Career and Technical Education Programs in Public School Districts: 2016-17. First Look. NCES 2018-028
Author: Gray, Lucinda
Date: 2018-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Vocational Education,Public Schools,School Districts,Sequential Approach,High School Students,Tables (Data),Statistical Data,Surveys,Enrollment Trends,Consortia,Community Colleges,Technical Institutes,Vocational High Schools,Dual Enrollment,Credits,Work Experience Programs,On the Job Training,Internship Programs,Practicums,Cooperative Education,Rural Schools,Urban Schools,Entrepreneurship,Mentors,Clinical Experience,Employers,School Business Relationship,Student Participation,Barriers,Decision Making

This report is based on the 2016-17 survey &quot;Career and Technical Education Programs in Public School Districts&quot; and provides nationally representative data on career and technical education (CTE) programs. The survey defines a CTE program as a sequence of courses at the high school level that provides students with the academic and technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions. For this survey, districts were instructed to include all CTE programs that the district offers to high school students, including programs provided by the district or by other entities (such as an area/regional CTE center, a consortium of districts, or a community or technical college). The report provides information about the entities that provide the CTE programs and the locations at which the CTE programs are offered to high school students. It also presents data about work-based learning activities and employer involvement in CTE programs, as well as barriers to the district offering CTE programs and barriers to student participation in CTE programs. Data are also presented about the extent to which various factors influence the district's decisions on whether to add or phase out CTE programs. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the Institute of Education Sciences, conducted this survey in spring 2017 using the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS). FRSS is a survey system designed to collect small amounts of issue-oriented data from a nationally representative sample of districts, schools, or teachers with minimal burden on respondents and within a relatively short period of time. The survey was mailed to approximately 1,800 public school districts with high school grades in the United Stated (50 states and the District of Columbia). The cover letter and questionnaire indicated that the survey was designed to be completed by the person in the district most knowledgeable about career and technical education programs for high school students. Respondents were asked to provide information for the 2016-17 school year and the summer of 2016, and were offered options of completing the survey on paper or online. The unweighted survey response rate was 87 percent and the weighted response rate using the initial base weights was 86 percent. The survey weights were adjusted for questionnaire nonresponse and the data were then weighted to yield national estimates that represent all eligible public school districts with high schools in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia). Tables of standard error estimates are provided in appendix A. See the technical notes (appendix B) for detailed information about the survey methodology. Appendix B also includes definitions of the analysis variables (i.e., district characteristics) used in the report. The questionnaire is located in appendix C. Because the purpose of this report is to introduce new NCES data from the survey through tables containing descriptive information, only selected national findings are presented. These findings have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available from the FRSS study rather than to discuss all of the data collected; they are not meant to emphasize any particular issue. Readers are cautioned not to make causal inferences about the data presented here. The findings are based on self-reported data from public school districts. Many of the variables examined are related to one another, and complex interactions and relationships have not been explored.