Career and Technical Education Credentials in Virginia High Schools: Trends in Attainment and College Enrollment Outcomes. REL 2022-132
Author: Harris, Julie C.
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: High School Graduates,Vocational Education,Credentials,Educational Trends,Educational Attainment,Enrollment,Graduation Rate,Equal Education,Minority Group Students,Racial Bias,English Language Learners,Low Income Students,Students with Disabilities,College Attendance,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,White Students,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Program Effectiveness,Advanced Placement,Academically Gifted,Special Education,Asian American Students,Academic Achievement

In Virginia, there has been a long-term effort to increase the number of graduates who earn career and technical education (CTE) credentials. These CTE credentials are intended to provide high school graduates with additional preparation for college and careers. In 2013, the Virginia Board of Education added a CTE credential requirement to the Standard diploma for students who entered grade 9 for the first time in 2013 or later. Graduates can complete this requirement by passing an approved assessment and do not have to take any CTE courses. The CTE credential requirement was added to the Standard diploma because graduates earning this diploma are less likely to enroll in, persist in, or complete college than graduates who earn Virginia's other main diploma, the Advanced Studies diploma. In addition, this new policy is part of the state's efforts to eliminate racial and socioeconomic inequities in Virginia public schools. Graduates who are Black or Hispanic, who are English learner students, who are in economically disadvantaged circumstances, or who receive special education services are more likely than other groups of graduates to earn the Standard diploma rather than the Advanced Studies diploma. At the request of Virginia CTE leaders, the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia conducted a descriptive study of attainment rates of CTE credentials, completion rates of CTE programs of study, and college enrollment rates for Standard diploma graduates from 2011 to 2017, the years before and after the policy change. Education stakeholders in Virginia and elsewhere can use the results of this study to inform their CTE policies. From 2011 to 2017, the percentage of Standard diploma graduates who earned at least one CTE credential increased from 23 percent to 91 percent. A similar increase occurred among Advanced Studies diploma graduates, even though the CTE credential requirement applied only to Standard diploma graduates. The attainment rates of CTE credentials increased for all groups of Standard diploma graduates, including groups based on demographic characteristics, federal program participation, and academic achievement. While the percentages of Standard diploma graduates who earned a CTE credential increased consistently from 2011 to 2017, their college enrollment rates dropped. The percentage of Standard diploma graduates completing a CTE program of study, which requires taking CTE courses that are not required to earn a credential but may still be helpful for later student outcomes, decreased in 2016 and 2017. The study findings suggest a need to examine workforce outcomes for Standard diploma graduates to fully understand whether this policy is meeting its intended goals. In addition, the findings suggest a need to consider other methods to address outcomes for Virginia's Standard diploma graduates, such as support for implementing practices with rigorous evidence of effectiveness for improving college and career outcomes. [For the appendixes, see ED616549. For the Study Snapshot, see ED616547.]