New Futures Why Invest in Career and Technical Education (CTE) in the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area?

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1 1 New Futures Why Invest in Career and Technical Education (CTE) in the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area? Executive Summary New Futures invests in students in the District of Columbia metropolitan area (D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland) through providing grants for study in Career and Technical Education (CTE). Its scholarships normally cover most of the costs of community college or professional certification programs with the possibility of follow up scholarships for those seeking further education including a four-year college degree. It has been known for a long time that the life time earnings of individuals with only high school qualifications are far lower than those of individuals with college degrees. However, some low income students are unable to access four year colleges due to a combination of factors including: a) low skill levels and scores on graduation from high school; b) a lack of resources to pay for four year college; and c) multiple family obligations. Although CTE has been seen as second best for many decades, this assessment has been changing. There are expanding career opportunities for such students through the acquisition of Certificate or Associate Degree level education. 1 Some of the reasons for enhanced interest in CTE include: a) an increase in the number of jobs requiring post secondary education; b) an increase in the cost of college of four times the rate of inflation over the last two decades; c) improvements in CTE programs in terms of their relevance to the job market and engagement with local businesses, as well as being more demanding in terms of academic requirements; and d) the need for a new cadre of workers to work in service industries such as health and IT which have professional level salaries. Thus CTE can be a pathway to life long employment, the entry point into employment for those who may change interests later on, or a skill based qualification that can be added to four-year degrees. Less than 60% of the D.C. student population completes high school. Fewer than 30% enroll in college within 18 months of high school graduation, compared to 48% nationwide. Inadequate preparation for college contributes to a high drop out rate. Acknowledging the importance of CTE, a recent report by the District Career and Technical Education Task Force 2 focuses on how best to improve the provision of CTE in the District of 1 A certificate is a non-degree program designed to provide students with specialized knowledge demonstrating the completion of a planned, sequential program of study in a particular field of knowledge. Certificates can take from a few weeks to months to obtain depending on the subject area. An Associate Degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years. Certificates can be obtained by students with other degree qualifications as well as being a stand alone indication of knowledge. 2 District Career and Technical Education Task Force, Strengthening the Pipeline to College and Careers, A Strategic Plan for Career and Technical Education in the District of Columbia, 2013.

2 2 Columbia through monitoring program quality indicators relating to Teacher Quality and Curriculum and Instructional Quality, aligning study programs with the local job market and putting in place improvements to increase student concentration and completion rates. In line with current thinking on the value of good CTE programs, New Futures assists those students who have completed high school or obtained a GED certification, but who for a variety of reasons do not plan, at least initially, to enroll in a four-year college program. In many cases, the grant assistance that New Futures provides covers most of the costs of community college or certificate programs and in others complements Pell funding for essentials such as books, supplies, transport and other out of pocket expenses. In the current job market enabling lowincome students to gain a post secondary education is crucial for their future. Introduction Since its creation, the non-profit organization New Futures has emphasized career oriented certification and associate degrees, (CTE), in its scholarship awards. This focus is motivated by a lack of scholarship support for this type of post-secondary education as compared to the more traditional four-year college degree, and the perspective that the latter, for various reasons, is not the right path for every student and a particularly difficult initial path for some low-income students. This paper reviews the recent resurgence of interest in CTE worldwide and research studies on the topic and reconfirms the mission of New Futures, in the light of the current educational context. The recent growth of interest in CTE has been fostered by two main concerns: a) Fouryear college is an economically inefficient means of preparing young people to fill the many jobs in the economy that require specialized and more than high school knowledge, but less than a four-year college education; and b) Given their need to work, many low-income high-school or GED graduates do not have the academic preparation, financial means or time to complete fouryear college. Research studies show that the lifetime earnings of four-year college graduates are higher than those of high school and CTE graduates. 3 But they also show that the latter often earn a good middle class income, with more than a quarter earning more than four-year college graduates during the first seven years after graduation. Given these findings, the New Futures focus on a CTE-based approach seems appropriate in supporting the goal of large numbers of low-income youth seeking to improve the quality of their lives through post-secondary education. Many of these students have few alternative sources of 3 Harvard Graduate School of Education: Pathways to Prosperity, pg. 2, February The lifetime earnings gap between those with a high school education and those with a college degree is now estimated to be nearly $1 million. And the differential has been widening. In 2008, median earnings of workers with bachelor s degrees were 65 percent higher than those of high school graduates ($55,700 vs. $33,800). Similarly, workers with associate s degrees earned 73 percent more than those who had not completed high school ($42,000 vs. $24,300).

3 3 support. The balance of this review covers recent trends in CTE worldwide, nationally and locally and their relevance for the work of New Futures. The Global and Recent Context CTE has long existed worldwide, though organized, financed and emphasized differently across countries. The United States, (particularly in the latter half of the twentieth century) has placed greater emphasis on improving access to and the quality of academic secondary schools and four-year colleges, than on CTE. What used to be known as vocational education has been and is still viewed by many as a less desirable path than an academic education. This is also true for other countries, although many Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries have placed far more emphasis on CTE than the United States. In Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland, after grade 9 or 10, between 40 and 70 percent of young people opt for an educational program that typically combines classroom and workplace learning over the next three years. 4 Two kinds of CTE have prevailed in these countries: one involving apprenticeship, a dual system, and the other providing CTE mainly in school based programs. Germany and Switzerland have been particularly well known for their apprenticeship programs and excellent systems of CTE as alternative streams to academic schooling at the secondary level and beyond, though the German system, possibly due among other things to the changed needs of employers in a recession, is apparently not faring as well as in the past. In some developed and developing countries, CTE received a bad name. The quality of CTE has often been poor; the programs have not led to good jobs for the students; have not been perceived as relevant to the needs of employers; and/or the students attending the programs have been or are perceived to be less able than students attending academic degree programs. In addition some CTE streams are not linked to future possibilities of obtaining further degrees or qualifications. This latter issue is not the case in the United States which is noted for the many pathways providing varied entry points to the four-year college system. Over the last decade, there has been an international revival or intensification of interest in CTE. Indeed, in the US, many now believe that the country places far too much emphasis on a single pathway to success 5 : attending and graduating from a four-year college after completing an academic program of study in high school. For many students, the ideal educational path may be four-year college, perhaps followed in due course by graduate school. However, for other students, a different form of post-secondary education may be a more appropriate next step. Likewise, today s job market calls for a variety of skills, some best and most economically available from other than four-year programs. It is this group of students which New Futures scholarships and career advice seek to help. The reasons for the current enhanced interest in the U.S. in CTE are diverse and include: 4 Ibid p Ibid. p 24

4 4 1) Increases in Tuition: The cost of college education, even at public universities, has increased dramatically-- at four times the rate of inflation over the last two decades. The high cost has made it impossible for some to afford college and has led others to question whether college, even if affordable, yields benefits high enough to justify the cost; 2) Changing Labor Market Needs: In the past, many jobs required only a high school education. However, today some post-secondary education is needed to access many jobs. Specifically, between 1973 and 2007, jobs requiring some post-secondary education have increased from 28% of the total to 59% of the total; 6 other labor market changes include: - The need for Life Long Learning: In a world with rapid technological innovation, the skills demanded by the business sector are constantly changing. This means that labor market participants, even four-year college graduates, must be prepared to engage in life-long learning, which can be facilitated by participation in credential providing shorter term programs purveying skills in both existing and emerging areas. Stacking sequential credentials, for example in computer skills, may be a better learning approach than a one-time four year college program for some types and levels of jobs; - Changes in the job market: Jobs demanding mid-level skills have grown and in some cases are quite lucrative. For example, some health care, computer, police, and paralegal jobs, which require more than a high school education but less than a four year degree, provide an income higher than can be earned in jobs open to those with just a high school degree; and even more than in some jobs open to those with a bachelor s degree. Per the Harvard Pathway s report, 27% of people with post-secondary licenses or certificates credentials short of an associate s degree earn more than the average bachelor s degree recipient; 7 3) Poor Retention Rates at Colleges: College completion rates are poor. Not only are there high levels of high school dropout, but the graduation rates from four year colleges are low. Although graduation rates from elite schools are high, only 56% of all students graduate with a B.A. within 6 years. 8 These numbers suggest that many students are ill prepared for college, need support to stay in the education system and a four year college is not right for everyone as the immediate next step from high school. However it is also true that graduation rates from community colleges are also poor emphasizing the complex support systems that need to be in place for many students to succeed. 4) Improvements in the design of CTE programs: Experience has suggested that many of the problems experienced around the world with CTE are not inherent to the concept itself but are rectifiable. For example, relevance of programs to labor market demand can be strengthened through close involvement of local businesses in the design of programs, and the general education content of CTE courses can be improved, as well as the links between CTE and fouryear programs; 6 Ibid p.3 Figure 1. 7 Ibid p.3 8 Ibid p.10.

5 5 5) Poor High School Education: The quality of high school education is quite poor in many schools, leaving students ill prepared to continue on to university as a next step; 6) Social Pressures on Students: Students may have other responsibilities such as young children or elderly parents which make it impossible to consistently attend a demanding college program over four years. They may also need to work to survive or support family members. These students may need more flexible or shorter term programs to accommodate other demands on their time; and 7) It is now recognized that more than academic skills are important to ensure career success. Career readiness involves three major skill areas: core academic skills and the ability to apply those skills to concrete situations in order to function in the workplace and in routine daily activities; employability skills (such as critical thinking and responsibility) that are essential in any career area; and technical, job-specific skills related to a specific career pathway. These skills have been emphasized across numerous pieces of research and allow students to enter true career pathways that offer family-sustaining wages and opportunities for advancement. 9 Current U.S. Policy Framework for CTE The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 laid the groundwork for changes in secondary school curricula, instituted by local education authorities, to meet the needs of the local economy. The 2012 reauthorization of the Perkins Act focuses on the shortcomings of the 2006 Act. The Act encourages collaboration between employers and post-secondary programs in order to ease the transition from high school into employment or to post-secondary education. Information on new programs of study leading to careers is to be made available to students and parents so that choices of a sequence of courses can be made as early as 9 th or 10 th grade that will create a pathway towards a career. Schools and colleges are encouraged to develop agreements to avoid duplication of effort, and the former to offer credit towards a certificate or degree in order to improve time to graduation. Courses at the secondary and college level are to lead towards acquisition of local licenses or industry certification, while courses for adults at the college level are to offer opportunities for upgrading of skills and change of careers for those already employed. Community colleges provide career and technical training for entry into the workforce and continuing education and skills upgrading. In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to bring together federally funded training and employment programs. The resulting one-stop system provides employment assistance and training for eligible individuals at community colleges and with approved training providers. 10 Community colleges also receive grants from the Department of Labor such as the High Growth Job Training Initiative, Community-Based Job Training Grants and the Workforce Innovation and Regional 9 National Association for Career and Technical Education, What is Career Ready?, Alexandria, Virginia., 10 GAO Highlights,

6 6 Economic Development grants. About half of all community college students are enrolled in career and technical education programs. 11 The U.S. Department of Labor classifies occupations under 23 groups in its Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). The U.S. Department of Education has identified 16 Career Clusters that, although not an identical match, provide a similar classification system that is currently used to group occupations according to the knowledge and skills required for particular careers. The logic behind grouping sets of knowledge and skills under career clusters is that in a fast changing economy workers may have to move from job to job over a lifetime and will need to specialize in a set of skills that will enable them to change jobs more easily. The national set of career clusters has been accepted by local education authorities in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia and provides the framework for skills training in programs of study at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. The 2012 publication of the United States Department of Education Investing in America s Future: A Blueprint for Transforming Career and Technical Education, outlines reforms designed to address current CTE shortcomings. Future career and technical education programs within states are to be based on identification of the occupations that are in demand in high-growth sectors of the economy, employers and industries are to be engaged in program and curricula design, secondary school and postsecondary institutions are to increase collaboration and states will be held accountable for creating high-quality programs and successful student outcomes. 12 Early specialization at the secondary level can lead to industry certification and direct entry into the workforce. For example, a student wishing to enter a career in cosmetology can take the required number of specialized courses from 10 th to 12 th grade at a technical school in Montgomery County that will lead to the local licensing examination and directly into employment. Occupational licenses are issued by states as part of their regulatory responsibilities and guarantee that a person has reached the required state standards and has a legal right to practice a particular profession. 13 The State Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists in Maryland, part of the Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation, issue a Cosmetologist license. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is an accrediting agency that assures programs meet industry requirements for quality and that holders of certificates accredited by the Institute have completed a prescribed course of study. 14 Colleges, universities and career technical schools, and national associations issue certificates. Certificates may be endorsed by an industry through a professional or trade association within an industry association. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies issues accreditation for certification programs including many in the field of health care. 15 Certification is obtained through examination. 11 Ibid 12 United States Department of Education Investing in America s Future: A Blueprint for Transforming Career and Technical Education, April Career one stop, Licensed Occupations at 14 American National Standards Institute www. ansi.org/ 15 Institute of Credentialing Excellence (ICE),

7 7 CTE in the Washington DC Metro Area CTE at the high school and college level in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia is not a new phenomenon, although it has acquired a new urgency as public and private employers require graduates with increasingly higher-level skills demanded by the local economy. 16 Employers in Virginia, for example, who are unable to find graduates with the requisite level of computer skills for the Information Technology sector, hire workers from outside the state. 17 CTE at the secondary school level in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area, since 2006, has been developed under the funding guidelines of the Perkins Act. However, the provision of specialized programs alongside academic programs designed to improved student outcomes in terms of work and college readiness has not met the needs of all students. 18 Perkins recipients are required to submit annual reports to Congress on activities undertaken and levels of performance achieved by students. For 2010, the narrative report from the District of Columbia shows that none of the secondary schools met performance targets, and only the Community College of the District of Columbia achieved target levels of performance in its CTE programs. Research conducted by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce points out that the level of skills necessary for entry into jobs that command a wage greater than the Minimum Wage Threshold (MET) requires postsecondary education and training. Students can gain these skills by taking some college level courses leading to a certificate but not proceeding to a degree, or by gaining an Associate degree. In Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School Through College Jobs the Center estimates the demand for particular occupations within the 16 national career clusters, shows potential earnings for these occupations and the level of training required. It estimates job growth and demand for workers in six of the 16 career clusters: Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales and Service, Transportation, Distribution and Logistics, Health Science, Business Management and Administration, and Hospitality and Tourism in the Greater Washington Area. Jobs within these clusters can provide opportunities and wages above the MET for people with some postsecondary education. In Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Educational Requirements Through 2018, the Center presented figures for jobs in the District, Maryland and Virginia. Opportunities for Vocational/CTE careers vary across the Greater Washington DC area. There are fewer opportunities in the District itself as compared to Maryland and Virginia An excellent overview of the complex history and many changes to both secondary and post secondary vocational training can be found in the D.C. Department of Education s Five Year Plan It shows the multiple and continuing efforts to attain a satisfactory blend of technical and academic training for students Conversation between New Futures and staff of Northern Virginia Community College, April Perkins Collaborative Resource Network cte.ed.gov/newsandarticlec.cfm 19 Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School Through College Jobs , Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Educational Requirements Through 2018, 2010

8 8 Projections of Jobs in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia by 2018 Requiring Postsecondary Education 21 District of Columbia Maryland Virginia New Jobs 43, , ,000 Total Job Vacancies from new 225, ,000 1,300,000 jobs and retirement Job Vacancies for those with Postsecondary Credentials 157, , ,000 The Georgetown Center s research suggests that local projections are comparable with national projections for jobs in high demand. For example, national projections of the top three career clusters for occupations in high demand for workers with an Associate s degree are Health Science, Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security, Human Services and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). High wage jobs for workers with some college or an Associate s degree are found in the STEM and Information Technology clusters. The lowest wage jobs are in Hospitality and Tourism, Transportation, Distribution and Logistics and Manufacturing. However, the national career clusters framework covers a very broad range of occupations. Detailed information on high demand, high wage jobs and the differences in wages by educational attainment is needed for each state in order to provide an accurate assessment. 22 Department of Labor reports suggest that the fastest growth in the next decade in jobs nationally will be in areas requiring little post secondary education, which have lost heavily in the current recession. 23 However these are not major employers in the DC area. Hence CTE and Associate Degrees qualifications are particularly relevant for DC youth to set them on the path to substantive careers. Issues for DC Students: Less than 60% of DC students complete high school compared to a 78% nation-wide average. According to one study, less than 10% complete college in five years. Fewer than 30% of DC students enroll in college within 18 months of high school graduation compared to 48% nationwide. An array of factors contributes to the relatively poor performance of DC students, but foremost among them, is relative poverty. According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010, the District of Columbia s poverty rate is the third highest in the nation at 20% trailing only to Mississippi and Louisiana. DC s child poverty rate has increased to 30%, roughly 30,500 children. Research shows that children who live in poverty have a much higher risk of poor health, developmental delays, academic difficulties and other problems. Socioeconomic status affects which students begin higher education after high school graduation. According to the 21 Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School Through College Jobs , Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, Career Clusters: Forecasting Demand for High School Through College Jobs , Summers Dixie, and Franklin James, Employment Outlook: , Overview of projections to 2020, Monthly Labor Review U.S. Department of Labor, January 2012

9 9 National Center for Education, low-income high school graduates enrolled in college at a rate of 55% compared to 84% from high-income families and 67% from middle-income families. Once low-income students enter post-secondary institutions, they often face formidable problems. Among the leading reasons for non-completion is that most new students are not prepared, either in terms of academic or soft skills, for college-level studies. These students are required to take remedial courses in math, English, or both. Typically, fewer than 20% pass these courses, go on to college-level work, and make it to graduation. Low-income students also have to deal with serious financial problems and have to balance the demands of work and school. According to a 2008 study, low-income students study less, work more hours, have less interaction with faculty, and are less likely to join extracurricular groups. About 42% of students with low socioeconomic status indicated that they worked more than 16 hours a week during school, with a high percentage working up to 40 hours a week. There is also evidence of a positive relation between socioeconomic status and social integration at university. In other words, middle-class students take part in more formal and informal social activities and have a greater sense of belonging to their universities than do working-class students. The overall graduation rate for obtaining a BA in 6 years is 55%, and for obtaining an associate degree in three years is 29%. Graduation rates are about 20% lower for BA and about 10% lower for AA students who are low-income. The graduation rate for all DC high-school students entering college and obtaining a BA in 5 years is 31%. With such shockingly low graduation rates, colleges, and particularly community colleges, are giving urgent attention to these issues. Current strategies include offering college-preparatory courses to high-school students, integrating remedial English and math courses more closely in the overall curriculum and strengthening orientation, mentoring and school counseling support. A newer approach is being developed in some states. The Tennessee Technology Centers 24 have been identified as a promising alternative to community colleges. They offer a more structured and supported approach similar to a high school and achieve high rates of completion and links with the job market. 24 Complete College America; A working model for Student Success: The Tennessee Technology Centers, The Tennessee Technology Centers are a statewide system of 27 institutions providing a wide range of rigorous one to two year technical/occupational education programs at consistently high completion and placement rates in high skill and relatively high wage employment. Between 2000 and 2005 they averaged above 70% completion rates a highly unusual success rate. Success can be attributed to the small-scale nature of the institutions, high faculty engagement, and integrated student support systems. They were designed to focus on hands on learning and applied skills. Program content is about 85% consistent across Centers but with allowance for local job market needs. Grants from the Tennessee Wilder- Naifeh Student Scholarships and Pell Grants. The Wilder-Naifeh grants require a minimum grade of 77% and high attendance levels and these students have higher completion rates. Placement rates for graduates are also very high system wide placement for those employed in their field of training was 83% in However it is not clear that these Centers work as well in urban areas.

10 10 Conclusion: The Role of New Futures. The modern economy has created a multi-faceted job market requiring a variety of skills and types of training to prepare young people for productive employment. While the mainframe educational system with its pillar of the four-year college has not yet fully adjusted to this development, this change in the job market has spurred the rapid growth of community colleges and shorter-term certificate programs to fill mid-level jobs. The growing inequality in income levels and in the quality of education in cities like Washington, DC has meant that many lowincome students have far less opportunity to complete four-year college and for them CTE programs often represent their best chance for economic and social improvement. The New Futures program is specifically designed to meet the needs of this group of students. A New Futures scholarship of up to $1,600 per semester supplemented by a maximum Pell grant will often cover the full costs of tuition, books, other supplies and transport for a low-income student attending community college. A New Futures scholarship of up to $12,800 will cover most of the cost of many certificate programs. Attuned as it is to research findings, New Futures has also recognized the importance of soft skills by providing school preparation and life skills workshops and intensifying its mentoring program in close collaboration with its community partner organizations. 25 For students who are successful in their initial studies, the program recognizes that education often takes place in phases by financing second scholarships, for example, for completion of a vocationally-relevant Bachelor s degree for a student who has first completed an Associate s degree. New Futures is thus serving an important unmet need of lower-income students who have the ability, but neither the financial means nor other support they need to complete post-secondary school, find productive jobs and become financially self-sufficient. New Futures funding can help pave the way for economic self-sufficiency and personal growth for students in the DC metropolitan area. 25 New Futures draws its students from recommendations taken from local non-profit organizations that also help in mentoring and counseling students through their studies.