary part of the tech-prep program
and 47 percent go on to the postsecondary phase. In the 44 postsecondary
institutions that report tech-prep graduates, a median 58 percent of the students
who enter the postsecondary phase complete the program.

These retention rates bear some resemblance to the rates for secondary students
in general. In 1991, 81 percent of 19-20 year olds had graduated from high

school,'2 and 38 percent of high school graduates went on to four-year colleges in
the fall after graduation. 3

We emphasize that these tech-prep retention rates are derived from admini-
strators’ estimates, the sample numbers are small, and most administrators did
not provide data on these items (83% of the secondary respondents said that it
was “too early to tell”). It would be better to have actual counts of students from
a larger number of respondents, but such information is not available.

Tech-Prep Programs 1s

124



Volume IIT

A less rigid system would permit all students to choose courses of study which
they would pursue through secondary school. Such a system exists in Sweden,
which groups 27 lines of study into six divisions: arts and science, the care
professions, economics and commerce, technology and science, technology and
industry, and agriculture, horticulture, and forestry (Level 2). All of these
programs are three years in length, and students who wish to enter the
workforce after completion learn more specific skills near the end of their
program (Level 3).

In the United States 49 percent of all high school seniors report that they plan to
attend a four-year college, while 71 percent plan to goontosomeformof
postsecondary training.2? Although not all of these expectations are realized, the
high percentage of high school seniors planning to attend postsecondary
education must be part of the design of a comprehensive system of standards
and certification. Students might not be motivated to increase their skill
acquisition if acquiring those skills foreclosed the option of college. Both
American parents and students expect postsecondary options to be kept open. In
effect, this means that Level 2 contextualized competencies will have to
incorporate a good deal of subject matter currently classified as academic,
including advanced skills and knowledge in areas such as math and English.

Skills standards would make the skills students acquire more portable, because
skill holdings could be defined regardless of where training occurred, and
because students would be able to signal potential employers of their increased
productivity. This could give workers increased geographic and (to the extent
that skills overlapped) occupational mobility. Skill clarification could also reduce
employee dislocation and ease labor force reentry of skilled workers, because
workers would be better able to document their skill holdings to employers. Skill
documentation may be particularly relevant given recent corporate restructuring.
If workers change jobs more frequently, then a skills certificate may ease mobility
in a more fluid labor market characterized by less job security.39 At the same
time, standards could increase employment tenure by providing career ladders
within firms, with mastery of increasingly complex skills tied to internal
promotion and remuneration.

While skill standards may provide students with an incentive to pursue training,
it is not obvious that students will always benefit from their advanced skill
holdings. Though certification may help students show their skill holdings to
potential employers, signaling models also have the potential to lock students
into particular types of work — or out of work in the event of dramatic
workplace change. Moreover, there is no guarantee that certified skills will be
recognized throughout the country. Credentialing agreements in the United
States currently prohibit many certified individuals from practicing their
profession across state lines. For example, an architect certified in Florida may
not practice in California without first undergoing recertification, and similar
restrictions govern a host of other occupations.*! Adoption by states of standards

62 » Industrial Skill Standards



Volume III

enough job openings to hire all of their graduating apprentices. This last obstacle
is likely to become an even greater issue if apprentice-type programs grow.

It may not be an exaggeration to say that this negative view of young workers is
the greatest obstacle to successfully expanding work-based programs. While
many innovative ways have been proposed to lessen the costs of training young
people, altering current attitudes toward hiring young people is a much more
difficult and long-term task.

In the current economic climate of streamlining and cost-cutting, when
employers are faced with the choice of training high school youth or hiring more
experienced older workers, most firms prefer the experienced workers. Although
small businesses in the EQW focus groups were still hiring, they ”. . . saw little
need to engage in the extensive training of young people — not when there were
so many older, more disciplined, better-skilled workers in search of jobs. None
reported skill shortages; none indicated that they were having to pay premium
wages to get the kind of workers they wanted.”53

Based on their ongoing evaluation of 19 work experience programs supported by
the Department of Labor, Hershey and Silverberg conclude that apprenticeships
are likely to be considered only by employers in industries and occupations
where short-term projections indicate a steady and growing demand for new and
high-quality workers.*4 Under these conditions, where employers perceive the
supervision, training, and wages of students as necessary to remaining
competitive, incentives are great enough to force participation.

Chapter 7 in Volume II shows that employers in the EQW survey who were
participating in youth apprenticeship or co-op programs had high opinions of
them. These were a self-selected group of employers, many of whom were no
doubt favorably inclined toward such programs from the start. Nevertheless,
information from employers already involved in work-based programs may be
useful in developing strategies to persuade other employers to participate.

An Alternative Approach

For many employers, financial and other barriers may make work-based training
programs infeasible. However, less formal and intensive options are available.

Hershey and Silverberg found examples of other models of indirect employer
participation in preparing students for work. For some employers, involvement
included providing limited work-site experiences. For others, it entailed making
available employer resources, such as facilities and equipment, as well as
teachers for classroom instruction. Still other employers advised on the design of
curricula.

Work-Based Learning 1 5 7 “



Volume II

an ideal context for learning academic concepts in work-relevant situations. A
review of the literature on contextualized learning that describes and assesses
this kind of education is discussed later in this chapter.

In light of the anges in workplace organization and the plethora of
recommendations for reform generated in the middle and late 1980s, the 1990
Perkins Act places heavy emphasis on integrating academic and vocational
curricula. Specifically, the Act requires that Title II, Part C funds, which provide
the bulk of assistance to local districts and institutions, be used to “provide
vocational education in programs that . . . integrate academic and vocational
education . . . through coherent sequences of courses so that students achieve
both academic and occupational competencies.” '3

THE STRUCTURE OF INTEGRATION

What does the integration of academic and vocational curricula entail? Grubb has
found that schools bring academic and vocational education together in a
number of different ways, which comprise eight different models of integration
at the secondary level. Stasz et al.!4 have summarized these models as follows:

1. More academic content is incorporated in vocational courses
taught by vocational teachers to vocational students.

2. Academic and vocational teachers cooperate to incorporate
academic content into vocational programs. Unlike model 1, this
approach requires teachers to collaborate in curriculum
development.

3. Academic courses are made more vocationally relevant by
including more vocational content in existing courses or by
adopting new courses such as “applied academics.”

4. Curricular “alignment” is accomplished by modifying or
coordinating both academic and vocational curricula across courses
or over time.

5. Senior projects are done in lieu of elective courses and require
students to complete a project that integrates knowledge and skills
learned in both academic and vocational courses.

6. The Academy model is a school -within-a-school that aligns courses

with each other and to an occupational focus. It is a program for
selected students within a high school.

64

74 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

(nnn SASS ASS



Volume Il

viewed as the vocational counterpart of the state and federal effort, manifest in
the National Council on Standards and Testing, to develop standards for
academic curricula. ©

Three other important elements in the Perkins Act — the integration of academic
and vocational curricula, 2+2 tech-prep programs, and work experience
programs — are part of the Wave I] restructuring movement. Collectively these

three proposed changes are often regarded as key components of the school-
to-work transition.

Integration can be seen as a restructuring response to A Nation at Risk. Although
the idea of learning by doing is an old one, current efforts to link academic and
vocational education arose largely in response to A Natiou at Risk. Critics charged
that the report was elitist and that it did not place enough emphasis on preparing
non-college youth for work. A year after the report’s publication, the National
Commission on Secondary Vocational Education published its own report, The
Unfinished Agenda: The Role of Vocationai Education in the High Schools.” This
Commission stressed that secondary academic and vocational education were
separate and isolated, denying students the opportunity to understand the
“interrelatedness of ideas, the implications and applications of knowledge, and
the process of discovery, dissemination, and use of information.” The report
recommended “bridging the gap” by encouraging secondary vocational
education programs to place more emphasis on instructing students in “the basic
skills of reading, writing, arithmetic, speaking, listening, and problem-solving.”8

Tech prep can also be seen as a restructuring response to A Nation at Risk.
Although the idea of tech prep had been around for a number of years, it was
first systematically formulated and widely disseminated in Dale Parnell’s The
Neglected Majority, which was published in 1985, just two years after the report.
Like The Unfinished Agenda, it reflected a belief that A Nation at Risk addressed
only part of the problem in American education.

At the outset, Parnell noted that the education reform movement was “led by the
clarion call to the American people of A Nation at Risk.” Parnell asserted that the
report was pitched to the one-quarter of American high school students who
eventually graduate from four-year colleges and that it ignored the other
three-quarters — the neglected majority. In his view, the report “paid scant
attention to non-college youth as a target audience or vocational education as a
viable part of a school reform strategy.”

To provide greater structure, motivation, and continuity for secondary students,
especially the non-college-bound students, Parnell proposed that the general
track in secondary schools — “the academic and vocational desert of American
education” — be eliminated and that high schools be restructured to provide:
(a) a college prep program for the top one-quarter of students (in terms of
achievement and interest), who are likely to attain baccalaureate degrees; (b) a

8 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education

19



Volume III

Figure A-4.2

Percent of State Secondary Agencies Taking Steps to Integrate Curricula,
1991, 1993: Steps 7-12

80

70

60

50

40°

30

20;

10

1991

Provide guidelines on development of
coherent sequences of courses

Promote participation in a regional
curriculum that supports integration

Develop or disseminate state-
developed integrated curricut,

Adopta definition of integration

Comt
weworks with those af academic
rimenis at state (evel

ne vocational curriculum

de

Provide mandatory curriculum
teameworks of guidelines for academics
‘vocational integration

1993

Sources: Omnibus and 1993 Followup Surveys of Secondary State Agencies

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula



Volume II

At the secondary level, tech-prep programs are most often found in business and
office education and in trade and industry (Figure 5.1). In regular districts,

30 percent of the subject-specific tech-prep programs are in business and office,
and 27 percent are in trade and industry. Some 10-11 percent of the tech-prep
programs are found in each of the other four occupational areas listed. Judged by
the proportion of teachers in the different occupational areas, the distribution of
tech-prep initiatives is roughly similar to that of vocational programs in general,
although tech prep is underrepresented in business programs; it may be
overrepresented in marketing, occupational home economics, and health, but
these lifferences may not be significant.

At the postsecondary level, the distribution of tech-prep initiatives across
different vocational fields resembles the distribution of postsecondary
occupational programs in general, with the possible exception of protective
services (Figure 5.2). Computer and data processing programs are represented
among tech-prep programs exactly in proportion to their numbers;
communications, engineering, and science technology are only slightly over-
represented among tech-prep programs. In short, if vocational program areas
reflect different degrees of technical emphasis, there seems to be no particular
concentration of high-tech subjects in tech prep. It may be that tech-prep
programs have a high-tech emphasis within vocational program areas, but we
have no data with which to explore that possibility.

Do Tech-Prep Programs Provide Equal Access?

The Perkins Act requires basic grant recipients to provide special population
students with equal access to “good quality” vocational education programs, and
tech-prep programs may be regarded as one measure of quality. Perkins also
explicitly requires that districts receiving Title III tech-prep grants provide
special populations with equal access to tech-prep programs.”

One way to determine the degree of access is to use the “equal opportunity”
model, in which there are no external barriers to opportunity based on
characteristics such as sex, race, or disability status. This model opens the door to
opportunity structures (such as tech-prep programs) but does not assure that
disadvantaged individuals will participate in significant numbers. A second
approach to access, the affirmative action model, aims to assure significant
participation for disadvantaged individuals by making active efforts to recruit
and involve them. We will evaluate access to tech prep for special population
students by reference to both of these models.

Using, the equal opportunity approach, we can examine the prevalence of
tech-prep initiatives across districts with different proportions of special
populations. If the districts have about the same prevalence of tech-prep
programs, then the programs are distributed across districts without regard to
tre special population status of students.

124 Tech-Prep Programs

133


Volume Ii

were just getting started in 195, and most of these enrolled their first students in
1993.

Judging from the enrollments reported by a relatively small number of districts
and postsecondary institutions in 1992, most functioning tech-prep programs are
of modest size — around 50 students in a district and 120 secondary students in a
consortium.

Many programs include postsecondary education as an essential component, but
some do not. Many are conceived primarily as articulated vocational courses, but
a smaller number are designed as broad, integrated, occupationally oriented
majors. Some are merely relabeled tech-prep components. Some require formal
student enrollments, but in others the definition of a tech-prep student is hazy.

In 1992, case studies found that most secondary-postsecondary articulation
occurred at the course level, not the program level. Though many tech-prep
initiatives reported some integration in our surveys, at visited sites most of the
integration appeared to be rudimentary.

Most schools and postsecondary institutions seem to be trying to fit small
tech-prep programs or pieces of programs into their existing curricula, rather
than using them as a basis for the kind of systemic reform implicit in the Perkins
Act. A critical question is whether tech prep will be simply one of the options
within the present vocational education system, or whether it will expand into a
broad integrated program encompassing a substantial portion of the secondary
student body.

Hayward and his associates observe that:

All in all, one might be inclined to look at the results with
disappointment. However, in our view, that would be an
ill-advised conclusion. These results are precisely what one would
expect from a very new, very complex education reform.22

Hayward notes that the few programs that have operated for at least five years
seem to be doing well, and some survey findings are consistent with this

observation. Not surprisingly, older programs are more likely to be larger than
newer ones.

We do not know how many of the new initiatives will survive for at least five
years, or how many have the potential, in terms of mandate, commitment,
resources, and structural prerequisites to endure or to evolve into comprehensive
programs.

There are some positive signs, though. Tech prep looked better in 1993 than in
1992. One could see students beginning to enter the programs, and in the few

130 Tech-Prep Programs

139


Volume III

Appendix 4-A
Some 1980s Reports on Educating the Workforce

In 1984, the College Board assembled 200 business leaders and educators to
discuss academic preparation for work. The conference recommended a more
advanced and work-relevant form of the three Rs, and also called for attention to
speaking and listening skills and an emphasis on the ability to reason.

In 1987, the National Alliance of Business published The Fourth R: Workforce
Readiness, which emphasized education in the three Rs, speaking and listening,
problem solving, werking in organizations, and work ethics.!

In 1988, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) published a
report called Workplace Basics: The Skills Employers Want. 2 Like its predecessors,
the ASTD report emphasized the three Rs, speaking and listening, and reasoning
abilities. In addition, the ASTD report emphasized the need for interpersonal
skills, teamwork, and leadership.

Other reports on the subject, including the Labor Department’s Workforce 2000 3
and the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS),4
emphasized the importance of developing a range of work-related skills that
spanned both academic and vocational programs. As a rule, these reports place
little, if any, emphasis on specific “hard” skills, such as knowing how to operate
a drill press or build a brick wall, and considerable emphasis on the development
of thinking skills and the interpersonal skills of the workplace.

1 National Alliance of Business (1987). The Fourth R: Workforce Readiness. Washington, DC:
Author.

2 Carnevale, A.P., et al. (1988). Workplace Basics: The Skills Employers Want. Alexandria, VA:
American Society for Training and Development.

3 Johnston, W.B., & Parker, A. (1987). Workforce 2000, Work and Workers for the 21st Century.
Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute.

4 Secretary’s Commission an Achieving Necessary Skills (1991). What Work Requires of Schools: A
SCANS Report for America 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula A-37

194


Volume IIL
Table A-2.2
Measures and Standards Implemented by States at the Postsecondary Level
as of Fall 1992
Occu- Occu- Job or
Basic & ational ational Work
Advanced Pompet- ompet- | Skills
Academic ency ency Attain- | Retention/ | Place-
Skills Gain Attainment | ment | Completion | ment [| Other(s)
Alabama v v v
Alaska v v v
Arizona v v Vv Vv
Arkansas Vv * v v v
California v * Vv v
Colorado v Vv v v Vv Vv
Connecticut v v v v
Delaware v * v
Florida v v v Vv
Georgia v v v v Vv
Hawaii v v Vv v
Idaho Vv v v Vv
Iinois v * * v v v
Indiana Vv v v v v v v
Iowa v Vv v v
Kansas Vv v v v v
Kentucky v Vv ‘ v Vv
Louisiana v v Vv v v
Maine v v v v v v
Maryland v v v v v
Massachusetts v v v v “
Michigan v v v v v
Minnesota * * v v v
Mississippi Vv v v v
Missouri v v v v v
Montana v v v v
Nebraska v * * * v v
Nevada Vv v . v
New Hampshire v * v “ v
New Jersey v * v * Vv Vv

(continued)

Performanec Measures and Standards

183



Volume III

16 Filipszak, B. {April 1992), Apprenticeships from high school to high skills. Training
Magazine, 23-29.

7 Osterman, P. (1991), Is There a Problem With the Youth Labor Market and If So How Should We
Fix It? Paper prepared for Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies project on
Poverty and Public Policy.

18 Jovanovic, B., & Moffitt, R. (1990), An estimate of a sectoral model of labor mobility, journal
of Political Economy, 98(4).

19 Topel, R.H., & Ward, M.P. (1992), Job mobility and the careers of young men, Quarterly
Journal of Economics, 107(2); Lynch (1993).

20 General Accounting Office (1993e), “Occupational Skill Standards — Experience Shows
Industry Involvement to be Key.” Testimony of Linda G. Morra, Director Education and
Employment Issues, Human Resources Division, General Accounting Office.

21 Sheets, R.G. (1994), Building a World-Class Front-Line Workforce: The Need for Cccupational
Skill Standards in State Workforce Preparation Programs, Working paper, National Council for
the Educational Quality of the Workforce.

22 Marshall, R., & Tucker, M. (1992), Thinking for a Living: Education and the Wealth of Nations,
Basic Books.

23 Sheets (1994).

24 Triest, R.K. (1994), Occupational Credentialing: A Review of the Empirical Evidence, draft paper
prepared for the National Assessment of Vocational Education, University of California-
Davis.

25 Lerman, R.l. (1994), Reinventing education, Vocational Education Journal, 69(3).

26 Bishop, J. (1993a), Educational Reform and Technical Education, Comell University, Center for
Applied Human Resources Studies.

27 Oakes, J. (1985), Keeping Track, Yale University Press.

28 Marshall & Tucker (1992).

29 Choy, S., Alt, M., & Henke, R. (1993), Profile of the Target Populations for School-to- Work
Transition Initiatives, paper prepared for the U.S, Department of Education.

30 Bailey & Merritt (1994).

31 Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (1994).

52 Triest (1994)

33° Stecher, B., Farris, H., & Hamilton, E. (1992), Performance Measures and Standards in
Vocational Education: A Literature Review, The Rand Corporation.

34° Dickinson, K., et. al. (1988), Evaluation of the Effects of JTPA Performance Standards on Clicuts,
Services, and Costs (NCEP Research Report 88-15), National Commission for Employment
Policy.

68

"9 Industrial Skill Standards



Volume IIL

whether a given reform effort, such as Perkins, was “instrumental in your district's current
efforts” to integrate or to develop a tech-prep program. There are three intervals on the
scale between “not at all” instrumental and “largely” instrumental. Multiplying the
regression coefficient by 3 yields the estimated “effect” of perceived influence in terms of
increased number of steps to integrate or to develop tech prep.

14 The General Accounting Office found this pattern in analyzing data for its report on
secondary vocational education, Vocational Education: Status in School Year 1990-91 and Early
Signs cf Change at the Secondary Level (1993c). Personal communication with Tom Hubbs,
October 1993.

15 Milne, A., Martindale, M., & Michie, J. (1993), Vocational Education in Coninunities, p. 12,
Westat.

16 U.S. Department of Education (1994), National Assessment of Vocational Education: Interim
Report to Congress, pp. 273-279.

17 The regression coefficient (.07) applies to each of four increments on a 5-point scale. Each
increment equals at least a 5% change in enrollments. Thus, 4 {.07) (.05)=.014.

18 The regression coefficient (.14) applies to each of four increments on the 5-point scale. Each
increment equals at least a 5% change in enrollments. Thus 4 (.14) (-05) = .028.

19 Premo, M., & Levesque, K. (1994), State School Reforms for the Non-College-Bound, MPR
Associates.

20 National Center on Education and the Economy (1990), America’s Choice: High Skills or Low
Wages, Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce.

21 Integration is not broken out as a separate reform in Premo and Levesque, but it is a feature
of the educational processes in many of the other reforms.

22 Section 502 of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.

23° Hoachlander, E.G. & Rahn, M. (1994, January), National Skill Standards, Vocational
Education Journal , 69, pp. 20ff.

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 37 25

Ln


Volume III

In 1991-92, the first year of Perkins implementation, states and districts were
clearly focusing on things other than education in all aspects of the industry. By
the second year, the majority of states and districts had begun to take steps to
implement provisions of the Perkins Act in this area.

In the longer run, the development of programs for instruction in all aspects of
an industry will require more work on the concept itself. At present, instruction
in all aspects of an industry is not well defined and, if taken literally, would not

be feasible. A better operational definition of the concept and its applications is
needed.

CONCLUSION

The separation of academic and work-related curricula has a long history in
American education. Over the years, federal policy has fostered and supported
the separation of academic and vocational education. The 1990 Perkins Act is
beginning to change that tendency by requiring that grant recipients integrate
academic and vocational curricula.

Most states, districts, and postsecondary institutions are taking steps to integrate
their curricula, and the number of educational organizations involved in this
process increased after the passage of the Perkins Act — more so at the
secondary than at the postsecondary level.

Funded districts and vocational districts are more likely to be active in
integrating their curricula than unfunded districts and regular districts. In
community colleges, Perkins funding is less likely to be associated with increased
integration activity, and among postsecondary vocational institutes there is no
association between funding and increased activity. Community colleges and
postsecondary vocational institutes also report about the same levels of
integration activity.

The Interim Report found that although most districts were involved in
integration, the degree of involvement was not great in the first year of Perkins
implementation (1991-92). For example, relatively few schools made release time
available to teachers to work on integration; there was more supplementing of
vocational courses than integration across curricula; and vocational teachers
reported very little academic content in their courses. By the second year of
Perkins implementation (1992-93), there was clear evidence of progress in efforts
to integrate within districts. About half the districts made release time available
to teachers for integration; over three-fourths of them reported some
cross-curricular integration; and student reports suggested that the more
advanced vocational courses included a substantial amount of applied
academics.

98 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

108


Volume IIL

tools up to local school districts and postsecondary institutions. Where states’
governance structures were based on local control, prescribing an instrument
would not have been appropriate.

Labor Market Outcomes

Placement rates were the primary measure of labor market outcomes used by
states in 1993; wages and job retention were less often used. (Included in
placement measures are factors such as joining the military and enrolling in
further education/ training, as well as job placement.) Almost all states (49) used
placements to measure the iabor market outcomes of secondary vocational
program completers (Figure 2.4); 40 states used training related placements as a
measure. Entry wage and job retention measures were used by few states at the
secondary level. In general, states’ use of each employment measure differed
little between the secondary and postsecondary levels. Most states (45) used
placement to measure the labor market outcomes of postsecondary vocational
program completers, whereas fewer (only about one-third of states) used entry
wage or job retention. Given the importance of finding training-related jobs, the
emphasis on placement in such jobs as an outcome measure is appropriate.

Service to Special Populations

By 1992, most state agencies were developing the capacity to disaggregate
performance data in order to measure the performance of Perkins-defined special
population groups, using learning and labor market outcomes.’ By the end of
that year, about half of the states could document the specific performance of
special populations for each standard they had implemented. The difficulty in
disaggregating data on special populations can be attributed to the data
collection procedures used under the origina! Perkins Act (1984), which did not
require that data for all special population groups be collected.? Many states are

currently revamping their data systems in order to meet the requirements of the
1990 Perkins Act.

Perkins requires states to establish incentives or adjustments for special
populations in their statewide accountability systems. A common response of
state directors to the question of providing incentives to serve special
populations is that because Perkins funds are targeted toward special
populations, these funds alone provide such an incentive.!0 A frequent comment
about making adjustments for special populations is that most of the Perkins
funds are used to supplement instruction for special populations with services
such as counseling or instructional aids, and that these constitute programmatic
adjustments. Currently, few states have actually implemented incentives or
adjustments for special populations within their accountability systems.
However, most states reported in 1992 that they planned te work on the special
populations component of their accountability systems during 1993.

Performance Measures aud Standards . 44 33



Volume III

Georgia

2)

3)

4)

Program participants will receive, in addition to a high school diploma, a
state-issued certificate that enumerates the specific skills gained by the
holder as a result of the apprenticeship experience.

Georgia House Bill 1931, enacted in 1992, provides for a formalized
apprenticeship program targeted at youth in the 11th and 12th grades.
Participants are required to complete a minimum of 144 classroom hours
in coursework that is related to the work done at the apprenticeship sites.

A link between high school and postsecondary institutions will allow
participants to smoothly continue classroom learning as their program
progresses. Postsecondary institutions will issue technical certificates as
noted above. Pilot projects will be established in fiscal years 1994 and
1995.

All program participants will complete a minimum of 2,000 hours of
on-the-job training.

Mlinois

y)

4)

Illinois uses the Tech Prep Associate Degree (2+2) model. Completing
students, after two years of postsecondary education, are granted a TPAD
from the postsecondary institution.

The state’s 2+2 program emphasizes the combination of classroom
learning and workplace experience. In the classroom, applied academics
are used wherever possible.

Articulation agreements between secondary and postsecondary
institutions are designed to ensure that participants smoothly progress
from the first level to the second. Details of implementation are unknown.

Employers are consulted to ensure that educational standards and
requirements are in line with workplace requirements. School / work
partnerships also facilitate workplace exposure experiences for
participants.

Maine

1)

State policy includes offering a common academic background to all
students through the end of the 10th grade. Overall policy was initiated in
1992, and pilot sites began implementing programs in the same year.
Current level of implementation is limited.

169

AB

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education



Volume IIT

Foreign Skill Standards Models

National industry skill standard systems are found in a number of Pacific Rim
and Western European countries. Analysis of governance structures in seven
selected countries!3 has identified two distinct models of system administration:
(a) school-to-work transition, in which the creation and approval of standards for
students in the process of becoming workers is mediated by the central
government, and (b) workforce training, in which private sector agencies
establish nationwide standards to retrain or cross-train the existing workforce.
Although each model targets a different clientele (i.e., secondary students vs.
existing workers) and serves different purposes, there are a number of
similarities between the models.

The development of standards in both school-to-work and workforce training
models is typically driven by external committees composed. of representatives
from business, labor, education, and government. Representatives work together
to formalize industry standards, which are eventually sanctioned by central
government as official skill guidelines. Central government recognition of a
uniform skill standard assures that some level of national consistency is
ultimately achieved and that credentials are portable. Moreover, since both types
of systems rely on qualified industry representatives to identify appropriate
standards, identified skills closely match actual industry needs. Finally,
government endorsement and dissemination of skill standards, and fiscal
assistance to support standard development, assure employers and workers of
system integrity. :

Whatever their structure, most foreign skill standard systems primarily serve
private sector interests. In this context, skill instruction typically emphasizes
specific Level 3 skills. While some European countries have used centralized
governance models to administer school-to-work and workforce training
frameworks, such systems would probably adapt poorly to America’s needs. An
approach such as that embodied in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and
related federal initiatives is better suited to the country’s tradition of
decentralized government. In this case, the role of the federal government is to
support the development of industry-based standards and measures. States
and/or localities can then decide whether they want to use them.

THE RATIONALE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF STANDARDS AND
CERTIFICATION

The empirical evidence regarding the usefulness of national systems of industry
skill standards and certification is rather modest. The most compelling
arguments in favor of skill standards remain theoretical, and point to a number
of economic benefits that may accrue to employers, workers, students, and
society. This section reviews the existing literature and presents evidence from
domestic and foreign models relevant to an American standards framework in

58 Industrial Skill Standards

69



Volume III

Table A-5.3

Steps Taken to Implement Tech-Prep Programs in
Postsecondary Institutions (Percent of Institutions)

Before By By

Steps Toward Tech Prep 1991-1992 | 1991-1992 | 1992-1993

Hold tech-prep meetings with local districts or 64 98 99*
schools

Develop articulation agreement(s) with local school 7] 93 98*
districts or schools

Tech-prep policy adopted by governing board 37 73 87*

Grant postsecondary credit for high school courses 59 75 88*

Collaboration between secondary and post- 49 83 97*
secondary instructors to modify course content .

Establish secondary / postsecondary majors or 39 76 96"
career paths

Modify postsecondary curricula for tech prep 25 58 87*

Develop “all aspects of the industry” curriculum for 17 43 67*
use in tech-prep program

Provide written publicity about tech prep to high 30 67 9a"
school students

Employ a tech-prep coordinator 23 59 75*

Develop/ provide course sequences@ 36 71 ort

Joint training of secondary and postsecondary 25 63 84*
instructors

Provide faculty training on tech prep _ 87

Provide counselor training on tech prep _ 83

Have a competency-based curriculum — — 84

Develop student competence in math, science, and _ -_ 92
communications

Provide courses that integrate academic and _- _ 81
vocational curricula

Provide technical preparation in at least one of six _ —_ 94
designated fields®

Have job placement services specifically for tech- _ _ 18
prep students

Have entry requirements other than prerequisite _ _ 44

courses

* In 1992 Omnibus Survey, reported as “planned or continuing in 1993.”
@"Develop course sequences for tech prep” (Omnibus Survey). “Provide structured sequences of

secondary and postsecondary cours

” (Followup Survey).

b Engineering technology; applied science; mechanical, industrial, or practical arts; agriculture;

health; or business.

Sources: Omnibus and Followup Surveys of Postsecondary Institutions

Tech-Prep Programs

208



Volume III

have been most successful when the unions have been involved in a three-way
association.

For college students the main benefits of completing an apprenticeship program
include (a) certification leading to journeyman status from the sponsoring agency
and the state, (b) an associate’s degree in some field of applied science, and (c) a
strong likelihood of employment.9”

Employers also seem to benefit from the programs, for apprenticeships increase
the supply of workers with improved communications skills and up-to-date
technical skills. In addition, apprentice programs retrain displaced workers at a
lower cost to the employer than if the training program were undertaken entirely
by the company. 38

Evaluation Results. As is the case for college-level co-op programs, no studies
are available that evaluate the economic results of participating in these
apprenticeship programs. The anecdotal evidence is positive, but sparse, and
does not allow for generalizations to this category of programs as a whole.

THE SCALE OF NEW WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS

Although many policymakers and educators would like to see work-based
programs expanded, they also agree that large-scale expansion appears to be a
daunting prospect. To realize the goal of providing work-based programs for a
significant portion of American youth would require an enormous increase in the
number of available placements. There are over 5.1 million secondary students in
grades 11 and 12. Co-op programs currently include somewhat over 400,000
students, around 7-8 percent of the total, and apprenticeship programs include
several thousand. Hershey and Silverberg observe that to provide opportunities
for 25 percent of students in grades 11 and 12 would require placements for more
than three times the number currently in co-op programs.°?

Ina study of school-to-work/ youth apprenticeship demonstrations for the
Department of Labor, Corson and Siverberg found that local programs have
difficulty recruiting businesses, and, because of competitive pressures and
fluctuations in business cycles, in keeping those they recruit.4? Moreover, local
apprenticeship programs must often rely on a number of small employers, with
each employer providing placement for only one or two students. The dispersion
of students across multiple employers can complicate efforts to provide uniform
and consistent training to all students in the program, particularly since
individual employers and trainees must respond to changes in daily work
demands. Implementation of structured training plans is difficult in these

environments, and student training is more often ad hoc or on an as-needed
basis.

Work-Based Learning 145

153



Volume It

Figure 2.1
Number of Measures and Standards Included in
States’ Accountability Systems

40
30
g
2
a
S 23:
6
a? 7 a
z 18
5
Zz
10 10 10
2 i 5}
1 & 4
o {Eko : , ; ;

T T T T
Under4 4-6 7-10 Over10 Under4 4-6 7-10 Over10

Secondary Postsecondary

Measures [__] Standards

NOTE: Information was collected from all 50 states, but not from the District of Columbia.

Source: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)

measures and standards in each system are outcome-based, with a few states
including supplemental process-oriented standards. However, to date, none of
the systems is complete, and at both the secondary and postsecondary levels,
each state is actively working on components of its system. While many states
need to gather baseline data in order to set standards, others are struggling with
the quality of the data they have collected and plan to colleci. Currently, some
states are working on phasing in additional measures and standards as
competencies or assessment instruments (or both) become available. In short,
each state system will continue to evolve over time.

Rahn, Hoachlander, and Levesque tound that by the end of 1992, more than half
of the states (27) had at least two systems of performance measures and
standards in place — one for secondary and one for postsecondary vocational

Performance Measures aud Standards 29

40



Volume HII

While Level 3 standards are used in many countries, some rethinking has
occurred. In Australia, for example, there is evidence that narrow specifications
of job requirements have hindered skill transformation and entrenched existing
practice, making it difficult for employees to update skills.25 There is also some
evidence to suggest that many governments are consolidating the number of
private industry boards charged with specifying skill standards. As of 1992,
Australia had a total of 70 and the United Kingdom 150 separate boards. Plans to
reduce active boards are currently being considered, and at least in the U.K.,a
number of agencies have already been disbanded. Collapsing industry boards in
this manner has led to greater clustering of skills into relatively broader
occupational areas.

Skill Acquisition

Unable to see a clear link between schooling and job requirements, and unable to
signal newfound skill holdings to potential employers, many youth have little
incentive to seek occupational training.”4 Information asymmetries account, in
part, for this lack of incentive. Since most schools are unable to offer the non-
college-bound meaningful information on career development and employment
opportunities, students often fail to understand the connection between skills
and work until after they find employment.?> This can foster lower productivity
and increased turnover among new labor market entrants. A skill standards
system that clearly articulated school-based training with industry needs would
help students see the link between high school and work, and perhaps motivate
them to put greater effort into their studies.2¢

Implementing a skill standards system such as the one outlined in this chapter
would be consistent with eliminating the general track in secondary education
and replacing it with contextualized academic and work-related education.
Unlike students in the college prep or vocational tracks, which offer more
targeted studies, students in the general track often graduate without mastering
any comprehensive body of knowledge or skills.2” To build a highly skilled
workforce it will be necessary to educate students to higher levels of academic
and occupational competencies, and to assure that they demonstrate mastery of
academic and work-related standards (Level 1) through examination and other
forms of assessment.

In theory, Level 1 examinations would not be used to sort students into college-
bound and non-college-bound tracks, but to ensure academic competence among
all graduates. However, it is possible that such a system could lead to more rigid
tracking than currently exists. For example, the German system sorts students
into rigid college-bound and apprenticeship tracks; students in employer-based
apprenticeship programs are trained narrowly rather than educated broadly.?8
Unlike the current U.S. system built around “second chances,” it is very difficult
in Germany for a student to switch tracks and decide to go to college.

Industrial Skill Standards 72 61



Volume III

6.

Appendix 4-B

Models of Postsecondary Integration
(from Grubb and Kraskouskas, 1992, cited in Stasz et al., 1992)

General education requirements. Many schools require occupational
students to enroll in general education courses. While most schools do not
modify these classes to suit vocational students’ needs, many at least offer
guidance as vocational students choose their courses.

Applied academic courses. These are academic courses that utilize
applications in occupational areas and are primarily designed for
occupational students. Examples include technical writing, business math,
and agricultural economics.

Cross-curricular programs. These types of programs offer a way for more
academic content to be included in occupational programs, by emphasizing
both the academic and vocational content. The most common form is Writing
Across the Curriculum, but other versions include Communications Across
the Curriculum, Humanities Across the Technologies, and Reading Across
the Curriculum.

Incorporating academic modules in occupational courses. At the classroom
level, some occupational instructors incorporate academic modules in their
occupational curriculum. Instructors might include academic disciplines such
as history or ethics in their courses.

Multi-disciplinary courses combining academic perspectives and
occupational concerns. In most cases these courses are designed by academic
and occupational faculty working together. Some of the more common
themes are the role of work for individuals and society, the history of
technology and its effects on society, ethical issues surrounding work and
technological change.

Tandem and cluster courses and learning communities. Such groupings
provide a structure for integration since students take complementary courses
— both academic and vocational — concurrently. In this model, teachers may,
reinforce material taught in the related courses, analyze similar issues from
various perspectives, utilize common examples and applications, design
projects for more than one course, or build on concepts taught in other
courses.

Colleges-within-colleges. These can best be described as expanded clusters.
Colleges-within-colleges are rare since most students are either unable or
unwilling to commit to an entirely pre-set program.

A-38 Integration of Academic aud Vocational Curricula

195


Volume III

. Figure A-4.1
Percent of State Secondary Agencies Taking Steps to Integrate Curricula,
1991, 1993: Steps 1-6

100.

90

—

80

60;

40
1991 1993

Help make available applied academic
or other integrated course materials
from commerical vendors

Pro
vocational teachers on

Provide technical assistance for
administrators on integration

Lund pilot projects that i
academic and vocat

Provide recommended curriculum
frameworks or guidelines tor academic
vocational integration

—o-—
>
—
we

Sources: Omnibus and 1993 Followup Surveys of Secondary State Agencies

Add litegration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

£01



Volume IIL

While this progress at the secondary level is commendable, much more work
needs to be done. The division between academic and vocational education
remains deep, and there is relatively little interaction between teachers on either
side. Initiatives to promote integration usually come from the vocational side and
may be received less than enthusiastically by academic teachers and
administrators. Moreover, integration too often has an ad hoc quality. It requires
formal planning and a commitment of resources. Optimally, it should be a

component in systemic reform of education designed to prepare students for
work.

Given the progress between 1992 and 1993 in districts’ efforts to integrate, we
have asked whether additional progress at this rate would soon result in
systemic integration that contextualizes learning in an occupational framework
and encompasses the majority of students in secondary schools. Our case studies,
site visits, anecdotal information, and published descriptions of integrated
programs lead to the conclusion that the current pace of integration will not
result in systemic reform in the next five to ten years.

Moreover, the level of instruction and the quality of materials in integrated
secondary courses require a great deal of attention. Anecdotal and some research
evidence suggest that much integrated education occurs at a very basic level. A
few widely purchased applied academics packages seem to be effective, but little
is known about the quality of hundreds of other commercially available
materials. The quality of these materials and of integrated course offerings
should be the subject of systematic research, and the next Perkins Act should
support the development of high-quality integrated curricular materials.

Many public postsecondary institutions have had certain types of integration for
a number of years. Prominent among these are academic prerequisites and
co-requisites for vocational courses, determined jointly by academic and
vocational faculty. The ability to develop new, cross-curricular courses is also a
longstanding feature of postsecondary institutions. These forms of integration
predated Perkins and continued largely unchanged afterward. Post-Perkins
change is mainly evident in increased teacher training. Apart from this form of
involvement, most institutions did not make additional time available to facuity
to work on integration, at least as of 1992.

Although the process of implementing integration still has a long way to go, it is
worth pursuing, Inte rated education seems to have potential as an instructional
approach, There is su ne empirical evidence that contextualized education is
more effective than traditional academic education in learning both academic
and (in the military) occupational skills. There is little evidence so far that
integrated academic/vocational education in schools is more effective than other
approaches, except perhaps in reducing dropout rates. However, not much good
evaluation research has been done on the subject. Formal evaluations of
integrated academic/ vocational programs are needed.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 1 09. 99



Volume HI

programs would include concurrent classroom instruction—at the
secondary and postsecondary levels—and workplace experience.

Linkages between secondary and postsecondary educational institutions
will also be forged. These will result in articulated pathways for
participating students to follow.

In both of these cases, state involvement will be limited to providing funds
for the creation and operation of individual partnerships. Interested
consortia of employers and educational institutions will apply for funding
from the state. As the legislation (Assembly Bill A. 2616) passed last June,
implementation has not yet occurred.

New York

y)

4)

New York’s wide-ranging policy recommendations came as a result of
work done in 1992 by the Task Force on Creating Career Pathways for
New York State Youth, established by Governor Cuomo. One purpose of
the recommendations is to create common educational standards for all
students in the first two years of high school. These standards are to
include those skills and knowledge that all students will need to excel in
further education and work experiences. These standards are to be
benchmarked to world standards, and will include SCANS competencies.

After successfully mastering the common standards, students will begin to
focus their education on a particular industry. As is the case in
Washington state, this method uses the knowledge required to work in an
industry as a tool around which curriculum can be organized. Worksite
exposure for all students will also be a component of the industry focus.

The general track of study in the high schools should be eliminated.
Students will be required to consider career options and this will affect
their curricula choices.

Once a student has demonstrated mastery of the common standards, the
student will be awarded a Career Pathways Certificate (at the end of the
10th grade). After earning the CPC, students continue with their high
school education. The high school diploma will still be granted to
completers at the end of the 12th grade. Professional Technical Certificates
will be granted to those students who successfully complete a 2+2
program.

Before students are granted the CPC, they will be required to demonstrate
mastery of the common standards. This will be accomplished by the use of
portfolios and other alternative assessment tools.

The Effects of Educational Kefornt en Vocational Education A-1I

172



Volume III

hire tech-prep coordinators, sponsor joint training of teachers, and have formal

tech-prep policies. However, they are also more likely to establish sequences of
courses, report collaboration between secondary and postsecondary instructors,
and grant postsecondary credit for high school courses.

In communiiy colleges, then, steps to develop tech prep often occur without the
incentive of Title III funding, perhaps reflecting the fact that tech prep got its
start in community colleges before the Perkins Act was passed. Funding seems to
enhance the ability of community colleges to take certain steps that have specific
costs associated with them, such as hiring tech-prep coordinators and providing
in-service training. Title III funding of vocational institutions is associated more
consistently with tech-prep implementation than is the funding of community
colleges.

Title II] Funding and the Initiation of Tech-Prep Programs

We need to be cautious about interpreting the relation between Title III funding
and increased program implementation as evidence of a Perkins effect on tech
prep, however. Districts and postsecondary institutions that have already started
tech-prep initiatives are more likely to receive Title III funds than those that have
not (Table 5.8).

Table 5.8
Districts and Postsecondary Institutions Receiving Title II] Tech-Prep Funds
by Presence or Absence of Tech-Prep Initiatives Before 1991-92

Districts With Districts With No
Tech-Prep Initiatives Tech-Prep Initiatives
Before 1991-92 Before 1991-92
Number Percent Number Percent
Regular districts 489 26 301 5
Vocational districts 40 28 5 6
Postsecondary institutions 161 47 143 29

Sources: Omnibus Surveys of Regular Districts (Version B), Vocational Districts, and
Postsecondary Institutions

122 Tech-Prep Programs

131



eT

Volume IIT

Table 2.3
Percent of Secondary Districts Using Various Methods to
Measure Students’ Skills, 1991-92

Basic Advanced
Academic Academic | Occupational

Method Skills Skills Skills
Regular secondary districts

Any measure 51 41 36

Commercially developed test 39 32 12

State-developed test 33 21 12

Locally developed test 19 14 16

Informa! teacher judgment 39 32 30

Teacher ratings 42 33 31
Vocational districts

Any measure 62 31 74

Commercially developed test 43 16 26

State-developed test 26 10 31

Locally developed test 26 il 51

Informal teacher judgment 42 18 56

Teacher ratings 45 22 68

Source: Interint Report 1994, p. 296, based on data from the 1992 Omnibus Surveys of Regular and
Vocational Secondary Districts

The term “locally developed tests” encompasses a range of different methods
and may include anything from written tests to teacher judgments, course
completion, and portfolios. Thus, while locally developed tests were used by just
over half of vocational districts to assess occupational skills, it is not clear what
measurement tools these were. Although formal teacher ratings of students and
informal teacher judgments were somewhat more commonly used, they were
still not widespread. The infrequency of standardized occupational skills testing
can be explained partly by the lack of valid, reliable tests in this area (as
discussed in the section on States’ Progress in Implementation). Whatever the
cause, state and local agencies have a good deal of work to do before testing of
these skills can be applied widely.

Performance Meastires and Standards 39



" Acceptance of Applied Academic Credits by Universities —

Volume Hl

In the past, state universities generally have not recognized applied academic
courses as satisfying admissions requirements. Lack of recognition for these
courses may discourage the enrollment of secondary students who want to go to
college, either upon graduation from high school or later on. This disincentive, in
turn, could increase the difficulty of integrating vocational and academic
curricula. From the perspective of the universities, the central issue is the
academic rigor of applied academic courses. Vocational educators are more likely
to see the issue as one of bias toward traditional academics as the appropriate
preparation for college.

The situation is changing, however. State universities are beginning to recognize
some of the better known applied curriculum packages, especially those from
CORD and AIT. Ina study for the National Assessment, McCormick?? identified
29 states that accept applied academic courses for credit toward university
admission under various circumstances. Principles of Technology (PT) is the
most widely accepted course; of the 29 states, 26 indicated some form of
recognition for this course. In some states, PT credits are accepted only if the
course is taught by a science teacher or only if a second science course has also
been completed. Applied Mathematics is accepted in 19 of the 29 states. Some
states permit substitution of Applied Math 1 and 2 for Algebra 1; others recognize
the credits only for students who subsequently complete Algebra 2.

Systematic data on the recognition of other applied courses, such as CORD’s
Applied Communications and the newer Applied Biology /Chemistry, are
lacking. A few states are known to accept credits for these courses; acceptance is
generally conditioned on other factors, such as the course's being taught by an
academic teactier or being accompanied by other courses or enhancements.

Scope of Integration Within Districts

The state and local survey data indicate that some integration-related activities
are widespread across districts and schools, but we must ask how much change
is taking place within them. Based on 1992 data from the Omnibus Survey, the
Interim Report observed that districts seemed to be taking an adaptive approach
to integration, making small changes to accommodate it in the existing structure,
rather than undertaking the kind of systemic reform envisioned by the Perkins
Act.2! The 1993 Omnibus Followup Survey and data from the National Education
Longitudinal Study’s (NELS) 1992 Followup Survey showed signs of somewhat
greater depth of integration efforts.

First, although a majority of schools said they had established procedures for
collaboration between academic and vocational teachers by 1992, relatively few
had made increased time available to teachers to work on integration. By 1993,
substantially more had done so. Although we do not have Followup Survey data

82 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

92



Volume III

building and selling houses. Work experience programs are not required of
Perkins grant recipients, as integration is; nor does the Act designate specific
program funds for them, as it does for tech-prep. But they are allowable
expenditures of basic grant funds, and they are examples of business-education-
labor partnerships which the Act authorizes but does not fund under a separate
title.

The key policy questions regarding these school-to-work transition components
are:

. How well are integration, tech-prep, and work experience
programs being implemented or established? What evidence is
there that these programs and activities are having the desired
effects?

Chapters 4 through 6 examine the development and implementation of school-
to-work transition reforms at the state and local levels.

Chapter 4, on integration of academic and vocational curricula, describes
integration efforts of secondary schools and postsecondary institutions; assesses
the scope and impact of integration; and examines evidence concerning the
effectiveness of integrated approaches to learning. Chapter 5, on tech-prep
programs, examines the implementation of these programs and assesses their
scope and impact. Chapter 6, on work experience programs, describes
cooperative education, youth apprenticeships, and school-based enterprises and
examines research pertaining to their effectiveness. It also describes and assesses
the value of jobs that students obtain on their own while in high school.

viii 1 2 Introduction



NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
INDEPENDENT ADVISORY PANEL

Carol L. Ball

Chief Executive Officer
Ball Publishing Company
Arcanum, Ohio

Milton Bins

Vice President
Community Vision, Inc.
Washington, DC

Paul Cole

Secretary /Treasurer
New York State AFL-CIO
Albany, New York

Stephen Denby

Executive Director

Vocational Industrial Clubs of
America

Leesburg, Virginia

James H. Folkening

Supervisor

Community College Services

Michigan Department of
Education

Lansing, Michigan

James Jacobs

Director of Policy Research
Macomb Community College
Warren, Michigan

Edward J. Liston

President

Community College of Rhode Island
Warwick, Rhode Island

E. Jeanne Lopez-Valadez
Director

Office of Applied Innovation
Northern Ihinois University
Cary, Illinois

Roger Lyons

President and CEO
Baltimore Urban League
Baltimore, Maryland

Laurel McFarland
Senior Research Analyst
The Brookings Institution
Washington, DC

Steffen E. Palko
President

Cross Timbers Group
Fort Worth, Texas

Darrell L. Parks

Director of Vocational and Career
Education

Ohio Department of Education

Columbus, Ohio

L, Allen Phelps

Director

Vocational Studies Center, School of
Education

University of Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Nathaniel Semple

Vice President and Secretary

Research and Policy Committee

Committee for Economic
Development

Washington, DC

Marilyn Smith

Reading Specialist for Special Needs
Students

Tulsa Technology Center

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Diane Troyer

Vice President for Academic Affairs and
Student Services

Harford Community College

Bel Air, Maryland

Loretta Walker

Administrator, School Operations

Di n of Adult and Occupational
Education

Los Angeles Unified School District

Los Angeles, California

a



Volume II

stration Research Corporation (MDRC) found that even large firms were unlikely
to provide a substantial number of positions for students in school-to-work
programs, indicating that the costs of supervising and training students
prohibited higher levels of participation.44

Reducing costs either through lower training wages or direct subsidies might
encourage more employer participation, but government incentives for
employers to hire young workers have not proven effective in the past.45 In an
evaluation of the Youth Entitlement Demonstration (run in the 1970s), a sample
of employers in demonstration sites were asked about their willingness to take
on high school students at a variety of reduced wages. Remarkably, fewer than
20 percent of employers indicated a willingness to take on these young people
even at a wage of zero.*6 From that finding, another researcher concluded that
“employers believed that these young people would not contribute enough to
justify the effort needed to supervise them.”47

Other studies also show that reducing the cost of training may not result in
improved opportunities. Cappelli’s study of British school-to-work transition
policies indicated that providing economic incentives to employers to subsidize
the costs of training can produce perverse and unexpected results.48 Cappelli
found that the British Youth Training Scheme (YTS) provided 16- and 17- year-
olds with work-based training that resembled apprenticeship except that
employers did not pay wages to the apprentices. Instead, the government
provided them with a living allowance. In effect, the government rather than the
employers paid the students.

Cappelli found that the popularity of YTS among young people depended in
large part on the state of the labor market. During periods of labor shortage, YTS
was not popular, as youth preferred regular employment over apprentice
positions. When the labor market was slack, and jobs were hard to find, YTS
positions were in great demand.

Cappelli also found that the goals of helping secure employment and inueasing
general skills were often in conflict. Employers benefited from YTS in having a
low-cost system for screening, hiring, and using the labor of participating youth.
However, young people often left the program as soon as they acquired
marketable skills. Students in YTS firms were available to be hired by other firms,
and attainment of credentials made these youth even more attractive. To prevent
successful YTS apprentices from leaving, employers hired them before
completion of their training.

Cappelli also reports that the nature of the subsidy to encourage training may in
fact have acted as a deterrent. British firms were paid a subsidy before training
began. In this situation, employers had no incentive to spend this money on
improved training rather than to earn a profit from the labor of trainees. This

ct
ii)

Work-Based Learning i ”


Volume II

representative from JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act) on their Committee of
Practitioners (which reviews the state plan for the performance assessment
system), Those states that reviewed JIPA performance standards to assess the
possibility of adopting or modifying them to meet Perkins requirements
concluded that the JTPA standards would not be suitable for such purposes.!!

LOCAL PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION

This section discusses several issues related to local activities, including:

. Local accountability systems.

° Local data collection and reporting in response to the Perkins Act.
. Local assessment methods.

. Support for local implementation efforts.

Existing Accountability Systems

A recent study of local accountability systems in vocational education concluded
that the functioning of local systems is crucial to improving programs and that
the Perkins Act places a range of new accountability responsibilities on both local
and state education agencies. !2 Indeed, these analysts wrote, “Local account-
ability systems are the linchpin of Perkins II — local program improvement
hinges upon their success or failure.”

States had nearly two years after the Perkins reauthorization to develop their
systems of performance measures and standards before beginning to implement
them by September 1992. While state-level administrators were developing
accountability systems, local administrators worked on implementing other
Perkins priorities, such as integration and tech prep. Since planning time to
develop an accountability system was necessary, some delay between state
adoption of new policies and local implementation is to be expected. Therefore,
to date, the effects of the systems at the local level are limited.

Implementation of accountability systems at both the state and local levels was
in its first year when much of the data used in this chapter was collected. !3 In fact
in some states, local Perkins recipients were not asked to collect performance
data until the end of the school year 1993-94, about a year after data from the
Followup Survey were collected. The Interim Report showed that in 1992 state
agencies were devoting considerable resources to the development of systems of
accountability.'+ In contrast, local agencies focused more attention on integrating
vocational-technical and academic curricula and on developing tech-prep
programs. However, some progress had been made by 1993 in implementing
performance assessment at the local level, as this section describes. This progress

36 4 v4 Performance Measures and Standards



Volume III

Appendix 1-A

Definition of Variables for the Regression Analysis of the
Effects of Education Reform

In the analysis of factors related to integration and tech prep, the first
explanatory variable (Perkins influence) is an item in the regular district
questionnaire concernirig district administrators’ perceptions of Perkins influence
on integration and a similar item for Perkins influence on tech prep.

The second explanatory variable (other national reforms) is a construct reflecting
the mean scores of four highly intercorrelated survey variables (Pearson's r >.5,
p <.0001): the perceived influence of 1) the report of the (Labor ) Secretary’s
Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS); 2) the National Center on
Education and the Economy report, America’s Choice: High Skills or Loww Wages; 3)
the America 2000 initiative; and 4) the National Goals initiative. One score was
developed for the influence of these initiatives on integration, another for their
influence on tech prep.

The third variable (state support) is a construct reflecting the mean scores of two
highly correlated survey variables: state support for integration (or tech prep)
and state leadership in general. Again, one composite score was developed for
integration, another for tech prep.

The fourth variable (academic reforms) is also a construct reflecting the mean
scores of two highly correlated survey variables: increase in the proportion of
academic credits needed to enter the state university system and increase in
academic college credits needed for teacher certification(Pearson’s r =.44,

p <.001). The same variable is used in the integration and tech-prep equations.

The fifth variable (restructuring reforms) is a survey variable asking about the
relaxation of state administrative rules for local districts. The same variable is
used in both equations.

Fewer explanatory variables were available for the analysis of factors related to
performance standards. They included state support for performance standards;
academic reforms; restructuring reforms; and district size. The state support and
academic reforrn variables in the performance standards equation were
constiucted in the same way as those for integration and tech prep.

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education AS

166



Volume III

ENDNOTES

Hoachlander, G., & Rahn, MLL. (1994), National Skills Standards, Vocational Education
Journal, 69 (1). The full list of industries with grant awards is provided in Appendix 1-C.

Bailey, T., & Merritt, D. (1994), Making Sense of Industry-Based Skills Standards, paper funded
by National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

3 Hoachlander & Rahn (1994).

4 Rahn, MLL., Hoachlander, E.G., & Levesque, K. (1992), State Systems for Accountability in
Vocational Education, National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

5 Ibid.

6 Many states have begun developing industry skills standards in response to a variety of
pressures (e.g., priorities in the Perkins Act and school-to-work initiatives). For specific
details see Ganzglass, E., & Simon, M. (1993), State Initiatives on Industry-Based Skill
Standards aud Credentials, National Governors’ Association.

7 Ibid.

8 A draft of this taxonomy emerged from a meeting of policymakers, industry
representatives, and federal and state administrators organized by the National Governors
Association, the National Standards Project, and the National Center for Research in
Vocational Education. Discussion of industry skill standards was led by Evelyn Ganzglass,
Marc Tucker, and Gareth Hoachlander.

9 Ganzglass & Simon (1993).

10

ssional and

Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (1994), The Directory of Profe
Occupational Regulation in the United States and Canada.

11 Freidson, E. (1986), Professional Powers: A Study of the Institutionalization of Formal Knowledge,
University of Chicago Press; Larson, M. (1977), The Rise of Professionalism: A Sociological
Analysis, University of California Press.

12 Wills, J.L. (1992), A Rambling Path for Certification of Skills, Center for Workforce
Development, The Institute for Educational Leadership.

13° The countries are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom.

4 Herchenroether, S. (1993), Retain or retrain? Not so rhetorical a question, National Planning
Association , 801-2).

15 Lynch, L. (1993), The economics of youth training in the United States, Economie Journal,
13.

_
Industrial Skill Standards “8

67


Volume III

Table 4.1
Percent of State Secondary and Postsecondary Agencies Taking Specific Steps
to Promote Academic and Vocational Integration, 1991 and 1993

Secondary Postsecondary

Steps Toward Integration 1991 1993 1991 1993

Help make available applied academic or 86 98 54 68
other integrated course materials from
commercial vendors (e.g., CORD or
AIT)

Provide in-service training for vocational 61 96 22 66
teachers on integration

Provide in-service training for academic 54 92 9 52
teachers on integration

Provide technical assistance for 69 92 28 62
administrators on integration

Fund pilot projects that integrate academic 71 80 29 50
and vocaiional education

Provide recommended curriculum 52 82 22 52
frameworks or guidelines for
academic/ vocational integration

Provide guidelines on development of 40 73 26 54
coherent sequences of courses

Promote participation in a regional 49 53 40 68
curriculum, such as SREB, that
supports integration

Develop or disseminate state-developed 44 57 22 34
integrated curricula

Adopt a definition of integration 27 49 15 38

Combine vocational curriculum 26 51 16 44
frameworks with those of academic
departments at state level

Provide mandatory curriculum 20 8 19 22
frameworks or guidelines for
academic/ vocational integration

Sources: Omnibus and Followup Surveys of Secondary and Postsecondary State Agencies

Integration of Academic and Vacational Curricula

87

77


DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 371 193 CE 066 677
AUTHOR Boesel, David; And Others
TITLE National Assessment of Vocational Education. Final

Report to Congress. Volume III. Program Improvement:
Educational Reform.

INSTITUTION National Assessment of Vocational Education (ED),
Washington, DC.; Office of Educational Research and
Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. Office of

Research.
REPORT NO ISBN-0-16-045242-2; OR-94-3502-IT1
PUB DATE Jul 94
NOTE 212p.; For the interim report, see ED 369 929; for

other volumes in this series, see CE 066 675-679.

AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents,
Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328 (Stock No.
065-000-00692-8, 5 volume set, $41).

PUB TYPE Reports — Evaluative/Feasibility (142)
EDRS PRICE MFO1/PCO9 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS *Educational Assessment; *Educational Change;

Educational Development; Educational Legislation;
*Education Work Relationship; *Federal Legislation;
Integrated Curriculum; Job Performance; Postsecondary
Education; Program Development; Program
Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Program
Implementation; “Program Improvement; Role of
Education; School Business Relationship; Secondary
Education; Standards; Technology Education;
*VYocational Education; Work Experience Programs

IDENTIFIERS *Carl D Perkins Voc and Appl Techn Educ Act 1990;
Tech Prep

ABSTRACT

This document, the third of five volumes that
comprise the final report of the National Assessment of Vocational
Education focuses on program improvement. Chapter 1 describes the
education reform movement and assesses its effects on vocational
education. It discusses current reforms that states are undertaking
to improve preparation of students for the work force. Chapters 2-6
deal with vocational education reforms. Chapter 2 summarizes states’
progress in developing and implementing a system of performance
weasures and standards, explores progress at the local level in
implementing these systems, and discusses the current status of
performance measures and standards. Chapter 3 describes federal
efforts to develop voluntary national skill standards and measures,
proposes a taxonomy of skill standards, and examines advantages and
disadvantages of industry skill standards and measures. Chapters 4-6
examine development and implementation of school-to-work transition
reforms at state and local levels. Chapter 4 on integration of
academic and vocational curricula describes secondary and
postsecondary efforts, assesses the scope and impact of integration,
and examines the effectiveness of integrated approaches. Chapter 5
examines implementation of tech prep programs and assesses their
scope and impact. Chapter 6 on work experience programs describes
cooperative education, youth apprenticeships, and school-based
enterprises and examines their effectiveness. Endnotes follow each

chapter. Appendixes include data tables, graphs, and definitions.
(YLB)



36

37

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

Volume III

Karweit, N. (1993), Contextual Learning: A Review and Synthesis, Center for Social
Organization of Schools.

These points are taken from Karweit (1993). The study to which she refers is Resnik (1987),
pp. 13-20.

Karweit (1993), p. 7.

Another contextual learning approach, called reciprocal learning, has been shown effective
in improving reading test scores in repeated experiments.

Markus, G.B., Howard, J.P.F., & King, D.C. (1993), Integrating community service and
classroom instruction enhances learning: Results from an experiment, Educational Evaluation
and Policy Analysis.

Stasz et al. (1992), The course materials were deveioped by the Center for Occupational
Research and Development (CORD).

McKillup, W.D., et al. (1993), A Study of Applied Mathematics and Principles vf Technology
Relative to the College Preparatory Curriculum, University of Georgia.

Center for Occupational Research and Development (1993), Report on the Attainment of
Algebra 1 Skilis by Completers of Applied Mathematics 1 & 2. The study tested students in 20
sites. Also see Travitz, M., et al. (1993), The Equivalence of Applied Algebra, Cobb County
Public Schools.

Crain, R.L., et al. (1992), The Effectiveness of New York City’s Career Magnet Schools: An
Evaluation of Ninth Grade Performance Using an Experimental Design, National Center for
Research in Vocational Education.

Memorandum from Robert Crain, April 1994.

See Stasz et al. (1992), pp. 27ff. Also see Stern, D. (1993b), The School to Work Transition and
the Relevance of Vocational Education to Subsequent Employment, National Center for Research
in Vocational Education.

See Stern, D., Raby, M., & Dayton, C. (1992), Career Academies: Partnerships for Recoustructing
American High Schools, pp. 60-61, Jossey Bass.

Interim Report, pp. 334-335.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 1L 1 3 103


Volume III

Table A-2.5
Summary of Assessment Instruments and Measurement Tools Used to
Measure Academic Skills in Postsecondary Vocational Education

Alabama: ACT-ASSET

Alaska: Local agency chooses instrument or portfolio

Arizona: Local agency chooses instrument

Arkansas: Remedial - TABE or ABLE; Advanced - course
completion of applied academics

California: Course completion

Colorado: Local agency chooses instrument
(competencies - SCANS)

Connecticut: Basic - passing a developmental cours
Advanced - passing general education course
Delaware: Complete academic requirements (writing,

math, science)

Florida: College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST)
Basic Skills Test

Georgia: TAPPS or equivalent instrument

Hawaii: Busic - remedial /developmental course
completion; Advanced - general education course
completion

Idaho: GPA; course completion; ASSET or TAI

Ilinois: Local agency chooses instrument (math,
reading); course completion

Indiana: Local agency chooses
English)

Towa: Local agency identifies or develops instrument
(pre-tests/post-tests, a student profile, a
longitudinal study)

Kansas: Remedial course with locally chosen pre-
test/post-test such as ACT, ASSET, CAPS, MAS,
SAT

Kentucky: Busi - 2.0 GPA in remedial /developmental
courses; Advanced - 2.0 in academic courses above
the remedial /developmental level

Louisiana: Technical Institutes - Test of Adult Basic
Education (TABE) (math, reading, English) or
completion of a sequence of courses; Higher
Education - choice of instrument such as the
Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency.
(CAAP), Writing Skills Test, the CAP Mathematics
Skills Test, the College Level Examination Program
(CLEP), College Composition with Essay, CLEP
College Algebra, Tech-prep participation, the ACT
scores, ete; Tech Prep - Louisiana Education
Assessment Program (LEAP) (math,

English /language arts, composition, science, and
social studies) or completion of a sequence ot
courses

Maine: Vest of Adult Basic Education (TABE)

Maryland: Measuring only occupational skills

Massachusetts: Phasing in during 1993-1994

Michigan: Course completion

Minnesota: Pre-/post-test to be phased in during 1995

Mississippi: Completing academic courses or showing
gain through @ norm-referenced pre-test /post-test
series (locally chosen)

strument (math,

Missouri: Institutionally and Department-
approved academic assessment (beginnmg to

completion)
Montana: Local agency chooses instrument (pre-and
post-assessments with either standardized

assessment instrument(s) or teacher/faculty
developed locally referenced test

Nebraska: Local agency chooses instrument (math-
1993, communications-1994, scence-1995)

Nevada: Completion of basic and advanced courses

New Hampshire: Existing instruments (math, reading,
and writing) in 1992; in 1993, ACT Asset

New Jersey: Basic Collegiate - NICBST; Basic
Noncollegiate - HSPT or TABE; Advanced - enrollment
in advanced courses

New Mexico: Basic - completion of developmental
courses; Advanced - passing certification and
licensure exams,

New York: No plans to measure at this time

North Carolina: Required credit hours, completion of a
sequence, passing remedial course, passing general
education and related courses:

North Dakota: California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)
twelfth compared with eighth grade

Ohio: Basic - completion of basic skills courses;
Adznuced - completion of English/communication
courses; Adult Education: Basic - remedial instruction
such as ABE or other remedial academic clas:
Advanced - academic skills portion of the vocational
competency tests otfered by the Vocational
Instructional Materials Laboratory at Ohio State
University (OSU) oF an alternative standardized test

Oklahoma: Pre-/post-test to be developed and
administered by local programs upon ODVTE
guidelines

Oregon: Course completion

Pennsylvania: Grade point overage ot at least 2.0 in
academic courses

Rhode Island: Course completion

South Carolina: Course completion; decrease in tech-
prep students enrolling in developmental /reme
course

South Dakota: Local agency chooses achievement test

Tennessee: Locally chosen, state-approved
standardized test of general education

Texas: Course or program completion

Utah: Course completion

Vermont: Course completion and student survey’

Virginia: Locally chosen assessment or course
completion

Washington: Course completion

West Virginia: Course completion

Wisconsin: Local ageney chooses instrument (pre-
/post-lest ol math, reading, writing, and ESL
course completion

Wyoming; Local agency chooses instrument (SCANS)

ial

nd

Source: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)

Performance Measures and Standards

187


Volume Ifl

Table 5.9
Percent of Regular and Vocational Districts With
Tech-Prep Programs and Title III Tech-Prep Programs,
by Proportion of Special Population Students in District, 1991-92

Proportion of Special Populations Regular Vocational
Tech-prep program
Lowest quartile 44 83
Second quartile 39 79
Third quartile 41 84
Highest quartile 41 80
Title III tech-prep grant
Lowest quartile 11 23
Second quartile 11 17
Third quartile 7 13
Highest quartile 9 24

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

as districts with high proportions. However, districts with the next-to-highest
proportions (third quartile) of special populations are less likely than districts
with low proportions to receive Title III grants. This outcome is no doubt the
byproduct of tech-prep funding decisions made on other grounds, but it does fall
short of equal access in this model. However, these measures of tech prep are not
very precise, and it is difficult to interpret this finding.

Data from the 1993 Followup Survey enable us to assess the extent to which
school districts and postsecondary institutions are using an affirmative action
approach to assure that special population students are included in tech-prep
programs. Table 5.10 shows the proportions of school districts and
postsecondary institutions saying that they (a) actively recruit special population
students to tech prep; (b) monitor the participation of special populations in tech
prep; and (c) have developed tech-prep programs in occupational areas with
high proportions of special population students (in effect, bringing the program
to the student).

About 70 percent of the institutions with tech prep actively recruit special
population students to their programs, and similar proportions (68-72%) monitor

Tech-Prep Programs 127

136


CHAPTER APPENDICES

Volume Il

A-1


FINAL REPORT
TO

CONGRESS

VOLUME III

PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT:
EDUCATION REFORM

David Boesel
Mikala Rahn
Sharon Deich

Office of Research

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

July 1994

4



Volume III

8. Remediation and ESL programs with an occupational focus. These types of
programs were developed to address the needs of vocational students
requiring academic remediation and ESL (English as a second language)
instruction. They focus on relatively basic skills, but include introductory
material in an occupational area. Like applied courses, they provide an
occupational context for vocational students.

Iitegration of Academic and Vocational Curricula A-9

196


Volume HI

CHAPTER 5

TECH-PREP PROGRAMS
INTRODUCTION

The origins of the tech-prep movement were discussed in Chapter 1 on education
reform. In the early 1980s a few community colleges had developed programs
that articulated secondary and postsecondary curricula, and the idea of a
program combining the last two years of secondary education with two years of
postsecondary education was being discussed among small groups of educators.

The publication in 1983 of A Nation at Risk, a key document in the broader
education reform movement, crystallized sentiment among those concerned
about the education of high school students who were not headed for four-year
colleges. Among these was Dale Parnell, then executive director of the American
Association of Community and Junior Colleges. In 1985 Parnell wrote The
Neglected Majority,2 which argued that A Nation at Risk was keyed to the interests
of the 25 percent of high school students who would eventually graduate from
four-year colleges, largely ignoring the majority of high school students who
were not likely to complete or even enter college.

Parnell proposed a three-track curriculum for high schools: a college-bound
academic program for the top quarter of students, in terms of academic interest
and ability; an occupationally oriented tech-prep or two-plus-two program for
the middle half; and a vocational program for the bottom quarter. The
amorphous general education track, which he called “the academic and
vocational wasteland of American education,” would be eliminated.

The tech-prep program would prepare students for jobs in the rapidly expanding
mid-level technical sector of the economy. In Parnell’s view,

The four-year 2+2 tech prep associate degree program is intended
to run parallel with and not replace the current college-prep/
baccalaureate program. It will combine a common core of learning
and technical education and will rest upon a foundation of basic
proficiency development in math, science, communications, and
technology — all in an applied setting .... Beginning in the junior
year in high school, students will select the tech-prep program and
continue for four years in a closely coordinated high school/
[community] college curriculum.*

Tech-prep initiatives have expanded rapidly since Parnell put this proposal on
the national agenda. The Neglected Majority could cite only a handful of

two-plus-two programs in the mid-1980s, but more recent data indicate that by
1990 over a thousand school districts and hundreds of comraunity colleges had

Tech-Prep Programs 114 105



Volume IT

recommendations to do so. At the federal level, the Administration prepared the
School-te Work Opportunities Act; included a National Skill Standards Board in
the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; provided school-to-work transition grants;
and funded the development of occupational skill standards in selected
industries.

State leadership seems to be an effective way of bringing about structural
reforms in local districts. We recommend that the Perkins Act encourage state
education agencies to undertake leadership in developing restructuring
reforms that will substantially improve the preparation of students for the
workforce. As Chapter 4 notes, promoting reform primarily through vocational
education agencies or departments someti:nes puts vocational educators in the
position of seeking changes from system administrators who are more concerned
with other issues. Therefore we recommend that Perkins seek to enlist the
energies of the state education establishment as a whole in pursuing structural
reforms. One way to do this would be to set aside some portion of basic grant
money for competitive grants to states that want to assume such leadership
roles and can demonstrate the potential to do so.

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 23



Volume IIT

side of the academic/vocational divide were much more likely to collaborate
with one another than with teachers on the other side of the line.

Barriers to Integration

Despite progress in efforts to integrate academic and vocational education, the
obstacles to integration are still substantial. Stasz et al.26 have reviewed the
literature on these barriers, and we will not discuss them all here. However, the
data from Community Case Study sites visited between November 1992 and
March 1993 make some of these difficulties strikingly clear.

The fact that vocational and academic education have historically developed
along separate lines pervades their interaction today.” More often than not, the
two forms of education are separated physically, pedagogically, and in a number
of other ways. Indeed, they have been described as different cultures within
secondary education. ?8

Their physical separation — in separate wings or levels of the same school, in
separate buildings on the same campus, or in separate buildings in different
locations — poses obvious problems for integration. In area vocational schools,
the transportation and scheduling of students, often difficult enough without
integration, can become more difficult when specific sequences of academic and
vocational courses must be accommodated. Physical separation also makes
collaboration between academic and vocational teachers harder to accomplish.

Pedagogical separation is even more problematic. Case study data show that
ingrained divisions between academic and vocational teachers, and their
indifference or resistance to changing what and how they teach, are major
obstacles. For example, in a high school in one western community, “several
teachers and administrators indicated that ‘territoriality’ based on discipline
affiliation .. . impedes integration efforts.” Teachers at a comprehensive high
school in the South described a “wall” between academic and vocational faculty.
Ata western high school, researchers noted that “no real interaction with
academic teachers occurs,” although at a Pacific Coast school, as noted earlier,
vocational and academic teachers “were beginning to talk to each other,” with
the infusion of Perkins funds.

The distance between academic and vocational teachers is illustrated by the
following description of a meeting in one vocational high school:

In the teachers’ interview, which included nearly all the vocational
and academic teachers, [they] segregated themselves into two
groups according to their vocational or academic status. ... When
the topic of integration was broached, they first laughed, then
attempted to describe some examples of it, then admitted that they
work in different parts of the building and rarely get into each
others’ part.

84 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

94


Volume III

Figure A-4.4
Percent of State Postsecondary Agencies Taking Steps to Integrate Curricula,
1991, 1993: Steps 7-12
70
al. ea
50

an
ey

Provide guidelines on development of
coherent sequences of courses

Promote participation in a regional
curriculum that supports integré

developed integrated curricula

—o
o_o

fi, Deven or diseminate sate
—H-

Adopta definition of integration

Combine vocational curriculum
frameworks with those of academic
departments at state level

Provide mandatory curriculum
or guidelines for academic!
ial integration

Sources: Omnibus and 1993 Followup Surveys of Postsecondary State Agencies

Integration of Academic aud Vocational Curricula 20 4 A-A7



Volume III

Some of the case studies provide examples of the stimulative effects of Perkins
funds. In one Pacific Coast city, researchers found that

with the infusion of Carl Perkins funds and restructuring ideas,
vocational and academic teachers at many schools were beginning
to talk to each other. . . In the newer vocational classes, such as the
introductory technology course, academic materials were being
integrated into vocational coursework.

However, “vocational faculty believed that more integration was taking place
than did their academic colleagues.”

In districts’ view, state support for integration was rather modest in the first year
of Perkins implementation, but picked up substantially in the second. In 1991-92
about half of the districts in the survey said that state support was “adequate,”
but only about one-fifth said it was “very good.” Vocational districts and
Perkins-funded districts were more likely than regular districts and unfunded
districts to say they received “very good” support (see Figure 4.1). Fewer than
half (45 %) of the districts (regular and vocational combined) said that state
support for integration had increased from the previous year, when integration
was not a priority. However, in the 1993 Followup Survey, a much larger
proportion of districts (74%) said that state support for integration had increased
since 1990.

Figure 4.1
Regular and Vocational Districts Reporting on
State Support for Integration, by Funding Status

All Districts

70
60 aa ( Funded
2 ae? MM Unfunded
&
é ma:
ira 20 2.
12
Regular Vocational Regular Vocational
Support Increased Very Good Support
From 1990 to 1992 (in 1992)
Source: Omnibus Surveys of Regular and Vocational Districts
Integration of Acadentic and Vocational Curricula 79

89



Volume III

Table 1.1
Education Reform Measures Reported by State and Local Vocational
Education Administrators (Percent)

State Regular District _| Vocational District
Occurred Occurred Occurred
Reform Measure by 1992 | Likely | by 1992 | Likely } by 1992 | Likely
Wave |
Increase in academic credits 88 10 79 8 8” 5
required for graduation
Increase in academic credits 64 10 64 11 66 9
required to enter state
university
Increase in academic credits} 48 17 56 15 57 14
needed for teacher
certification
Proficiency or other exam 29 42 38 28 37 37
required for graduation
Mandate of ionger school 10 19 13 15 8 15
day
Mandate of longer school 13 24 19 19 10 17
year
Elimination of BA in 9 0 5 2 3 8
Education in state
university system
Wave Il
Implementation of site- — a 34 35 33 36
based management
Relaxation of state 33 35 14 18 13 25
administrative rules for
local districts
Establishment of parental 26 24 18 20 17 28
choice plan
Elimination of the general 6 67 16 29 11 46
track

NOTE: Responses toa third option, indicating that a reform had not occurred and was not likely

to occur, have been omitted. If they were included, the three columns would total 100%.

Source: Omnibus Secondary State Survey and District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 1 6



Volume III

Characteristics of Tech-Prep Programs in Regular Districts

Table A-5.5

by Program Area, 1991-92

Agriculture

Business /
Office

Marketing.

Occupational
Home
Economics

Health

Trade &
Industrial

Median year of
actual or planned
implementation

Median number of
secondary schools
participating

Median number of
postsecondary
schools
participating

Percent of regular
districts saying,
tech-prep program:
Includes

provisions for
special
populations
Provides teacher
in-service

Provides counselor
training

Involves business
and industry in
program
development

Has formal
enrollment

If program has
formal enrollment,
median number of
grade 11-12
students enrolled

1992

67

92

83

33

18

1992

60

78

67

68

35

27

1992

62

79

7

26

1992

i)

%
8

94

71

47

25

1992

Ww

1992

62

82

68

64

41

24

* Insufficient information to estimate.

Source: Omnibus District Survey, Version B

Tech-Prep Programs


Volume Il

ENDNOTES
1 Section 403(b)(7).
2

Hoachiander, E.G., & Levesque, K. (1993), Improving National Data for Vocational Education:
Strengthening a Multiforni Systent, National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

3 Rahn, M.L., Hoachlander, E.G., & Levesque, K. (1992), State Systems for Accountability in
Vocational Education, National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

4 Hoachlander, E.G. (1992), “Performance Standards, Evaluations, Planning, Accountability,
and Authentic Assessment for the New Vocationalism,” unpublished paper.

5 Section 115.

6 Rahn etal. (1992)

7 The 1993 Followup Survey asked states if their system includes the measurement of
academic skills and occupational competencies without distinguishing between the
measurement of attainment or gain. Therefore, states could be measuring attainment, gain,
or both.

8 Rahn et al. (1992).

9 Hoachlarider & Levesque (1993).

10 Rahn et al. (1992).

1 bid.

12 Stecher, B.S., & Hanser, L.M. (1993), Beyond Vocational Education Standards and Measures:
Strengthening Local Accountability Systems for Program luprovement, National Center for
Research in Vocational Education.

13 Rahnetal. (1992), and 1993 Followup Survey.

14 US. Department of Education (1994), National Assessment of Vocational Education Interim
Report to Congress.

15 futerim Report (1994), p. 299.

16 Appendix Tables A-2.4 through A-2.7 confirm this point.

17 Stecher & Hanser (1993); Hoachlander & Levesque (1993).

18 Hoachlander & Levesque (1993).

19 Ibid.

20 Rahn et al. (1992).

21 Hoachlander & Levesque (1993).

48

5 9 Performance Measures and Standards



Texas

)

2)

Volume Hl

will be required to take a standardized test—the SAT or ACT, or Work
Keys test—in order to graduate.

Applied courses, such as Math for Technology, are being employed at the
pilot sites, integrating academic and vocational learning.

All school districts in the state have vocational advisory committees, with
business and industry representation, to help guide vocational education

and workplace exposure opportunities. Eighty percent of the state’s high

schools currently have some sort of school-business or school-community
partnerships.

The Career Pathways Program for Youth was established as a result of
legislation passed in 1993. The program will take students through a
learning process that integrates school and work through high school and

beyond. Program specifics will be finalized by a Design Committee by
1995.

Dialogue between secondary and postsecondary educational institutions
will result in articulation agreements to facilitate smooth transitions of
participants between the secondary and postsecondary components of the
future 2+2 program.

The Career Pathways Program will draw upon members of the business
community for guidance in the creation of the 2+2 program and to make
available worksite training opportunities for program participants.
Additionally, as a result of earlier legislation (in 1989), the state has been
split up into 24 Quality Workforce Planning Regions. Within each region,
school-to-work efforts are monitored by a committee to ensure that they
are in line with local economic and labor market demands. Each
committee includes local business representation.

As the Career Pathways Program was codified last summer, current
implementation is limited. Further details are unknown.

Vermont

))

2)

Vermont's Common Core of Learning standardizes academic and
personal growth goals that students must master before continuing their
education (not yet implemented).

Wherever possible, student evaluations are to be performance-based. In
addition, career portfolios will be used to document school and workplace

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education 1

~F

6 A-15



”

Volume III

Contextual Learning

A review of the literature by Karweit describes contextual learning and assesses
its effectiveness. Karweit36 expresses the core of the idea as follows:

The traditional view of learning as abstract and generalizable is
challenged by a new view of cognition as situated and specific.
Rather than seeing knowing as something that is true for all time
and all places, knowledge is seen to be dependent upon and
embedded in the contexts and activity in which it takes place.
Schools, by abstracting learning from use in an attempt to promote
generalization, create unusable or inaccessible knowledge.

In comparing learning in and outside of school, Resnik, the leading theorist of
contextualized education, identified four ways in which she thinks schools are
dysfunctional for learning.*” First, learning in schools is individually arranged,
while in out-of-school work settings learning is shared. Second, schools
emphasize unaided thought, without extensive tools and materials, while
situations outside of school encourage the use of available tools. Third, schools
emphasize abstraction and symbol manipulation, while real life usually requires
reasoning connected to actual events and objects. Finally, schools try to teach
general skills and theoretical principles, while outside of school, people usually
need situationally specific, relevant knowledge.

Resnik and other advocates of the contextualized approach cite examples of
people who can perform fairly complex mathematical calculations to solve
real-life problems but cannot solve the same problems in the abstract, or
outperform others who can. Child street vendors in Brazil, for example, used
creative mathematical approaches to solve problems in their sales but could not
solve the same problems using abstract theorems and a pencil-and-paper
approach. Along the same lines, construction workers outperformed
eighth-grade students in solving scale problems on architects’ drawings. The
construction workers relied on their experience in using the drawings, while the
students relied on the algorithms they had been taught.

Contextualized learning’s critique of traditional education has generated
proposals for “cognitive apprenticeships” in which novices (students) gain
experience and understanding by working on projects under the mentorship of
experts. In Karweit’s terms, “the process of gaining experience in apprenticeships
is one of observation, coaching, and practice guided by experts as the apprentice
learns particular skills.” The novice learns through “successive approximation of
mature practice,” and “learns generality by [the] observation and experience of
particulars,”38

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 91

101


Volume II

CHAPTER 3 APPENDIX

Industrial Skills Standards A-31

190



Volume IIL

8)

experience in a workplace environment. Again, implementation is
currently limited to six pilot sites.

Eighteen Tech Prep Associates Degree (TPAD) consortia include

involvement by the co; ymunity colleges in the second half of the 2+2
programs.

During the specialization period, at the six pilot schools students are to
receive workplace training in addition to classroom instruction. The exact
amount of exposure, as well as the amount of exposure as a function of
students’ future plans (immediate work, going to a university, etc.), is
unclear. At the postsecondary level, the 18 TPAD consortia offer
formalized apprenticeship-style workplace experiences. :

South Carolina

0)

Currently, policy is limited to the creation of a state council. This council's
objective is to address the possibility of creating statewide school-to-work
and apprenticeship programs. One requirement of any policies considered
is that they address the needs of students who are not planning to attend a
four-year postsecondary institution, and may be at risk of dropping out of
school.

This council was created as a result of legislation passed in 1992.
Legislation pending in 1994 includes H.B. 3948, which would establish

apprenticeship programs statewide. Specifics of this pending bill are
unknown.

Tennessee

a)

2)

3)

4)

Through the end of the 10th grade, all students are enrolled in the same
types of classes. After completing this common foundation, students
branch off into more specialized study. A number of pilot schools are
implementing these reforms.

After completion of the 10th grade, all students will choose from an
academic (university-bound) or vocational track. Specific specializations
are not know.

A program exists to orient high school students to the world of work
before graduation. This program focuses on career planning and an
introduction to the work marketplace — learning how to get a job. This
program is being used in 59 of the state’s 95 counties.

The use of alternative assessments, including portfolios, is currently being
introduced to teachers for use throughout the state. By 195, all students

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education

175



Volume IIL

PART Il

THE SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITION

§ 0 69



Volume IIT

education. Some states had adopted different measures and standards for adult
education or area vocational-technical schools. Perkins regulations require states
to apply their measures and standards only to federally funded programs.
However, this requirement was clarified late in the regulatory process, and m
state-level administrators opted to apply measures more broadly. As a result,
most states have designed their accountability systems to evaluate the
performance of all students in vocational education programs (Figure 2.2).
Thirty-four states report data for all students participating in vocational
education programs at the secondary level, while 15 states report them only for
those students participating in vocational education programs that receive
Perkins funding. In postsecondary education, 30 states report data for all
students participating in vocational education programs, whereas 18 states report
only for those students in Perkins-funded programs.

Figure 2.2
Number of States Applying Performance Measures and Standards to
All Programs or to Only Federally Funded Programs

40
Ba
30
&
< 20
3
E
Zz 5
104
0
Secondary Postsecondary
All Programs [| Federally Funded Programs

NOTE: States do not sum to 51 (secondary) or 50 (postsecondary) because another possible
response was “other.”

Source: 1993 Followup Surveys of State Secondary and Postsecondary Agencies (hereafter,
1993 Foltowup Surveys of State Agencies)

30 4 1 Performance Measures and Standards



Volume IIL

Table A-2.4
Summary of Assessment Instruments and Measurement Tools Used to
Measure Academic Skills in Secondary Vocational Education

Alabama: Alabama Graduation Exam

Alaska: Local agency chooses instrument or porttolio

Arizona: Local agency chooses instrament

Arkansas: Pre-/post-CORD materials (advanced /basic)

California: High School Performance Test

Colorado: Local agency chooses instrument
(competencies - SCANS)

Connecticut: Basie - CT Academic Performance Test;
Advanced - portfolio

Delaware: Profile eighth to tenth (writing, math,
science)

Florida: High School Completion Test (HSCT)

Georgia: Test of Achievement & Proficiency (TAP) or
scores in math and English courses using locally
chosen assessments or completion of a grade level

Hawaii: State-mandated HSTEC ( )

Idaho: Completion of C-core graduation requirements;
Direct Writing Assessment; TAP; ITBS

Mlinois: IGAP (math, reading)

Indiana: Local agency chooses instrument (math,
English)

Iowa: Local agency identifies or develops instrument

Kansas: KS State Assessment Instrument (math) or a
norm-referenced test such as Lowa Test of Education
Development er Stanford Achievement Test
(phasing in English and composition)

Kentucky: Individual student assessment results from
Kentucky Instruction Results Information System
(KRIS) or stadent portfolio (twelfth grade)

Louisiana: Louisiana Education Assessment Program

P) math, English/language arts, composition,

and social studies) or completion of a
sequence of courses

Maine: Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)

Maryland: Be: Maryland Functional Test (eleventh,
grade); Adranced - Selection of criterion-referenced
tests not finalized (mathematics, reading,
writing /language usage, social studies, and science)

Massachusetts: Phasing in during 1993-1994

Michigan: MEAP (math, reading, science in tenth and

ades with post-test in twelfth grade)

ta: Complete graduation requirement

pi: Completing academic courses or showing,

gain through a norm-referenced pre-test/ post-test
series (locally chosen)

Missouri: Missouri Mastery and Achievement Fest
(MMAT) (math, English/communications, scence,
and social studies /science; tenth to twelfth grade

gain)
Montana: Local agency chooses instrument (pre-and
post-assessments with either standardized

assessment instrument(s) or teacher / faculty =
developed locally’ referenced test
Nebraska: Local agency chooses instrument (math -
1993, communication-1994, science-1995)
Nevada: Hasic - Nevada High School Proficiency Exam
(NHDPE) (eleventh grade); Adewared - course
completion

New Hampshire: Local agency chooses instrument
(pre- /post-test of math and language arts)

New Jersey: Basic - Eighth grade Early Warning Test
and VTECS academic item banks; Advanced - HSPT

New Mexico: Rasi¢ - ITBS (eighth grado) and New
Mexico Competency Exam (tenth grade); Adranced -
course completion

New York: Course completion/ Regents’ Exam

North Carolina: Functional Literacy Test (eighth grade)
and a post-test to be developed

North Dakota: California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)
twelfth compared with eighth grade

Ohio: asic - Ninth grade proficiency lest; Adewnced «
academic skills portion of the vocational
competency tests offered by the Vocational
Instructional Materials Laboratory at Ohio State
University (OSU) or an alternative standardized test

Oklahoma: Pre-/post-test to be developed and
administered by local programs upon ODVTE
guidelines

Oregon: Course completion

Pennsylvania: Basic - Pennsylvania System of School
Assessment (PSSA) (reading and math) sampling of
eleventh and twelfth grades; Advanced - complete

three or more advanced academic courses in math,
science, and communications, including applied
academ

Rhode Island: Busic - Metropolitan Achievement Test
(MAT) grades eight, ten, and twelve (reading, math,
and language arts); Advanced - MAT (reading
comprehension and problem solving)

South Carolina: Stanford 8 “3R’s Battery” (Ninth to
eleventh grade)

South Dakota: Stanford Achi
reading, total math, and s
grade)

Tennessee: ACT/Work Keys

Texas: TAAS test

Utah: Stamford Achievement Test, Advanced I, Form J
(vighth grade), and TASK 1H, Form J (eleventh
grade) for math, reading, and language
arts/English

Vermont: Test of Adalt Bast

eading, language arts, and math)

Virginia: lowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) (eleventh
grade in math, reading, and communications);
possibly a reliable criterion-referenced assessment
instrument will be selected by 1994 as an alternative

Washington: Local agency chooses instrument (state-
lovel competencies)

West Virginia: Comprehensive Ti
(CTBS) (pre-and post-test of
and math)

Wisconsin: Completion of a sequence of courses

Wyoming: Local agency chooses instrument (math,
reading, and language arts and /or science)

vement Tests in total
ce (eighth oF eleventh

‘ducation (TABE)

ding /language arts,

Souree

: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)

A-20

REST COPY GVAILABLE

Performance Measures and Standards

186



Volume III

program assessment and accountability, and 24 percent each perceived “no
change.” Reports of decreases in state-level support were minimal (Table 2.4).

- The emphasis on measuring learning outcomes in state performance
measurement systems requires that technical assistance be given to localities.
Local administrators and teachers need to understand the purposes and goals of
the assessment system, how to implement new forms of assessment, and how to
(or how the state will) interpret and use the results of the assessment. To meet
these needs, localities are receiving a relatively high level of in-service

Table 2.4
Percent of Secondary Districts Reporting Levels of Change in
State Support for Vocational Education Activities, 1990 to 1993

Extent of Change in State Support

Large Some No Some Large
Increase | Increase | Change | Decrease | Decrease

Development of tech-prep 35 44 19 1 1
programs
Vocational program 24 49 24 2 1

assessment and
accountability

Development of 19 55 24 2 1
integrated vocational-
academic programs

Guidance on procedures 19 51 26 3 J
for assuring equal
access to vocational
services and programs

Development of “all 11 52 35 3 1
aspects of the
industry” curricula

State leadership in 16 48 24 7 4

general

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

Source: 1993 Followup Survey of Secondary Districts

42 5 3 Performance Measures and Standards


Volume III

spring of that year, when the Omnibus Survey was in the field. Our 1992 case
studies testified to the recency of most tech-prep initiatives. For example,
researchers in different sites typically reported:

“Tech prep is in its infancy in [this community].”

“There is an unsigned draft of an articulation agreement [for one
computer course] . . . This appears to be the only formal progress to date.”

“Tech prep is just a concept here; it appears to be widely supported but
not well understood.”

“Tech prep [is] in the informational stage.”

In fact, most of the tech-prep initiatives had no students in the spring of 1992: 72
percent of the postsecondary institutions reporting tech-prep said their programs
had no secondary students, and 87 percent said they had no postsecondary
students. Most tech-prep initiatives were still in the planning and development
stages.

In the following year, tech-prep efforts began to take on more substance. By the
spring of 1993, most initiatives indicated that they had at least some students,
although, as we will see shori!y, definitions of tech-prep programs and students
vary widely, In the Followup Survey, 81 percent of schoo! districts with tech prep
could estimate the proportion of tech-prep enrollees who were female, as could
45 percent of postsecondary institutions.? (Part of this large one-year shift may be
due to the form of the questions. In 1992 postsecondary institutions were asked
to provide numbers of students in their tech-prep consortia, while in 1993
districts and postsecondary institutions with tech prep were each asked to
estimate the percentage of their own tech-prep students who were female.)

Table 5.5 shows how many districts and postsecondary institutions reported in

the 1993 Followup Survey that they had tech-prep programs and the features of
their programs.

In the spring of 1993, a little less than half of the secondary districts (5,441 out of
11,527) and three-fourths of the postsecondary institutions (891 out of 1,200)
reported having tech-prep agreements. !0 However, only about one-third of the
districts (3,718) and 14 percent of postsecondary institutions (163) reported
programs meeting the Perkins definition of tech prep: (a) leads to two-year
degree or certificate; (b) provides technical preparation in specified fields; (c)
builds student competence in math, science, and communications; and (d)
integrates academic and vocational curricula. (An additional criterion — leads to
placement in employment — is not included here, because most programs are
too new to have student placements yet. Appendix Table A-5.4 shows what Table

5.5 would look like if student placement were added as a criterion for the
definition of tech prep.)

Tech-Prep Programs 113
122
Lhe kw


Volume IIT

skills are available. Informal teacher judgments and teacher ratings are the most
frequently used measures of occupational skills.

Although most of the new state accountability systems include measures of
placement in training-related jobs, a substantial minority of localities were not
(yet) using such measures in 1993. Training-related placements are a critical
measure of the success of traditional occupation-specific vocational education.

While performance standards have been developed, and many or most localities
have begun collecting the required information, there has not been enough
attention to how states, districts, and postsecondary institutions will actually use
the data to improve vocational programs.

These findings lead to a number of recommendations. First, the new Perkins Act
should support the development of industry skill standards and of valid,
reliable measures of performance. Industry-based standards should be used to
assess the broad, industry-oriented occupational programs recommended in
Volume I. Second, the new Act should encourage states and districts to use
training-related placements as key measures of the performance of traditional
vocational programs. Third, at the postsecondary level, more attention needs to
be given to the measurement of academic outcomes. Fourth, educators at the
federal, state, and local levels should give more attention to specific ways in
which performance standards and measures can be used to identify the
strengths and weaknesses of vocational programs, and to make improvements
based on this information. State training of local administrators should be a
key element in this process. Finally, the federal government should assess the
accountability systems themselves to determine how well they are working.

re
Performance Measures and Standards 58 47


Volume III

Table A-5.4
Percent and Number of Tech-Prep Programs, Spring 1993
Using Stringent Perkins Definition

Postsecondary
Secondary Districts Institutions

Percent?| Number® | Percent | Number

Total (districts, institutions) 100 11,527 100 1,200
Report tech-prep agreement 47 5,441 74 891
Meet Perkins definition 15 1,679 3 35
Of those meeting Perkins 100 1,679 100 35

tech-prep definition:

Can report percent female in 75 1,261 60 21

tech prep
Can report percent 18 307 40 14

completing secondary or
postsecondary phase
Can report percent 15 246 _— _
continuing from
secondary to
postsecondary

4 Estimates from sample.
© Interim Report (1994), pp. 343-345.

Source: 1993 Followup Survey

A54 Tech-Prep Programs


Volume IIT

CHAPTER 6
WORK-BASED LEARNING

INTRODUCTION

Nearly half of America’s youth leave high school with the expectation of entering
the labor market, rather than continuing their education. However, the United
States has few institutional linkages to assist non-college-bound youth with the
transition from school to work. The high rate of unemployment among youth
with no postsecondary education or training, coupled with the growing concern
that the skills of our workforce must be upgraded to compete in an ever more

technologically advanced global economy, have sparked a new interest in work-
based education.

Employment Status of High School Graduates

Data on the labor force participation of youth with no postsecondary education
show a pattern of moving from one short-term, low-wage, “dead-end” job to
another, interspersed with periods of unemployment. By age 30, almost one-third
of men are working in jobs they have held for under a year. Another 16 percent
have been employed for just one year. The pattern is similar for women who
have been in the labor market for the same amount of time.!

The General Accounting Office reports that U.S. schools direct students toward
college, where education and training resources are concentrated.2 However,
those who never enter college cannot benefit from this public investment. At the
same time, employers who offer good wages, attractive benefits, and interna]
career ladders have first pick in the labor market; and they rarely choose high
school graduates who have no further education. Firms best equipped to provide
high-quality training to their employees invariably choose older, more mature
workers for their entry-level career opportunities.

In contrast to the American system, Japanese firms have semi-formal, long-term
agreements with high schools. As a result, Japanese schools play a far more
active role in introducing students into the labor force. In Japan, the best firms
hire the highest achieving students from the best high schools. This provides an
economic incentive for students to excel at the high school level. While many
American young people move from one short-term, low-expectation job to
another and receive little orientation to available careers or necessary training in
their high school years, their counterparts in some other countries gain pride,

master increasingly difficult skills, and acquire experience working in the adult
world.4

Work- Based Learning 135



Volume III

training concerning student assessment and performance evaluation (Figure 2.7).
Although tech prep and integration are the most common Perkins-related in-
service topics (offered in 85 and 83 percent of districts), student assessment falls

not far behind; this in-service topic was covered in 78 percent of districts in
1992-93.

Figure 2.7
Percent of Secondary Districts Offering Teachers
In-Service Training Programs on Various Topics, 1992-93

100
94
80- 3}
~ OF ar
5 58
x F
40-4 LJ
204 4
ce _ : :
Tech Prep Integration Special Needs Student —_—"Alll Aspects of
Students Assessment/ the Industry"

Performance
Evaluation

All Districts C Vocational Districts

Source: 1993 Followup Surveys of Secondary Districts and of Postsecondary Institutions

FROM STATE POLICY TO LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION

All states have developed performance assessment systems that seek to
implement the requirements set forth by the law, and most go well beyond the
legislation’s minimum requirements. Moreover, most states are applying their
systems to all vocational education programs, not just to federally funded

Performance Measures aud Standards 5 4d 4B


Volume HI

educational goals more effectively.”8 The report went on to recommend a
curriculum alternative that would provide “broad occupational training and
integrated academic and vocational instruction.” The 1990 Perkins Act reflects
this emphasis.

The Changing Workplace

The changing organization of work has also been important in the development
of vocational education and in the current movement toward integration. The
rise of vocationalism around the turn of the century reflected a shift in the
economy from craftsmanship to industrial organization.” Henry Ford pioneered,
and Frederick Taylor rationalized, a system of industrial production that relied
on subdividing labor and mechanizing production. Industries needed workers
who could function as parts of a machine, using narrowly defined specific skills
in endless repetition. Workers were not expected to think; that was
tnanagement’s role.

As noted in the Introduction to Volume II, the Ford /Taylor model of industrial
production was effective and competitive into the 1960s. By the 1980s, however,
competitive pressures, both international and domestic, were prompting
American business to adopt components of the high-performance workplace,
which stresses the need for flexible, adaptable workers, able to shift jobs, work in
teams, and use their thinking skills to solve problems and make decisions. !

Many of these changes in the workplace have contributed to the movement to
integrate academic and vocational education. Integration seeks to improve the
intellectual development of students by using applied learning, consistent with
the need to think clearly at work, master a variety of complex tasks, rotate jobs,
and perform quality control. Integration changes the focus of education from
specific vocational skills to broader and more generally applicable academic and
occupational skills, consistent with the breadth, flexibility, and qualities of mind
needed in the high-performance workplace. Integration is also compatible with a
team approach to learning in an applied context.

The Theoretical Context

Another contributor to the movement for integrated academic/vocational
education is the research on contextualized education initiated by Resnik at the
University of Pittsburgh. Resnik!! argues that students learn better when a
subject is placed in a context that is meaningful to them and related to the world
outside of school than when it is taught in the abstract, dissociated, and rote
manner that she believes characterizes most teaching in American classrooms.

Proponents of integrating academic and vocational education have adopted
contextualized education as one of the theoretical bases of the movement. For
example, Adelman!? observes that vocational education courses could provide

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula § 3 73



Volume III

on schools, we can gauge the extent of change by comparing 1993 data from
single-school districts with 1992 data from schools in such districts. In 1992, only
16 percent of these schools said that they had made increased time available to
teachers for integration, and 18 percent said that they provided common
planning periods for teachers to work on integration. In the Followup Survey, 45
percent of single-school districts said that they had provided release time for
teachers to work on integrated courses.

Second, the Interim Report noted that as of 1992, more secondary schools were
incorporating employability or generic workforce skills into vocational curricula
(a conservative approach to integration) than were integrating across academic
and vocational curricula (an approach requiring more curricular change).?2
However, the report also noted that the largest increases in school-related
integration activities were occurring in efforts to integrate across the curricula,
rather than in those supplementing vocational courses. The 1993 Followup
Survey data confirm that cross-curricular integration efforts are spreading
rapidly. By 1992, 50 percent of schools in single-school districts said they had
taken steps to integrate across academic and vocational curricula. By 1993,

77 percent of the single-schooi districts said they had done so.

Third, the National Assessment of Vocational Education Teacher Survey found
that in 1992-93 only small percentages of vocational teachers (11% or less) spend
more than 10 percent of class time on a given academic subject. However, a
majority of vocational teachers spend at least this much time on some academic
subject. Moreover, recent analysis of the 1992 NELS shows that applied learning
is a fairly prominent feature of secondary vocational education. As Chapter 4 in
Volume II found, 43-46 percent of vocational concentrators? and half to two-
thirds of vocational specialists’ reported that their vocational classes placed
“major emphasis” on helping students understand how scientific ideas and
mathematics are used in work; thinking about what a problem means and the
ways it might be solved; and helping students understand mathematical and
scientific ideas through the use of tools, machines, lab equipment, etc.

Much lower proportions of college-prep and general track students (13-30%)
report such emphasis in the vocational courses they take. Differing perceptions of
similar courses may account for some of these differences, but a more plausible
explanation is that vocational concentrators and particularly specialists are
reporting on more advanced vocational courses. If so, the more advanced courses
would seem to include a substantial emphasis on applied learning or applied
academics. This leads to the hypothesis that vocational teachers would report
more academic content in their advanced vocational classes.

Still, these improvements in the development of integration shculd be viewed in
light of findings from the National Assessment’s Teacher Survey, conducted in

1992-93. As the Interim Report noted, vocational teachers in that survey said they
had little interaction with academic teachers, and vice versa.25 Teachers on each

Integration of Acadentic and Vocational Curricula +3] 3 83



Volume IIT

is particularly notable because the Omnibus Survey, conducted in 1992, showed
that local education agencies, especially secondary districts, had taken relatively
few steps to implement measures and standards.

Stecher and Hanser found that functioning local accountability systems existed
before the 1990 Perkins Act, but these systems tended to rely on education inputs
and labor market outcomes — such as enrollment, program completion, and job
placement rates — to monitor student progress, rather than on learning
outcomes. Although these systems were consistent with the concepts underlying
the Perkins Act, the requirement to measure learning outcomes, both academic
and occupational, was a fundamental change.

Local Data Collection and Reporting

Local education agencies were already collecting data on student outcomes such
as completion/ retention and placement rates in 1992; for many measures, more
than 90 percent did so.!5 These collection efforts formed a foundation upon
which local agencies could build in responding to Perkins provisions.
Nevertheless, as Table 2.2. shows, there were noticeable increases between 1992
and 1993 in the percentages of secondary districts and postsecondary institutions
reporting these data to their state agencies (1993 was the first year in which
Perkins required this). Reporting of learning and competency measures increased

the most, mainly because localities had not been required to report on them
before 1992.

By 1993, localities were collecting and reporting data on a wide range of
performance measures (Table 2.2). These localities were very likely to report
information on course/program completion or school retention. More than 85
percent of postsecondary institutions reported data on graduation or retention
rates, while only 36 percent reported data on advanced academic skills.
Secondary districts also emphasized graduation or retention rates, but were more
likely than postsecondary institutions to report data on basic and advanced
academic skills and general employability skills.

Local Assessment Methods

How are localities collecting these data? We have information with which to
address this issue at the secondary level.

As Table 2.3 illustrates, the methods that secondary districts used in 1991-92 for
testing academic and occupational skills tended to be informal.'¢ (The three
methods other than commercially and state-developed tests are counted as
informal here.) Standardized tests, whether developed by a commercial firm or
state or local agencies, were used by less than half of the districts to test basic or
advanced academic skills or occupational skills; this was true of both regular and
vocational districts.

Performance Measures and Standards 37

48



Volume III

Figure 5.1
Percent of Tech-Prep Programs and of Secondary Vocational Teachers, by
Program Area

Program Area

Agriculture

Business
: 45
1],
Marketing ad
6
Occupational i Tech Prep
Home Economics 6

| [| Teachers

Health

Trade and Industrial

30,35 #40 #45 50
Percent of Districts

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B; National Assessment of Vocational Education
Teacher Survey

Tech-Prep Programs t 9 4 125



Volume HE

CHARACTERISTICS OF TECH-PREP SITES

At the secondary level, tech-prep initiatives tend to be located in large urban
districts, vocational districts, and districts that receive Perkins Title II basic grant
funds. (See Tables 5.1 and 5.2.) (In general, districts with these characteristics are
among the most active in responding to provisions of the Perkins legislation.)
Large districts and vocational districts are also more likely than their smaller
counterparts to receive Perkins Title III tech-prep grants, but the relation between
size and grant awards is not especially strong (Table 5.3). Among regular
districts, the very largest are the most likely to receive Title III grants, and the
smallest are least likely to do so. In the mid-range of size, which encompasses
most districts, there is little relation between size and awards. Among vocational
districts, only the smallest are less likely than others to receive tech-prep grants.

Table 5.1
Percent of Regular and Vocational Districts With Tech-Prep
Initiatives by Size of District and Urbanicity of Regular District, 1991-92

Regular Vocational

All districts 41 All districts 82
Less than 1,000 students 30 Smallest quartile 71
1,000~2,499 35 Second quartile 76
2,500-4,999 49 Third quartile 90
5,000~-9,999 67 Largest quartile 87
10,000-24,999 66
25,000 or more 85

Urban 73

Suburban 39

Rural 39

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

Tech-Prep Programs 418 109

‘


Volume III

2. Most were still emphasizing advanced credit for postsecondary
institutions and were not emphasizing the development of
advanced skills in secondary courses.

3. Most “had adopted only the most rudimentary integration.”
While some had purchased applied academics materials, few had:
integrated courses across curricula.

4. Most were just beginning to develop partnership agreements
with business and industry.

5. The development of core curricula was just starting. “No

programs had adopted a fully developed core curriculum . .. as
envisioned by Parnell.” '7

Despite the rudimentary nature of most tech-prep efforts, the authors note
that:

The few programs that have operated for at least five years
have advanced their scope and objectives beyond the
articulation of existing courses that merely provide
advanced placement credit...[and] have incorporated
completely new courses, course sequences in an entire
program area, and the development of academic and
vocational-technical core curricula .. , 18

Findings from the 1992 Omnibus Survey lend some support to the observation
that a few older programs are better established than most. We identified
tech-prep programs in the sample of regular districts that were at least five years
old and compared them with younger programs. There were only 49 of the older
programs in the sample (those started in or before 1987), and 935 newer
programs. (Unweighted numbers were used for this analysis.) In 1992, some 45
percent of the older tech-prep programs had formal enrollment procedures, as
compared with 34 percent of those started after 1987 (a nonsignificant difference).
Seventy-three percent of the older programs with formal enrollments reported
numbers of students participating, while only 36 percent of the newer programs
did. Further, the mean number of tech-prep students reported in the older
programs was 66, while the mean number in the newer programs was 44.

Our case studies show that the process of developing and implementing
tech-prep programs can be long and arduous — often time consuming and
fraught with scheduling and personnel problems, turf battles, competition for
resources, and a range of other difficulties. Some postsecondary institutions have
to develop articulation agreements, course by course, with several different
school districts each with different curricular offerings, schedules, organizational
characteristics, and staff personalities.

118 1 a4 Tech-Prep Programs


Volume IIT

Some 26-28 percent of districts (regular, vocational) that had tech-prep initiatives
before 1991-92 got Perkins tech-prep funds, compared to only 5-6 percent of the
districts that had no initiatives before 1991-92. Similarly, 47 percent of
postsecondary institutions that already had tech-prep initiatives got Title III
grants, as compared to 29 percent of those that had no previous tech-prep efforts.
From this perspective, more implementation of tech prep might be “causing”
Perkins Title III funding to occur, rather than the other way around.

There are probably straightforward reasons for this pattern of allocation. As we
have seen, most Title III grants are awarded on a competitive basis, and districts
that have already started tech-prep programs may be more likely to apply for
grants than those that have not. Because they are more familiar with tech prep,
administrators in these districts may also write better grant applications. In any
case, one effect of tech-prep grants seems to be to enable districts with existing
tech-prep initiatives to develop those efforts further and/or to develop new
tech-prep programs in other subject areas.

Because Perkins Title III money tends to go to districts that have some experience
with tech prep, new programs are being initiated more rapidly in districts that
did not receive tech-prep funds in 1991-92. Among regular districts, the
proportion of unfunded districts with tech-prep initiatives increased 110 percent
between 1990-91 and 1991-92; the proportion of districts with Title III funds
increased only 33 percent. Among vocational districts the differences were less .
pronounced but still substantial: The proportion of unfunded districts with tech
prep increased 34 percent, while the proportion of districts with Title IIT funds
increased only 12 percent. The creation of tech-prep initiatives in new districts
occurs largely without the benefit of Perkins tech-prep grants, although the more
general influence of the Perkins Act may have promoted this growth.

The fact that tech-prep grants are not the primary stimulus in the creation of new
programs does not detract from their value. It is probably more important at this

point to further develop and give structure to existing tech-prep programs than
to start new ones.

Is Tech Prep High-Tech?

The term “tech prep” connotes education in highly technical fields, such as
electronics and computer systems, and Parnell’s model emphasizes preparation
for technical work. Title III of the Perkins Act also calls for technical education
but defines eligible program areas broadly: Tech prep should provide “technical
preparation in at least one field of engineering technology, applied science,
mechanical, industrial, or practical art or trade, or agriculture, health or
business.”! In effect, all the major vocational program areas are included. What
subjects are most often found in tech-prep programs, and what subjects are least
often included? How does the distribution of tech-prep subjects compare to that
of vocational education in general?

Tech-Prep Programs i a

o
tv
B


Volume IIT

finding led Cappelli to conclude that after-the-fact rewards for youths who
complete credentials would have been more effective.

Other Costs of Participation

In addition to the direct costs of hiring and supervising youth, employers
sometimes encounter other less direct costs. Participation in work-based training
by some firms is hindered by safety and liability rules that restrict young people
under the age of 18 from the production floor or participation in certain tasks.
For these firms, allowing youth under age 18 to work at their facility may cause
insurance and workers’ compensation costs to rise.49

Another cost associated with the lower training wages of apprentices comes from
the reaction of older, more experienced workers. Legislated training wages run
the risk of antagonizing older workers who are already concerned about job
security. Many unions also oppose reduced training wages for fear that their
workers will be replaced by “cheaper” laborers and that new youth apprentice-
ships will undermine established apprentice programs run by the unions.

The Quality of Young Workers

Another obstacle to increased employer participation in work-based programs is
the negative view many employers hold regarding youth in general. In survey
after survey, employers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of
entry level workers.5° Osterman writes that “If apprentices are to be placed in an
adult labor market on a large scale, employers must overcome their dislike or
distrust of young employees.”5!

EQW conducted a series of focus groups with businesses in the same seven cities
where the survey of firms participating in work experience programs had been
conducted.5? The focus group businesses did not participate in such programs.
The focus groups all yielded the same conclusion: “Employers saw themselves as
necessary participants but not necessarily as beneficiaries of the proposed
expansion” of work experience programs. Many in the groups were almost
hostile to the notion of employing high school students. This is particularly
troublesome, as the communities chosen for the EQW study were perceived to
have strong leaders and successful business-school partnerships; therefore, they
were expected to look favorably on and be able to support expanding work
experience programs.

According to these employers, fewer and fewer firms are looking to high school
students as future permanent employees. In addition, high turnover rates among,
young workers greatly lower the chances that apprentices or trainees will
continue as future employees — reducing the incentive for firms to participate in
training. Furthermore, many participating firms report they do not foresee

148 Work-Based Learning

156


Volume IIL

ENDNOTES

1

Kazis, R. (1993), Improving the Transition From School to Work in the United States, American
Youth Policy Forum, Competitiveness Policy Council, and Jobs for the Future.

2 General Accounting Office (1990), Training Strategies: Preparing Noncollege Youth for
Employment in the U.S. and Foreign Countries.

3 Kazis (1993).

4 Ibid.

5 For example, Osterman, P. (1991), Is There a Problem With the Youth Labor Market and If So,
How Should We Fix It?, paper prepared for Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
project on Poverty and Public Policy.

6 Ibid.

7 General Accounting Office (1991), Transition From School to Work: Linking Education and
Worksite Training.

8 Ibid.

9 Stern, D., et al. (1992), Quality of work experience as perceived by two-year college
students in co-op and non-co-op jobs, Journal of Cooperative Education , 28.

10 General Accounting Office (1990).

M1 Kerka,S. (1989), Cooperative education: Characteristics and effectiveness, ERIC Digest, U.S.
Department of Education Office of Research; General Accounting Office (1991).

12 Stern, D., et al. (1990), Work experience for students in high school and college, Youth and
Society, 21 (3).

13 Stern, D. (1984), School-based enterprise and the quality of work experience: A study of
high school students, Youth and Society, 15 (4), pp. 401-427.

14 Stern et al. (1990).

15 bid.

16 Stevens, D. (1993), The Schoal-to-Work Transition of High School and Community College
Vocational and Non-Vocational Progrant Completers: 1990-1992, National Center on the
Educational Quality of the Workforce.

17 US. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (1988), Report on
Study of Existing and Potential Linkages Between Apprenticeship and Cooperative Education,
National Child Labor Committee.

18 General Accounting Office (1991).

152

Work-Based Learning

160



+ 204002.9328

ISBN 0-16-045242-2

ISBN 0-16-045242-2

| Wi
| il

9 "780160: naar



Volume IIT

. The one-year completion rate (reported by 14 programs) was very
high; with one exception all programs had a rate of 95 percent or
better.

. Programs are generally run out of the school with other supporters

playing advisory roles.

. The vast majority of programs do not have provisions for
comprehensive outcome evaluations.

Although hard data are lacking, Finkelstein and Latting observe that “it is
plausible to argue that youth apprenticeship programs have multiple benefits for
participating students. Students who may not have been likely high school
completers have competed and received their high school diploma. In addition,
there has been career-based training and acculturation to thé reyuirements of the
workplace. This combination is consistent with what we know to provide greater
likelihood of employment.”24 However, any conclusions about the effectiveness

of youth apprenticeship programs must be based on more systematic \
evaluations.

School-Based Enterprises

The third and final type of work experience program reviewed here is
school-based enterprises (SBE). In these programs, students produce goods or
services for sale or use to other people. Such enterprises include school
restaurants, construction projects, child care centers, auto repair shops, hair
salons, and retail stores.25 According to the Omnibus Survey, 23 percent of
secondary schools have adopted some form of school-based enterprise. Similarly,

a 1992 national survey of public secondary schools reports that 19 percent were
sponsoring at least one SBE.*6

These programs differ from co-ops and apprenticeships in that they do not place
students with employers. Rather, the goal of school-based enterprises is to allow
students to apply their classroom knowledge to running real-world businesses.
Unlike the other work experience programs reviewed above, school-based
enterprises are a viable option in communities where there are too few
employers to provide sufficient jobs and training opportunities in the private
sector.27

Evaluation Results. Many of the more popular school-based enterprises have
been described in the literature, but there has not been any rigorous evaluation of
the programs.28 However, the anecdotal evidence regarding the programs is
positive and does suggest that “learning academic and vocational skills through
running a small business has been an exciting process for hundreds of young
people.” 2? Stern et al. in a recent review of 16 SBEs finds a wealth of anecdotal
evidence, but no systematic evaluations, supporting economic gains from

142 i 5 0 Work-Based Learning


Volume Hl

ENDNOTES

1

6

10

11

12

16

17

Kantor, H. (1982), Vocationalism in American education: The economic and political
context, 1880-1930. In H., Kantor, & D., Tyack Work, Youth, and Schooling: Historical
Perspective on Vocationalism in American Schooling, p. 15, Stanford University Press. The
discussion of the development ot vocationalism is based primarily on this book.

Kantor & Tyack (1982), p. 35.
Ibid., pp. 33, 85.

The functions of the board were incorporated in the U.S. Office of Education in 1933, and
the board itself was abolished i:. 1946.

National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983), A Natiou at Risk, U.S. Department
of Education.

National Commission on Secondary Vocational Education (1984), The Unfinished Agenda:
The Role of Vocational Education in High School, National Center for Research in Vocational
Education.

See Appendix 4-A for a description of these reports.

Witt, J.G., et al. (1989), Summary of Findings and Recommendations, National A:
Vocational Education (Vol. 1), p. xiii, U.S. Department of Education.

smient of

Kantor (1982), pp. 14-31.

As the Introduction to Volume II shows, about one-third of American employers have
adopted significant elements of the high-performance workplace.

Resnik, L.B. (1987), The 1987 presidential address: Learning in school and out. Educational
Researcher, 16.

Adelman, N.E. (1989), The Case for Integrating Academic and Vocational Education, Policy
Study Associates.

Section 235 (c) (1) (B).

Stasz, C., et al. (1992), Integrating Academic and Vocational Education: A Review of the
Literature, p.8, The Rand Corporation.

Grubb, W.N., & Kraskouskas, E. (1992), A Time to Every Purpose: Integrating Academic and
Occupational Education in Community Colleges and Technical Institutes, National Center for
Research in Vocational Education.

Stasz et al. (1992), pp. 9-12.

Grubb, W.N., & Stasz, C. (1993), Integrating Academic and Vocational Education: Progress
Under the Cari Perkins Amendments of 1990, Nationai Center for Research in Vocational
Education,

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

101

111



Volume IIT

turnover, encouraging employers to shift training to younger workers.?! Thus
skills standards could improve overall business productivity by enabling
individuals to arrive at work with the background skills and training necessary
to make an immediate contribution to the firm.

However, countries that have worked to improve job matching between
employers and students have much more than skill standards and certification in
place. In many countries, systems include a “transitional” component for
students, such as apprenticeships in Germany where students spend time both in
the classroom and the workplace. Although there is no guarantee of
employment, the employer and student have an opportunity to decide whether
they are a good “match” for longer term employment. In Japan, employers view
schools as their supplier and cultivate close relations with school personnel.
Firms agree to recruit from specific schools (called “contract schools”) as long as
the candidates put forward by the school meet the firm’s requirements.?2
Without other links between the labor market and the formal education system,

it is not clear how much developing skill standards will help job matching and
decrease turnover.

In addition, many American companies anticipate high turnover in entry-level
positions for youth, and structure these jobs to facilitate rapid intake and
training. Although hiring and training new employees can be expensive, the cost
of engaging entry-level staff, who are often recruited locally and trained on the
job, may be significantly less than for more seasoned white-collar professionals.
While skill standards may increase labor productivity by reducing hiring costs
and increasing job matching, actual savings, though impossible to estimate,
would probably be less than the amounts reported in the literature.

Training to Level 2 and Level 3 skill standards could increase private sector
efficiency. Which skill level is emphasized would depend upon the intended
outcome of training. Level 3 standards would enable employers and youth to
make immediate job matches, because both parties would have a clearer
understanding of specific occupational skills and requirements. Perhaps for this
reason, many foreign countries have adopted training systems that emphasize
Level 3 standards.

However, the utility of these skills depends heavily upon finding a training-
related job. If the intention of skill standards were to increase long-term
employment prospects for individuals, then Level 2 standards would be more
appropriate, especially since the labor market is undergoing technological
change. Level 2 skills are intended to produce more flexible workers skilled in a
number of occupational areas. Although overall skill holdings are less advanced
in any one area, workers holding Level 2 certification might be better able to
transfer among occupations, and thus might be more easily retrained for
changing production strategies.

60 Industrial Skill Standards

71



Volume I

Second, although most state administrators saw Perkins requirements as an
important departure from the previous legislative environment, some tended to
regard them as federal encroachment on state and local responsibilities for public
education. Thus, they tended to adopt implementation approaches designed to
protect local districts from the burden of implementing measures and standards
— rather than developing procedures that would more actively involve the
districts in designing, modifying, implementing, and using measures and
.standards.

Third, state and local education agencies are quite unaccustorned to using data to
manage program improvement. Traditionally, they simply collected and
reported data to another agency of the state or federal government. As a result,
inadequate attention was paid to training state and especially local

administrators in techniques of using measures and standards for local program
improvement.

Finally, states lack resources to provide technical assistance in implementing
measures and standards. While the federal government recognized in the
legislation that states needed technical assistance to develop accountability plans,
it completely overlooked the need for providing such assistance to local districts.

CONCLUSION

In general, states are doing a good job developing performance standards and
measures. All states are using more than the two standards/ measures required
by the Perkins Act, and most are applying them to all vocational programs,
rather than just to federally funded programs. Most have developed or adopted
measures of academic skills, retention or completion, and occupational
competencies.

The states devoted considerable time and energy to developing their
accountability systems in the two years after passage of the Perkins Act (fall
1990-fall 1992). While the states were working on performance standards,
localities were devoting more attention to integration and tech prep. By spring
1993, implementation of the new accountability systems at the local level was
beginning. Many localities had collected data on student outcomes before the
Perkins Act, and these coligction efforts provided a foundation on which the
Perkins accountability systems could be built.

Between 1992 and 1993 there was @ marked increase in the proportion of districts
and postsecondary institiitiens reporting the use of various performance
measures. The most widely used were graduation or retention rates. Relatively
few districts routinely assess advanced academic skills with standardized tests,
although somewhat more assess basic academic skills. Occupational skills are not
often systematically assessed, in part because few valid, reliable tests of these

do 5 ” Performance Measures and Standards



a)

Volume IIT

Partnerships are to be made with businesses and employers to incorporate
worksite learning with classroom instruction. Degree of implementation is
unknown.

Wisconsin

1)

3)

4)

5)

The academic basics will be standardized for all students, regardless of
their future plans, and be “...benchmarked to the highest in the world”
(Wisconsin Governor's Office, 1991). This will be reflected in Wisconsiit's
Educational Goals, and Wisconsin's Learner Outcomes, which identify what
all students are expected to learn. These include SCANS-style general
skills and citizenship skills. Not yet implemented.

A career major structure, as in Oregon and Washington, is proposed, but
not yet adopted as policy.

The use of a certificate of initial mastery is advocated. Whether it is policy
or not is unclear. At the postsecondary level, completers of a 2+2 program
are to receive a state-based certificate that lists their academic and

occupational abilities. Overall program standards are currently being
developed.

State policy includes the creation of the “10th Grade Gateway
Assessment.” Students will have their skills and competencies assessed at
the end of the 10th grade, using performance assessments and portfolios.
Upon successful completion, students will be able to move on to more
specialized study. Additionally, regular assessments, at the 4th, 8th, and
10th grades, will be used to monitor learning progress (not yet
implemented).

A formalized structure is to be created that will allow high school students
in the 10th and 11th grades to enroll in technical college courses and
receive credit from both the high school and the technical college (not vet
implemented).

Workplace exposure in the high school and postsecondary vears is state
pelicy; however, the current level of implementation is unclear.

The Effects of Educational Refornt ont Vocational Education AA7

1%8



Volume IIT

Studies of California academy students and matched comparison students in the
same high schools have generally found lower dropout rates among the academy
students.‘ One study of nine California Peninsula academies also found that
academy students had better attendance, took more course credits, had higher
grade-point averages, and failed fewer courses than students in the matched
samples. However, in a pattern similar to New York’s, the effects were strongest
in the students’ first year, they declined in the second, and they disappeared in
the third. Nevertheless, some first-year gains, such as reduced course failures,
were not lost. Followup studies of graduates of two Peninsula academies and
comparison students 27 months later found no significant differences in labor
market outcomes such as employment status, wages, or hours worked.

Reduced dropout rates are a cumulative effect of the academies. They are one of
the benefits that are not lost even though academy “effects” fade from year one
to year three. This means that although seniors in academies are no less likely to
drop out than seniors in control settings, the cohort of academy seniors includes
students who probably would have dropped out earlier if they had attended
other schools. Stern et al. have estimated the additional lifetime earnings likely to
result from the reduced dropout rates.47 They conclude that the increased
earnings from keeping students in school are greater than the additional cost of

converting regular school programs to academies, and hence constitute a net
social benefit.

INSTRUCTION IN “ALL ASPECTS OF THE INDUSTRY”

Instruction in “all aspects of [an] industry” is a form of integration that,
potentially, combines skill training with a variety of academic approaches to
understanding industry (e.g., its context, history, organization, processes). The
Perkins Act authorizes the use of Title II funds for “programs which train adults
and students for all aspects of the occupation, in which job openings are
projected or available.” Elsewhere, the Act strongly encourages the development
of programs that educate students in all aspects of an industry.

Arguments for This Type of Instruction

Supporters of this form of education argue that it will provide a number of
benefits. First, it might promote entrepreneurship by giving students the skills
they need to start their own businesses. For example, if they had an overview of
their chosen industry, some basic accounting, and the essentials of investment,
personnel management, and related skills, vocational completers in auto
mechanics, cosmetology, or landscape design would have the fundamentals
necessary to start small businesses.

Second, education in all aspects of an industry might broaden the scope and
increase the level of a student's skills and abilities, facilitating career
development and upward mobility within organizations. Specifically, it could

% Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

106



Volume III

State Workforce Preparation Reforms

Although the restructuring reforms in vocational education were stimulated by
the earlier academic reforms, they have developed their own momentum,
prompting new policy initiatives intended to overhaul secondary education ina
number of states. Premo and Levesque have reviewed 20 states’ efforts to
improve students’ workforce preparation.!9 Many of these reform initiatives are
currently just recommendations, but in a number of states they have become
official policy. Together they comprise a reform agenda that has much in
common with the report of the Center on Education and the Economy, America’s
Choice: High Skills or Low Wages.20 The list of reforms includes:

Eliminating the general track.

Building a common foundation: a rigorous core curriculum for all
students through grade 10.

Arranging for selection of a specialized program (e.g., college
prep/academic or tech-prep/ vocational) by prospective 11th- and
12th-graders.

Providing career planning and guidance.

Assessing and certifying students, notably at the end of grades 10
and 12.

Integrating academic and vocational curricula.2!

Articulating secondary and postsecondary education through
programs such as tech prep.

Providing workplace linkages, including work experience programs.

Table 1.6, from the Premo and Levesque report, details the reform measures in
the 20 states. The letter “P” in a cell indicates that the feature in the column was
state policy as of April 1994; the letter “R” indicates that it was a
recommendation. The number in the cell keys it to a brief description of a specific
reform feature in a given state (see Appendix 1-B for descriptions). Eight states
have been particularly active in generating reform policies: California, Florida,
Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

The Oregon plan is perhaps the best known. It reflects many features of Amicrica’s
Choice and incorporates all the reform elements in Table 1.6. Oregon aims to
eliminate the general track and expose all students to a common curriculum
framework through grade 10. On completing the 10th grade, students will
specialize, choosing either a college prep or occupational program. On the

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education WW

30



Volume III

Table 1.4
Correlations Between Education Reforms and Vocational Enrollments in
Districts, 1987-88 Through 1991-92

Regular Vocational
Correlation | Significance | Correlation | Significance
Coefficient Level Coefficient Level
Increase in academic credits -02 61 -10 13
required for graduation
Increase in academic credits 09 02 14 04
needed to enter state
university
Increase in academic credits 05 20 1 10
needed for teacher
certification
Mandate of longer school day -.06 07 04 51
Mandate of longer school year 10 005 12 08
Relaxation of state 00 93 01 82
administrative rules for
local districts
Elimination of BA in Education 00 99 01 86
in state university system
Implementation of site-based 10 008 -01 83
management
Establishment of parental choice -.08 02 02 81
plan
Elimination of the general track -05 19 -.03 64
Requirement of proficiency or 06 09 06 33
other exam for graduation

Source: Omnibus District Survey, Version B and Vocational

On the whole, the analysis provides no substantial evidence that increased
academic requirements caused vocational enrollments to decline between 1987

and 1992.

Other Factors in the Decline of Vocational Education Enrollments 4

Given the conflict between informed opinion and these statistical data, the
Interim Repori observed that it was hard to reach any firm conclusions about the
vuffects of educational reform on vocational enrollments. '6 Since that time, some

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 26

&

15


ee

Volume III

Congress should continue to support the integration of academic and
vocational curricula. There seem to be measurable benefits to students from
contextualized learning. More important, the deep division between the
academic and vocational cultures at the secondary level is unhealthy, often
reflecting and reinforcing unequal status in public education. Federal policy
should work to eliminate the division and to substantially improve the quality
of education — both academic and vocational — for the majority of students
who do not attain baccalaureate degrees.

Federal integration policies would probably be more effective at the secondary
level if the burden of initiating and developing integrated programs did not
fall primarily on vocational administrators and teachers, as it does now. While
many are effective advocates of reform, their numbers are relatively small, and
too often they are regarded as outside the mainstream of public secondary
education. Any steps the Congress can take to encourage the active
involvement of non-vocational administrators and teachers, as well as
vocational educators, in the process of integration would be beneficial.

Congress and the federal government should also encourage states to
undertake or continue systemic reforms — including the integration of
academic and vocational curricula — designed to improve workforce
preparation of the majority of secondary students. At least 20 states are
currently considering or implementing reforms of this type, and we know that
the more state support for integration districts receive, the more active they are
likely to be in integrating their curricula. As recommended in Chapter 1,
Congress should seek to enlist the energies of state education agencies as a
whole in this process, rather than leaving state vocational educators to
shoulder most of the responsibility.

100 nf j 0 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula



Volume II

Appendix 1-B

Description of Reform Measures
Keyed to Table 1.61

Arkansas

1)

3)

4)

Program participants receive both academic and vocational credentials.

State is implementing a three-to-four year 2+2 style academic/ vocational
program, beginning at the end of the 10th grade (State Acts 546, 533, and
10, of 1991). Program includes a combination of workplace learning and
concurrent academic instruction. Implementation is currently in the
demonstration stage.

Program participants will engage in one or two years of postsecondary
classroom study following high school.

Formalized workplace exposure, in the form of apprenticeships, is a
component of the policy. No details are available.

California

i)

High school restructuring is recommended, including altering the way in
which academic basics are taught. Subjects would be taught in an
integrated manner over a number of semesters rather than splitting each
specific subject into separate courses.

Partnership academies currently exist in a number of high schools
statewide. In these academies, a subset of the student body receives the
high school curriculum in the context of a specific industry or field. The
California Career Pathways for Youth model (Senate resolution #20, July
1993) is to expand the Partnership Academies.

The legislation includes the creation of a postsecondary credential,

granted by community colleges, that certifies work-based competencies
(exact level of current implementation is unknown, but limited).

' From Premo & Levesque (1994).

A-6

The Effects of Educational Refornt ou Vocational Education

167



2)

3)

2

Volume II

Participating students explore different career and work options during
the 9th and 10th grades.

Upon completion of the 12th grade, students will still receive a high school
diploma. Upon completion of the program, at the end of the first
postsecondary year, students receive a certificate of skill mastery.

Students are assessed at the end of the 10th grade. After demonstrating
knowledge of the state’s common core of learning, students are granted a
certificate of initial mastery.

Beginning in the 11th grade, students split their time between worksite
experience and related classroom instruction.

The program includes an articulation structure between high schools and
the Technical Colleges. During the last year of the program, students
spend 14 weeks taking classes at a Technical College. The balance of the
year is spent at the workplace. The Southern Maine Technical College has
established a Center for Youth Apprenticeship. The Center is charged with
research and further policy development for the state.

Participating students spend 20 weeks at a workplace during the 11th
grade, and 36 weeks in both the 12th grade and first postsecondary year.

Maryland

1)

2)

3)

4)

Elimination of the general track in the high schools was first proposed by
the State Board of Education in 1991. It is unclear whether this has been
adopted as policy.

The Apprenticeship Incentive Program is being created as a result of
legislation that went into effect in October 1993. One aspect of this
program is the use of instructional programs, both in the classroom and
the worksite, that are competency-based. The use of competency-based
programs implies that assessments will be required to gauge participants’
competencies.

Articulation agreements between high schools and postsecondary
institutions will also be forged. This will allow participants to move
smoothly through a 2+2-style program.

Partnerships will be made between educational institutions and
employers to facilitate work-based learning and the school-to-work
transition.

ma
The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education 4° Os Ao



Volume HI

Oregon

))

2)

4

6)

All students are to be exposed to a common curriculum framework, up
through the end of the 10th grade. The goals of the framework are to
include SCANS-style competencies, along with more specific academic
objectives. This framework, along with the performance standards that
will accompany them, is currently being formulated at the state level.
Local districts are to have considerable authority concerning the specifics
of implementation.

At completion of the 10th grade, all students are to choose from a variety
of areas of specialization, around which they plan their coursetaking and
workplace experiences. Currently, the state has six pilot schools that have
been restructured. Each school currently offers one or more industry-
based focus areas. The number of focal areas offered by each school is to
be expanded over time. Additionally, students are to be free to transfer to
a school that offers a focal area of interest. Other schools are to apply for
state restructuring grants, to facilitate adoption of this format. Eventually,
all students in the state are to have access to all six areas of focus, be it at
their high school or another nearby high school.

Students will be choosing a focal area around which their last two years of
high school will be structured. During the common foundation period
exploration of different career fields will be emphasized. Details of how
this will be done, as well as the current level of implementation, are
unclear.

Upon successful completion of the common foundation period, students
will be awarded the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM). Upon successful
completion of the specialization period, the Certificate of Advanced
Mastery (CAM) will be awarded. At the postsecondary level, 2+2-stvle
programs exist in 18 secondary-postsecondary consortia statewide, using
Perkins funding. Completers of these programs are awarded a Tech Prep
Associate Degree.

Assessment before granting the CIM is to include performance-based
assessments and portfolios. Currently, seven elementary and high schools
in the state are working to create these assessments and performance
benchmarks. At the CAM level, “Performance standards and assessment
procedures will be developed in the next few years.” (Oregon State
Department of Education, 1993). Regular assessments to gauge progress
through grades K-10 are also being, developed (no implementation yet).

At pilot sites, students’ coursework is structured around the focal area
chosen. Academic classroom learning will be accompanied by hands-on

The Efferts of Educational Refarm on Vocational Education — L'*4 A-IS



Volume III

Technical Appendix (Volume V). The State Systems report collected state-level
data on accountability systems only, using interviews, workshop discussions,
and analysis of state agency documentation.

This chapter is divided into three parts. The first summarizes states’ progress in
developing and implementing a system of performance measures and standards
as required by the Perkins Act. The second explores the progress made at the
local level in implementing these systems. The third provides an overview of the
current status of performance measures and standards and identifies areas in
which these systems need further development.

STATES’ PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTATION

Status of State Accountability Systems

The emphasis in Perkins on planning, evaluation, and accountability is not
entirely new to federal policy on vocational education. Beginning with the
Vocational Education Act in 1963, states have been required to develop state
plans and conduct program evaluations. Nor is the 1990 legislation the first to
require that attention be paid to student outcomes in evaluating programs. For
many years, federal law has encouraged using labor market outcomes — such as
placement rates or employer satisfaction — in assessing vocational education
programs. The 1990 Perkins Act requires states to make more effective use of
labor market outcomes and also to use learning outcomes — measures of
academic and occupational competencies — in assessing program effectiveness.

Perkins performance systems had to include at least two measures of
performance by fall 1992.5 One was a measure of “learning and competency
gains, including student progress in the achievement of basic and more advanced
academic skills.” The second was to include one of the following: (a)
occupational competency attainment; (b) job or work skill attainment; (c)
retention in school; or (d) placement in further education, the military, or
employment. The Act also specified that these systems include appropriate
adjustments and incentives for encouraging the provision of services to students
with special needs. Programs that consistently perform below standard on the
state assessment system for three years are required to develop local program
improvement plans, in collaboration with the state.

All states have implemented more than the two measures and standards
required by the Perkins Act. In fact, many states have gone well beyond the
minimum requirements of Perkins by incorporating all five of the measures
outlined in the law — and in some cases, even more — into their accountability
systems (Figure 2.1). Each state has tried to create a comprehensive system of
accountability (see Appendix Tables A-2.1, A-2.2, and A-2.3). Almost all

28 3 9 Performance Measures and Standards



Volume II

CHAPTER 2 APPENDIX

Performance Measures and Standards A-19



Volume III

The greater tendency of large urban districts to report tech-prep initiatives does
not mean that most tech-prep efforts are located there. These districts constitute
less than 5 percent of all districts; so even if every one of them had tech prep, the
number of such initiatives would be dwarfed by tech-prep efforts elsewhere. In
fact, most tech-prep initiatives (and most districts) are in suburban areas.

At the postsecondary level, large institutions are more likely than small ones to
report having tech-prep initiatives (Table 5.4), but whether school size is related
to Title III tech-prep funding depends on the type of institution. Large
community colleges are no more likely than small ones to receive grants.
However, among postsecondary vocational schools, the larger institutions do
have a greater probability of receiving grants.

Table 5.4
Percent of Postsecondary Institutions Reporting Tech-Prep Initiatives and
Receiving Perkins Title III Tech-Prep Funding by Size of Institution

Community Vocational

Student Enrollments Colleges Institutions
Reporting initiatives

Smallest quartile 66 35

Second quartile 77 50

Third quartile 79 64

Largest quartile 82 64
Receiving Title III funding

Smallest quartile 39 6

Second quartile 42 22

Third quartile 44 38

Largest quartile 42 39

Source: Omnibus Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

Tech-Prep Programs 1 fay 0 1


Volume III

Table A-4.2
Percent of Community Colleges and Postsecondary
Vocational Institutes Taking Specific Steps to Integrate
Academic and Vocational Education, 1990-91 and 1961-92

Postsecondary
Community
College Institute

Steps Toward Integration 1991 1992 1991 1992

Support remedial/developmental 96 98 93 91
education

Establish general education competencies 73 84 78 85
for occupational/ technical students

Hold planning meetings to establish 59 78 61 73
policies or procedures for integration

Develop applied academics courses (e.g., 72 73 71 74
Technical Math, Business English)

Use cross-curriculum materials (e.g., 61 70 34 41
Writing Across the Curriculum)

Provide in-service training for vocational 31 46 37 46
faculty on integration

Provide “tandem” courses where students 40 43 43 45
take coordinated vocational and
academic courses

Provide in-service training for academic 24 37 27 35
faculty on integration

Provide interdisciplinary courses 31 35 26 30
combining occupational issues and
academic disciplines .

Use applied academics or other integrated 12 21 24 30
courses from commercial vendors

Source: Omnibus Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

A-42 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula



Volume III

ENDNOTES

National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983), A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for
Education Reform, U.S. Department of Education.

Parnell, D. (1985), The Neglected Majority, Community College Press.
3 fbid., pp. 143-44.
4 Sec. 347 (3).

A note on methodology: State secondary and postsecondary agencies were asked to identify
themselves as solely responsible for tech prep in their states, jointly responsibie, or not
responsible. The purpose was to produce one respondent to tech-prep questions for each
state. If a state agency identified itself as solely responsible for tech prep, and was the only
one doing so, its responses were used. If secondary and postsecondary agencies said they
were jointly responsible, preference was given to the latter, because postsecondary
institutions in the past have typically been the initiators of tech-prep programs. In some
instances both secondary and postsecondary agencies in a state claimed sole responsibility
for tech-prep programs. The reasons for these apparently conflicting claims are unclear, but
in these cases only the postsecondary responses were used for analysis. However, differences
between the two types of agencies were small, and either or both could have been used
without changing the results substantially. The data here reflect the responses of 48 regular
states (not territories) and the District of Columbia.

U.S. Department of Education (1994), National Assessment of Vocational Education, Interim
Report to Congress, pp. 343-345.

The mean dollar amounts are $958,821 for an average state and $73,755 for an average grant
toa consortium.

8 Medians are used to characterize a “typical” number of consortia.

The median percentages of tech-prep students who are female are as follows: regular districts
38%; vocationai districts 41%; postsecondary institutions 50%.

10 For secondary districts, tech prep was defined broadly as “a program that: involves an

articulation agreement with a community or technical college or two-year apprenticeship
program; and (2) provides at least two years of secondary and two years of postsecondary
courses or apprenticeship leading to an associate's degree or two-year certificate in a specific
career field.” Postsecondary institutions were given comparable definitions. Then
respondents were given a list of specific attributes of well-developed tech-prep programs and
asked whether their tech-prep initiatives had each of these attributes.
lL This analysis uses medians rather than means to characterize tech-prep programs. The mean
numbers of tech-prep students reported are much higher than the medians. The mean for
regular districts is 98; that for vocational districts is 129; that for consortia reported by
postsecondary institutions is 280 secondary students and 96 postsecondary students.
However, the means are affected by a small number of districts and postsecondary
institutions that report very large numbers of tech-prep students. The largest tech-prep
program in a regular district in the survey reported 1,257 students; the largest program ina

132 Tech-Prep Programs

141


Volume II

Table A-2.1 (continued)
Measures and Standards Implemented by States at the Secondary Level
as of Fal] 1992

Occu- Occu- Job or
Basic & ational ational Work
Advanced Compet- ‘ompet- | Skills
Academic | — ency ency | Attain- | Retention/ | Place-
Skills Gain Attainment | ment | Completion | ment | Other(s)
New Mexico v Vv Vv
New York Vv v v v
North Carolina * v v Vv Vv
North Dakota v Vv uv
Ohio v Vv v Vv v Vv
Oklahoma Vv Vv v Vv
Oregon v Vv vV Vv Vv
Pennsylvania v v v Vv
Rhode Island v v v Vv
South Carolina Vv Vv v v Vv
South Dakota v v Vv v v
Tennessee v v Vv v v
Texas v Vv * v v
Utah v * v * v
Verniont Vv v v v
Virginia Vv v v
Washington v Vv v v
West Virginia v Vv Vv v
Wisconsin v v v v
Wyoming v v v v v v
Washington, D.C. v v v
“Phasing in measures and standards after 1992-93.
Source: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)
A-22 Performance Measures and Standards

182


Volume I]

Skill Standards

The notion of “skill standard” takes on different meanings among different
constituencies across and within education, business, and labor. Standards are
typically defined as a function of their purpose. For example, a “curriculum
standard” in education looks very different, and is used very differently, than a
“product-quality standard” in industry. In this chapter, “skill standard” is used
to describe the knowledge and skills that an individual must acquire in order to
succeed in a particular workplace or job.

A taxonomy that incorporates three “graduated” levels of standards is proposed
to facilitate the debate on this issue® (see Figure 3.1). The taxonomy is structured
around the concept of “mastery,” in which individuals move from general to
more specific skills and knowledge. It encompasses increasing knowledge, skill,
and task complexity , in which each level embraces more specific skill
requirements. The “levels” within the taxonomy suggest a sequence of skill and
knowledge acquisition, although in fact a good deal of overlap and clustering
across levels may exist.

Level 1 standards describe the knowledge that should be mastered by all
students before graduating from high school. Students would be required to
achieve core academic skills as well as work-related skills, and demonstrate
mastery on a performance assessment. This approach could transform the high
school diploma from a very general indicator of capability to a valued, portable
credential. To achieve this objective, uniform standards should be developed at
the national level, along the lines of curriculum standards efforts currently
funded by the Department of Education in areas such as civics, math, science,
and English.

Level 2 standards are “industry skill standards” or alternatively “occupational
cluster standards.” One can imagine dividing the entire economy into broad
industry sectors such as health, manufacturing, and communications in ozder to
design general standards which may address a large number of occupations. For
example, a Level 2 cluster could encompass the health industry, where students
would acquire knowledge (such as principles of biology) that would cut across a
variety of jobs, including physician, nurse, and x-ray technician. Contextualized
education, including subject matter currently classified as academic, would
provide a basis for understanding the fundamentals of the heaith industry.
Occupation-specific skills might be taught, but their primary purposes would be
to teach underlying principles and enhance cognitive and technical skills that
have broad application across the industry. A student who selected a particular
area, such as patient care or medical records, would initially study broad
industry knowledge before moving toward more specialized Level 3 skills.

Where Level 2 emphasizes contextual knowledge and broadly applicable
cognitive and technical skills within an industry, Level 3 emphasizes more

52 6 3 Industrial Skill Standards



Volume III

students might not graduate in the period covered by the grant, it is not
especially disturbing that some states did not require job placement as a
condition of funding.

Of course, the states’ relatively strong showing on these requirements can be
many steps removed from the reality of functioning tech-prep programs. First,
many tech-prep applications are for grants to initiate new programs or to further
develop programs still in their infancy. Hence, requiring certain program
features as a condition of funding often means that the applications contain plans
to incorporate these features in the future, rather than evidence that they already
exist. Second, in cases where actual tech-prep programs are funded, there is no
assurance that state requirements are really being met. Third, the survey
respondents are presumably familiar with the requirements of the Perkins
legislation and would be averse to reporting noncompliance.

STATE ALLGCATION OF TECH-PREP FUNDS

Under the provisions of the Perkins Act, tech-prep grants to local consortia may
be awarded competitively or on the basis of a formula determined by the state
board. In fact, the great majority of states — 88 percent — make competitive
awards. In 1991-92 only 6 of the 49 states responding to the survey awarded
tech-prep funds through formulas. In the states where awards are competitive,
the competition for grants could be characterized as real, but not fierce:
Two-thirds of the applications received were funded in the first year.

In 1991-92 an average state had slightly less than $1 million of Perkins Title III
money to award for tech-prep grants, and it made 13 awards of about $75,000
each to tech-prep consortia.” Perkins money constituted the bulk of nonlocal

funding for tech-prep consortia: Only 7 of the 49 states provided separate state
funding.

A year later, according to the 1993 Followup Survey, the number of states
contributing money to tech-prep initiatives increased. Nineteen of 51 states
joined Perkins in funding local tech-prep programs. Typically, such joint funding
supported eight or nine consortia in a state.§ In addition, eight states reported
funding tech-prep consortia that received no Perkins Title III money. Two or
three consortia in a state were usually funded in this way. Clearly, state support
for tech prep is growing.

Community colleges are the institutions most likely to receive Title III tech-prep
funds. Nationwide, 42 percent of community colleges received funds in 1991-92,
as compared to 9 percent of regular school districts and 19 percent of vocational
districts. However, because of the greater number of school districts, more
districts than community colleges received tech-prep money — about 1,000
school districts and 500 community colleges did so in 1991-92.

108 Tech-Prep Programs



Volume IIT

CHAPTER 4

INTEGRATION OF
ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL CURRICULA

THE ROOTS OF ACADEMIC/VOCATIONAL INTEGRATION

The Public Policy Issue

Academic and vocational education have been on separate tracks since the
beginning of public vocational education in this country. Through the late 19th
century, public secondary education had traditionally been academic, designed
to prepare small numbers of students for college or clerical work. In 1890,

according to one estimate, only 3.5 percent of 17-year-olds graduated from high
school.!

By the early 20th century, a growing coalition of businesses, education reformers,
and others persuaded public school systems to link education more directly to
work. In some cities, the movement led to the creation of business and commerce
courses in regular high schools. But the movement's larger effect, in line with its
main purpose, was the creation of separate all-day trade schoo!s, continuation
schools for youth in the labor force, and vocational evening schools. By 1910, 29
states were providing some form of vocational education in agriculture, trade
and industry, home economics, and manual training?

Leaders of the vocational education movement, such as Charles Prosser,
executive director of the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial
Education, and David Snedden, Massachusetts’ education commissioner,
emphasized the need to prepare youth for entry-level jobs by providing specific
occupational skills in separate vocational schools.

In turn, critics of this brand of vocationalism, such as John Dewey, argued that
such specific skill training was unnecessarily narrow and that a dual school
system would create invidious distinctions among youth and undermine
democracy. Dewey believed that occupational studies should be part of a
broader and richer curriculum in secondary education. Thus, by the second
decade of the century, the debate over the curricular and physical separation of
vocational education from regular education had been framed.

The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 emphatically reflected the views of Prosser,
Snedden, and their allies. It helped fund separate vocational schools, particularly
the continuation schools. It supported agricultural education, trade and
industrial education, and home economics, but denied funding to occupational
courses, such as business and commerce, in comprehensive high schools. It called
for specific skill training and focused on entry-level jobs.

Integration of Acadentic and Vocational Curricula ; 71

81



Volume HI

occupational side, six industry-based majors are currently envisioned: Arts and
Communication; Business and Management; Health Services; Human Resources;
Industrial and Engineering Systems, and Natural Resources Systems. Student
performance will be assessed at the end of grades 10 and 12. A Certificate of
Initial Mastery will be awarded upon successful completion of grade 10 and the
grade 10 assessment; a Certificate of Advanced Mastery, upon successful
completion of the specialization period in grade 12 and the grade 12 assessment.

The new system will stress applied learning throughout high school. Beginning

in the specialization period, a Tech-Prep Associate Degree program (TPAD) will
tink high school and community college programs, and workplace training will

complement classroom instruction.

Oregon is currently piloting its program in six high schools, and information
from these trial runs wili no doubt lead to some modification of the plan before it
is implemented on a statewide basis.

Federal Workforce Preparation Reforms

The movement to improve the workforce preparation of the nation’s students is
also reflected in recent federal education reform initiatives other than the Perkins
Act. The recently enacted School-to-Work Opportunities Act provides grants to
states to plan and implement comprehensive workforce preparation programs.
These programs include school-based and work-based components, with links
between academic and vocational education (integration); between secondary
and postsecondary institutions (tech prep); and between school and work,
especially work experience programs such as youth apprenticeship.

To get the process started, the Departments of Education and Labor provided
funds for planning grants to all states in 1993, and implementation grants to

some five to eight states. Additional states will receive implementation grants in
the next several years.

The federal government is also underwriting the development of standards for
occupational education and training. Title IV of the 1994 Goals 2000: Educate
America Act establishes a National Skill Standard Board “to serve as a catalyst in
stimulating the development and adoption of a voluntary system of skill
standards and of assessment and certification of skill standards.”22

Prior to the passage of the Goals 2000 law, the Departments of Education and
Labor awarded grants for the development of standards in 21 industries,
including metalworking, electronics, automotive, retail trade, and human
services, to name but a few.?3 (There are 22 grants in all, two to electronics
associations. See Appendix 1-C.)

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 3 3 21



Volume II

state postsecondary agencies increased markedly between 1990 and 1993, and
were associated with levels of Perkins funding. It is reasonable to expect that
these increased state efforts will generate more activity at the local level, as they
have with performance standards.

Funded vs. Unfunded Institutions. The limited effects of Perkins on
postsecondary integration are also evident in differences between Title II funded
and unfunded institutions. As of 1992, integration efforts at the postsecondary
level were not as closely related to Perkins funding as they were in secondary
districts (see Appendix Table A-4.3). In every category of activity, secondary
districts receiving basic grants were more likely than nonrecipients to have taken
steps to integrate. The differences average 12 percentage points for regular
districts and 9 percentage points for vocational districts. However, funded
community colleges were more likely than unfunded colleges to have taken steps
to integrate in only eight of ten possible categories, with an average difference of
6 percentage points. Among postsecondary vocational institutions, unfunded
schools are often as likely as funded schools to report having taken steps to
integrate. Among the vocational institutions, Perkins funding seems to be doing
little, if anything, to promote integration.

Program Areas Integrated

Figure 4.2 shows the program areas that postsecondary institutions are
integrating.>> A comparison of this figure with Figure 5.2 in Chapter 5 makes it
clear that the different occupational programs are being integrated roughly in
proportion to their numbers. Postsecondary institutions were most likely to
integrate programs in business and office; health; computers; communications
and other technologies; and trade and industry. These are also the most
widespread postsecondary occupational programs. The institutions are least
likely to be integrating agriculture, occupational home economics, and protective
services, the programs least frequently encounte:ed at the postsecondary level.

THE POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATED EDUCATION

Although it is much too early to determine the effectiveness of integrated
academic and vocational curricula, it is possible to assess its potential. Over the
last decade, many educational researchers have become convinced that learning
in context is more effective than traditional ways of learning, such as through
lectures and textbooks. Applied learning is one form of contextual education, and
vocational /academic integration is one form of applied learning. Therefore an
assessment of the potential for integrated education should examine the theory of
contextual learning and the empirical evidence of its effectiveness.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

99 89


Volume III

PART I
EDUCATION REFORM AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

13


Volume III

The legislation set up the Federal Vocational Education Board (the first and only
federal school board) to oversee the administration of the Act.* It also supported,
or prompted the creation of, separate state boards and administrations devoted
to vocational education. As is true today, states had to generate and submit plans
for the use of federal vocational education funds.

The Smith-Hughes Act contributed substantially to the separation of academic
and vocational education, and its legislative successors continued in this
tradition into the 1980s. Although the newer laws were different from
Smith-Hughes in many ways, they continued to assume that vocational and
academic education would remain separate endeavors in administrative,
curricular, and often physical terms. The 1963 Vocational Education Act, for
example, redefined vocational education to include occupational programs, such
as business education, in comprehensive high schools. It also subsidized the
construction of the half-day area vocational schools that today provide most of
the vocational education that occurs in separate facilities.

In the mid-1980s, however, education reformers concerned about the status and
role of vocational education began to call for a reversal of the traditional pattern.
Vocational enrollments were declining, and many critics charged that vocational
education was, in effect, a separate and unequal form of public schooling. The
1983 report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at
Risk largely ignored vocational education. Many felt that the nature and quality
of vocational education were part of the problem of the nation’s declining
international competitiveness.

In 1984, a year after the Excellence Commission's report, the National
Commission on Secondary Vocational Education published The Unfinished
Agenda: The Role of Vocational Education in the High Schools.6 The report called for
integrating academic and vocational education and provided a major impetus for
reforming vocational education. Other reports in the middle and late 1980s
stressed the need for schools to place more emphasis on basic academics and on
training students to think well and clearly.”

The 1989 National Assessment of Vocational Education strongly recommended
integrating academic and vocational education. The Assessment found that men
with no education beyond high school use only about 33 percent of all their
occupationally specific courses in their jobs, and women use about 46 percent.
Much of the problem is due to the fact that participants in secondary vocational
education usually do not get jobs in the fields for which they were trained.

The Assessment noted that “these rates are low enough to call into question the
efficacy of highly specific forms of occupational training for many students at the
secondary level. It may be possible to restructure secondary vocational
education, however, so that it serves students with different work and

72 litegration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

82


Volume III

One available measure is the number of secondary teachers who had received
state-provided training in integration by 1992. Based on reports from secondary
agencies, a mean 764 vocational teachers per state had received state training in
integration by this time. Altogether, the mean number of vocational teachers per
state was 2,920.'8 Thus, about one out of four vocational teachers had received
training in integration from their states by 1992. On the academic side, a mean
527 academic teachers per state had gotten such training, out of a mean 14,280
teachers. Although this is a small proportion of all academic teachers (4%), the
number trained is about two-thirds the number of vocational teachers receiving
training.

These data reflect a fairly substantial effort by states to facilitate integration in
this way. Further, the fact that more states had provided training by 1993 than by
1992 means that the number and proportion of teachers having received state
training in integration is now somewhat larger than the above estimates suggest.

District Efforts to Integrate
Federal and State Support for District Integration Efforts

In Chapter 1 we saw that federal and state support for integration are important
factors in the nu nber of steps districts take to integrate their curricula. In the
preceding section of this chapter we saw that state secondary agencies have
initiated many activities to promote integration. How do district administrators
assess the support they receive from the Perkins Act and from their states? How
many districts are affected by federal and state initiatives promoting integration?
Data from the Omnibus Survey address these questions.

Approximately 84 percent of the local districts surveyed reported having taken at
least some steps to integrate academic and vocational curricula by 1991-92. Of
those, about one-third said the Perkins Act was largely instrumental in
motivating their efforts to integrate. Other national reform efforts, such as the
report of the (Labor) Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills
(SCANS); America’s Choice: High Skills or Low Wages; America 2000; and the
National Education Goals reports were cited less often as reasons for
integrating.!9

Although the perceived impact of the Perkins Act on integration efforts in all
districts was not dramatic, it was much more marked in districts funded with
Perkins money. Funded districts were more than three times as likely as others to
credit Perkins with motivating their integration efforts.

Consistent with this view, there are substantial differences in integration efforts
between districts that received Perkins Title II funds in 1991-92 and those that
did not. In every category of activity, funded districts, both regular and
vocational, were more likely than unfunded districts to report taking steps to
integrate their curricula. (See Appendix Table A-4.1,)

78 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

88



Volume III

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

Since the 1960s, federal vocational education laws have had two overriding goals
— to promote program improvement and to provide additional support for
special population students. This volume of the report focuses on program
improvement; Volume IV focuses on access to programs and services for special
populations.

In previous Acts, program improvement comprised a variety of activities (other
than those funded by special population set-asides) designed to strengthen
vocational education. Prominent among these activities was the purchase of
equipment, teacher training, and technical assistance.

The 1990 Perkins Act also emphasizes program improvement, but it does so
within the context of broad education reforms which the Act incorporates. The
Act requires states to develop and implement systems of performance standards
and measures. It requires local grant recipients to integrate their vocational and
academic curricula. It encourages and provides funds for tech-prep programs
that link occupational training in the last two years of high school with two years
of postsecondary education. And it permits basic grant funds to be used for
work-based education programs such as co-op and apprenticeships. Integration,
tech-prep, and work experience programs have become key elements in school-
to-work transition reforms, intended to prepare students for the workforce and
to enable them to move efficiently into good jobs. As such, they provide much of
the programmatic structure found in the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

The inclusion of the new requirements for performance standards and of school-
to-work reforms in the 1990 Perkins Act made it qualitatively different from
earlier vocational education legislation. Rather than focusing on incremental
improvements, it called for broad reforms. In effect, the major program
improvements promoted by the Act constitute education reform.

ISSUES ADDRESSED IN THIS VOLUME
Part I. Education Reform and P2rformance Standards

A. Reform and Vocational Education

A broad education reform movement began in the early to mid-1980s, prompted
by concerns about America’s competitiveness in the international economy and
the poor performance of American students on international tests. The
movement called for greatly improved acadeinics, to be achieved primarily
through increased education standards and accouniability (teacher and student

Introduction



Volume III

(C) builds student competence in mathematics, science, and

communications (including through applied academics) through a
sequential course of study; and

(D) leads to placement in employment.”4

In an effort to encourage the development of tech-prep programs, Title III, Part E
of the Perkins Act, called the “Tech-Prep Education Act,” authorizes funds

(1) to provide planning and demonstration grants to consortia of
local education agencies and postsecondary institutions, for the
development and operation of 4-year programs designed to
provide a tech-prep education program leading to a two-year
certificate; and

(2) to provide, in a systematic manner, strong, comprehensive links
between secondary schools and postsecondary institutions.

This chapter examines the development of tech-prep programs at the state, local
secondary, and postsecondary levels. The basic questions include the following:
How are states responding to the Perkins tech-prep provisions? How do states
allocate tech-prep funds? How are tech-prep programs being implemented at the
local level? What role does Perkins tech-prep funding play in implementation?
What vocational programs are most likely to be included in tech prep? Do special
populations have equal access to tech-prep programs?

STATE PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

The Omnibus Survey asked administrators of state agencies responsible for
tech-prep programs whether each of the elements in the Perkins definition of
tech prep was required in order to award a Title III tech-prep Grant to an
applicant.5 (Omnibus and Followup Surveys, the major sources of data for this
chapter, are discussed in the Technical Appendix in Volume V.)

As the Interim Report showed,® the great majority of states said they required
most of the Perkins tech-prep elements as a condition of Title III funding:

an articulation agreement;

a structured sequence of courses;

the goal of an associate degree or two-year certificate;

technical preparation in specified occupational fields;
demonstrated competence in math, science, and communications.

eevee

The only element required by Perkins but not by the great majority of states was
placement in employment. Thirty of 49 states responding to the surveys (61%)
made job placement a condition of Title III funding; the other 19 did not. Since
many of the Title III applications were for new tech-prep programs whose

Teel-Prep Programs 107

116


eu

Volume III

to districts are the most popular efforts to facilitate integration. Virtually all the
secondary state agencies (92-98%) had taken these steps by 1993.

As at the secondary level, the purchase of applied academics materials, teacher
training (vocational), and technical assistance were the facilitating measures most
frequently reported by postsecondary agencies in 1993, with about two-thirds
reporting that they had taken these steps.

Although efforts to promote integration are less evident in postsecondary state
agencies, integration efforts are increasing faster than at the secondary level. (See
Table 4.1 and Figures A-4.3 and A-4.4.) As of 1991, only about one-fourth of state
postsecondary agencies, or fewer, reported ever having taken specific steps to
help local institutions integrate (with two exceptions). By 1993, between
one-third and two-thirds of the agencies had done so, depending on the activity.
Still, the proportions of postsecondary agencies taking steps to promote
integration were lower than those of secondary agencies in 1993.

The provision of in-service training on integration for vocational teachers is a
striking éxample of the greater increase in activities at the postsecondary level.
By 1991, 61 percent of secondary agencies had provided training of this type; by
1993, almost all of them (96%) had done so. The relative increase in the
proportion of secondary agencies facilitating integration in this way was 57
percent. At the postsecondary level, only 22 percent of the agencies had provided
training on integration to occupational faculty by 1991. By 1993, 66 percent had
done so, a relative increase of 200 percent.

The patterns of change between 1991 and 1993 are more complex than this
example suggests. Postsecondary teacher training and technical assistance were
the most vigorous areas of expansion in this period. Readers interested in more
detail on this subject should see Figures A-4.1 through A-4.4 in the Appendix.

Grubb and Stasz find that Jevels of Perkins funding are associated with increased
integration activity among postsecondary state agencies but not among
secondary agencies.!7 It may be that secondary agencies were already familiar
with the concept of integration and had undertaken some activities to promote it
before passage of the Perkins Act, whereas some postsecondary agencies only
became actively involved in integration after Perkins brought it to their attention.
If so, postsecondary agencies may promote greater integration efforts in local |
postsecondary institutions in the future.

Although integration activities are widespread among state secondary agencies,
and becoming more so among state postsecondary agencies, the fact that many
agencies are making specific efforts to facilitate integration is not the same as
saying that states are devoting a lot of resources to these efforts. In a given area
of activity, most states are doing something, but how much are they doing?

76 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

86



Volume HI

CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 1 9 3 A235



Volume III

18 This estimate is derived by dividing the number of vocational teachers estimated by the
1991 Schools and Staffing Survey by 50.

19 See Appendix 4-C far a description of these reform initiatives.

20 McCormick, A.C. (1994), Recognition of Applied Academics Courses for Adinission to Public
Four-Year Colleges and Universities, draft report prepared for the National Assessment of
Vocational Education, MPR Associates.

alous. Department of Education (1994), National Assessment of Vocationai Education: Interim
Report to Congress, pp. 320.

22 Ibid.

23 Vocational concentrators are students who take three or more vocational courses in an
occupational area (such as agriculture, business, or health).

24 — Vocational specialists are students who take four or more vocational courses in an
occupational area, at least two of them at an advanced level.

25 Interim Report, p. 320.

26 Stasz et al., (1992) pp. 28 ff. Also see Milne, A., Martindale, M., & Michie, J. (1993),
Vocational Education in Communities, draft report prepared for the National Assessment of
Vocational Education, Westat.

27 See Milne et al. (1993), pp. 69 ff.

28 Stasz et al. (1992), p. 31.

29 Some 93% and 84% of secondary and postsecondary agencies, respectively, said that state
vocational officials support such efforts, while 46% and 49% said that state academic
officials do.

30 Milne et al. (1993), pp. 69 ff.

31 Stasz et al. (1992), p. 7.

32 Wirt et al. (1989), p. 82.

33 Grubb & Stasz (1993), p. 27.

34 Iiterim Report, p. 322.

35 These are program areas in which vocational administrators said that “all” or “most” of the
integration-related activities in their institutions were found. For a given respondent, more
than one program area could be selected.

Il2
102 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula


Volume III

Although the term “integration” and the issues associated with it are not widely
recognized at the postsecondary level, many postsecondary institutions do in fact
have components of integrated education. The Interim Report found that
postsecondary institutions were as likely as secondary districts to have taken at
least some steps to integrate their curricula. By 1991-92, 86 percent of the
postsecondary institutions and 84 percent of the districts said they had done so.3+

The report also found that prior to implementation of the Perkins Act,
postsecondary institutions already showed some areas of strength in curricular
integration. By 1990-91, almost three-fourths of the institutions had established
general educational competencies for occupational students, which are often
linked to occupational courses by prerequisites or corequisites jointly formulated
by academic and vocational faculty. Almost as many institutions (71%) had
developed applied academic courses such as technical math and business
English. A slight majority were using cross-curricular materials, such as Writing
Across the Curriculum, and a substantial minority provided either “tandem”
courses, where students take coordinated academic and vocational courses,
and/or interdisciplinary courses, combining occupational issues and academic
disciplines. While some of these aciivities are fairly traditional forms of
integration, they can nonetheless be beneficial.

The 1993 Followup Survey enables us to assess the progress postsecondary
institutions are making in these and other areas of integration. Table 4.3 shows
the proportion of postsecondary institutions reporting efforts to integrate their
curricula between 1990 and 1993, and also the proportions that had already taken
these steps by 1990-91 (also see Appendix Table A-4.2). A comparison of Tables
4.2 and 4.3 reveals different patterns of implementation at the secondary and the
postsecondary levels. At the secondary level, a great expansion of integration
activities occurred in the first years of Perkins implementation. At the
postsecondary level, except in faculty training, the percentages of institutions
reporting integration-related measures after the Perkins Act were somewhat
smaller than the proportions that already had taken such steps by 1990-91.
Between 1990 and 1993, slightly smaller percentages of postsecondary
institutions provided interdisciplinary or tandem courses, supported remedial/
developmental education, or established general educational competencies than
had done so by 1990-91.

These findings do not necessarily mean that some postsecondary institutions
stopped their integration-related activities. For example, general education
competency requirements that had been established by 1990-91 were no doubt
carried forward. In many cases institutions probably did not need to do
additional work on their requirements or to establish new ones; in such cases no

activity on competency requirements would be reported as occurring between
1990 and 1993.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 87

97


Volume HT

Table A-2.3

Number of States that Have Taken Various Steps in Developing an
Accountability System, 1993

Secondary

Postsecondary

In
Yes | No | Process

In
Yes | No | Process

Acquiring measures:

Selected from among existing
measures

Developed new measures
Assessed the quality of measures
chosen

Involved local program
administrators in choosing
measures

Setting standards:

Examined existing data to
determine performance level

Established performance
standards

Utilized business /industry
standards

Using results:

Assessed student performance
using standards

Evaluated vocational programs
using standards

Modified programs based on
evaluation of results

Assessed access of special
populations to high-quality
vocational programs

Assessed vocational education in
“all aspects of the industry”

40 9 2

44 4 3
24 12 15

49 1 1

40 8 3

46 1 4
22 23 6
18 7 26

20 3 28

11 14 26

16 9 26

39 10 1

44 4
24 13 13

47 2 1
32 10 8
39 3 8
15 23 12

17 7 26

18 3 29

14 16 20

14 12 24

Source: 1993 Followup Surveys of State Agencies

Performance Measures and Standards

A-25



Volume ITT

Table A-2.6
Summary of Assessment Instruments and Measurement Tools Used to
Measure Occupational Skills in Secondary Vocational Education

Alabama: Statewicle tests to be developed; currently
local tests approved by SDE
Alaska: Phase in during 1995
Arizona: Local agency identifies competencies and
instrument (may use state-validated competencies)
Arkansas: VTECS
California: State Career Technical Certification
Assessments to be developed
Colorado*: Local agency chooses instrument
(competencies - SCANS)
Connecticut**: Portfolio
Delaware: Phased in during 1995 (competencies
SCANS)
Florida: No plans to measure at th
Georgia*: Competency checklist (currently developing
nent instrument)
: Course compl
Idaho: Occupational competens
designed competency profile
Ilinois*: Developing assessment instruments to
measure applied academics, technical skills, and
workplace skills
Indiana* : Complete certificate /license; local agency
chooses inswament
Towa’: Local agency identifies or develops instrament
(performance tests or other assessment instruments)
Kansas* : KS occupational file or competency checklist;
“all ospects of the industry” tests to be developed
2.0 GPA in vocational-technical courses
Local agency choos rument
based upon DACUM and
a standards; General - Jobs for
America’s Graduates Competency Test JAG)
Maryland**: Written Skill Competency and
Performance Tests or Individualized Competency
Certificat bility Profiles.
Massachusetts: Phasing in during 1993-1994
Michigan: Program completion
Minnesota: No plans to measure at this time
: Passing a comprehensive examination
’ Nino ») on the Major competencies and
1 the total program; er documentation of
competency through the use of an individual
student competency profile
Missouri*: Occupational and employability skills for
ntry-level employment identified by district and
approved by Department (statewide listing to be
developed)
Montana: Loc. chooses instrument
Nebraska’ : Specific - deal agency chooses occupational
competency exany; General - focal agency chooses
instrument (competencies stich as Work Readiness
or Youth Works}
Nevada: Local agency chooses (observation, testing,
and hands-on demonstrations)

exam or instructor

New Hampshire: Local agency chooses instrument
{occupational skill profiles and/or competency
checklists)

New Jersey: Certification and licensure examinatii
nationally recognized examinations (NOCTI)

New Mexico: No plans to measure at this time

New York: Basic - occupational sequence vf three or
more units; Advanced - occupational sequence of five
‘or more ui

North Carolina: Core competencies on the statewide
blueprint with a test bank for pre- and post-testing,
for Level Land Level II courses

North Dakota: Local agency chooses instrument

Ohio: Vocational competency test offered by the
Vocational Instructional Materials Laboratory at
Ohio State University or an alternative standardized
test

Oklahoma: Occupational test developed by OK that
includes written and performance components

Oregon: Course completion

Pennsylvania: Program completion

Rhode Island: State-approved criterion-reterenced
competency exams or norm-referenced
standardized competency examinations (twelfth
grade}

South Carolina: Local agency chooses between
“traditional assessments” {pre-tests/post-tests,
classroom grades, SC Occupational Competency

) or “performance sments” (observations,
analyses, ete

¥ chooses instrument

Tennessee: nplemented in 1993-1994
(certification or pre-test and post-test)

Texas: Certification by licensing or certification agency
or validated test of occupational competency ar
completion of sequence of courses

Utah*: Locally developed tests and performance
assessments of Applied Technology Competencies
(implemented in 1944 /Utah-developed Critical
Workplace Skills)

Vermont: Specific - state-approved competencies and
task list; Genera! - Ten employability skills and
eleven workplace traits demonstrated on a scale of |
to 4 to be evaluated by instructor

Virginia: Instructor certification based on approved
competency lists or, if appropriate, occupational
licensure exam scores:

Washington’ : Local agency chooses instrument (state-
Jovel competencies)

West Vi ate-adlopted core contest nm specttic
eceupational areas

Wisconsin: No plans to measure at this time

Wyoming? : Local agency chooses instrament

“Measures specific occupational and general employability skills by method described.

**Meastires general employability skills only.

Soure

: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)

A-28

Performance Measures aud Standards

BEST COPY AVAILARLE 188



Volume IIE

The level of education associated with each standard level would vary across
industries and occupations. The certification of a highly qualified auto mechanic
would continue to be a two-year postsecondary degree. That of a medical doctor
would continue to be medical school, together with internship and related
requirements.

The funding and governance of skill standards development require careful
consideration. Level 1 standards reflect the public’s interest in having a well
educated citizenry and the student's interest in having the thinking skills
necessary to succeed in work and other aspects of life. Level 2 standards must
balance private sector (or employer) interests in specific skill training against the
public's interest in assuring that everyone achieves a strong educational
foundation. Funding for Level 2 standards, which would be developed via
business-education partnerships, should supplement skill training that the
marketplace would otherwise fail to provide. For example, while individual
automotive companies may have incentives to initiate a system of specific skill
standards, automakers as a whole may see little reason to invest ina
comprehensive standards system.

Level 3 skill standards are much more job or occupationally specific, and hinge
upon industry needs which may vary within and across states. Accordingly,
funding for the development of Level 3 standards might best be provided by
private sector entities which would devise specific standards to maximize labor
productivity. However, Level 1,2, and 3 standards should be developed within a
common framework, which can best be provided by the federal government.

Credentialing

In much of the legislation and the literature, it is assumed that skill standards
must lead to credentialing, although the term is used in a variety of ways. For
example, the recent national study conducted by the National Governors’
Association? found that states define the meaning of credentialing differently,
with some referencing individuals’ proficiency levels, some the level of
education, and still others the amount of specialization demanded within an
occupational area.

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act calls for “the development and adoption of
a voluntary national system of skill standards and certification.” (See Appendix
3-A.) Although “certification” is often used loosely to denote the process of
awarding formal recognition for the attainment of specific knowledge or skills
through a training program, it often has a more specific meaning when used by
state agencies regulating the occupations. Many states define certification as the
process by which a person is granted the right to use a title in a given occupation.
Licensing is defined as the right to practice a given occupation.

S4 Industrial Skill Standards

65



Volume III

Although the Education/Labor and Perkins initiatives employ similar language,
the content and scope of proposed standards differ across the two undertakings.
The Education/Labor grant recipients focus on identifying national industry skill
standards and credentials to assess students’ skills and knowledge, with the
intention of using these measures to improve the fit between training and
employment.2 In most of the 22 industry groups, standard development has
emphasized job-specific outcomes that require trainees to demonstrate the skills
they acquire (e.g., diagnosing a certain kind of problem in an automobile engine).
Some industries have taken a more expansive approach, defining standards in
terms of broad occupational clusters and general skill needs (e.g., electronics,
biotechnology, health). However, lack of a common national framework may
complicate future standard development. At present, there is no consensus on
the breadth, level, and specificity of the skills to be measured. Indeed, no
consistent terminology exists; basic concepts such as “standard,” “skill,”
“industry,” and “occupation” mean different things to different industry
groups.3

The Perkins performance standards are designed to assess secondary and
postsecondary vocational education programs, rather than students per se.
Although states may choose to evaluate occupational competency or work skill
attainment among students, performance standards are specifically intended to
promote state and local program improvement. Flexibility built into the
legislation has given state administrators considerable leeway in interpreting the
Act's requirements; although some interstate similarities have been noted in
standard development and measurement, currently no two accountability
systems are identical.* This variability is in keeping with the intent of the
measurement system — to permit assessments attuned to the structure and
organization of state and local education systems.

While industry skill standards and Perkins performance standards have different
assessment objectives, there is some overlap across the two federal initiatives.
Two of the five options for performance standards and measures in the Perkins
Act permit states to assess programs based on student occupational competency
and job or work skill attainment, and there is considerable evidence that this is
occurring at both the secondary and postsecondary level.5 However, since states
often lack access to appropriate and reliable occupational standards and
assessment instruments, most states have left the selection or development of
measurement instruments to localities.6

Historically, the development of industry skill standards at the national level has
occurred outside of federal vocational policy. This separation may be healthy,
since the scope and direction of industry-generated standards are as yet
ambiguous, and are likely to undergo further clarification. Unlike the 1990
Perkins objectives, which directly address specific aspects of program
improvement, the rationale for industry skill standards is as yet unclear. Industry
standards have the potential to serve a variety of purposes: They may be used to

50 6 1 Industrial Skill Standards


Volume III

Table 1.2
Factors Associated With Integration, Tech Prep, and Performance Standards
Number of Number of
Number of Steps to Develop Performance
Independent Steps to Integrate Tech Prep Measures Used
Variable
Co- Significance | Co- | Significance} Co- Significance
efficient Level efficient Level efficient Level
Perkins influence* 33 0016 51 0014 _ _
Other national Ad 0134 34 1345 - —
reforms*
State support* 77 0001 15 6032 1.21 0003
Academic reforms 55 .0535 71 -1095 4 1021
Restructuring 26 0406 45 3402 12 8244
reforms
District size 1S 0840 49 0001 62 .0001

*As perceived by respondents

NOTE: Coefficients estimate additional reform steps associated with each additional increment in
the independent variable, controlling for the other independent variables.

Source: Omnibus District Survey, Version B

State support for reforms is strongly and significantly related to local integration
and performance standards, but not tech prep. Districts that say they have very
good state support for integration have taken 1.5 more steps to integrate than
those saying they have little or no support. Districts reporting very good state
support for performance assessment are using 2.4 more performance measures
than those with little or no support. These districts may be implementing state-
developed performance measures.

Academic and restructuring reforms are related to integration at borderline
significance levels (p = .0535, p = .0406), but not to tech prep or performance
standards. District size is marginally related to integration but strongly related to
the development of tech prep and performance standards; larger districts tend to
be more active in implementing these reforms.

These findings suggest, but do not prove, that the Perkins Act affects local
integration and tech-prep efforts. Other national initiatives also appear to affect
local efforts to integrate. Independent of the Perkins Act and other national

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 22 1


Volume III

Figure 2.6
Percent of Postsecondary Institution Administrators Reporting That the
1990 Perkins Act Had Positive Effect or No Effect on
Each Vocational Program Effort, as of 1993

wo

ree
ne 15 32
80 sT ay
42
i:
bg
24 "]
4 T T T T
Developing Promoting Promoting Developing “All Aspects of
Tech-prep Participation Integration Performance the Industry"
Programs of Special Measures and Training
Populations. Standards
H Very Positive Effect oO Slightly Positive Effect Fe] No Effect

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 because respondents could also choose “slightly
negative” or “very negative” effect; these percentages are not shown.

Source: 1993 Followup Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

Around one-third of these administrators reported that Perkins had no effect on
developing performance measures and standards. Both district and
postsecondary administrators credit Perkins with having more of an effect on
integration and tech prep results, probably because programmatic changes in
these two areas were required of local agencies earlier than for performance
standards. Therefore, when these data were collected in 1993, most local agencies

had spent less time working on accountability systems than on integration and
tech prep.

Support for Local Implementation Efforts
Secondary school district administrators were also asked about change from 1990

to 1993 in state support for various vocational efforts. Almost three-quarters of
the respondents said there was at least some increase in state support for

Te:
Performance Measures and Standards v 2 41



Volume IIT

data for disabled, economically disadvantaged, and limited-English-proficient
students. However, changes such as this often involve modifying the data
collection procedures of dozens of local vocational education systems.!? Many
states that lack a database with student-level records will be phasing in more
centralized procedures over time.20 Although most state agencies have some
capacity for centralized data automation, very few have direct, on-line linkages
with local secondary education agencies and postsecondary institutions.

The primary purpose of these accountability systems is state and local program
improvement: helping state and local educators respond more effectively to the
needs of students and the marketplace.2! To this end, the systems must be
flexible and adapted to state and local circumstances. Consequently, these
systems currently are not well suited to provide uniform national data on
program performance. Because definitions and methods of collection differ, state
and local systems are unlikely to yield information that can be aggregated across
states to produce national estimates on how vocational education programs are
doing.

Efforts to require greater uniformity in these systems risk undermining their
primary purpose. However, where uniformity and comparability do not
seriously conflict with state or local objectives, these efforts should be
encouraged. Two examples of such positive change are standardizing the
definitions used by state secondary and postsecondary agencies (of program
completers and vocational program areas, for example), and developing
integrated information management systems. Integrated data systems allow
records to be transferred or compared between secondary and postsecondary
vocational institutions as well as between vocational and academic programs.

From State Plans to Local Implementation

Because of the time required for states to develop performance standards, local
implementation has just begun. The data presented in this chapter show that
local administrators have been more involved in implementing vocational-
academic integration and tech-prep programs than in implementing their
accountability systems. Some of the attention to integration and tech prep instead
of performance standards can be attributed to the gap in time between the
development of systems at the state level and implementation at the local level.
However, evidence provided in this chapter, as well as other research, suggests
that some difficulties have occurred in translating state-developed plans into
locally implemented systems.

First, little or no attention has been paid to how local education agencies should
use measures and standards to evaluate and improve local programs. The
Perkins Act and associated regulations devoted little consideration to the issue of
state-to-local implementation.

Performance Measures and Standards

6 45

a



Volume III

7. Occupational high schools and magnet schools align courses with
each other and to an occupational focus for all students and
programs in the entire school.

8. Occupational clusters, career paths, and occupational majors
feature a coherent sequence of courses and alignment among
courses within clusters. Teachers are often organized by clusters,
not traditional departments.

Grubb and Kraskc:1skas'§ have also identified eight models of integration at the
postsecondary level. These models, summarized by Stasz et al.,!° are listed in
Appendix 4-B.

IMPLEMENTING THE INTEGRATION OF ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION

This section uses 1992 Omnibus Survey and 1993 Followup Survey data to
examine efforts by states, districts, schools, and postsecondary institutions to
integrate their academic and vocational curricula, consistent with the provisions
of the Perkins Act. (These surveys are discussed in the Technical Appendix in
Volume V.) Prominent among the integration efforts examined are steps related
to the models of integration identified by Grubb and his colleagues. Because the
Perkins requirement for integration applies only to districts and postsecondary
institutions receiving basic grants, we look at grant recipients specifically, as well
as at districts and postsecondary institutions in general.

The survey data indicate fairly widespread efforts at all levels to integrate, and
more efforts in Perkins-funded districts and postsecondary institutions than in
those not receiving funds. However, other survey data and case study
information suggest that integration activities are new and small, that they tend

to be ad hoc, and that they typically depend on the efforts of a few individuals in
an organization.

Efforts by State Agencies

How active are state agencies in promoting the sort of integrated education
envisioned by the Perkins Amendments? Table 4.1 shows the proportions of state
secondary and state postsecondary agencies that had taken specific steps to help
local institutions integrate their curricula by 1991 and by 1993. Among state
secondary agencies, efforts to promote integration are widespread. Most of the
agencies were active before Perkins implementation (in 1991), and the
proportions taking specific steps to help districts integrate their curricula
increased between 1991 and 1993 for most activities. (See Figures A-4.1 and
A-4.2.) The purchase of applied academics materials from commercial vendors,
in-service training for vocational and academic teachers, and technical assistance

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 75



Volume IIL

Some of the empirical evidence suggests that co-op education does contribute to
clarification of career goals, self-confidence, awareness of interpersonal relations,
and increased motivation. '! Although general impressions of co-op education
are almost always positive, a review of evaluation literature by Stern et al. 12
suggests that while “research does find that co-op students are relatively satisfied
with school . .. there is not consistent evidence that they learn more, become
more productive, or find better jobs.”

However, Stern and his associates argue that methodological problems with the
evaluations may mask benefits of program participation. They conclude that
even though positive economic outcomes are not shown, there is some indication
that co-op students have higher quality jobs while in school than other high
school students have.'3 This group of researchers argues that co-op placements
provide students with positions of greater responsibility, better supervision,
mentoring, and more opportunities to learn complex skills than what students
receive when they get jrbs on their own.!4

Preliminary results from a longitudinal study (which does not correct the
methodological problems) conducted by the same authors support the
conclusion that the co-op jobs students hold while in school are of higher quality
than jobs they find on their own.'5 Using data from one western state, Stevens!6
also found that co-op students who remained with the same employer after
leaving school experienced higher earnings than non-co-op students who also
remained with the same employers.

One reason offered for the lack of broadly positive economic returns to co-op
education is the absence of any specific procedures for certifying skills learned in
co-op. Instead of formal credentials, co-op programs rely on a variety of
non-standard “soft” vocational credentials such as letters of recommendation
from faculty.!7 Along the same lines, the GAO reported that participation by
students (even in high-quality co-op programs) is not recognized widely as
evidence of skill mastery. '8 Some of the high school coordinators contacted for
the research indicated that student certification of industry-wide skill standards
is one way to improve co-op’s success. However, this conclusion remains
speculative and would clearly depend on the kind and quality of skills students
acquire in co-op programs.

Youth Apprenticeships

The newest and most ambitious of the formal work-based education models are
the new youth apprenticeships. These apprenticeships are designed to provide a
structured learning experience for high school students who are “too young and
numerous to qualify for the small number of registered apprentice programs that
exist in the U.S."!¥ This new concept of youth apprenticeship includes
preparation for postsecondary education as well as employment. Youth
apprenticeships, typically designed for high school students who may go on to

Work-Rased Learning 139

147


Volume III

districts that could provide estimates, the rates of transition to postsecondary
institutions are fairly respectable — a median 47 percent. Moreover, it appears
that specific plans made in 1992 for the following year were often carried out.

Programs will have a better chance of achieving breadth and coherence if
systemic tech-prep reform is supported by state policy. The fact that more states
contributed funds for tech prep in 1993 than 1992 is encouraging, and suggests
some momentum at the state level. New York and South Carolina are calling for
tech-prep programs that resemble the Perkins model. Other states, such as
Indiana and Maryland, also have official tech-prep policies.

Tech-prep programs should have the opportunity to grow and develop further.
The new Perkins Act should continue to support tech prep and should seek to
gain the active cooperation of the states in bringing greater coherence and
clearer definition to tech-prep programs. At the same time, the government
should monitor and evaluate these programs, using longitudinal studies of
student participation, retention, and educational and employment outcomes.
We need to know how many students participate in tech prep, how many move
from secondary to postsecondary institutions, and how many attain
postsecondary certification.

The next Perkins Act should require states to verify that recipients of tech-prep
grants are developing compzehensive, structured tech-prep programs, as
outlined below. A few articulated vocational courses or applied academic
courses do not constitute a tech-prep program, although they may be the first
steps in developing one. The new Act should stress that tech-prep programs
must be based on articulation at the level of occupational or industry majors,
with the full complement of appropriate academics. The new Act should also
require that tech-prep grant recipients formally enroll tech-prep students and
track their progress through the program.

Further, given the positive labor market returns to postsecondary education, the
next Perkins Act should continue to emphasize that federally funded tech-prep
programs must be designed as secondary/postsecondary programs that have
associate-level degrees or certificates as their goal. It should also encourage
recipients to seek sut ways to maximize the rate of transition between
secondary and postsecondary institutions.

Finally, the new Perkins Act should place greater emphasis on developing
tech-prep programs in sites with high concentrations of special population
students and preparing special needs students for tech-prep programs,
regardless of location.

Tech-Prep Programs af d 0 131



Volume III

Academic Reforms

There is substantial consensus among the respondents on these questions.
Several first-wave reforms are widespread. These reforms are typically the result
of decisions taken at the state level and implemented in the localities. The
reforms made by the greatest number of states and districts reflect the first-wave
emphasis on higher standards and greater effort, particularly in improving
academics.

By 1991-92, the great majority of state and local agencies (79-88%) had enacted
policies increasing the proportion of academic credits required for high school
graduation, and two-thirds reported increases in the proportion of academic
credits required to enter state university systems. About half of the respondents
(48-57%) reported mandatory increases in the academic college credits needed
for teacher certification. Relatively small proportions reported mandates for a
longer school day (8-13%) or a longer school year (10-19%), but those
proportions would increase substantially if plans to institute the changes in
1992-93 were carried out.

The least widespread reform, by all accounts, is the elimination of the bachelor’s
degree in education in the state university system. The criticism of education
departments in colleges and universities by reformers in the 1980s and the
attendant call for the elimination of BA degrees in education seem not to have
taken hold.

Restructuring Reforms

A significant number of respondents also reported (non-vocational) second-wave
“restructuring” reforms that had taken place by 1991-92, and many more
reported plans to implement them in the future.

One such reform is site-based management, which involves a downward shift in
decision-making and responsibility from states to districts and from districts to
schools. By 1991-92 one-third of the state respondents said their states had
relaxed administrative rules for local school districts, giving them greater
autonomy and flexibility; another third planned to do so in the following year.

The districts are not as likely as the states to report these changes: Only 13-14
percent said that state administrative rules had been relaxed. Local districts may
be less aware than the states are of rule changes that could increase local
decision-inaking power. Alternatively, they may have different perceptions of
state actions — a rule change that may seem like a major “relaxation” to a state
may seem more like a minor change to localities. Another possibility is that in
this instance, one-third of the states encompass about 13 percent of the school
districts.

6 The Effects of Equagtion Reform on Vocational Education


12

13

14

15

16

7

18

19

20

21

22

Volume III

vocational district, 789 students. Four postsecondary institutions each reported tech-prep
enrollments of 20,000. The latter probably reflects double counting resulting from four
postsecondary institutions in a system reporting on a tech-prep program they share in
common. Even then, case study and other on-site investigations suggest that an estimate of
5,000 students in a tech-prep consortium may be high.

Alsalam, N., et al. (1993), The Condition of Education, 1993, p. 58, National Center for Education
Statistics.

Ibid., p. 24.

For example, see Hull, D. (1993), Every Student Wins: Delivering Education That Works, pp. 17—
18, Center for Occupational Research and Development. Hull considers it likely that half of
tech-prep graduates will go to work immediately after high school. Such students can
continue their studies toward an associate degree later on, in this conception of tech prep.

Based on a National Assessment of Vocational Education focus group on tech prep, held at
the meeting of the National Association of State Directors of Vocational and Technical
Education, Kansas City, September 15, 1992.

The information in this discussion comes from Hayward, G.C., et al. (1993), A Literature
Review for Tech Prep, National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

Hayward et al. (1993), pp. 43—44.

Ibid, p. 15.

Sec. 347 (3) (B).

Sec. 240 (1) (B) (4); Sec. 344 (b) (6).

Milne, A., Martindale, M., & Michie, J. (1993), Vocational Education in Communities, Westat.

Hayward et al. (1993), p. 44.

Tech-Prrp Programs



Volume IIT

CHAPTER 3

INDUSTRIAL SKILL STANDARDS

INTRODUCTION

Skill standards reform has become an important component of federal policy.
The recently approved Goals 2000: Educate America Act establishes a National
Skill Standards Board to encourage the creation of a comprehensive system of
voluntary industry skill standards and certification. The system would “serve as
the cornerstone of the national strategy to enhance workforce skills,” affecting
the form and content of work-related education by setting the standards that
students must meet.

Ongoing efforts to strengthen linkages between industry and education by the
Departments of Education and Labor provide further evidence of a strong federal
commitment: Grants to 22 private sector business-labor-education technical
committees have been used to promote the development of national skill
standards and certification for competencies in a number of industries, including
electronics, computer-aided drafting, welding, tourism, and retail trade.! Related
projects to redesign occupational titles and occupational classification systems
are being undertaken by the Advisory Panel for the Dictionary of Occupational
Titles and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The federal government is also supporting the validation of work skills and their
measurement. Under contract to the Departments of Education and Labor, the
American College Testing Program (ACT) is identifying work behaviors common
to many occupations and linked to employee success in high-performance
organizations. Begun as an effort to validate the SCANS skills, the National Job
Analysis Study aims to build a comprehensive taxonomy of behaviors necessary
for worker success. The behaviors will be used to plan the development of
content-valid skill assessment instruments.

Similarly, the 1990 Perkins Act requires states to design a system of performance
measures and standards. As described in the preceding chapter, states were to
develop and implement state-wide accountability systems by September 1992.
They were to use these systems to assess programs with respect to gains in basic
and advanced academic skills, and in one or more of the following vocational
areas: occupational competency attainment, job or work skill attainment, school
completion, or placement in a job or further education. While it is too early to
assess the effects of the 1990 Perkins Act performance standards on educational
outcomes, Chapter 2 showed that all states have incorporated more than the
required two standards.

Industrial Skill Standards 49

60



Volume III

PREFACE

This is the third of five volumes in the Final Report of the National Assessment of
Vocational Education, mandated by Congress in the 1990 Perkins Act and
prepared in the Office of Research, Office of Educational Research and
Improvement (OERI). The Final Report substantially expands and updates the
Assessment's Interim Report, presented to Congress in January, 1994.

This volume contains six chapters. Each has a principal author (or authors), but
may also incorporate the work and views of other researchers. The chapters and
their principal authors are as follows:

Part I. Education Reform and Performance Standards

Chapter 1. The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education —
David Boesel

Chapter 2. Performance Standards and Measures — Mikala Rahn and
Martha Alt (MPR Associates)

Chapter 3. Industry Skill Standards — Mikala Rahn, Steven Klein, and
David Emanuel (MPR Associates)

Part II. The School-to-Work Transition

Chapter 4. Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula —
David Boesel

Chapter 5. Tech-Prep Programs — David Boesel

Chapter 6. Work-Based Learning — Sharon Deich (Pelavin Associates)
Chapter 3 is new. The other chapters, earlier versions of which were included in
the Interim Report, also contain new material, including survey data collected in

1993. :

While conducted within OERI, this assessment is an independent study and does
not necessarily reflect the views of OERI or the U.S. Depaztment of Education.

David Boesel
Director, National Assessment
of Vocational Education



Volume III

Appendix 1-C

The National Skill Standards Project

Grants awarded to develop skill standards in:

Agriscience /Biotechnology

Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, & Power
Automotive, Autobody, & Truck Technicians
Biotechnical Sciences

Chemical Process Industries

Computer Aided Drafting

Electronics (2 projects)

Electrical Construction

Food Marketing Industry (supermarket)
Forest/Wood Products

Hazardous Materials Management Technicians
Health Science and Technology

Heavy Highway/Utility Construction
Human Services Occupations

Industrial Launderers

Metalworking

Photonics Technicians

Printing

Retail Trade

Tourism, Travel, and Hospitality
Welding Occupations

/
179

AAS The Effects of Educational Reform on Vecational Education



Volume JI

Figure A-4.3
Percent of Postsecondary State Agencies Taking Steps to Integrate Curricula,
1991, 1993: Steps 1-6
80
70
60

ae

40

30,

20

10.

1991 1993

Help make available applied academic
or other integrated course materials
from commerical vendors

Provide in-service training for academic
teachers on integration

Provide technical assistance for
administrators on integration

Fund pilot projects that integrate
academic and vocational education

Provide recommended curriculam
frameworks or guidelines for academic!
jonal integral

Poertt

Sources: Omnibus and 1993 Followup Surveys of Postsecondary State Agencies

A-46 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

203



6)

Volume III

It is recommended that assessments be performance-based rather than
outcome-based. Standards in academic areas would be benchmarked, and,
where possible, vocational standards would be set based on the standards
of a relevant industry.

The academies provide one model of integrated education by providing a
career-oriented context for academic and vocational education.

Students participating in the Career Pathways of Youth program will,
after completing high school, continue on at a community college,
culminating with a postsecondary technical credential. Throughout this
process, participating students receive workplace experience. Not yet
implemented.

In the existing academies, workplace exposure by participating students is
a central aspect of the structure. Each academy is linked to one or more
employers.

Florida

y)

Asa part of the state’s “Blueprint 2000,” all students are to be held to the
same set of standards, regardless of their future plans. As in other states,
these standards include SCANS competencies. This policy was initiated by
the state Board of Education in 1992. Assessment procedures are yet to be
formalized.

Students are to be assessed to determine that they have competency in the
standards set by Blueprint 2000.

The state Board of Education is in the process of eliminating low-level
courses and replacing them with applied courses that integrate academic
learning in a workplace context.

Linkages between the high schools and the state’s postsecondary
institutions are being made to ensure that coursework taken at the high
school level satisfies entrance requirements at the postsecondary level. An
Articulation Coordination Committee exists to work out specific problems.
in this area.

The state’s program also includes increasing internship, apprenticeship,
and academy programs in participating schools (participation by schools
is voluntary).

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education

A-7

168


Volume III

However, securing initial job matches may te difficult, because
workers are less knowledgeable about particular skill needs.

Skill standards and certification may improve labor productivity by providing
incentives for students to seek skill acquisition. Assuming adoption of national
standards by some states and some reciprocity across states, both Level 2 and
Level 3 skill standards could enable students to better signal their knowledge
and skill holdings to prospective employers while increasing skill portability.

Furthermore, standards and their associated credentialing systems could increase
the overall efficiency of educational training and assessment, because externally
generated standards could tighten the relationship between training and work,
thus increasing the relevance of skills with which students graduate.

Relying on supply and demand to mediate skill standard development will not
address larger human capital and societal concerns. In the absence of public
action, skill standards systems will probably continue to originate in the private
sector and to be developed in an ad hoc manner. Thus, it would be appropriate to
have the public finance at least some portion of system development. Definition
of standards can be create « through a mutual business-education partnership
which would serve components of each system, that is, providing education as
well as training.

Although better information is needed on the economic and other effects of
industry skills standards, on balance we think that the federal government
should press ahead with their development.

Future Directions

Future standard-setting and credentialing initiatives should coordinate current
Level 3 job-specific standards and develop new Level 2 standards based on
industries or occupational clusters. The nation currently has a patchwork of
Level 3 standards for occupations ranging from auto mechanic to nursing
assistant to dog groomer. However, many occupations are missing from this
tableau. A first step toward developing a national standards system might be
to coordinate, integrate, and elaborate existing Level 3 standards.

Equally important is the development of Level 2 industry or occupational
cluster standards, which are currently lacking. The 1990 Perkins Act has
attempted to move vocational education from job-specific instruction to more
broadly based industry training incorporating academic and vocational
subjects. Congress can further this objective, through the next Perkins Act or
other legislative action, by supporting the development of Levei 2 standards.

At the same time, further assessment of credentialing systems is needed. The
fact that some states certify given occupations while others do not might
provide one avenue of comparative research.

66 Lal ” Industrial Skill Standards



Volume IIL

“d-] xIpueddy uy pourequoo oue suondyosap oy ‘owas Wo.UB ayy UL WEOJaI JyLDads v Jo UONdLDsop Joug vO} 1 sAoy [Joo ¥

(P66 1) Onbsoao7q 2 OWI :2IN0g
“pasn saoNos JUadAI Sow oY} Joy UOHBoTGNd Jo oyep ayy SurpnyaUuy q

JOQUNU OYE g

sadeys UoHepuatuUoral UT []]S = yf ‘AdTOd [PDWJO - J

(9) d (ad (ed (da (a Wd (C661) UISUO ISI
()d ()d (s)d ()d ()d (2d (Wd (F6/1) UoBuryse,
(S)d ®d ()d (Od Wa (g6/ 11) OWL,
(e)d Wd Ma (£6/9) SUxOL
(9) ¢ (s)d (ed ()d (2d (Wd (Zoo1) eassauue]
(e661) eUNOLeD UMos

(8) d (a (9) d (s)d (td ()d (Od Wa (£661 ed) YORaIEQ)
(bd ()d @d (Md (£661) eMEYLPIO
Wa Ma (£601) ONO
(s)u (0) d/a ()u (a (Ha a xa (a (26/6) HOA MON,
(2) d (Od Md (£661) Aaszof MaN
yd ()d (d (Wd (€6/Z1) VosauuT,
Gu WY ()u Ou Mu (16/s) uesiysy
(a ®d (@d Mu (¢661) purldreyy
(Od ()d (s)d (Hd ()d (d (Wd (£661) SUL
(Pd (e)d @d (Od (16/8) sou]
(hd (€)d Md (Dd (£661) PIRI0a5
(s)d (hd (e)d (@d Md (e661) ePHOLg,
(Od ()d (s)d (Hu (ed @d Ma (£6/2) PrIOpeD,
() d (ed (@d (Dd (£661) sesuryLY
safequr] | suoynyysuy | ‘pq Io, pur | juatussassy | uogvoyyiad | Suruuryg | uoNezyeeds | uoQepunog qaes

aoyd J rasysog yn | rtuepesy jo gaara | eBunpajag | uowwo5
-yom | uoNenoqsy | uonessayuy v Surpying
340 M-0}-[OOUS juauissassy yor] [esauay ayy Suneurunyy
pue uoTyPoyyIa}
quapnis

sao pur suoyjepuawutosay :

OT P19eL

$332}S OZ UI salnseay] W1OJay UO|LONpY

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education


Volume III

This would, in turn, provide greater accountability for program outcomes, which
would add an element of competition currently missing among most secondary
and postsecondary training programs. Programs offering low-quality instruction
would be forced to monitor instructional content more closely, and pay closer
attention to student needs, to avoid losing their “market share.”

Data on the performance and earnings of program completers would also permit
youth to identify high-growth industries and occupational areas prior to
enrolling. These statistics would enable students to identify occupations offering
the highest probability of economic return, as well as assure the market of an
adequate supply of new workers.32

In practice, it is not so simple. Implementing industry skill standards and
certification systems in and of themselves does not necessarily improve the
quality of training and education without serious attention to building
accountability systems. As discussed in the preceding chapter, states are
currently struggling with implementing such systems, which typically include
measuring occupational competency. Although the development of skill
standards and assessment mechanisms would assist in this process, other issues
also deserving attention include the procedures and costs of collecting and
aggregating assessment data, setting appropriate levels for accountability
standards, and ensuring equity within the accountability system.

Increased competition fostered among programs by standards could also have
some undesirable consequences. If training programs are held accountabie for
student outcomes, then program administrators may be motivated to accept only
the most promising students. This phenomenon, known as “creaming,” has been
strongly associated with the experiences of the Job Training Partnership Act of
1982 (JTPA).33 Because JTPA administrators were evaluated on post-training
employment and earnings of program participants, they would routinely
“cream” from the pool of eligible recipients, selecting only those applicants with
the highest potential for success. More creaming was observed in areas with high
unemployment and with state pressures to exceed standards rather than attain
them.*4 Accountability for public secondary schools would be less of a problem,
because most schools cannot select their students. Compositional differences
among schools, in terms of student background and ability levels, could be
adjusted for by focusing on gains in competencies, rather than levels at one point
in time. However, programs within schools might respond to accountability
requirements by selecting only the best students.

The type of standard used to monitor outcomes may also have consequences for
labor productivity. Level 2 standards, which encompass larger industrial areas
and occupations, may be difficult to administer and assess. In addition, since
Level 2 skill outcomes may have greater long-run returns, appraising training
quality may be complicated. For example, it would be difficult to quantify the
degree to which Level 2 skills reduce the likelihood of job termination or increase

ied
o4 60 Industrial Skill Standards



Volume Hl

participating in SBEs.>° These authors also conclude that the benefits of time
spent working on school-based enterprises compared with time spent in regular
classroom activity still needs to be determined.

Working Independently While in High School

Though the number of school-based programs that provide employment to
students is growing, the vast majority of those who work while in school find
employment on their own. Studies comparing the economic outcomes of
students who work during high school with those of non-workers find that the
high school workers have higher wages in the first years after leaving school than
do non-workers.3! Though all of these studies show positive effects for working
while in school, none has controlled for selection bias. It may be that students
who find employment in high school also have other “unobservable” traits that
would lead to favorable economic outcomes. This issue of selection bias leaves
the results open to question.

For those who do work, the number of hours they are employed is related to
economic gains. Stern reports that students who work only a moderate number
of hours per week perform better in school, earn more in jobs they obtain after
graduating, and are more likely to enroll in postsecondary institutions after
graduating, than those who do not work.*2 On the other hand, working more
than 15-20 hours per week while in school may interfere with educational
attainment and, in the long run, limit economic potential.

WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS FOR TWO-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Two-year colleges provide a variety of options in the delivery of job-related
instruction, The range of work experience programs and the variety of linkages
with employers and other non-university organizations is quite broad. This
section reviews two of the more common programs — cooperative education and
apprenticeships. School-based enterprises are primarily secondary programs.
There are some in postsecondary institutions, but they are rare and there is little
information on them.

Co-op Programs

Cooperative education programs at the community college level follow the same
form as high school programs. They award college credits as well as grades for
both worksite learning and related instruction.

As at the secondary level, postsecondary co-op programs are the most
widespread of the work experience programs. The Omnibus Survey found that
69 percent of public two-year postsecondary institutions have co-op programs
serving some 81,000 students, or about 2 percent of all students at these

Work-Based Learning 143

151



Volume IIT

American Skills Standards System

Credentialing systems in the United States are organized at different levels and
serve multiple purposes. At the federal and state level, government regulations
are often designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare. For example, the
Federal Aviation Administration has developed national standards to ensure that
all domestic pilots achieve a minimum level of competency. Similar regulations
cover access to other occupations, such as broadcasting, that span state
boundaries. State oversight of occupations extends to the provision of health
care, as well as other occupations such as cosmetology, insurance, and real estate.
There is, however, considerable regulatory variation among states. While nearly
all states license barbers, for example, only one, Illinois, licenses breath analyzer
operators. Moreover, occupational skill requirements often differ among states;
thus, cosmetologists in Alabama face requirements that are different from those
in Wyoming.

Professional associations establish standards to increase the credibility and
reputation of their profession, and to control the supply of practitioners to the
field.1! In some cases, associations are sufficiently large and powerful to
influence national standards. In both medicine and law, for example, al!
applicants for licensing must be graduates of schools approved by the American
Medical Association or the American Bar Association. More often, however, a
number of different organizations establish standards and certification
procedures. In nursing alone, more than 20 organizations offer certification in a
number of specific areas, including neuroscience, rehabilitation, and
nephrology. !? Professional education generally progresses from broad (Level 2)
to occupationally specific (Level 3) knowledge and professional skills, with
emphasis placed on skill mastery across a wide continuum of theory and
practice.

Industry-driven credentialing efforts are typically designed to provide career
ladders for employees, and to preempt the need for state regulation. Many
associations, such as the American Banking Association, have taken independent
action to develop their own certification systems. Many of these frameworks are
designed to promote occupational status and regulate quality among
practitioners.

Apprenticeships have traditionally been established to meet the needs of
employers hiring union members, rather than the needs of the industry as a
whole. Here the goal is certification of a minimal level of competency arnong
workers, and a controlled supply of workers entering the industry. Apprentices
are provided opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge in a clinical or
practicum setting and, as in the professions, mastery of Level 3 knowledge and
skills is generally emphasized.

Industrial Skill Standards 6 8 57



Volume HI

Table 1.3

Administrator Reports of Perceived Effects of Education Reforms on

Vocational Education Enrollments, Offerings, and Other Program

Characteristics (Percent)

State Regular District _| Vocational District
Increase | Decrease | Increase | Decrease | Increase | Decrease

Total district enrollment in 16 71 21 45 19 60
vocational education

Enrollments at area 7 46 26 31 _ _
vocational schools

Enrollment of disabled 56 2 33 6 58 2
students in vocational
education

Enrollments of educationally 63 2 38 9 66 4
disadvantaged students
in vocational education

Total number of vocational 19 66 29 33 20 40
course offerings

Variety of vocational course 31 44 35 28 22 30
offerings

State funds for vocational 29 27 18 43 19 55
education

Integration of vocational and 77 0 54 5 75 2
academic education

Articulation between 87 0 60 2 80 1
secondary and
postsecondary vocational
programs

Vocational education 45 15 26 14 18 16
opportunities at the
middle school level

Number of vocational 10 77 13 36 15 46
teachers

Quality of teaching in 62 12 43 7 5Y 11
vocational education

Source: Omnibus Secondary State Surv

y and District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education



Volume IIT

Outcome Areas to be Measured

In selecting performance measures, state education agencies were directed to
choose outcomes that met federal requirements and reflected their state goals for
vocational education. The National Center for Research in Vocational Education
has defined an outcome as “a measurable aspect of student performance.”6 A
measure indicates how an outcome is to be assessed quantitatively, whereas a
standard represents the criterion against which actual performance on the
measure is to be evaluated. An example of a measure is the percentage of
students in a program who achieve a certain level on the statewide competency
test. The standard provides the actual percentage and level expected — for
example, 80 percent cf the students in a program will perform at or above the
80th percentile on the statewide competency test. The following sections describe
how states measure particular learning and. labor market outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

The Perkins Act requires that states implement “measures of learning and
competency gains, including student progress in the achievement of basic and
more advanced academic skills.” In addition to requiring measures of academic
skills, the language also allows for measures of occupational competency. Since a
major purpose of vocational education is to prepare students for employment,
occupational competency measures are obviously desirable. Although valid
standardized tests for basic and advanced academic skills exist, states often lack
access to appropriate, reliable occupational competency tests. In general, little
validity or reliability testing has been done with occupational skill assessments.
Consequently, states have implemented few measures of occupational skills or
skill gain.

Many states are awaiting the development of national industry skill standards,
while others have started to develop their own statewide standards (e.g,, Illinois
and Texas). The U.S. Departments of Education and Labor have funded 22
projects to develop industry-specific skill standards and certification systems (see
Appendix 1-C); however, the final products of these efforts are a long way off. As
a result, many states are forced to rely on local instructors’ judgments of
students’ occupational gain or on program completion data until national or
statewide assessments become available.

In spite of this limitation, most states are assessing students’ academic and
occupational competencies. By 1993, at the secondary level, nearly all states
measured academic skills (47),” occupational competency attainment (43), and
retention in or completion of a vocational program or secondary school (42),
while 28 states measured general employability skills (Figure 2.3). The number of
states using these measures was similar at the postsecondary level; academic
skills are measured by 46 states, occupational competencies by 40 states,
retention or completion by 45 states, and general employability skills by 26 states.

Performance Measures and Standards 4 2 31



Volume III

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

Casner-Lotto, J. (1988), Successful Training Strategies, Jossey-Bass; Conklin, D. (1987),
Corporation-Community College Partnerships: High Technology Apprenticeship Training, paper
presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Community and Junior
Colleges, Dallas; Whitworth, L.L. (1982), New pathways to apprenticeship, VocEd, 57(1),
pp. 38-40.

Cantor, J.A. (1991), The auto industry’s new model: Car companies and community
colleges collaborate to provide high technology training, Vocational Education Journal, 66(7),
pp. 26-29; Casner-Lotto (1988); Skinner, N. (1990), Forming the Future With a Unique
Partnership, based on presentation at Work Now and in the Future conference.

Hershey, A., & Silverberg, M. (1993), Employer Involvement in School-to-Work Transition
Programs: What Can We Really Expect?, paper for the Association for Public Policy and
Management Conference, October.

Corson, W., & Silverberg M. (1993), The School-to-Work Transition/Youth Apprenticeship
Demonstration: Preliminary Findings, Mathematica Policy Research.

Lynn, L., & Wills, J. (1994), School-Work-Transition Lessons on Recruiting and Sustaining
Eniployer Involvement , Institute for Educational Leadership.

Bailey, T. (1993), Can youth apprenticeship thrive in the United States?, Educational
Researcher, April, pp. 4-10.

Lynn and Wills (1994), p. 28.

Pauly, E., Kopp, H., & Haimson, J. (1994), Honie-Grown Lessous: Innovative Programs Linking
Work and High School, Executive Summary, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation.

Bailey (1993).

Ball, J. & Wolfhagen, C. (1981), Participation of Private Businesses As Work Sponsors in the
Youth Entitlement Demonstration, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation.

Bailey (1993).

Cappelli, P. (1993), British Lessons for School-to-Work Transition Policy in the U.S., Working
paper, University of Pennsylvania, National Center on the Educational Quality of the
Workforce.

Hoachlander, E.G. (1994), Toward a Curriculum Framework for School-to-Work Transition:
Transforming Vocational Education, paper prepared for the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Lynn & Wills (1994),

Osterman, P., & Iannozzi, M. (1993), Youth Apprenticeship and Schaol-to-Wok Transition:
Current Knowledge aud Legislative Strategy, Working Paper, National Center on the
Educational Quality of the Workforce.

154

Work-Based Learning

162


Volume Il

link secondary and postsecondary instruction with marketplace needs, delineate
broad or specific job skills required for entry-level employment, or assist
employers in retraining and cross-training their existing workforce. While these
missions are not mutually exclusive, each approach requires differing
organizational and curricular frameworks.

This chapter describes some of the issues associated with developing a
comprehensive system of industry skill standards and certification in the United
States. It begins by describing a skill taxonomy that may be used to classify
different types of standards and credentials with different kinds of objectives.
The following section briefly discusses existing domestic and international skill
standard systems. The chapter then shifts to the potential benefits and drawbacks
of implementing a system of industry skill standards and certification. The
conclusion identifies issues that are crucial to the future skill standards debate.

NEW INITIATIVES TO CREATE STANDARDS SYSTEMS

In a survey of state administrators, the National Governors’ Association” found
strong support among states for the development of a comprehensive national
system of skill standards and certification. According to its report, a uniform skill
standards system would:

¢ Be designed for young people entering the workforce for the first time
and incumbent workers who need to upgrade their skills to remain
competitive.

¢ Promote flexibility and portability of skills across occupations,
industries, and geographic locations.

¢ Create communication tools among employers, workers,
education/training providers, and government that improve the
credibility of public services, facilitate information exchange, increase
accountability and integrity of public investment, and enhance the
efficiency of labor exchange.

¢ Increase employer investment in training and the development of
high-performance work organizations.

These multiple objectives raise a number of questions, however. Can standards
for the purpose of school-to-work transition also serve as standards for retraining
the existing workforce? Can they also be used for hiring people skilled for jobs
that currently exist as well as for high-performance work organizations of the
future? Moreover, what degree of occupational specificity is desirable in this
system? At present, there is little empirical evidence with which to answer these
questions. To focus the discussion, an appropriate starting point is to develop
working definitions of terms such as “skill standard” and “credentialing.”

Industrial Skill Standards 6 2 51



Volume IL

additional evidence suggests that factors other than academic reforms have been
involved in the decline of vocational enrollments, whatever the role of these
reforms.

First, as Figure 1.3 in Volume II shows, the decline in vocational enrollments
began between 1979 and 1982, while the recent wave of reform was sparked by
the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983. Further, it took several more years for
those academic reforms to affect school enrollments.

Second, the fact that vocational enrollments are declining most markedly in
business and “trade and industry” programs, but have expanded in technical
programs suggests that vocational enro!lments may be responding to labor
market trends. As Chapter 1 in Volume II notes, jobs for secretaries are declining,
those for operatives, such as machinists and assembly line workers, are growing
more slowly than the labor market as a whole, and those for technical workers
are growing more rapidly.

CAN REFORMS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION INCREASE ENROLLMENTS?

The Omnibus Survey data also enable us to address questions such as the
following: Are Perkins reforms at the district level related to changes in
enrollments? Is there any relation between other federal reform initiatives and
vocational enrollments? Does state support for Perkins reforms affect
enrollments? What effect, if any, do local program improvement efforts have?
What is the relation between problems in vocational education and enrollments?

The data include many variables that could help explain vocational enrollment
changes in local districts. Among other things, they include information on
district demographics, Perkins reforms, other local program improvements, and
perceived problems in vocational education. The Interim Report detailed these
variables and hypothesized their effects on vocational enrollments. Many of
these possible explanatory variables were eliminated in a preliminary screening
based on Pearson correlations. Variables that showed no association or only a
weak association with enrollment changes were excluded from further analysis.
Only variables showing a moderate or strong, and highly significant, association
(r >.18, p <.0001) with enrollment changes were retained. These remaining
explanatory variables were included in a regression analysis.

Multivariate Analysis of Factors Related to Vocational Enrollments
The results of the analysis are shown in Table 1.5. As expected, change in student
enrollments is the most important predictor of change in vocational enrollments,

and in this case a causal relation can be assumed with some confidence.

Among the policy variables, one Perkins reform — the number of steps taken to
integrate academic and vocational education programs — is also significantly

16 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education

LL



Volume IIT

approximately 60 students, though more than half (35) served 20 or fewer
students. All told, the programs enrolled 3,412 students.

The authors indicate that their most significant finding is the high level of
activity in developing programs. Developmental activities at both the state and
federal level appear to have been a catalytic influence on the development of new
programs as well as a stimulus for the refinement and expansion of existing
programs. Finkelstein and Latting estimate that as many as 100 new programs
will be started in the next three years, which will provide the capacity to double
the number of student apprentice positions.

Youth apprenticeship programs are most often found in industries with labor
shortages in technician-level occupations, such as hospitals, printing, and other
manufacturing industries. They tend to develop in communities with a history of
creative business practices. Many new programs have only some of the
characteristics of youth apprenticeship as defined by the basic principles
mentioned above, but are adding more.?3

Evaluation Results. In general, youth apprentice programs are too new to have
undergone systematic evaluation. Several states, including Arkansas, Georgia,
Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, have launched apprenticeship
demonstration programs. Those programs will be evaluated, but few of them
have been around long enough for a cohort of students to complete the high
school years and then enter the labor market or the postsecondary component of
the programs. So far, not enough data are available to judge the programs in
terms of student outcomes or employer satisfaction.

Although program evaluation data were not collected, the Finkelstein and
Latting study does contain information on the characteristics of apprentice
programs as well as information about the students participating in them. Their
major findings indicate the following:

. The majority of apprentice programs did not have stringent
entrance requirements; rather, students with an interest in the
programs were encouraged to participate.

° Racial and ethnic enrollments in the programs tended to reflect the
population of the area.

° Participation in apprentice programs varied by gender. Female
enrollments dominated teaching and child care programs, whereas
male enrollments dominated manufacturing programs. In the fields
of health care and graphic art, the genders were equally
represented.

Work-Based Learning 149 M1


Volume III

In general, vocational teachers seem to be more interested in integration than
academic teachers are (although many on both sides of the divide prefer to leave

things as they are). For example, in an urban midwestern high school,
researchers noted:

The [vocational] teachers pointed out . . . that integration is not the
focus of academic teachers: “Academic teachers are not forced to
include us [in their discussions], as we are forced to include them.”

Relative lack of interest on the academic side is also evident in the Omnibus
surveys: Respondents in secondary and postsecondary state agencies are about
twice as likely to think that state vocational officials support integration as they
are to think that state academic officials do.”

Further, although more districts are providing release time to teachers to work
on integration, lack of adequate time was still a serious problem when the case
studies were conducted in 1992-93. For example, in one northeastern district
researchers found the “the biggest impediment [to integration] is lack of time.”
Lack of planning time seems to result in an ad hoc approach that depends
primarily on individual initiative. In a plains-state high school, for example,
case-study researchers found that

academic/vocational integration efforts are obviously sporadic and
depend heavily on the inclinations of individual teachers.

In a large midwestern urban center,

Schools were primarily integrating on an informal and sporadic
basis. There was only one school. . . that was actively and formally
producing an integrated curriculum. This school was still in the
planning stages. ..

In one western city, one of the few integrated courses, trade and technical
mathematics, was not being taught because the course instructor was on
sabbatical.

Competition between academic and vocational teachers for students can also
complicate efforts to integrate the curricula. As the case study summary
observes:

Staff who teach courses classified as electives, which nearly all
vocational classes are, must compete for students’ time against
academic staff who have the weight of ever-increasing numbers of
required academic credits on their side. If elective classes do not fill,
classes are canceled and staff reassigned or let go.

Litegration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 9 t 85



Volume III

3)

4)

performance. These portfolios will be used for work placement purposes
and for instructional assessments.

Programs that integrate the academic and vocational curricula will be
developed. The goal of this curricula is to prenare all students for a variety
of options (postsecondary education, immediate work, or technical
education).

The system will include opportunities for students to move on to
postsecondary study after completion of high school-based
school/workplace education. Details were not given.

The business community will be involved in both the planning and the
operation of the school-to-work opportunities system.

Overall, implementation of pilot projects is partly a function of the state
receiving federal funds under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

Washington

1)

2/5)

3)

6)

Currently two pilot schools offer a range of industry-specific
specializations for all students to choose from. Curricula are structured
around these specializations — subjects are taught in the context of the
specializations. All students, regardless of their future plans, participate.
The specific mix of courses is adjusted as a function of each student's
future plans.

HB 2359 (1992) codified the integration of academic and vocational
education. There are currently 35 high schools with grants to create
integrated curricu!s emphasizing increased academic, vocational, and
personal guidance, and including the participation of employers, parents,
and community members. Active involvement of teachers in the planning
process, as well as provision of inservice training, is also required.

A certificate of mastery of academic and personal basic competencies, to
be granted around the end of the 10th grade, is included in the policy (not
yet implemented).

New methods of assessing student performance throughout the secondary
grades are to be created.

Local school districts are free to create new, integrated courses, and the
state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board will certify them for
satisfying college entrance requirements, provided that the courses satisfy
requirements defined by the Board.

A-16

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education

14



Volume HI

Table 2.2
Percent of Secondary Districts and Postsecondary Institutions Reporting
Performance Data to the State Education Agency in 1992 and 1993

Postsecondary
Secondary Districts Institutions
1992 1993 1992 1993
Student learning /competency
measures
Basic academic skills 47 65 34 57
Advanced academic skills 32 48 12 36
Occupational competencies or 32 48 17 50
skills
General employability / work 25 39 12 37
readiness skills
Retention/completion measures
Course completion rates 63 74 51 66
Vocational program 65 77 71 85
completion rates
Certification rates 30 44 58 75
Graduation or retention rates* _ 82 — 87
Graduation rates 72 _ 74 _
Retention rates 65 _ 52 _
Placement/ followup measures
Training-related employment 45 59 61 66
specifically
Employment generally 51 64 68 69
Military service 47 64 44 56
Additional training or 49 64 51 63
education
Entry wage 24 36 48 48

4 The 1992 Omnibus Survey asked about graduation and retention rates separately.

Sources: 1992 Omnibus Survey and 1993 Followup Survey of Secondary Districts and of
Postsecondary Institutions

38 Performance Measures and Standards

49



Volume III

Local Implementation Efforts

How extensive are local efforts to integrate vocational and academic curricula?
The Omnibus Survey and the 1993 Followup Survey asked district
administrators to report on ten specific steps to integrate the two streams of
education. The percentages of regular and vocational districts that had taken
each step by 1990-91 and between 1990 and 1993 are shown in Table 4.2.

The steps most frequently taken between 1990 and 1993 were (a) integrating
curricula across academic and vocational courses; (b) developing guidance and
counseling activities for integration; (c) providing in-service training for
vocational and academic teachers; and (d) developing sequences of integrated
academic and vocational courses. At least three-fifths of regular districts and
three-fourths of vocational districts were engaged in such efforts between 1990
and 1993. In every category, higher proportions of vocational than regular
districts reported efforts to integrate.

All integration efforts except the development of magnet schools experienced
growth across districts in this period. The greatest growth was evident in the four
activities listed above — cross-curricular integration, guidance and counseling,
teacher training, and the development of course sequences. Across school
districts as well as state agencies, teacher training especially experienced
vigorous growth in the first years of Perkins implementation. Some of the
integration-related measures in Table 4.2 (e.g., the provision of release time to
teachers) are discussed later in this chapter.

The Use of Applied Academics

The use of applied academic materials from commercial vendors, such as the
Center of Occupational Research and Development (CORD) and the Agency for
Instructional Technology (AIT), is widespread in secondary education. Between
1990 and 1993, 29 percent of regular districts and 55 percent of vocational
districts purchased “Principles of Technology,” the CORD/AIT applied physics
program. Further, 62 percent of regular districts and 83 percent of vocational
districts purchased other applied academic materials; and as we saw earlier,
almost all states are helping with the purchase of these materials.

Reported use of applied academic materials in secondary schools was lower in
1991-92 (35% of regular schools, 52% of vocational schools), suggesting that
1992-93 saw a substantial increase in purchases, and perhaps that some materials
bought by districts were not yet being used in schools at the time of the survey.
In any case, the use of applied academics is an important, though not necessarily
dominant, part of the integration process in secondary education.

80 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula
€



Volume III

Table A-2.1
Measures and Standards Implemented by States at the Secondary Level
as of Fall 1992

Occu- Occu- Job or
Basic & pational ational Work
Adv iaced Eompet- Sompet- Skills
Aca ic ency ency Attain- | Retention/ | Place-
Skills Gain Attainment } ment }| Completion | ment | Other(s)
Alabama Vv Vv v v v
Alaska v * Vv
Arizona v Vv v v
Arkansas * * * * v Vv
California v v * v *
Colorado Vv v v Vv v Vv
Connecticut v v v v
Delaware Vv * v
Florida v v Vv
Georgia Vv v * Vv v
Hawaii v v v v v
Idaho v v v Vv
Illinois v * * v v v
Indiana Vv v Vv v v v
Iowa Vv v Vv v
Kansas Vv v v Vv v v
Kentucky v v v v v
Louisiana v v v v Vv v
Maine v v Vv v v
Maryland v Vv v v
Massachusetts v * v Vv v
Michigan Vv v v v v
Minnesota v Vv
Mississippi v v v v v
Missouri v v v
Montana Vv v v Vv
Nebraska v * * * . v v
Nevada v v v v v
New Hampshire v Vv v v Vv
New Jersey v * v v v v
(continued)

Performance Meastires and Standards 1 8 1

A-21



Volume IL

Table A-5.2

Steps Taken to Implement Tech-Prep Programs in
Secondary Vocational Districts (Percent of Districts)

Before By By

Steps Toward Tech Prep 1991-1992 | 1991-1992 | 1992-1993

Hold tech-prep meetings with local postsecondary 62 97 99%
institutions

Form consortium with other local education 40 86 90*
agencies for tech-prep purposes

Tech-prep policy adopted by governing board 35 67 86*

Develop activities or programs to prepare students 32 75 95*
for tech-prep option

Modify curricula for tech-prep 39 80 96"

Establish formal tech-prep enrollment procedures 22 55 sor

Develop “all aspects of the industry” curriculum for 19 50 71*
use in tech-prep program

Employ a tech-prep coordinator 16 d4 77

Develop/provide course sequences @ 36 79 80

Provide teacher or counselor training on tech prep 26 71 93"

Provide teacher training on tech prep _— _ 86

Provide counselor training on tech prep _ _ 83

Have a competency-based curriculum _ _ 87

Develop student competence in math, science, and _ _ 85
communications

Provide courses that integrate academic and _ _ 89 |
vocational curricula

Provide technical preparation in at least one of six _ _ 89
designated fields”

Have job placement services specifically for tech- ad _ 22
prep students

Have entry requirements other than prerequisite _ _ 73

courses

* In 1992 Omnibus Sur

secondary and postsecondary courses” (Followup Survey).

& Engineering technology; applied science; mechanical, industrial, or practical arts; agriculture;

health; or business.

reported as “planned or continuing in 1993."
*"Dovelop course sequences for tech prep” (Omnibus Survey). “Provide structured sequences of

Sources: Omnibus and Followup Surveys of Vocational Districts

A-B2

Tech-Prep Programs



Volume HI

will document student's Level 2 skills and knowledge in a broad industrial area
through alternative forms of assessment such as portfolios.

In general, industry skill standards that are broad in scope (Level 2) may result ina
very different type of certification than more job-specific skill standards (Level 3).
Occupational cluster standards may lead to a more general multi-skilled certificate
that would be awarded through the use of portfolios and multiple assessment
mechanisms, as well as standard examinations. Level 3 certification would reflect
facility with job-specific skills and procedures.

The use of tests and other assessmeni methods relevant to Level 2 certification
may face legal challenges. Case law documents the constraints on using tests to
screen individuals for employment. Employers must be able to show a direct
relationship to the requirements of the job if testing or other forms of assessment
are to be used in the hiring process. This tension between a portable credential
that equips workers with the skills necessary for a high-performance workplace

and one that also satisties the legal requirements of job-relatedness is far from
resolved.

Most of the standards and credentials that currently exist in the United States
and other countries are job-specific (Level 3), and lead toward certification or
licensure in the traditional sense. A few of the 22 industry skill standards projects
are currently breaking new ground by struggling with Level 2 standards in the
context of a general multi-skill certificate. For example, the American Electronics
Association has developed standards for three clusters that cut across a number
of occupations — manufacturing specialist, pre/post sales, and administrative/
information services support. Attainment of a certificate will not be used for
entrance into a “job,” but “an area of work.” In practice, however, it is not clear
how educational institutions and industries will adapt this certification process
to meet employer needs.

EXISTING SKILL STANDARDS SYSTEMS: U.S. AND FOREIGN MODELS

Identifying and specifying skill requirements is not new in the United States.
Over time, a wide assortment of credentialing systems have been developed by
federal and state governments, professional associations, private industry, and
unions to create and administer occupational skill standards. These diverse
efforts do not comprise a ccherent national system. Most organizations, in an ad
hoc fashion, have developed their own certification standards that emphasize
different types of specific (Level 3) knowledge and skills. In contrast, a number of
other countries have unitorm and well-established processes for specifying skill
standards that are consistent in form and national in scope.

56 Industrial Skill Standards

67



Volume III

Table 4.2

Percent of Regular and Vocational Districts Taking Specific Steps to
Integrate Academic and Vocational Education,

by 1990-91 and Between 1990 and 1993

Regular Vocational
Between Between
By | 1990&}| By | 1990&

Steps Toward Integration 1990-91 | 1993 | 1990-91} 1993

Integrate curricula across academic and 42 77 58 85
vocational courses

Develop guidance and counseling 41 72 50 77
activities to promote integration

Provide in-service training for 32 68 48 90 +
vocational teachers on integration

Develop sequences of integrated 36 64 50 78
academic and vocational courses

Provide in-service training for 21 58 37 78
academic teachers on integration

Provide release time for teachers to _ 47 _ 67
develop integrated courses

Develop occupational clusters, career 26 46 53 71
paths, or occupational majors

Evaluate vocational teachers on 16 29 32 43
instruction in mathematics, reading,
and/or writing

Develop academies or occupationally 9 19 15 31
oriented schools within schools

Develop occupationally oriented 5 5 17 14
magnet high schools

Purchase CORD-produced Principles _ 29 _ 55
of Technology

Purchase other integrated or applied _ 62 _ 83
academic curriculum materials

Sources: Omnibus Surveys of Regular and Vocational Districts, 1993 Followup Survey of Districts

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

81



Volume III

an articulation agreement, or an applied academics course, or a work experience
program, by itself, may be defined as a tech-prep program.

The definition of tech-prep students, like that of programs, can also be
problematic. Some students may simply be taking tech-prep courses to get
advanced placement credits, while others are committed to a full program. Since
tech-prep courses are usually regular vocational and academic courses that fit in
a tech-prep sequence, they enroll regular as well as tech-prep students. In the
absence of formal enrollments, which many programs lack (see Tables A-5.5 and
A-5.6), all that distinguishes a regular student from a tech-prep student may be
his or her intention to continue with the program at a particular postsecondary,
institution. Needless to say, those intentions can often change. Along these lines,
one case study of an urban community in the Southwest found that

It is not known whether a student is a “tech-prep” student until he
has reached the end of the first [semester] in [the postsecondary
institution]. Thus the secondary district has no knowledge of how
many “tech-prep” students there are.

Another Perspective on Tech-Prep Implementation

Our survey and case study findings on the implementation of tech prep parallel
those in a study conducted for the Assessment in 1992 by the National Center for
Research in Vocational Education. In that study, Hayward and his associates
examined tech prep by surveying state offices, visiting eight sites in four regions,
and reviewing the literature on tech prep.'!6 They reported that their data reveal
“the infancy of tech-prep throughout the country.”

To assess programs, the authors identified five essential components of tech prep
and determined the extent to which those elements were found in the sites
visited. The components were (a) integration, (b) articulation, (c) a link between
school and work, (d) core curriculum and course sequencing, and (e) emphasis
on student outcomes. Their conclusions regarding the implementation of
tech-prep programs were as follows:

We found that the bulk of tech prep programs had adopted the
strategy of least resistance, i.e., for the most part, only the simplest
form of reform.

More specifically, to paraphrase the report,

1. Most of the programs were still achieving articulation ona
course-by-course basis.

Tech-Prep Programs 417

126



Volume IIL

Table A-4.3
Percent of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Vocational Institutes
Taking Specific Steps to Integrate Academic and Vocational Education,

by Funding Status
Postsecondary
Community Vocational
College Institute

Steps Toward Integration Funded | Unfunded} Funded | Unfunded

Support remedial /developmental 98 98 95 89
education

Establish general educational 85 78 85 84
competencies for occupational/
technical students

Hold planning meetings to establish 78 78 71 83
policies or procedures for
integration

Develop applied academics courses 77 73 74 75
(e.g., Technical Math, Business
English)

Use cross-curriculum materials (e.g., 69 55 39 45
Writing Across the Curriculum)

Provide in-service training for 47 41 46 46
vocational faculty on integration

Provide “tandem” courses where 43 40 46 40
students take coordinated
vocational and academic courses

Provide in-service training for 38 32 35 35
academic faculty on integration

Provide interdisciplinary courses 38 27 27 35
combining occupational issues and
academic disciplines

Use applied academics or other 23 13 30 29
integrated courses from commercial
vendors

Source: Omnibus Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

Integration of Acadentic and Vocational Curricula 2 0 ny A-43



Volume IIT

Table 5.6
Secondary Districts’ Steps Toward Tech Prep
by Perkins Title III Funding Status, 1991-92 (Percent of Districts)

Regular Vocational
Steps Toward Tech Prep Funded | Unfunded | Funded | Unfunded
Hold tech-prep meetings with local 100 90 100 96
secondary instituticn(s)
Form consortium with other local 92 79 90 83
educational agencies for tech-prep
purposes
Provide teacher or counselor training 87 78 86 68
on tech prep
Modify curricula for tech prep 81 73 95 76
Develop course sequence(s) for tech 79 68 90 75
prep
Develop activities or programs to 88 68 88 70
prepare students for tech-prep
option
Tech-prep policy adopted by governing 73 65 88 63
board
Establish formal tech-prep enrollment 87 80 69 50
procedures
Employ a tech-prep coordinator 49 35 77 35
Develop “all aspects of the industry” 44 33 69 43
curriculum for use in tech-prep
program

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

sponsor joint training of secondary and postsecondary instructors, and have
formal tech-prep policies from their governing boards. In other areas, funded
community colleges are rather similar to unfunded colleges.

In postsecondary vocational institutions the relation between funding and the
probability of taking steps to implement tech prep is stronger. As with
community colleges, funded vocational institutions are more likely than others to

120

12

9

Tech-Prep Programs



Volume HL

ENDNOTES
1 Section 403 (b) (5) (A).
2

6

10

13

The discussion of the recent history of education reform draws heavily on M. Asche et al.

(1993), The Impact of Educational Reform on Vocational Education, National Center for Research
in Vocational Education.

National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983), A Nation at Risk: The imperative for
Educational Reform, U.S. Department of Education.

Chance, W. (1988), The Best of Educations, Education Commission of the States, cited in
Asche et al., p. 6.

Apart from reforms existing in 1991-92 or planned for the future, a third response option,
indicating that a reform had not occurred and was not likely to occur, is omitted from this
table. If it were included, the three columns would total 100%.

The National Assessment’s recent literature review on education reform notes that the
provision for core standards and measures “incorporates the outcomes accountability
concept inherent in the earlier standards and testing reform initiatives but also reflects
awareness of the latter [restructuring] reforms in that localities are guaranteed the
opportunity to modify and adapt state-developed core standards and measures to local
needs and conditions.” (The restructuring lies in the devolution of responsibility from the
states to the localities.) See Asche et al., p. 22.

This discussion of A Nation at Risk and the subsequent iport of the National Commission
on Secondary Vocational Education draw upon a report by N.E. Adelman (1989), The Case

for Integrating Academic and Vocational Education, pp. 1-2, Vocational Education Analysis and
Support Center,

The National Commission on Secondary Vocational Education (1984), The Unfinished
Agenda: The Role of Vocational Education in High School, National Center for Research in
Vocational Education.

Parnell, D. (1985), The Neglected Majority, Community College Press.
Ibid., pp. 120-122.

Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (1991), What Work Requires of
Schools, U.S. Department of Labor.

See Table 1.1 for academic and restructuring reforms. As a preliminary step in the analysis,
a number of “federal” and “state” variables expected to be related to the implementation of
integration, tech prep, and performance standards were correlated with these outcome
variables. Those strongly and significantly related to the outcome variables were selected
for inclusion in the regression analyses. First, however, independent variables that were
strongly intercorrelated were combined into single variables.

Two scales measure the extent of perceived Perkins (and other) influences—one on
integration and one on tech prep in local districts. The question asks district administrators

24

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education

36


19

20

21

22

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

Volume III

Roditi, H.F. (1991), How Much Does a Youth Apprenticeship Program Cost and Who Will Pay for
It? Lessons From Some Long-Standing School-to-Work Progranis and Youth Apprenticeship
Programs Under Development, Jobs for the Future.

Jobs for the Future (1991), Essential Elements of Youth Apprenticeship Programs: A Preliminary
Outline.

Stern et al. (1992).

Finkelstein, N., & Latting, J. (1994), The Prevalence of Youth Apprenticeship Programs in the
United States, National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

Kazis (1993).
Finkelstein & Latting (1994), p. 15.

Stern, D. (1990), Combining School and Work: Options in High Schools and Two-year Colleges,
U.S. Department of Education.

Stern, D., et al. (1994), Research on School-to-Work Transition Programs in the United States,
National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

Kazis (1993).

Stern, D., et al. (1993), School to Werk Transition and the Relevance of Vocational Education to
Subsequent Employnient — Review of Research, report prepared for the National Assessment
of Vocational Education, National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

Kazis (1993).
Stern et al. (1994).

Stern et al. (1993); Bishop, J., Blakemore, A., & Low, S. (1985), High School Graduates in the
Labor Market: A Comparison of the Class of 1972 and 1980, National Center for Research in
Vocational Education; Marsh, H.W. (1991), Employment during high school: Character
building or subversion of goals? Sociology of Education , (64), pp. 172-189.

Stern, D. (1993a), Benefits and Costs of Working While in High School, National Center on the
Educational Quality of the Workforce, Policy Seminar on Youth Employment, March 1993.

Hirschberg, D. (1991), The role of the community college in economic and workforce
development, ERIC Digest, No. JC-91-05, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Research.

Stern et al. (1993).

Stern et al. (1992).

American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (1991), Community College

Involvement in Contracted Training and Other Economic Development Activities: A Report of a
National Survey.

Work- Based Learning

153

161


Volume III

Table A-2.2 (continued)
Measures and Standards Implemented by States at the Postsecondary Level
as of Fall 1992

Oceu- Oceu- Job or
Basic & pational pational Work
Advanced | Eompet- Compet- Skills
Academic ency ency Attain- | Retention/ | Place-
Skills Gain Attainment} ment | Completion | ment | Other(s)

New Mexico v v * v
New York v v v v v
North Carolina v v v
North Dakota v v
Ohio v v v v
Oklahoma v v v
Oregon Vv v v Vv v
Pennsy!vania v v v v
Rhode Island v v v v
South Carolina Vv Vv v v v
South Dakota v v v v v
Tennessee Vv * v v
Texas v v v v v
Utah v * v *
Vermont v v v v
Virginia v Vv v
Washington v v v v v
West Virginia v v v v
Wisconsin v v v v
Wyoming v v v Vv v
Washington, D.C. v v Vv
“Phasing in measures and standards after 1992-93.
Source: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)
A-24 Performance Measures and Standards

184


Volume IIT

Unlike the Perkins standards, which are designed to assess and improve
programs, industry skill standards are being designed primarily to link
individuals to the labor market by motivating students to acquire skills and by
certifying and communicating skill attainment to employers. Of course, such
standards could also be incorporated in systems of program assessment. In this
context, several questions arise:

° What kinds of skill standards are being developed? What evidence
is there that industry skill standards can achieve the desired effects?
What kinds of skill standards should be developed?

Chapter 3, on industrial standards, discusses these and related questions. It
describes federal efforts to develop voluntary national skill standards and
assesses their compatibility with the performance assessment systems states are
developing in response to the Perkins requirement. It examines current evidence
concerning the advantages and disadvantages of industry skill standards. It also
proposes a taxonomy of skill standards.

Part II. The School-to-Work Transition

The second wave of the education reform movement includes proponents of
several diverse approaches to restructuring elementary and/or secondary
education. Of primary interest here is the effort to improve the preparation of .
non-college-bound high school students for work. The principal elements of this
school-to-work transition reform, all included in the Perkins Act, are integration,
tech-prep, and work experience programs.

The integration of academic and vocational education is intended to end the
cultural and curricular separation of the two spheres, maximizing the potential
contribution of both by emphasizing applied or contextual learning. For example,
students might learn math, and its potential applications, by learning how to
work with electric circuitry.

Tech-prep programs are designed to produce technically skilled graduates at the
associate degree level by linking secondary and postsecondary occupational
programs in articulated course sequences. Tech-prep proposes a unified,
integrated block of academic and occupational/ technical education, usually
comprising the last two years of high school and two years of community
college.

Work experience programs allow students to learn first-hand about the world of
work while still in school. In work-based programs, such as apprenticeship,
students learn job skills by working part-time in business and industry. Work
experience programs also include a range of other activities such as job
shadowing and school-based enterprises, where students manage small
businesses based in the school itself — for example, running the school cafeteria,

Introduction 1 1 vii


Volume LI

Table A-5.6
Characteristics of Tech-Prep Programs in Vocational Districts
by Program Area, 1991-92

Occupational
Business / Home Trade &
Agriculture | Office | Marketing} Economics | Health | Industrial

Median year of actual 1992 1992 1992 1992 1992 | 1991
or planned
implementation

Median number of 7 3 4 6 4 3
secondary schools
participating

Median number of 1 1 1 1 1 1
postsecondary
schools
participating

Percent of regular
districts saying
tech-prep program:
Includes provisions ol 58 53 59 61 67

for special {
populations :

Provides teacher 74 72 72 76 75 77
in-service

Provides counselor 61 58 56 56 56 66
training

Involves business 74 79 78 79 80 84
and industry in
program
development

Has formal 43 47 34 41 49 49
enrollment

If program has formal * 16 . . 40 24
enrollment, median
number of grade
11-12 students
enrolled

* Insufficient information to estimate

Source: Omnibus Survey of Vocational Districts

Tech-Prep Programs


Volume III

Some researchers argue that the instability in the early years of labor force
participation by these young people is not a problem in itself. 5 Rather, they see
this period as one wherein young people experiment with a variety of
occupations. They note that American youth can and do exercise far more choice
than their European or Japanese counterparts. Even those who see this period as
one of freedom and choice realize, however, that for certain subgroups,
particularly minority youth, the lack of structure in the transition from school to
work contributes to labor market difficulties. According to 1990 data, only 29
percent of black high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24 are working
at any job, compared with 57 percent of whites. Likewise, only a little more than
half of all black youth with high school diplomas are employed — 55 percent
compared with 79 percent of whites.6

The Rising Demand for Higher Skill Levels

The issue of increasing demand for higher skills continues to attract a lot of
attention in the popular press. Critics argue that many American workers do not
possess the skills necessary to succeed in the labor market. This is thought to be
especially true for those young people who do not go into postsecondary
education. For youth, it is often said that their reading, writing, math, and
communications skills are generally inadequate for the demands of today’s
employers. (The introduction to Volume II of this report examines the changing
skill requirements of the labor market in more detail.)

New forms of work organization are emerging in American business and
industry in response to the pressure of international economic competition.
Sometimes referred to as the “high-performance workplace,” these innovations
usually include the devolution of more decision-making power to front-line
workers and an emphasis on activities such as tearnwork, job rotation, quality
control, and employee problem-solving groups (quality circles).

The Volume II introduction showed that an increasing number of firms are
adopting this approach. About one-third of firms with more than 50 employees
have adopted significant elements of the high-performance workplace, and the
proportions of larger firms doing so are considerably higher. These findings
indicate that significant changes are occurring in the structure of the workplace,
and that they put a premium on conceptual and technical skills.

The Role of Work Experience Programs

As we saw earlier, academic and vocational integration, tech prep, and work
experience programs such as cooperative education and new youth
apprenticeships are usually regarded as critical to improving the school-to-work
transition. Having just examined integration (Chapter 4) and tech prep
(Chapter 5) , we turn to a discussion of work experience programs.

136 Work-Based Learning
144


Volume III

institutions. Recent estimates of the number of co-op programs range from
Hirshberg’s 437 to the Omnibus Survey’s 673.°3

Evaluation Results. The majority of evaluations of postsecondary co-op
programs have examined programs in four-year institutions. Stern et al.34 find
that, as with high school programs, “evaluations of co-op programs in two-year
colleges have been too sparse and too limited to permit any firm conclusions or
generalizations.”

Again, the anecdotal evidence from a variety of small studies on postsecondary
co-op programs appears to be positive. Researchers have found that compared to
non-co-op students at the same college, co-op students are more interested in
their jobs, see a connection between their job and future (career) jobs, report more
opportunities for learning at their jobs, and see the connection between school
and work. 35 The effect of these connections on subsequent labor market
outcomes is still unknown.

Apprenticeship Programs

Two-year colleges are expected to play a significant role in the new youth
apprenticeship initiative, especially through tech-prep programs. At present,
postsecondary involvement with apprenticeship is principally with traditional
registered apprenticeships. The American Association of Community and Junior
Colleges (AACJC) estimates that 35 percent of two-year colleges provide the
academic or general education portion of traditional apprenticeship programs.*6
The 1993 Followup Survey found that approximately 25 percent of public
two-year postsecondary institutions participated in registered apprenticeship
programs. The median enrollment in these programs was 48 students. Only 2
percent or 26 public two-year postsecondary institutions indicated the
availability of new youth apprenticeship programs; almost half of these schools
(48%) reported that no students were currently enrolled. From this information, it
appears that very few students are being served by these programs at the
postsecondary level.

As with youth apprenticeships in high schools, traditional apprenticeship
programs in two-year colleges combine work-based experience with classroom
instruction. A sponsor provides the job-specific training at the work site and the
college provides the general training related to the craft or trade. Apprentices
usually work on alternate cycles — several months on the job, several months in
the classroom.

The majority of partnerships between two-year colleges and industry exist in the
established trades (such as shipfitting, machining, pipefitting, and sheet metal
working). Currently, the automotive industry is at the forefront of using
two-year colleges for the educational needs of the industry. Such partnerships

44 Work-Based Learning

152



Volume III

Along the same lines, MDRC, in its recent investigation of promising school-to-
work programs reports that “expanding programs to serve a large proportion of
high school students takes time and is dependent on a major commitment from
employers. There is a trade-off between providing intensive work-based learning
for relatively few students and expanding programs rapidly to serve large
numbers of students with internships and other less intensive activities.”55

CONCLUSION

The past decade has seen a renewed interest, at both high school and
postsecondary levels, in work experience programs as a means to ease the
transition from school to work for youth who will not pursue four-year
baccalaureate degrees.

For high school students, a variety of work experience programs, including
co-op, new youth apprenticeships, and school-based enterprises, are available.
These programs give students the opportunity to use skills acquired in the
classroom in a workplace setting. Though evaluation data for these programs are
largely unavailable, there is anecdotal evidence of positive effects on attitudes
toward schooi and work.

Work experience programs are also available at the community college level,
some of which are a direct extension of high school programs. Though not nearly
as many postsecondary students participate in these programs, the anecdotal
evidence about program effects is also positive.

Participating students and employers have generally favorable opinions of work
experience programs, but there have been few systematic evaluations, and little
is known about their effects on student employment outcomes.

The biggest difficulty in making work-based programs a major part of the
education and training system is what has been called the problem of scale. At
the secondary level, there are about 6 million students in grades 11 and 12, and
finding positions in businesses to accommodate even one-fourth of them would
require a mammoth effort. Co-op programs currently include about 400,000
students, youth apprenticeship programs, several thousand. It is proving difficult
to recruit employers for youth apprenticeship programs, and to keep them, once
recruited. Costs and negative employer opinions about the quality of young
workers are major obstacles. More limited forms of employer involvement may
be a more feasible means of expanding opportunities for students to participate
in work experience efforts.

The government should continue to explore ways to expand youth
apprenticeships and other work experience programs. It should also explore
more limited forms of work-based learning and employer involvement as a
means of including larger numbers of students.

150 1 . Work-Based Learning



Volume III

Effects of the Perkins Act on Assessment

Although the 1990 Perkins Act was generally given high marks by local
vocational educators, they were less likely to think that the law had a positive
effect on the development of performance measures and standards than on other
aspects of vocational education. Of five such aspects influenced by Perkins,
developing a state accountability system received the second lowest percentage
rating for “very positive effect” from both secondary and postsecondary
administrators (see Figures 2.5 and 2.6). (This result may partly reflect the
disinclination of local administrators to view state assessment of their programs
as positive.) Nevertheless, the administrators tended to think that the overall
effect of Perkins on performance assessment systems was positive:
Approximately two-thirds of secondary and of postsecondary administrators
were of this opinion.

Figure 2.5
Percent of Secondary District Administrators Reporting That the
1990 Perkins Act Had Positive Effect or No Effect on
Each Vocational Program Effort, as of 1993

100

7 a mene

80

4 : ‘| s

42 7)
60 40 t—

Percent

ao

20 g r—|

| ta

—"
Promoting | Developing Promoting, * WAIL Aspects of
Integration Tecl-prep Participation the Industry"

Programs of Spec Training,
Populat

No Effect |

NOTE: Percentages do not sum to 100 because respondents could also choose “slightly
negative” or “very negative” effect; these percentages are not shown,

a Very Positive Effect Oo Slightly Positive Effect

Source: 1993 Followup Survey of Secondary Districts

40 Performance Measures and Standards

(or
_



Volume III

testing). Increased academic standards for high school graduation were
instituted in many states and districts at a time when vocational enrollments
were declining.

In the mid- to late 1980s, a second wave of reforms sought to go beyond
academics and accountability. Unlike the first wave, it tended to focus on non-
college-bound students and to emphasize restructuring secondary curricula and
organizations. The movement also included many educators and researchers
intent on reforming vocational education. An obvious question, and one posed in
the Perkins Act, is:

° What is the effect of education reform on vocational education?

Chapter 1 describes the education reform movement and assesses its effects on
vocational education, as required by Section 403(b)(5)(A) of the Act. In addition,
it describes current reforms that states are undertaking to improve the
preparation of students for the workforce.

B. Pezzormance Standards and Measures

The development of academic standards and measures, a major first wave
reform, was undertaken by the newly formed National Council on Standards and
Testing. Several years later, the 1990 Perkins Act required states to develop
systems of performance standards and measures to be used in local assessments
of vocational education programs. Regular assessments would enable local
systems to identify program strengths and weaknesses and to use the
information to improve vocational programs. In this area of reform, members of
Congress and other federal policy makers need to know:

° How responsive have states been in developing the systems of
performance standards and measures required by the Perkins Act,
and how are they being implemented?

Chapter 2, dealing with Perkins performance standards, addresses these
questions.

C. Industry Skill Standards

The education reform movement's emphasis on standards has affected
vocational education directly in the Perkins requirement that states develop
systems of performance standards and measures to assess programs —
essentially accountability systems. The reform movement's emphasis on
standards is also beginning to affect vocational education in a second way —
through the development of national industry skill standards. The Goals 2000:
Educate America Act establishes a National Skill Standards Board to facilitate the
development of a comprehensive system of voluntary industry skill standards.

vi Introduction

10



Volume III

Figure 2.4
Number of States Measuring Performance
on Each Labor Market Outcome

50

49
45
40 +

&
3
ni

y
8

Number of States

-
Placement Entry Wage Job Retention

Secondary [_] Postsecondary

Source: 1993 Followup Surveys of State Agencies

By spring 1993, many (but not most) states had begun to work on procedures for
adjusting performance measures and standards for special populations. The
special population group for which these procedures have been established most
often is disabled students, followed by disadvantaged and limited-English-
proficient students, in both secondary and postsecondary systems (Table 2.1). In
general, more states were making progress in this area at the secondary level
than at the postsecondary level.

Local Modifications

Many state agencies have not yet determined whether local modifications to
standards and measures are warranted, although most have developed (or plan
to develop) procedures for local entities to apply for modifications, and criteria
for approving these applications. Table 2.1 shows that a minority of states
provide for local modifications, and about one-tenth are in the process of
developing such provisions. In states with highly decentralized systems of

34 4 rn Performance Measures and Standards



Volume IIT

Locus .of Tech Prep in Secondary Schools

While Parnell conceived of tech prep as a technically oriented middle track in
high school, distinct from the college prep and vocational tracks, our informal
site visits, case studies, and anecdotal reports suggest that tech-prep initiatives
are usually located within vocational programs and are usually perceived as a
new form of vocational education.

Will this locus and this perception limit the growth of tech prep? Possibly, but
several recent developments indicate that limitation of this sort need not occur,
because the occupational side of secondary education is expanding in some
states. As noted in Chapter 1, a few states had eliminated the general track by
1991-92, and most said that such a change was likely in the near future. A
number of states, such as Maryland and Oregon, are combining elimination of
the general track with the development of broad occupationally oriented

programs. Within a context such as this, tech-prep programs would have ample
room for growth.

Definitions of Tech Prep

Information from site visits, case studies, written descriptions of tech-prep
programs, and conversations with tech-prep field researchers and administrators
also suggest that tech prep is being defined in many different ways. One
definitional issue, just alluded to, is whether tech prep is essentially an old-style
vocational program or a broad, integrated academic and vocational program. A
second is whether postsecondary education is an essential component of tech
prep. Though tech prep was initially conceived as a way of linking secondary
and two-year postsecondary institutions, some advocates include work
immediately after high school as a normal component of the model.14 An
informal poll of state vocational administrators in a focus group on tech prep
found that 4 of 10 states considered either work after high school or an associate’s
degree acceptable goals of tech prep; 6 of 10 considered only an associate's
degree an acceptable outcome.!*

It is a small step from a tech-prep program whose students may or may not
continue at the postsecondary level to one in which most students do not
continue. In this instance, the meaning of tech prep changes substantially: It
becomes something like a coherent sequence of integrated courses in an
occupational “major,” perhaps one that offers higher-level education than is
typically found in secondary vocational programs.

Yet a third step can bring tech prep very close to the status quo: a slightly recast
vocational program. For example, there are instances of relabeling in which
vocational concentrators (i.e., those who take three or more courses in an
occupational area) are considered tech-prep students. One pattern frequently
encountered is to regard part of a tech-prep program as a whole program. Thus

116 Tech-Prep Progranis


Volume II

reform initiatives, state support for reform seems to have substantial impacts on
integration and the development of performance standards. The absence of any
relation between state support and tech prep suggests that tech-prep grants may
be seen as arrangements between the federal government and local districts, with
the states serving as intermediaries.

EDUCATION REFORM’S IMPACT ON VOCATIONAL ENROLLMENTS

In Chapter 1 of Volume II we saw that enrollments in secondary vocational
education are continuing a decade-old decline. Vocational educators think the
decline is partly the result of education reforms, especially increased academic
requirements ior graduation, which reduce the time available for electives such
as vocational education. This section will examine that argument.

In part, declines in vocational enrollments were a result of the smaller student
cohorts in the late 1970s and the 1980s, which also affected academic enrollments.
However, around 1990, total secondary school enrollments began to increase as
the children of the “baby boom” generation started to enter high school.
Nevertheless, vocational enrollments continued to decline. The pattern of
increasing general enrollments and decreasing vocational enrollments was also
evident in 1992.14

If the present pattern continues, decreasing enrollments will drain resources
away from vocational programs, reducing their ability to function. Therefore it is
important to go beyond examining the effects of academic reforms on vocational
enrollments to look at the possible effects of other factors, as well. In particular,
decision makers will find it useful to know what policy-relevant factors are
associated with increased vocational enrollments, because these factors may
present opportunities for policy changes beneficial to vocational education and
the students who participate in it. This section will examine the contribution of
such factors to increased enrollments.

Effects of Academic Reform on Vocational Enrollments

First, let us examine the impact of academic reforms. Are increases in academic
requirements for graduation and for college entrance causing vocational
enrollments to decline? The respondents in our Community Case Studies
certainly think so. (These case studies are also discussed in the Technical
Appendix.) The case study summary notes that:

It is the nearly unanimous opinion of all types of respondents that
the cumulative effect of these [reforms] has been to diminish the
stature of vocational education, its offerings, and its students. !5

Opinion data from the Omnibus Survey also support this view (Table 1.3). State
administrators think that education reforms have had a marked and largely

12 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education



Volume IIT

The local counterpart of the relaxation of state control over districts is the
loosening of district control over schools. One-third of both the regular and the
vocational districts said that site-based management had been implemented in
their states or districts by 1991-92, and another one-third indicated that such
changes are planned in the future. However, ambiguity in the wording of the
question makes these data hard to interpret. We cannot tell whether the changes
are at the state or local levels, and hence we cannot conclude that one-third of the
districts have site-based management.

Another second-wave reform, school choice, is less widespread than site-based
management. A little over one-fourth of the state agencies reported that some
parental choice plans had been implemented in their states by 1991-92, and
another one-fourth said that such plans would be implemented in the future.
Somewhat smaller proportions of regular and vocational districts (17-18%)
reported the presence of parental choice plans, but as with local site-based
management, these district data are difficult to interpret, arid should be treated
cautiously.

One structural reform reported by the administrators has particular significance
for vocational education — the elimination of the geineral track in secondary
schools. There seems to be a growing consensus among educators that
general-track education is a poor investment of time and resources. In the
absence of other structural changes, the elimination of the general track would
route students into either academic or occupational programs. This could have a
substantial effect on vocational enrollments, broadening the student base of
vocational education and facilitating the development of tech-prep programs.

By 1991-92 only 6 percent of the state administrators reported policy changes
designed to eliminate the general track in their states or districts. However, an
additional two-thirds of the states said that this reform is likely to occur in the
future (most said in the next year). If this change takes place as anticipated,
almost three-fourths of the states will have adopted reform policies to eliminate
the general track within the next several years, with major implications for
vocational education.

THE EFFECTS OF EDUCATION REFORM ON THE PERKINS ACT

To some extent, the Perkins Act reflects first-wave academic reforms and
introduces them into vocational education. In a major way, the Act also
encompasses and promotes second-wave structural reforms.

Generally, the Perkins emphasis on improving the academic content of
vocational programs seems to reflect the academic emphasis of the first wave.
More specifically, the Act’s increased emphasis on performance standards and
measures for vocational education seems to be part of the continuing Wave I
reforms, extended to vocational education. The Perkins requirement can be

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 1 8 7



Volume III

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume III Program Improvement: Education Reform
Trntrod action. oc eeeeecceeececeeeseseeencnnennreneene ceeseseenssmneneeeeneeane
Part I. Education Reform and Performance Standards

Chapter1 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational
BST USCS (0): cc ccc cc cr 2
Introduction...
State and Local Reform Effor
The Effects of Education Reform on the Perkins

ACE eecccsssneeeessssssnnserecessssnveceessesnereeteessevettensnensstsnneess 7
The Effects of National and State Initiatives on
Local Reform Efforts... sesstsssesene LO
Education Reform’s Impact on Vocational
Ennrollme nts .oo.....eccccseessssssesetteesteeeseeeeeesssssnseeeeeecees 12
Can Reforms in Vocational Education Increase
Enrollments? 0.0.0.0...
Conclusion.
Endnotes...
Chapter 2
Endnotes...
Chapter3 Industrial Skill Standards... 49
Imtrod ction... eecccccsssseeeeesesrseeeseeeesenscsseneeeeeesneeesee Ag
New Initiatives to Create Standards Systems,............ 51
Existing Skill Standards Systems: U.S. and
Foreign Models... cesses 08

The Rationale for a Comprehensive System ‘of.

Standards and Certification,
Conclusion,
Endnotes...



Volume HI

Table 5.10 -
Percent of Tech-Prep Institutions Taking Active Steps to Assure
Access for Special Populations

Regular Vocational Postsecondary
Steps to Assure Access Districts Districts Institutions

Active recruitment of 70 71 71
special population
students

Monitoring participation of 71 68 72
special population
students

Developing tech prep in 55 54 63
vocational program
areas with high
proportions of special
population students

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

their participation. Somewhat fewer institutions (54-63%) have developed
tech-prep programs in occupational areas with high proportions of special
population students.

In addition, the Omnibus Survey asked administrators in districts with tech prep
whether their subject-specific tech-prep programs included provisions for special
populations, an approach consistent with affirmative action. In both regular and
vocational districts, about two-thirds of the programs have such provisions but
one-third do not (see Tables A-5.5 and A-5.6).

In Title Il-funded districts, where Perkins explicitly requires equal access to tech
prep for special populations, the proportion of tech-prep programs including
provisions for these students is higher, ranging from 73 percent to 86 percent in
regular districts and 68 to 91 percent in vocational districts, depending on
program area. (See Table 5.11.)

In the case study sites, many of which ar. Title III recipients, special population
students tend to be a secondary consideration in developing tech prep. The case
study summary observes that while some districts do target their programs on
special population students, “most other districts are targeting their tech-prep

Tech-Prep Programs

137



Volume III

combined to begin developing tech-prep programs. This rapid expansion is no
doubt due, at least in part, to the fact that tech prep has a natural constituency of
interested institutions. Postsecondary institutions anticipate increased
enrollments of well-prepared students. Secondary vocational programs hope to
stem enrollment declines and attract more high-ability students.

THE ELEMENTS OF TECH PREP

Within the two-plus-two framework, tech-prep programs have a number of key
elements. One such element, the articulation agreement, links secondary and
postsecondary institutions to provide a closely coordinated high school/college
curriculum. At its most basic level the articulation agreement coordinates courses
in the two institutions to assure that their content and level are compatible. They
may be compatible (a) in the sense that a secondary course prepares a student for
a postsecondary course, or (b) in the sense that a secondary course is equivalent
to a postsecondary course and that a high school student can receive advanced
placement credit for completing it. Tech prep may also allow secondary students
to take postsecondary courses while still in high school.

Although course articulation is essential to tech-prep programs, it is more of a
building block than a finished product. The tech-prep model envisions the
articulation not just of single courses but of programs — series of related
academic and occupational courses — at the two educational levels. As usually
understood, a fully developed tech-prep program should have an articulation
agreement that covers a progressive, nonduplicative sequence of secondary and
postsecondary courses leading to an associate degree in a career field.

A tech-prep program must also provide a common core of proficiency in math,
science, communications, and technology in an applied setting. That is, it must
not only offer a strong technical education, but do so through the integration of
academic and occupational curricula. Implicit in the concept of tech prep is the
idea that the secondary tech-prep curriculum should incorporate more advanced
education and training than students outside the college prep track usually
receive. Some educators also regard work experience programs, such as co-op or
apprenticeship, or other links between school and work as essential elements of
tech prep.

The Perkins Act defines tech prep as a “combined secondary and postsecondary
program which:

(A) leads to a two-year associate degree or two-year certificate;
(B) provides technical preparation in at least one field of

engineering technolugy, applied science, mechanical, industrial or
practical art or trade, or agriculture, health, or business;

106 Teeh-Prep Programs

115


Volume Ii

developed at the national level would reduce this problem, as would greater
reciprocity among states.

Theoretically, it should not matter whether students are trained and certified
using Level 2 or Level 3 skill standards, so long as individuals can signal their
knowledge and skill holdings to prospective employers. High-performance
organizations in evolving industries may prefer workers trained in Level 2, while
firms with constant production requirements and subject to slow technological
change may prefer workers with specific Level 3 preparation. Training and
certification would have to be responsive to the labor market. Too much
ernphasis on Level 2 skills might outstrip the demand for high-performance
workers and broadly applicable skills, and too much on Level 3 skills could
introduce unnecessary rigidities into the market. For example, in the health
industry, nurses are not licensed to perform any tasks related to radiology,
respiratory health, or physical therapy. Therefore, a patient may need to see
several technical specialists instead of one well-trained, multi-skilled nurse.
Divisions between jobs in industries such as health care have possibly become
too rigid, which argues for broad Level 2 skills to educate workers in these
professions for various types of work which they may encounter.

The Quality of Education and Training

Clearly articulated industry skill standards could increase the overall efficiency
of educational training and assessment. Although training is supposed to reflect
labor market conditions, current educational programs often function in isolation
from the actual workplace. Introducing externally generated standards could
increase the relationship between training and work, and thus increase the
relevance of skills with which students graduate. Moreover, monitoring students
by using performance assessments tied to standards could help educators keep
pace with industry needs. In other words, if students are required to demonstrate
skill mastery, employers will be needed to help design performance assessments
suck that skills directly relevant to the workplace are tested. The standards and
assessments would then drive curriculum development.

In theory, skill standards and certification would enable educators to assess
student and program performance based upon actual outcomes. The higher the
number of students who successfully passed certification exams, the better the
program. The higher the number of students placed in jobs after completing a
program, the better the program. Institutions axid programs would have to
demonstrate their performance to students, parents, employers and the
community, and students would be able to select programs based on
performance. Employers would be able to select students based on successful
completion of a credential as well as the performance of the institution the
student attended.

Industrial Skill Standards 74 63


Porth Claes Speci

Soecoal Handgun
ob at nahi

BEST COPY AVAILABLE



Volume IIt

Table 1.5
Factors Related to Vocational Enrollments in Regular School Districts
Regression | Significance

Independent Variable Coefficient Level
Changes in total student enrollments 43 -0001
Number of steps taken to integrate .07 .003
State support for integrated programs 17 05
State support for assessment and accountability ~.09 35
State leadership in general 14 18
Perceived effect of America 2000 on tech-prep 05 46

efforts
Added career exploration 30 .0008
Added student leadership programs 31 0013
Added job placement activities -.07 4
Problem with image of vocational education among -15 .002

students and parents

Source: Omnibus District Survey, Version B

related to enrollments. The more steps districts take to integrate their programs,
the higher their vocational enrollments. Since the survey measures change in
vocational enrollments by categories rather than by continuous numbers, we
cannot say exactly how much change in enrollments is related to integration.
However, we can say that at a minimum, each additional step taken to integrate
is associated with a 1.4 percent increase in vocational enrollments.!7 Since there
are ten steps listed in the survey, a shift from no integration to full integration is
associated with an increase of at least 14 percent in vocational enrollments.

One plausible interpretation of these data is that integrated programs have
drawing power. They may be more interesting to students who usually do not
take many vocational courses. They may also have holaing power in the sense
that students who take one occupational course will be more interested in taking
the next. It is more difficult to turn the explanation around — there is no obvious
reason why increased vocational enrollments should cause districts to integrate
their curricula. Nevertheless, other explanations for this association are possible
and should not be discounted. For example, districts that are most strongly

The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education £8 7



Volume II

postsecondary education, are different from traditional, registered
apprenticeship programs, which are typically run by unions or trade
associations, and which usually enroll young adults who have graduated from
high school. Many traditional apprenticeship programs are found in the
construction trades.

The apprenticeship model buiids on European training systems that provide
structured, non-university routes to careers through paid work and on-the-job
training, combined with related classroom instruction. Each program has formal
agreements registered with either state or federal apprenticeship agencies. The

apprenticeship agencies award a certificate of completion at the end of the
program.

States and localities have been experimenting with a variety of apprenticeship
models and systems for a number of years. Although no particular approach
appears to dominate, there is a growing consensus about the principles that
should guide any youth apprenticeship and about the basic design elements that
differentiate youth apprenticeships from other models linking.school and work.20
These principles include:

° Active participation of employers.

° Integration of work-based and school-based learning.

° Integration of academic and vocational learning.

° Structured linkages between secondary and postsecondary
institutions,

. Award of a broadly recognized certificate of occupational skill.

Though gaining in popularity, youth apprenticeships are offered by relatively
few secondary schools. One estimate places the proportion at less than 5 percent
of schools.2! In the Omnibus Survey, 11 percent of schools reported either
tech-prep apprenticeship programs or other new apprenticeship programs.
However, the inclusion of the term “tech-prep” in the question may have caused
the estimate to be inflated. The survey found approximately 3,300 students in
these programs.

In another recent study, conducted for the National Assessment, Finkelstein and
Latting performed an extensive search to identify and document the prevalence
of new youth apprenticeship programs.”? Using a broad definition of youth
apprenticeship, including programs that meet the above criteria, and some in the
early stages of development, they found and collected data from 55 programs
nationwide. On average, the programs they documerited each served

140 Work-Based Learning

148



Volume lil

CHAPTER 1

THE EFFECTS OF EDUCATION REFORM ON
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

The Perkins Act calls for the National Assessment of Vocational Education to
examine “the effect of educational reform on vocational education.” The chapter
will address this issue in some detail, but first it is important to understand what
education reform encompasses and how it is related to vocational education.

Over the years there have been periodic education reform movements. The latter
half of this century has seen increased emphasis on mathematics and science,
prompted by the Soviets’ launching of Sputnik; the movement to create and
expand community colleges; the movement toward (and later retreat from) open
schools and classrooms; increased attention to the needs of special population
students, generated by the broad sccial movements of the 1960s and 1970s; and
more recently, the calls for better education to improve the nation’s
competitiveness in the global economy.

Recent education reforms began in the early 1980s and have focused on
secondary education, prompted by concern about the nation’s declining
competitiveness in the international market, the relatively poor performance of
American students on tests of educational achievement (both nationally and
internationally), and complaints from the business community about the low
level of skills and abilities found in high school graduates entering the work
force.

A recent review of the literature on education reform finds a consensus that there
have been two waves of reform since 1980, both focused on secondary
education.? The first wave, sometimes characterized as academic reform, called
for increased effort from the current education system: more academic course
requirements for high school graduation, more stringent college entrance
requirements, longer school days and years, and an emphasis on standards and
testing for both students and teachers. The basic message might be paraphrased,
“work more, try harder, strive for excellence.”

Beginning in the mid-1980s, a second wave of school reform arose, based in part
on the belief that the first did not go far (or deep) enough to improve education
for all students. Sometimes referred to as “restructuring,” the second wave called
for changes in the way schools and the educational process are organized. While
restructuring proposals included school choice and site-based management, of
particular interest in this report is the emphasis on improving the school-to-work
transition for non-baccalaureate youth by creating closer linkages between

The Cffects of Education Reform on Vocational Education 3

14



Volume III

Co-op Programs

Co-op education is run by individual schools as part of their vocational
education programs. Students are provided part-time jobs during the school year
in their field of vocational specialization. The job placements are arranged by the
classroom vocational instructor or by the school’s co-op coordinator. A'training
plan that clearly states what the student is expected to learn and what the
employer is expected to provide is developed. Business and marketing programs
are currently the largest sponsors of co-op education.

According to the Omnibus Survey, approximately 403,000 secondary students
participate in co-op programs; that is about 4 percent of the students in grades 9-
12. This estimate is close to one from the General Accounting Office, which found
that approximately 450,000 students, or 8 percent of those in grades 11 and 12,
participate in co-op. In fact, co-op is the most commonly available option for
work-based learning in the United States, and is offered in about half of all
secondary schools. ?

Co-op programs are not aimed at any particular segment of the population, and
they were not established exclusively to serve poor youth, minorities, or
underachievers. The demographic information on program participants shows,
however, that while co-ops serve a broad range of students, they do serve a
disproportionate share of lower achievers. A survey of state vocational education
directors, conducted by the General Accounting Office! in 1990, revealed that 76
percent of all co-op students were white and 48 percent were male. They tended
to have lower than average test scores and to come from lower socioeconomic
levels. Fifty-nine percent of co-op participants came from the lower half of the
socioeconomic status distribution, and 70 percent from the lower half of the test
score distribution. In terms of these characteristics, co-op students resemble
secondary vocational students in general.

The GAO also determined that participant characteristics varied with the
perceived quality of the program. “Programs that were viewed as being of higher
quality had higher admission standards and participation rates, whereas those
programs that carried the negative stereotype of vocational programs had fewer
applicants and were therefore less selective.” They found that most programs
have admission standards that require co-op students to maintain an average
GPA (at least 2.0 in most programs), good attendance, and a positive attitude,
and to demonstrate a lack of disciplinary problems.

Evaluation Findings. Overall, few hard data exist to permit a rigorous evaluation
of co-op programs. The data that are available show a higher level of satisfaction
with school among co-op students, as well as an improved attitude toward both
school and work, but the data on economic outcomes are mixed.

138 Work-Based Learning

146


Volume III

Table A-2.7
Summary of Assessment Instruments and Measurement Tools Used to
Measure Occupational Skills in Postsecondary Vocational Education

Alabama: No plans to measure at this time

Alaska: No plans to measure at this time

Arizona: Local agency identifies competencies and
instrument (may use state-validated competencies)

Arkansas: Instructor identifies
instrument/ performance test

California: Program /course completion

Colorado*: Local agency chooses instrument
(competencies - SCANS)

Connecticut**: Local agency chooses instrument

Delaware: Phasing in during 1995 (competencies -
SCANS)

Florida: No plans to measure at this time

': Local agency chooses instrument

Hawaii: Vocational course completion

Idaho: Completion of programs, GPA

Mlinois*: Developing assessment instruments to
measure applied academics, technical skills, and
workplace skills

Indiana*: Complete certificate/license; local agency.
chooses instrument

Towa: Local agency identifies or develops instrument
{performance tests or other assessment instruments)

Kansas”: KS occupational file or competency checklist;
“all aspects of the industry” tests to be developed

Kentucky: 2.0 GPA in vocational-technical courses

Louisiana®: Techical institutes, higher education, aud tech
prep - developed or selected by locals or student
organization written and pertormance tests

Maine’: Specific - based upon DACUM and
Accreditation standards; General - Jobs for
America’s Graduates Competency Test JAG)

Maryland: Awards (degrees and certificates),
Licensure, and Certification

Massachusetts: Phasing in during 1993-1994

Michigan: Program completion

Minnesota: To be phased in during 1994 (industry
based accountability, Graduate Grades by Special
Populations)

Mississippi: Passing a comprehensive examination
(locally chosen) on the major competencies and
skills in the total program; or documentation of
competency through the use of an individual
student competency profile

Missouri": Occupational and employability skills for
entry-level employment identified by
district /institution and approved by Department
(statewide listing to be developed)

Montana: Local agency chooses instrument

Nebraska* : Specific - local agency chooses occupational
competency exam; Geucral - jocal agency choos:

instrument (competencies such as Work Readiness
or Youth Works)

Nevada: Certification or licensing exam

New Hampshire: Local agency chooses instrument

New Jersey : Certification and licensure examinations or
nationally recognized examinations

New Mexico: Passing certification and licensure exams

New York®: Institutions submit a Student Skills
Acquisition Assessment Plan that includes a
description of the process used to evaluate the
acquisition of skills (e.g. grade of “C” or better,
ski Is portfolio, licensure examinations,

North Carolina: No plans to measure at this time

North Dakota: Locally chosen instruments to measure
competencies /tasks

Ohio: To be developed. Some possibilities
follows: licenser certification exams,
comprehensive exam, course completion, employer
surveys, client surveys; Adult education - vocational
competency test offered by the Vocational
Instructional Materials Laboratory at Ohio State
University or an alternative standardized test

Oklahoma: Occupational test developed by OK that

\cludes written and performance components

Oregon: Program completion

Pennsylvania: GPA of at feast 2.5 in occupational
courses

Rhode Island: Completion of degree /certificate
requirements

South Carolina: Institutions select /develop own,
assessment system

South Dakota: Local agency chooses instrument

Tennessee: No plans to measure at this time

Texas : Course or program completion and grades
received

Utah*: Course completion (odditionally, implement the
Utah-developed program Critical Workplace Skills
in 1994 or 1995)

Vermont: Student survey

Virginia: Locally chosen instruments to measure
competencies

Washington® : Program completion

West Virginia: Course completion

Wisconsin: No plans to measure at this lime

Wyoming? : Local agency chooses instrument

areas

*Measures specific occupational and general employability skills by method described.

“Measures general employability skills only.

Source: Rahn, Hoachlander, & Levesque (1992)

Performance Measures and Standards

A-29

189



Volume IIT

CONCLUSION

Beginning in the 1980s, American secondary education underwent two waves of
reform. The first wave, set forth in A Nation at Risk, focused on the improvement
of academics and implicitly on college-bound students. The second wave, called
“restructuring reform,” was in large part a response to the perceived
shortcomings of the first. Many, but not all, second-wave reforms focused on
preparing non-college-bounid youth for occupations and careers.

The Perkins Act’s requirement for performance standards is derived from the
first wave of reform. The Act’s emphasis on integration, tech prep, and work
experience programs is part of the second wave. Together, these three
innovations are key elements in the “school-to-work transition.”

Multivariate analysis suggests that the Perkins Act is effective in promoting
integration and tech prep in local districts. Independent of the Perkins Act, state
agencies also seem to be effective in promoting integration and performance
standards: Districts that say they receive strong support from their states tend to
be more active in integrating and in developing performance standards.

One often debated question about education reform is its effect on vocational
enrollments. Vocational administrators believe that the Wave I reforms, and
especially increased academic requirements for graduation, have reduced
vocational enrollments by reducing the amount of time available to students for
electives. Our case studies and opinion data from the Omnibus Survey also
indicated this effect. However, statistical analysis of Omnibus Survey data shows
no relation between increased academic requirements and changes in vocational
enrollments between 1987 and 1992. While the Interim Report reached no
conclusion about the effects of academic reform on vocational enrollment
declines, additional information suggests that other factors are involved,
regardless of the role of academic reform. The decline started before the
academic reform movement and enrollment changes seem to parallel changes in
demand in the labor market. This suggests that some skills traditionally provided

by secondary vocational education may be becoming less relevant to the labor
market.

Some Wave II reforms and program improvement efforts are associated with
increased vocational enrollments: (a) the integration of academic and vocational
education; (b) increased state support for integration; (c) career exploration
programs; and (d) student leadership programs. The evidence is consistent with
the hypothesis that reforms and improvements such as these can help increase
vocational enrollments.

The movement to promote occupationally oriented second-wave reforms is
spreading. A number of states have adopted policies intended to transform the
workforce preparation of secondary students, and more are considering

22 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education

34



Volume III

As is the case in New Jersey, the state will be offering funding to consortia
of educational institutions and employers to create industry-specific
school-to-work programs. Implementation has yet to begin.

Michigan

1/2) Elimination of the general track in high school is recommended. Since
students must choose from the remaining two options it will be necessary
that they consider their future objectives during high school.

3) A statewide periodic student evaluation system is advocated jor all
students participating in the state’s proposed 2+2 program. This will
assess the performance and later outcomes of participants as they
complete high school and postsecondary programs.

4) All community colleges are encouraged to enter into 2+2 tech-prep
partnerships with local high schools.

5) The creation of a tech-prep advisory committee is recommended. This
body would assess the needs of the state economy, and would assure that
tech-prep programs are addressing those needs. The body would include
state business and industry representation.

Minnesota

a) A common set of education goals is being formulated. These goals will
create a common set of graduation requirements. SCANS-type
competencies are included in these proposed graduation rules.

2) Career exploration, including exposure to different occupations during
junicr high and early high school years, is an aspect of the Comprehensive
Youth Apprenticeship Program. Pilot sites are currently being selected.

3) Secondary and postsecondary instruction are to be integrated (2+2-style),
and will be accompanied by work-based learning experiences.

4) Representatives of business, industry, and organized labor are to be
involved in the planning and implementation process. Also, work-based
learning, at the secondary and postsecondary levels, is to be a formalized
aspect of the program, once it is up and running.

New Jersey
1/3) Establishment of the Youth Transition to Work Partnership, codified in

June 1993. Linkages between schools, employers, and labor organizations
will be created to facilitate school-to-work education structures. These

A-10 The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education

17



Volume Ill

Appendix 3-A
Goals 2000: Educate America Act

Title IV — National Skill Standards Board
Sec. 401 Purpose.

It is the purpose of this title to establish a National Board to serve as a catalyst in
stimulating the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill
standards and certification that will serve as a cornerstone of the national
strategy to enhance workforce skills, and that can be used, consistent with
Federal civil rights laws —

(1) by the Nation, to ensure the development of a high skills, high quality, high
performance workforce, including the most skilled front-line workforce in the
world, and that will result in increased productivity, economic growth and
American economic competitiveness;

(2) by industries, as a vehicle for informing training providers and prospective
employees of skills necessary for employment;

(3) by employers, to assist in evaluating the skill levels of prospective employees
and to assist in the training of current employees;

(4) by labor organizations, to enhance the employment security of workers by
providing portable credentials and skills;

(5) by workers, to obtain certifications of their skills to protect against dislocation,
to pursue career advancement, and to enhance their ability to reenter the
workforce;

(6) by students and entry level workers, to determine the skill levels and
competencies needed to be obtained in order to compete effectively for high
wage jobs;

(7) by training providers and educators, to determine appropriate training
services to offer;

(8) by Government, to evaluate whether publicly-funded training assists
participants to meet skill standards where they exist and thereby protect the
integrity of public expenditures;

(9) to facilitate the transition to high performance work organizations;

Industrial Skills Standards A-33

191,



Volume Hl

Another interesting study of applied learning comes from the University of
Michigan,4° where two of eight sections in a large undergraduate political science
class were randomly assigned to perform community service. The experimental
students engaged in 20 hours of service with agencies which they selected from a
list of course-relevant community services. At the end of the 13-week semester,
not only were the attitudes and opinions of the experimental students different
from those of the controls, but their classroom learning and course grades were
significantly higher.

In general, there is experimental evidence that components of contextualized
learning are more effective than traditional instruction. However, the
experiments on anchored learning seem far afield from integrated vocational/
academic education. They took place in traditional classrooms and tended to be
very “academic,” involving the manipulation of symbols, reading, writing, and
taking tests. The Army’s functional context approach comes closer to “hands-on”
integrated education, but this approach involves teaching and learning highly
task-specific skills through the transfer of a very limited body of knowledge. The
Michigan study shows that combining classes with community service can be
productive, and an analogy can be made between community service and work.
But is there direct evidence from schools that integrated academic and vocational
courses, or curricula, are superior to traditional teaching methods? The next
section addresses this question.

Effectiveness of Academic/Vocational Integration

Stasz’s study found that although the literature on integration contains much
descriptive and anecdotal information, research on outcomes is sparse, and many
of the quantitative studies have methodological problems that make it difficult to
draw firm conclusions from them.

Quantitative Studies

Stasz reviewed ten studies that related student test scores to participation in
Applied Math, Applied Communications, and Principles of Technology
courses.4! Of the ten studies, four were based on opinion surveys of teachers and
students who completed applied academic courses. The findings indicated that
teachers and students held generally positive views of the courses. However, the
surveys were limited to opinions and have a variety of problems related to
design, sampling, and/or analysis. Taken together, they do not tell us much
about the effectiveness of the courses.

Three of the ten studies tested students before and after completing Applied
Math and Applied Communications courses. The students’ test scores increased
from the beginning to the end of the courses. However, since there were no
comparison groups, it is impossible to tell whether the students would have done
better, worse, or about the same in regular classes.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula 103 93



Volume II

Work experience programs are gaining support from all levels of government. At
the federal level, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act is designed to promote
successful school-to-work transition; at the state and local level, new work-based
programs abound (see Chapter 1).

Advocates of these programs believe that they show strong potential to help the
United States compete in global markets by improving workforce preparation
and facilitating the transition to work. Work experience programs have been
developed in an effort to improve both the occupational and the academic
options of young people who will not earn a four-year baccalaureate degree.

Largely on the basis of qualitative data, the General Accounting Office concluded
that both students and employers can benefit from participating in high-quality
work experience programs. Students attain work experience and job skills, and
increase the likelihood of permanent employment after completing their
education. Employers gain access to a prescreened pool of employees. Students
participating in work experience programs are more likely to stay in school and
pursue additional education, according to co-op coordinators interviewed by
GAO.’ Later, we will examine systematic quantitative studies bearing on these
issues.

The remaining sections of this chapter will review the major work experience
programs that are available to high school students and students in two-year
colleges. Where data are available, results of program evaluations also will be
presented.

WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

For those still in high school, programs to strengthen the link between school and
work tend to fall into two general categories. The first category includes
programs that build on classroom teaching by bringing work and career issues
into the curriculum. This type of approach includes integrated models such as
career magnet schools and career academies; it also includes tech-prep programs.
The previous two chapters examined these reform strategies.

This chapter focuses on the second approach — programs that get young people
out of the classroom and into workplace settings. These efforts, broadly referred
to as work experience programs, include formal work-based training programs
outside the school, such as cooperative education and youth apprenticeship, and
school-based enterprises. Although not part of any formal program, students
working on their own initiative while still in high school are also of interest, and
research on this activity will also be examined.

Work-Based Learning L 4 = 137
9)



Volume HI

None of these obstacles to integration is insurmountable, but it will take a great
deal of time and concerted effort to overcome them.

The Quality of Integrated Education

Suppose that secondary integration efforts achieve the depth and coherence that
are still lacking, despite recent improvements. Can we assume that the result will

be better education? Not necessarily. It depends on the quality of the integrated
course offerings.

Some evidence suggests that there may be problems in this respect. For example,
studies of integration programs in secondary sci.~1Is, reviewed by Stasz,
“revealed that [they] involved instruction of very basic skills; very few programs
stressed higher order thinking skills.”

Further, questions must be raised about the quality of integrated curriculum
materials being offered commercially. There is some evidence, discussed later in
this chapter, that two of the better known applied curriculum packages,
Principles of Technology and, to a lesser extent, Applied Mathematics, are
effective in improving student test scores. However, almost no solid research has
been done on the hundreds of other offerings, and there are many examples of
poor-quality materials.

If instruction in integrated courses is not of good quality, students in training for
careers would probably be better off in traditional academic classes. Data
presented in the 1989 National Assessment of Vocational Education indicate that
taking algebra tends to raise the math scores of non-college-bound students
approximately ten times as much as taking math-related vocational courses (as
they existed at that time).>2

At present the information on this subject is largely anecdotal, and many
examples of strong integrated courses and poor academic courses can certainly
be found. The point is that it should not be assumed that integration per se will
transform vocational education. Integrating unchallenging or irrelevant academic
and vocational materials will provide little benefit to students.

Integration at Postsecondary Institutions

How extensive is the integration of academic and vocational curricula in
postsecondary institutions? Integration has not been as much an issue in
postsecondary education as at the secondary level, in part because the recent
education reform movement has focused on secondary education. As late as
1993, Grubb and Stasz observed that “the idea [of integration] is quite unfamiliar
at the postsecondary level.” 33

86 96 Integration of Academic and Vecational Curricula



Volume II}

Table A-4.1
Percent of Perkins-Funded and Unfunded Districts
Taking Specific Steps to Integrate, 1991-92

Regular Vocational

Steps Toward Iniegration Funded | Unfunded} Funded | Unfunded

Hold planning meetings 75 55 a1 79

Develop guidance and counseling 69 59 74 66
activities to promote integration

Integrate curricula across academic and 70 57 87 67
vocational] courses

Provide in-service training for 61 48 74 71
vocational teachers on integration

Develop sequences of integrated 57 45 77 66
academic and vocational courses

Provide in-service training for 48 40 65 51
academic teachers on integration

Develop occupational clusters, career 46 33 70 67
paths, or occupational majors

Evaluate vocational teachers on 27 23 34 32
instruction in mathematics, reading,
and/or writing

Develop academies or occupationally 22 7 28 20
oriented schools within schools

Develop occupationally oriented 13 1 20 13
magnet high schools

Source: Omnibus Surveys of Regular and Vocational Districts

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

bn
oO
Go

A-4L


Volume III

vocational and academic education, secondary and postsecondary institutions,
and schools and workplaces.

The reform movement — and particularly its first phase — received major
impetus from the publication in 1983 of A Nation at Risk, the report of the
National Commission on Excellence in Education.? This influential report
observed that the United States was losing ground in international economic
competition and attributed the decline in large part to the relatively low
standards and poor performance of the American educational system. The report
recommended many of the changes subsequently enacted in first-wave reforms:
the strengthening of requirements for high school graduation, including the
requirement of a core academic curriculum; the development and use of rigorous
educational standards; more time in school or the more efficient use of presently
available time; and better preparation of teachers.

The response to this report and related education reform initiatives was rapid
and widespread. One researcher found that between the early and mid-1980s,
more than 275 education task forces had been organized in the United States.4 By
the mid-1980s, 43 states had increased course requirements for high school
graduation; 17 had developed stronger requirements for admission to state
colleges and universities; 37 had created statewide student assessment programs;
29 had developed teacher competency tests; and 28 had increased teacher
certification requirements. Between 1984 and 1986, more than 700 state laws
affecting some aspect of the teaching profession had been enacted. By 1990 many
of these numbers had increased even further.

The next section looks at the prevalence of Wave I and Wave Ii non-vocational
education reforms in states and districts. Subsequent sections of the chapter
relate Wave II structural reforms in vocational education to these non-vocational
reforms. Chapters 2-6 deal explicitly with vocational education reforms,
especially those in the Perkins Act. Because the recent reform movement has
focused primarily on secondary education, this chapter deals only with
secondary state agencies and secondary districts.

STATE AND LOCAL REFORM EFFORTS

The Omnibus Survey provides data from administrators in secondary state
education agencies, regular school districts, and vocational districts on education
reform steps that have been taken in recent years. (The Omnibus Survey is
described in the Technical Appendix in Volume V.) The proportions of
administrators at each level who said that policy changes associated with certain
education reform measures had occurred by 1991-92 and the proportions who
said that such changes are likely in the near future, mostly in 1998983, are shown
in Table 1.1.5

4 The Effects of a hs Reform on Vocational Education
r?)



Volume III

These are intriguing and intuitively appealing theories, but is there systematic
evidence that they work? Do children learn better in contextual education than in
traditional education? Some empirical research suggests that they do.

Education researchers at Vanderbilt University have conducted many
experiments to test the effectiveness of a method called “anchored instruction.”
Essentially this approach uses videodiscs to engage children in stories and
simulated situations, which serve as “anchors” for learning. That is, they provide
the context within which children can observe and learn from situations, identify
and solve problems, and so forth. In repeated experiments, students using the
videodiscs outperformed control students in writing assignments, knowledge
tests, and reasoning problems. They also had more positive attitudes toward
math. At-risk students, in particular, seemed to benefit most from the anchored
instruction approach.39

A second type of contextualized learning, called “functional context education,”
was developed for use in military training. The Army’s 20-week course on radio
repair, the first formal use of the functional context training model, starts with
specific questions and problems in radio repair and moves to general theory.
Only the theory needed to make a particular repair is taught. To avoid
overwhelming trainees, the amount of information to be conveyed in training is
reduced and carefully tailored to the content needed on the job and the time
available in the course. In random-assignment experiments, functional context
trainees far outperformed controls in hands-on performance tests such as
troubleshooting, use of test equipment, and repair skills, although they did no
better on paper-and-pencil multiple-choice tests. (Parallels with the Brazilian
street vendors are intriguing.)

This experiment and others reviewed by Karweit found that the functional
context training method reduced training time, reduced training attrition rates,
and improved the performance of trainees. Not surprisingly, the military has
made extensive use of functional context training in the 30 years since these first
experiments were conducted.

The success of functional context training led the Army to adapt the approach for
use in adult literacy projects. The Functional Literacy project (FLIT) related
reading to task performance in various occupational areas (cook, clerk, etc.). It
also moved from the particular to the general and focused on real-life
applications. FLIT was composed of two modules: reading-to-do, which teaches
recruits how to use manuals and other sources to look up information; and
reading-to-learn, which teaches them how to read in order to understand
information that will help on the job. In controlled studies, FLIT trainees showed
greater gains in job-specific reading than did comparison groups that used
general literacy models. However, the group differences did not meet traditional
standards of statistical significance (they were between p=.05 and p=.10), and the
results can only be regarded as suggestive.

92 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula



Volume III

(10) to increase opportunities for minorities and women, including removing
barriers to the entry of women in non-traditional employment; and

(11) to facilitate linkages between other components of the workforce investment
strategy, including school-to-work transition, secondary and postsecondary
vocational-technical education, and job training programs.

A-34 Industrial Skills Standards

192



Volume III

give students some of the skills they would need to move into management roles
at some point.

Third, education in all aspects of an industry might be more appropriate than
traditional education for the newer forms of work organization that are emerging
in business and industry. For example, “high-performance workplaces” often
involve job rotation, which requires the use of multiple skills.

Fourth, the development of a broader range of skills seems appropriate for
employment patterns involving multiple career changes. The more skills one has,
the greater one’s ability to navigate these changes.

While these are reasonable arguments, we do not have empirical evidence that
education in all aspects of an industry actually provides such benefits. The idea,
at least in its current form, is relatively new and has not been widely adopted,
nor have programs been systematically evaluated. However, we do have data
from the Omnibus Survey on the implementation of “all aspects” education at
the state and local levels.

Implementation of “All Aspects of the Industry”

The Interim Report found that in 1991-92, the first year of Perkins implementa-
tion, relatively few state agencies were working to promote education in all
aspects of the industry.48 Only 14-25 percent of secondary agencies and 4-15
percent of postsecondary agencies had taken specific steps toward this end.

The picture was markedly different by the spring of 1993: For most of the listed
steps, the proportion of active states had at least doubled. For example, the
proportion of secondary agencies providing recommended curriculum
frameworks or guidelines to local districts increased from 25 percent to 60
percent. The proportion of postsecondary agencies doing so increased from 15
percent to 40 percent. Secondary agencies were more likely than postsecondary
to undertake efforts to promote “all aspects” education, except in the training of
teachers and counselors (about one-fourth of each type of agency reported such
training).

Similar trends were reported by local districts. In 1991-92, only about one-fourth
of the districts, both regular and vocational, said that education in all aspects of
the industry had increased from 1990-91. However, by 1993, 68 percent of
regular districts and 84 percent of vocational districts reported that activities in
this area had increased in the last three years. Similar proportions of districts also
said that the Perkins Act had a positive effect on “all aspects” education and that
state support in this area had increased. About three-fifths of the districts
indicated that teacher training on the subject had been provided.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula af 0 7 97


Volume Iii

Table A-5.1

Steps Taken to Implement Tech-Prep Programs in
Regular Secondary Districts (Percent of Districts)

Before By By

Steps Toward Tech Prep 1991-1992 | 1991-1992 | 1992-1993

Hold tech-prep meetings with local postsecondary 50 92 95*
institutions

Form consortium with other local education 37 81 84*
agencies for tech-prep purposes

Tech-prep policy adopted by governing board 29 66 86*

Develop activities or programs to prepare students 31 70 92"
for tech-prep option

Modify curricula for tech-prep 31 73 90*

Establish formal tech-prep enrollment procedures 21 48 78*

Develop “all aspects of the industry” curriculum for 13 36 57*
use in tech-prep program

Employ a tech-prep coordinator 15 40 63

Develop/provide course sequences 30 70 86

Provide teacher or counselor training on tech prep 32 79 oi"

Provide teacher training on tech prep _ _ 87

Provide counselor training on tech prep _ _ 77

Have a competency-based curriculum _ - 83

Develop student competence in math, science, and _ _ 85
communications

Provide courses that integrate academic and _ _ 88
vocational curricula

Provide technical preparation in at least one of six _ — 88
designated fields®

Have job placement services specifically for tech- _ _ 35
prep students

Have entry requirements other than prerequisite _ _ 24

courses

* In 1992 Omnibus Survey, reported as “planned or continuing in 1993.”

Develop course sequences for tech prep” (Omnibus Survey). “Provide structured sequences of

secondary and postsecondary courses” (Followup Survey).

b Engineering technology; applied science; mechanical, industrial, or practical arts; agriculture;

health; or business.

Sources: Omnibus and Followup Surveys of Regular Districts

Tech-Prep Programs

A51


Volume III

Appendix 4-C
Some Initiatives for National Education Reform

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990 provides
grants to states for secondary, postsecondary, and adult vocational education
programs and services. The purpose of the grants is to improve educational
programs that lead to academic and occupational skill competencies needed to
work in a technologically advanced society.

In 1991, the Labor Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills
(SCANS)! found that work involved five competencies and three foundation
skills. The competencies are resources, interpersonal, information, systems, and

technology. The foundation skills are basic skills, thinking skills, and personal
qualities.

America’s Choice: High Skills or Low Wages was a 1990 report of the Commission on
the Skills of the American Workforce.2 The Commission emphasized that new
high-performance forms of work organization have different requirements than
manufacturing-based work. Employers must be prepared to invest heavily in

training existing workers to compensate for the slowing of workforce growth in
the 1990s.

America 2000 is a national strategy outlined by President Bush and state
governors at the 1989 Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia.? The
strategy emphasizes readiness for school, high school completion, safe schools,
educational accountability, life-long learning, and world class performance
standards that establish what students need to know in five core subjects. The
National Education Goals Reports of 1991 and 1992 are annual report cards
describing progress toward the America 2000 goals.*

1 Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (1991). What Work Requires of Schools: A
SCANS Report for America 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.

2 National Center on Education and the Economy (1990). America’s Choice: High Skills or Low
Wages, the report of the Commission on Skills of the American Workforce. Rochester, NY:
Author.

3 US, Department of Education (1991). America 2000: An Education Strategy. Washington, DC:
Author.

4 National Education Goals Panel (1991), The National Education Goals Report: Building a Nation of
Learners, Washington, DC: Author; National Education Goals Panel (1992). The National Education
Goals Report 1992. Washington, DC: Author.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

A-40
BEST COPY AVAILABLE 197


Volume II

Table 5.5
Percent and Number of Tech-Prep Initiatives, Spring 1993

Postsecondary
Secondary Districts Institutions

Percent | Number | Percent | Number

Total (districts, institutions) 100 11,527 100 1,200
Report tech-prep agreement 47 5,441 74 891
Meet Perkins definition 32 3,718 14 163

Of those meeting Perkins
tech-prep definition:

Can report percent female in 81 2,993 45 73
tech prep
Can report percent 13 475 27 44

completing secondary or
postsecondary phase

Can report percent 11 399 _ _
continuing from
secondary to
postsecondary

Source: 1993 Followup Survey

The recency of these tech-prep programs is evident in the fact that 81 percent of
tech-prep districts appear to have (mostly new) students; only 13 percent can
estimate the proportion of students who complete the secondary part of the
program; and only 11 percent can estimate the proportion who go on to
postsecondary tech prep.

The ratio of secondary to postsecondary programs meeting the Perkins definition
is 23 to 1 (3,718/163), much higher than the ratio in a typical consortium. This
disparity may occur because secondary programs have started up and are
enrolling students, while postsecondary programs are not so far along. The ratio
of secondary to postsecondary tech-prep agreements is 6 to 1.

114 Tech-Prep Programs

123



Volume III

three areas: hiring and job matching, skill acquisition, and the quality of
education and training. The discussion describes the potential benefits and
drawbacks of adopting skill standards for business and education, and highlights
the tradeoffs of using Level 2 and Level 3 skills to drive system development.

Hiring and Job Matching

The cost of hiring a new worker can be significant. Training Magazine estimates
that the expense of filling a vacant position is 33 percent of a worker’s total first-
year annual salary, with much of this expenditure going toward advertising the
job opening, screening, transporting and interviewing applicants, and
underwriting lost productivity of hiring supervisors. When the costs of
orientation, training, and moving up the learning curve are added, total
induction costs may approach 93 percent of a worker’s starting salary.'4 This
being the case, it is to employers’ advantage to minimize employee turnover and
focus training investments on those individuals most likely to remain with the
firm.

Job stability is typically lowest among youth. Using data from the National
Longitudinal Study of Youth cohort, Lynch!5 found that 71 percent of males and
66 percent of females changed employers at least once within their first three
years after completing schooling. High turnover rates are due, in part, to the fact
that young workers often take temporary employment while pursuing further
training. Work patterns become somewhat less transient when youth reach their
middle to late twenties, presumably because individuals complete training and
eventually settle into careers offering some longer term potential. !® Not all are so
fortunate, however. By age 30, over 30 percent of all high school graduates report
that they have not held a job for a year, and an additional 12 percent report only
a year of tenure in their current position.!7

One suggested explanation for this flux is that poor job matches (mismatches
between the skills workers have and those required by the job) drive workers to
continuously seek more promising work. Jovanovic and Moffitt,'8 for instance,
estimate that shopping for better job matches may improve workers earnings by
as much as 13 percent. Thus, high mobility may be symptomatic of an inefficient
job matching system in which employers bear the cost of worker
experimentation.'®

Skill standards could arguably improve work tenure, and thus increase market
efficiency, by helping trainees understand occupational skill needs and job
requirements. This could reduce firm recruiting and screening costs at the outset,
if prospective employees were to self-select based on specified job
requirements.2? Equally important, portable credentials based on skill standards
would enable job applicants to accurately communicate or “signal” their skills to
prospective employers, thus providing the employers with better information
upon which to base hiring decisions. Better job matching could help reduce

Industrial Skill Standards 59

70



Volume III

future earnings. Although Level 2 standards may be difficult to measure, these
skills could increase workforce quality if the evolution toward high-performance
workplaces continues. Level 2 standards which emphasize workplace flexibility
and broad skills could facilitate retraining, and thus reduce the cost of retooling
production.

Conversely, if the labor market undergoes little change, then Level 3 skills may
provide higher quality training. Students trained in narrow specializations
would possess greater skill holdings upon graduation, and hence be more
productive upon hiring. Level 3 skills are also more tangible and easily
demonstrated, permitting more accurate skill assessment. While Level 3 skills
could prepare-secondary students in some fields for higher earnings immediately
upon graduation, these rewards may be confined to entry-level positions which
offer little opportunity for advancement and have flatter earnings profiles.

CONCLUSION

This chapter described issues associated with developing a comprehensive skill
standards and certification system. A taxonomy categorized standards in three
“graduated” levels which support a spectrum of knowledge and skill acquisition.
Level 1 designates the academic and work-related skills that all students must
have to graduate from high school. Industry-level or occupational cluster skills
(Level 2), where students learn knowledge and skills that cut across a variety of
jobs within an industry, are notably absent from existing U.S. and foreign efforts.
Instead, current credentialing systems emphasize occupationally specific skills
(Level 3), which assess specialized skills within particular job areas.

Although the most compelling arguments in favor of skill standards remain
theoretical, the literature suggests that developing a comprehensive system of
standards and credentialing may provide a number of benefits for employers,
workers, students, and society. It is clear from this discussion, however, that
different skill standards will promote different skill outcomes. Accordingly,
insofar as the skill standards are designed to:

¢ Improve job matching, then Level 3 standards may be most
appropriate, because they enable both employers and youth to have a
clearer understanding of specific occupational skills and requirements.
However, job matches may be a relatively short-term benefit, because
workers are trained for a specific occupation and are less able to adapt
to workplace change.

¢ Improve long-term employment options and capabilities associated
with demands of high-performance work environments, then Level 2
standards may be most appropriate, because they produce multi-
skilled workers who may more easily transfer among occupations, and
thus be more easily retrained for changing production requirements.

Industrial Skill Standards 65
So
76



Volume HI

CHAPTER 5 APPENDIX

Tech-Prep Programs a 0 5 AAD


Volume III

tech-prep program for the middle two quartiles, leading to a two-year associate
degree; and (c) a vocational program for the lowest quartile of students, leading
to a high school diploma and work. Students would choose to enter one of these
three programs in the 11th year of school.

While 2+2 tech-prep programs had earlier been advocated by organizations such
as the Southern Regional Education Board, only a handful of these programs
existed in the country at the time Parnell wrote his book.!° The number of
tech-prep initiatives grew rapidly in the latter half of the 1980s: According to
Omnibus Survey data, about 40 percent of public two-year postsecondary
institutions were beginning to develop tech-prep programs by the 1990-91 school
year.

The American Association of Community and Junier Colleges, of which Parnell
was executive director, took his message to the Congress to seek federal funds for
tech-prep reforms. Over a period of time, such advocacy persuaded the Congress
to include the “Tech-Prep Education Act” as part of Title III of the 1990 Perkins
Act. This part of the Act gives states funds earmarked for the development of
tech-prep programs through grants to local consortia of secondary and post-
secondary institutions.

In addition to integration and tech prep, the restructuring movement included
renewed interest in work experience programs such as cooperative education
and apprenticeship. Both of these types of programs have long histories. The
co-op movement started around the turn of the century and first received federal
support in the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act. Apprenticeship, of course, goes back to
the Middle Ages in Europe; in the United States it was a common practice in the
early years of the republic. Over time it has given way to other forms of training
for occupations, but it is still found in some trades, especially those in the
construction industry.

In the mid-1980s both co-op and youth apprenticeships were promoted by the
restructuring movement as work-based alternatives to the existing school-based
education that seemed ill-suited to the needs of many non-college-bound
students. The restructuring movement adopted and promoted the co-op model
without much change. The apprenticeship model, however, took a new form.
Traditional apprenticeships were (and are) primarily run by unions and trade
associations for younger adults who have completed high school and are in the
labor market. The new “youth apprenticeships” are for students in high schools
and non-baccalaureate postsecondary institutions and are sometimes
coordinated by states in conjunction with reform groups such as Jobs for the
Future in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Effects of Education Kefornt on Vocational Education 9



Volume III

CHAPTER 1 APPENDIX

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Eduentions 65 A-3



Volume III

The remaining three studies were better designed and produced results that
couid be called suggestive. Two studies involved the administration of pre- and
post-course tests to Applied Math students and to comparison groups of
students in other math courses. In one study, the students in the applied classes
registered bigger test-score gains than the comparison students in “regular” math
classes. In a second study, students in the applied course outperformed those in
“general” math. Applied Math students in the second study also had about the
same test score gains as a comparison group of students in Algebra 1.

Several recent studies, not included in Stasz’s review, shed further light on
Applied Math. One, at the University of Georgia‘? found that Applied
Mathematics 1 and 2, each a full-year course, cover about the same material as
Georgia’s college preparatory Algebra 1, a one-year course. Two other studies 3
found that students who took Applied Math 1 and 2 scored as well as Algebra 1
students on tests administered at the end of the courses. While there are some
methodological problems with all the Applied Math studies, the consistency of
their findings strongly suggests that the two-course Applied Math sequence is
roughly equivalent to Algebra 1.

The last of the ten studies reviewed by Stasz tested students in a Principles of
Technology class and comparison groups of students in chemistry and biology.
(Since Principles of Technology is primarily an applied physics course, physics
students might have been a better comparison group. However, physics students
are generally high-aptitude students, and it may not have been possible to
control for large aptitude differences.) The Principles of Technology students did
better on the science subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test than the chemistry
and biology students, controlling for differences in general achievement as
measured by other parts of the test. Once again, methodological problems such
as lack of random assignment and baseline tests require that the conclusions be
qualified, but the study seems to provide soine evidence of the effectiveness of
Principles of Technology.

Career Magnets and Career Academies

Two forms of integration on which good empirical research has been conducted
are career magnet schools and career acadeinies. These are schools, or programs
within schools, each of which has an occupational theme and a curriculum
devoted to preparation in a specific occupational field. Research on magnet
schools has been conducted in New York City, and research on career academies,
at various sites in California and Philadelphia. Initial results suggested that both
kinds of initiatives had positive effects on student achievement and retention.
Followup studies showed few additional gains, beyond those in the first year(s).

New York City has eight career magnet schools and a number of magnet
programs in comprehensive high schools. The magnet schools include Aviation
High School, the High School of Fashion Industries, and the Murray Bergstrom

94 Integration of Academie and Vocational Curricula

104



Volume HT

negative effect on enrollments and offerings in vocational education: 71 percent
say that total vocational enrollments have decreased as a result of the reforms;
66 percent say that the number of vocational courses has decreased; and

77 percent say that the number of vocational teachers has decreased. A smaller
but still substantial proportion (44%) say that the reforms have reduced the
variety of vocational course offerings.

Vocational district administrators also tend to think that education reforms have
caused enrollments to decrease, but the proportion who do (60%) is somewhat
smaller than among state personnel. The proportion of regular district
administrators who perceive this effect is smaller still (45%). The opinions of
vocational and regular district administrators may reflect their first-hand
experiences of enrollment decreases. As we saw in Chapter 1 of Volume II,
vocational districts are more likely than regular districts to report substantial
decreases in enrollments over the five years preceding 1991-92.

However, seeing these decreases and knowing that they are the result of
education reforms are two different things. Using data from the Omnibus
Survey, we can address this question by examining the statistical relations
between the education reforms described above and changes in vocational
enrollments. In the survey, administrators in regular and vocational districts
were asked to indicate which reforms in a list were implemented between 1987
and 1992. Elsewhere in the questionnaire they were asked to indicate the extent
of change in vocational enrollments in the same time period. Table 1.4 presents
Pearson correlation coefficients and levels of statistical significance for the
association between each reform variable and administrators’ reports of changes
in vocational enrollments in their districts. (A correlation of 0.0 means that there
is no relation between two variables; a correlation of 1.00 is a perfect association,
in which every change in one variable is matched by an identical change in the
other.)

As the table shows, there are few significant associations between the education
reforms listed and changes in vocational enrollments, and those that exist are
weak. Specifically, there is no significant relation between increases in the
proportion of academic credits required for graduation and reported changes in
vocational enrollments between 1987 and 1992. There is a statistically significant
but weak association between enrollment changes and increases in the
proportion of academic credits needed to enter state university systems.
However, the association is positive, suggesting that to the extent these
university entrance requirements had any effect, it was to increase rather than
decrease vocational enrollments.

Longer school years and site-based management programs are also positively
associated with enrollment changes in regular districts, while parental choice
plans are negatively associated with them. Once again, these associations are

weak and difficult to interpret. on
60

14 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education



Volume Tih

programs. However, a number of issues remain in order to effectively implement
state performance measurement systems. This section summarizes these issues.

Measuring Academic and Occupational Gains

Conceptually, the accountability requirements of Perkins are, for the most part,
compatible with state and local efforts to pursue program improvement through
more systematic monitoring of outcomes at the student, program, and
institutional levels.!7 In general, the legislation provides useful guidelines for the
kinds of measures that are appropriate indicators for program evaluation and
improvement. The procedures for developing and incorporating them into local
evaluation and program planning are flexible and permissive enough to allow
states and local education agencies to adapt these requirements to their particular
needs and circumstances.

However, some states and local districts have had difficulty adopting the
measures specified in the Perkins Act, especially in the area of learning
outcomes. For example, it has been especially difficult for states to measure
academic gains systematically at the postsecondary level, where there is little
comprehensive, uniform assessment of academic achievement. Therefore, many
states have chosen to use course completion as a proxy for academic gain.

Similarly, the absence of widely accepted industry skill standards and
assessment instruments «0 measure occupational competencies makes it difficult
to assess occupational gains at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. A
fair percentage of secondary districts reported using locally developed tests and
informal teacher judgment to measure both the academic and the occupational
skills of students (see Table 2.3). Perkins Act requirements, however, do provide
the impetus for devoting more attention to the problems of measuring academic
and occupational skills.

Evolving Data Systems

Ideally, each state’s system of performance measures and standards would be
used to assess the effectiveness of vocational programs based on learning and
labor market outcomes and would include information on other Perkins
priorities, such as the performance of special populations and students in school-
to-work transition programs. Currently, many states are developing the capacity
to disaggregate performance data on specific groups in their data systems.
However, because reporting data on iearning outcomes of vocational programs
has only recently become a priority, especially at the local level, this effort will
take time. Additionally, the original Perkins Act (1984) did not require that data
be disaggregated by special population groups. '8

State information management systems are beginning to change in response to
Perkins provisions. For example, some states are starting to collect program-leve!

44 Perforniance Measures and Standards

co
a



Volume III

Figure 4.2
Integration Activities by Postsecondary Institutions
in Given Program Areas

Agriculture

Business/Management

Office Support

Marketing/Distribution

Occupational Home Economics

Protective Services

Computers/Data Processing

Communications, Engineering,
and Science Technologies

A

Trade and Industrial

T T T T

T
0 20 40 60 80 100

Percent of Institutions Reporting "All" or "Most"
Integration Activities in This Area

Source: Omnibus Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

90 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

£09



Volume III

CHAPTER 2
PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND STANDARDS

INTRODUCTION

The 1990 Perkins Act requires states to implement systems of core measures and
standards for assessing the performance of secondary and postsecondary
vocational education programs by fall 1992. The Act also calls upon the National
Assessment of Vocational Education to assess “the effect of performance
standards and other measures of accountability on the delivery of vocational
education services.”! It is still too early for these systems to have had much
impact on the delivery of services, but we can assess implementation of Perkins-
mandated performance assessment systems at the state and local levels.

So far, in developing their systems of measures and standards, states have
adopted widely varying approaches. Some have taken a centralized approach to
designing their measures, prescribing specific assessment instruments or data
collection procedures to be used by local recipients, while others used a more
decentralized strategy, allowing local recipients to choose specific instruments or
procedures. Still others have adopted a mixed approach, prescribing the
requirements on some measures and allowing flexibility on others. Some states
collect local performance data through a central office, while others leave data
collection and analysis primarily to local education agencies. The extent of
centralization generally depends on the availability of assessment instruments,
the pre-existence of statewide procedures for monitoring vocational program
performance, and state-level governance policies.?

The progress of local districts and schools in implementing performance systems
depends on prior state-level development and adoption of the systems’
components, so local implementation necessarily lags behind state action.
Perkins required state agencies to finalize their measures and standards by fall
1992; in the brief time since then local education agencies have nevertheless taken
steps in implementing changes in response to these systems. Progress varies
between secondary districts and postsecondary institutions, and it varies across
different accountability-related activities.

This chapter relies primarily on two data sources: the National Assessment of
Vocational Education’s 1993 Followup Survey; and Rahn, Hoachlander, and
Levesque’s State Systems for Accountability in Vocational Education.3 These two
sources provide the most recent information available at the national level on
accountability systems. The Followup Survey gathered information from state
and local vocational education administrators on several topics including
performance measurement, and followed the original Omnibus Survey
administered in 1992; the Followup Survey is discussed in more detail in the

Performance Measures and Standards 27



Volume IIL

6)

8)

Ohio

)

2)

Workplace skills and experiences should be integrated into the general
educational scheme at all levels.

The 2+2 programs advocated, and the Professional Technical Certificates
that would be granted to postsecondary completers, will require
articulation agreements between the secondary and postsecondary levels.
Community colleges will play a central role in the operation of these
proposed programs, as they do with tech-prep programs.

As a general rule, it is advocated that the business and education
communities communicate and interact more at all levels.

The state is in the process of assembling the components of a school-to-
work transition program. Specific recommendations include the use of
performance-based assessment methods to insure that completers have
mastered the skills ‘mparted by the program.

The business community should be involved in both the planning and the
implementation of the program. The business community should be
consulted to insure that the program addresses the needs of employers.
Employers will also be called upon to offer workplace learning
experiences to program participants.

While specifics concerning proposed school-to-work programs in the state
are sparse, in 1993 funding was appropriated to begin the training of
mentors and the creation of pilot school-to-work demonstration sites.

Oklahoma

1)

2/4)

3)

One stated aspect of the planned program is that it must result in a

method of certifying the workplace skills that program completers have
mastered.

State policy requires that vocational or apprenticeship programs combine
classroom instruction with worksite training. Policy was enacted in May
1993. Details of implementation and current level of implementation are
unknown at this time.

Program must bridge the gap between secondary and postsecondary
institutions, to allow for smooth transitions between the two. No other
program specifics were included in the legislation.

173

A-12

The Effects of Educational Reform on Vocational Education



Volume III

Table 5.11
Percent of Districts With Title II] Tech-Prep Programs That Have
Provisions for Special Population Students

Program Regular Districts Vocational Districts
Agriculture 80 91
Business/ office 74 72
Marketing 68 81
Occupational home economics 73 80
Health 84 72
Trade and industry 86 68

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

courses on students who are neither members of special populations . . . nor top
college-bound students.”2! This focus on students in the middle half is, of course,
part of the original concept of tech prep. The districts in these case studies tend to
see tech prep as a way to attract a broader range of students to vocational
education.

In sum, special population students are usually not a priority in the development
of tech-prep programs, although the majority of programs are making an effort
to assure that they are included. The Perkins Act clearly envisions an activist
approach to improving the education of special population students, and tech
prep is integral to the Perkins strategy. On balance, we think that more attention
should be paid to developing tech-prep programs in sites with high
concentrations of special populations and preparing such students to enter
tech-prep programs and benefit from them, whatever their location.

CONCLUSION

The number of tech-prep initiatives has grown remarkably since the concept was
introduced in the mid-1980s; the Perkins Act added impetus to a movement well
under way. By 1993, about 5,400 out of 11,500 secondary school districts reported
some tech-prep activities. However, the estimated number of programs becomes
much smaller when the definition of a program becomes more restrictive. About
400 secondary programs meet the Perkins criteria for tech prep and have
graduated at least some students; 73 postsecondary programs meet the criteria
and have students participating. The majority of reported tech-prep initiatives

Tech-Prep Programs a 38 129



Volume Il

THE EFFECTS OF NATIONAL AND STATE INITIATIVES ON LOCAL REFORM
EFFORTS

This section examines the relation between a number of national and state
education reform efforts, on the one hand, and integration, tech prep, and
performance standards in local districts. The national efforts include the Perkins
Act, the SCANS" report, and the National Education Goals. State efforts include
state support for integration and tech prep, as well as several of the non-
vocational education reforms discussed previously.

A key question is whether federal and state education reform initiatives have
promoted integration, tech prep, and performance standards at the local level. Is
there evidence that the Perkins Act, and state efforts in support of the Act, are
related to increased implementation of these three initiatives in school districts?
Is there evidence that other federal and state reform effoits, such as the SCANS
report and increased academic requirements, are related to local reform?

Multiple regression analysis was used to address these questions. Separate
analyses were conducted on three outcome variables: (a) number of steps taken
by districts to integrate academic and vocational education; (b) number of steps
taken to develop tech-prep programs; and (c) number of measures used by
districts in performance assessment systems.

The explanatory variables for the integration and tech-prep equations included
(a) Perkins influence on integration (or tech prep) as perceived by regular school
district administrators; (b) perceived influence of other national education
reforms on integration (or tech prep); (c) state support for integration (or tech
prep); (d) academic reforms; and (e) restructuring reforms. !2 Several school
district characteristics were also screened for inclusion in the equation —
urbanicity, district size, and proportion of special populations. Of these, only
district size was significantly related to the outcome variables and was therefore
included in the equation as a control. The construction of these variabies is
explained in Appendix 1-A.

As Table 1.2 shows, the perceived influence of the Perkins Act is significantly
related to the number of steps (listed in the survey) that districts take to integrate
their academic and vocational curricula and to develop tech-prep programs.
Districts that report a large Perkins influence have taken 1.0 more step to
integrate (out of a possible ten) and 1.5 more steps to develop tech-prep
programs than those that report no Perkins influence.!3

Other national education reforms, such as SCANS and the National Goals, are
sighificantly related to local academic/vocational integration efforts, but not to
tech-prep efforts. Districts that say these reform initiatives have had a large
influence on their integration efforts have taken 1.3 more steps to integrate their
curricula than those that report no influence.

10 The Effects of Education Reform on Vocational Education

. 21



Volume III

In this chapter “credentialing” is used to denote the process of awarding formal
recognition for the attainment of skills and knowledge through an education or

training program; it includes certification arid licensure (see Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2

Credentialing
General Multi-Skilled Certification Licensure
Certification
Assess general industry “Right to title” “Right to practice”
knowledge across
occupations
Assessment examples: Assessment examples: Assessment examples:

exams; portfolio,
performance-based, and
multiple assessments

Examples of initiatives that are
working toward a general
industry certificate:
¢Far West Laboratory
(e.g., health)
¢The New Standards Project
(e.g., manufacturing)

national, state, or
industry exam with the
required completion of
a predetermined
amount of work
experience, education,
and/or job training

Examples of occupations
that require certification:
* Auto mechanic
¢Interior designer
Landfill operator

national or state exam
with the required
completion of program
at an accredited
institution
(professional, 4-year,
2-year, or private
proprietary)

Examples of occupations
that require licensure:
¢Plumber, journeyman
»Cosmetologist
Registered nurse
Insurance agent

Licensing is the most restrictive form of professional and occupational regulation
and is often referred to as right-to-practice. Under licensure laws, it is illegal for a
person to practice a profession (e.g., law, medicine, accounting) without first
meeting state standards. Under certification, the state grants title protection
(right-to-title) to persons meeting predetermined standards (e.g., an interior

designer, nutritionist). Those without certification may perform the duties of the
occupation, but may not use the title.!0

A new type of credential is being developed by organizations such as Far West
Laboratory and The New Standards Project. This general multi-skilled certificate

Industrial Skill Standards

66 °


Volume III

Figure 5.2
Percent of Tech-Prep Programs and All Vocational Programs in
Postsecondary Education, by Program Area

Agriculture

Business and
Management

Office Support
Occupations

Marketing and
Distribution

Health #

Occupational Ata
Home Economics 64] ] Tech-Prep Programs
Protective ff ’ ( All Programs
Services 79
Computers/ . 12.
Data Processing : 12.2)

Communications, §
Engineering, Science Tech

Trade and Industrial

o 2 4 6 8 10 12 4 16
Percent of Institutions

Source: Omnibus Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

The survey data show that the occurrence of tech-prep initiatives is unrelated to
proportions of special population students (Table 5.9). Districts with high

proportions of special populations are as likely to be developing tech prep as
those with low proportions.

For Title III tech-prep grants, however, the picture is a little different. Districts
with low proportions of special populations are about as likely to receive grants

126 Tech-Prep Programs

135



Volume II

Table 5.2
Percent of Regular and Vocational Districts With
Tech-Prep Initiatives by Perkins Basic Grant (Title II) Funding Status

Regular Vocational
Tech Prep Funded | Unfunded | Funded | Unfunded
Started before 1991-92 28 13 65 54
Started in or continuing in 49 32 84 80
1991-92

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

Table 5.3
Percent of Districts Receiving Perkins Title III Tech-Prep
Funds by Size of District

Regular Vocational
Student enrollments

Less than 1,000 3 Smallest quartile 6

1,000-2,400 10 Second quartile 21

2,500-4,999 16 Third quartile 27

5,000-9,999 12 Largest quartile 22

10,000-24,999 12 ‘
25,000 or more 32

Sources: Omnibus District Surveys, Version B and Vocational

110 Tech-Prep Programs

Lig


Volume III

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TECH PREP

Extent and Size of Programs

How far along are local education systems in developing and implementing tech
prep? At first glance, tech-prep programs seem to be booming. The proportion of
postsecondary institutions reporting tech-prep initiatives increased from 40
percent in 1990-91 to 68 percent in 1991-92 and 74 percent in 1992-93. Similarly,
the proportion of regular districts reporting tech prep increased from 23 percent
in 1990-91 to 41 percent in 1991-92 and 46 percent in 1992-93.

Strong majorities of the districts and postsecondary institutions reporting
tech-prep initiatives also said that they had taken major steps to implement their
programs — hiring tech-prep coordinators, developing course sequences,
providing teacher or counselor training, etc. (See Tables A-5.1 through A-5.3.)
The proportion of respondents reporting such steps more than doubled in most
categories between 1990-91 and 1991-92, no doubt reflecting the first stages of
Perkins implementation. After these large increases, tech-prep activities (planned
or actual) continued to expand, though less dramatically. For example, by
1990-91, 30 percent of regular districts with tech-prep initiatives had developed
sequences of tech-prep courses; by 1991-92, 70 percent had done so; and by
1992-93, 86 percent had done so. In those areas for which we have common
measures for 1991-92 and 1992-93, the proportions of respondents planning in
1992 to take specific implementing steps in the next year are generally equaled or
exceeded by the proportions taking them in 1993. By this measure, tech-prep
administrators seem to be carrying through on their plans.

There were two conspicuous areas in which tech-prep implementation was not
widespread by 1992. One was developing “all aspects of the industry” curricula
for use in tech-prep programs, accomplished by only 13 percent of regular
districts, 19 percent of vocational districts, and 17 percent of postsecondary
institutions with tech-prep initiatives. The second area was providing job
placement services for tech-prep students, reported by 35 percent of regular
districts, 22 percent of vocational districts, and 18 percent of postsecondary
institutions with tech prep.

As we saw in the preceding chapter, “all aspects” activities increased markedly
between 1992 and 1993, and it is reasonable to assume that those associated with
tech prep also increased. Further, as we noted in discussing the relatively low
proportion of states requiring placement services as a condition of Title III tech-
prep funding, in 1992 most of the tech-prep programs were not far enough along
to have students ready for job placement.

The widespread activity evident in the 1992 Omnibus Survey tended to obscure
the fact that most of the tech-prep programs reported were not really functioning
at the time. Over half of the tech-prep initiatives were just getting started in the

Tech-Prep Programs

lel


Volume HL

Part II. The School-to-Work Transition

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

CHAPTER APPENDICES...

Integration of Academic and Vocational
LOS (o

The Roots of Academic/Vocational Integration........ 71
The Structure of Integration 000.0... eects
Implementing the Integration of Academic and
Vocational Education,
The Potential of Integrated Education...
Instruction in “All Aspects of the Industry”
Conclusion,

Endnotes...

Tech-Prep Programs .o0oooo......cccceccsceseesseesssecesseeseseeeee 105

107
108

State Programs and Initiatives...
State Allocation of Tech-Prep Funds,
Characteristics of Tech-Prep Sites...
The Implementation of Tech Prep.
The Role of Perkins in Local Tech-Prep Efforts,
Conclusion.

Endnotes............

132

Work-Based Learning 20000000 cceecceeeeeeeseeeeeeeeee 135

Work Experience Programs for Two-Year
Coliege Students
The Scale of New Work Experience Programs,
Recruiting New Employers
Conclusion,
Endnotes.



Volume III

Table 4.3
Percent of Postsecondary Institutions Taking Specific Steps to Integrate
Academic and Vocational Education, by 1990-91 and Between 1990 and 1993

Between
By 1990 &

Steps Toward Integration 1990-91} 1993

Support remedial /developmental education 94 87

Establish general educational competencies for 73 67
occupational/ technical students

Develop applied academics courses (e.g., Technical Math, 71 _
Business English)

Use cross-curriculum materials (e.g., Writing Across the 52 _-
Curriculum)

Provide in-service training for vocational faculty on 32 60
integration

Provide in-service training for academic faculty on 24 48
integration

Provide “tandem” courses where students take coordinated 40 30
academic and vocational courses

Provide interdisciplinary courses combining occupational 29 28
issues and academic disciplines

Sources: Omnibus and 1993 Followup Surveys of Postsecondary Institutions

What the findings do suggest is that two-year postsecondary institutions already
had some measure of integration before the Perkins Act and that they continued
their integration-related activities afterward. There was no great expansion of
activities across institutions, as at the secondary level.

The notable exception to this pattern is the training of vocational and academic
faculty in integration. The provision of in-service training did expand across
institutions in this period, as it did across state agencies and secondary districts.

The tendency of postsecondary institutions not to change established forms of
integration nor to add new ones also suggests that the effects of the Perkins Act
on local postsecondary integration were limited, at least as of 1993. The principal
postsecondary response to Perkins in the area of integration seems to have been
to provide faculty training. However, as we saw earlier, integration efforts by

88 Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

98



Volume IIT

Figure 2.3
Number of States Measuring Performance on Each Learning Outcome
50
a7E 46
40- 43
40

2
£
& 305
a
6 4
3
£ 204+
Zz

10+

0 et a , f as)
Academic Occupational General Retention or
Skills Competencies Employability Completion
Skills
Ba Secondary Postsecondary

Source: 1993 Followup Surveys of State Agencies

(See Appendix Tables A-2.4 through A-2.7 for a summary of the measures used
by the states to assess academic and occupational skills.)

In secondary vocational education, about half of the states measure academic
skills by using a one-time required test (see Table A-2.6 in the Appendix). Other
states have implemented a measure that requires a pretest and posttest to
demonstrate individual student gain, while still others will be using course
completion rates as a proxy for academic skill gain. At the postsecondary level,
states’ methods for measuring academic gain are less uniform (see Appendix
Table A-2.7). Whereas most states intend to measure academic gain in secondary
vocational education by using a test instrument, many states set completion of
specific basic and advanced courses as measures at the postsecondary level. A
number of states left the choice of assessment instruments and measurement

2. 4 3 Performance Measures and Standards



Volume III

52 Zemsky, R. (1994), What Employers Want: Youth Apprenticeships and the Development of
Effective Policies for Improving the Educational Quality of the American Workforce , paper
prepared for the Association for Public Policy and Management Conference.

53 Ibid., p.7.

54 Hershey & Silverberg (1993).

55 Hoachlander (1994).

Work-Based Learning 155

163



Volume IIT

Table 5.7
Steps to Implement Tech Prep in Postsecondary Institutions
by Perkins Title III Funding Status, 1991-92 (Percent of Institutions)

Community Vocational
Colleges Institutes

Steps Toward Tech Prep Funded | Unfunded | Funded | Unfunded

Hold tech-prep meetings with local 98 97 100 95
school districts and/or schools

Develop articulation agreement(s) with 96 95 93 85
local school districts and/or schools

Collaboration between secondary and 85 84 91 79
postsecondary instructors to modify
course content

Grant postsecondary credit for high 78 79 78 69
school courses

Establish secondary / postsecondary 77 76 81 79
majors or career paths

Tech-prep policy adopted by governing 78 67 83 71
board

Establish non-duplicative sequence of 75 69 87 68
secondary and postsecondary
tech-prep courses

Provide written publicity about 71 62 80 61
tech-prep program(s) to high school
students

Joint training of secondary and 74 52 85 56
postsecondary instructors

Modify postsecondary curricula for 62 58 60 46
tech prep

Employ a tech-prep coordinator 75 44 85 42

Develop “all aspects of the industry” 43 39 57 51
curriculum for use in tech-prep
program

Source: Omnibus Survey of Postsecondary Institutions

Tech-Prep Programs

J0

121


Volume III

High School for Business Careers, among others. Career magnets are not
necessarily integrated at the level of individual courses. Standard English and
history classes are usually still taught. Nevertheless, the programs are integrated
in the sense that they have a career focus and presumably help create a
community of purpose among students and teachers.

The academies are similar to the New York magnet programs in comprehensive
high schools, although they tend to recruit potential dropouts, and retention is
one of their major goals. As in the New York programs, there is some integration
of academic and vocational subjects at the course level, though many traditional
academic courses are still taught.

Crain and associates** took advantage of random (lottery) selection into New
York magnets to conduct a natural experiment. They compared educational
outcomes for lottery winners (who were admitted to magnet schools and
programs) and lottery losers (who pursued a regular education in comprehensive
high schools).

Their initial research on ninth-graders found that lottery winners of average
reading ability (a) were less likely to drop out of school between the eighth and
ninth grades; (b) gained more in reading scores; and (c) earned more credits
toward graduation than their counterparts in comprehensive high schools.
Below-average readers in the magnet schools (a) were less likely to drop out
between the eighth and ninth grades; (b) were more likely to pass the advanced
mathematics test required for the New York State Regents diploma; but (c) were
also more likely to be absent than their below-average counterparts in the
comprehensive high schools.

Unfortunately, most of these promising results were not found in a second study
of the cohort conducted one year later. Preliminary results indicate no significant
overall differences between the lottery winners and losers in the 10th grade.
However, this preliminary analysis also found some differences between
students randomly selected into certain kinds of magnet schools and programs,
as compared to students who applied to those schools and programs but were
not selected.45 Among those benefiting in certain kinds of magnet settings were:

Students in magnet schools with block scheduling, where students
move as a group from one (academic) class to another;

Students in magnet business and aviation programs;

Students in magnet programs featuring guest speakers from
business and industry (a surprisingly large effect).

On the other harid, magnet programs with an especially strong career orientation
seemed to affect students with poor reading scores negatively.

Integration of Academic and Vocational Curricula

105 *



Volume IIT

Table 2.1
States’ Progress in Establishing Procedures for Adjusting Performance
Measures and Standards for Special Populations and Local Modifications,

as of 1993
Number of State Number of State
Secondary Postsecondary
Agencies Agencies
In In
Yes | No |Process| Yes | No | Process
Adjustments for special
populations:
Disabled students 20 28 3 14 31 5
Disadvantaged students 16 | 32 3 13 | 32 5
LEP students 16 31 4 13 | 32 5
Other special population 3 47 1 5 | 43 2
students
Local modifications:
School resources 9 | 37 5 6 | 40 4
Local labor market 13 34 4 10 35 5

Source: 1993 Followup Surveys of Slate Agencies

measures and standards, administrators may not see any need for local
modifications. In these states, local districts or institutions usually choose the
assessment instruments and measurement tools that fit their needs; thus, the
entire system is locally modified. Whether such arrangements are consistent with
the Perkins Act is a question that should be addressed. The Act calls for “a
statewide system of core standards and measures.” In these highly decentralized
states, it is unclear how much of a statewide system exists.

Coordination With Other Federal Programs

All states reported that the development of their performance measurement
system involved some form of coordination with other programs receiving
federal assistance, as required by Perkins, although the extent of this
coordination varied among states. Most states indicated that they had included a

Performance Measures aid Standards 35

46