Examining the Influence of the Florida &quot;Career and Professional Education Act of 2007&quot;: Changes in Industry Certifications and Educational and Employment Outcomes
Author: Glennie, Elizabeth
Date: 2017-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Vocational Education,Career Education,Professional Education,State Legislation,Industry,Certification,Outcomes of Education,Employment Level,Job Skills,National Standards,School Business Relationship,Statewide Planning,Program Effectiveness,Postsecondary Education,Interviews,High School Graduates,Student Characteristics,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnicity,Socioeconomic Status,Minority Group Students,Regression (Statistics),Statistical Analysis

High school students who complete technical coursework in a given field should be able to demonstrate their skill mastery by passing a technical skill assessment that is recognized in that field. States are using a variety of approaches to assess students' skill attainment, with some adopting industry-recognized assessments linked to national standards. These exams can both document that students have achieved industry-recognized standards and confer a national certification recognized by employers. With the &quot;Career and Professional Education Act of 2007&quot; (&quot;CAPE Act&quot;), the Florida legislature promoted coordinated statewide planning between business and education to help attract industries with high employment capacity to the state. Each year, the state identifies industry and third-party certifications that are based on national standards and associated with occupations in high demand or linked to emerging industries. The Division of Career and Adult Education within the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) selects a subset of industry certifications that are appropriate for secondary school students to pursue and annually creates a CAPE Industry Certification Funding List. Students and their parents do not have to pay examination costs nor manage logistics of scheduling the exam or getting to a testing location. The certifications on this list are one component of Florida's School Report Cards; schools get credit and financial bonuses for students who take industry-recognized certification exams and who pass those exams. Students earning some certifications have the potential to earn postsecondary credits as well. This study assesses several aspects of the Florida experience. One relates to the rollout of the program. The authors were able to document the changes in the number and type of students pursuing and earning industry-recognized certifications once those certifications were integrated into the state's funding formula and used to determine bonus funding. In this report, the term &quot;certification earners&quot; refers to all students who earned certifications in high school, regardless of their course-taking. &quot;Certification non-earners&quot; are those who did not earn certifications, either because they did not take an exam or because they failed it. Next, the authors assess whether awarding postsecondary credits to certification earners affects their educational outcomes, including whether students with such credits were more likely to complete high school and whether they were more likely to enroll and persist in postsecondary education. Finally, the authors assess whether industry certification confers employment benefits.