Secondary Career and Technical Education: Differences in Access, Participation, and Outcomes in Two National Studies
Author: Arbeit, Caren A.
Date: 2017-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Vocational Education,Technical Education,Career Education,Longitudinal Studies,High School Students,Access to Education,Outcomes of Education,Student Characteristics,Course Selection (Students),Grade 10,Grade 9,Institutional Characteristics,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnicity,Socioeconomic Status,Urban Areas,Graduation Rate,College Attendance,Comparative Analysis,Student Participation,Rural Areas,Statistical Analysis

Well-formulated career and technical education (CTE) programs provide high-quality, coherent instruction that leads to in-demand technical skills and rewarding careers for students from all backgrounds. However, participation in CTE and concentration in specific CTE fields differ by student sociodemographic characteristics. For example, in 2004, 13 percent of Hispanic/Latino students completed a concentration in a CTE field of study, compared to 18 percent of black/African-American and 19 percent of white students (Dalton et al. 2013, table 8). Similarly, prior research on the outcomes of CTE participants appear to differ by student demographics. For example, among 1992 high school graduates, 65 percent of males who earned four or more CTE credits (across all CTE fields) enrolled in a postsecondary institution by 2000, compared to 78 percent of females (Levesque et al. 2008, table 2.33). These differential rates raise the question of whether CTE provides equitable opportunities for students from different backgrounds and particularly for students who are disadvantaged or historically underserved. Additionally, there is little understanding of differences in CTE participation across time. To address these concerns, this study identifies gaps by examining CTE participation rates and the short-term educational outcomes of CTE participants from different backgrounds. The study provides multiple measures of gaps based on student and school characteristics over time at the national level. This study focuses on how CTE participation rates and outcomes for students at different levels of CTE access and participation differ according to at least four key characteristics: sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and urbanicity of school locale. Where possible, English learner status disability status are also included, which is discussed in detail in this report. The data used in this report come from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) and the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), a pair of nationally representative, longitudinal studies of high school students using similar methodologies and measures, allowing for comparison over time. The research questions for this study address gaps in CTE participation, access, and outcomes. These questions emphasize the association between student background and access to CTE or benefits from CTE, in order to identify possible systematic differences across student groups. It is important to identify whether students' levels of CTE coursetaking vary by their key characteristics and whether CTE coursetaking leads to similar outcomes for students from different backgrounds, as this information indicates how well CTE programs and courses serve different populations. The paper compares high school outcomes for two cohorts of students, students who were in grade 10 in 2002 (the ELS cohort) and those in grade 9 in 2009 (the HSLS cohort). Specifically: (1) Do access to and participation in CTE programs vary by key student and school characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, SES, and urbanicity of school locale) in the ELS and HSLS cohorts and between the two cohorts?; and (2) At the end of high school, what were the educational outcomes (on-time high school graduation and college attendance) of CTE samplers, explorers, and concentrators, and did these differ between the two cohorts?