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CTE TODAY! What is Career and Technical Education? Encompasses 94 percent of high school students and 12 million postsecondary students 1 Includes high schools, career centers, community and technical colleges, four-year universities and more Educates students for a range of career options through 16 Career Clusters and 79+ pathways Integrates with academics in a rigorous and relevant curriculum Features high school and postsecondary partnerships, enabling clear pathways to certifications and degrees Fulfills employer needs in high-skill, high-wage, high-demand areas Prepares students to be college- and career-ready by providing core academic skills, employability skills and technical, job-specific skills CTE Works for High School Students High school students involved in CTE are more engaged, perform better and graduate at higher rates. 81 percent of dropouts say relevant, real-world learning opportunities would have kept them in high school. 2 The average high school graduation rate for students concentrating in CTE programs is 90.18 percent, compared to an average national freshman graduation rate of 74.9 percent. 3 More than 70 percent of secondary CTE concentrators pursued postsecondary education shortly after high school. 4 CTE Works for College Students and Adults Postsecondary CTE fosters postsecondary completion and prepares students and adults for in-demand careers. 4 out of 5 secondary CTE graduates who pursued postsecondary education after high school had earned a credential or were still enrolled two years later. 5 A person with a CTE-related associate degree or credential will earn on average between $4,000 and $19,000 more a year than a person with a humanities associate degree. 6 27 percent of people with less than an associate degree, including licenses and certificates, earn more than the average bachelor degree recipient. 7 Today s cutting-edge, rigorous and relevant career and technical education (CTE) prepares youth and adults for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, high-demand careers. CTE Works for the Economy Investing in CTE yields big returns for state economies. In Connecticut, every public dollar invested in Connecticut community colleges returns $16.40 over the course of students careers. That state s economy receives $5 billion annually in income from this investment. 8 In Washington, for every dollar invested in secondary CTE programs, the state earns $9 in revenues and benefits. 9 In Tennessee, CTE returns $2 for every $1 invested. At the secondary level, CTE program completers account for more than $13 million in annual tax revenues. 10 CTE Works for Business CTE addresses the needs of high-growth industries and helps close the skills gap. The skilled trades are the hardest jobs to fill in the United States, with recent data citing 645,000 jobs open in the trade, transportation and utilities sector and 253,000 jobs open in manufacturing. 11 Health care occupations, many of which require an associate degree or less, make up 8 of the 20 fastest growing occupations. 12 STEM occupations such as environmental engineering and science technicians require an associate degree and will experience faster than average job growth. 13 Middle-skill jobs, jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a bachelor degree, are a significant part of the economy. Of the 46.8 million job openings created by 2018, 30 percent will require some college or a two-year associate degree. 14
CTE TODAY! Endnotes 1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, High School Transcript Study, 2009; U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2007 08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. 2. Bridgeland et al, The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2006. 3. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Consolidated Annual Report for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 Program Year 2007 2008, unpublished data [National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium analysis]; U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2007 2008, 2010. 4. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary and Labor Force Transitions Among Public High School Career and Technical Education Participants, 2011. 5. Ibid. 6. Jacobson and Mokher, Pathways to Boosting the Earnings of Low- Income Students by Increasing Their Educational Attainment, Hudson Institute Center for Employment Policy and CNA for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2009. 7. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century, 2011. 8. Robison and Christophersen, The Economic Contribution of Connecticut s Community Colleges, Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., 2008. 9. Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, 2011 Workforce Training Results-Secondary CTE, 2011. 10. Harrison et al, The Economic Impact of Secondary and Postsecondary Career and Technical Education in Tennessee, Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research and the University of Memphis, 2006. 11. ManpowerGroup, 2012 Talent Shortage Survey Research Results, 2012; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover February 2013, April 2013. 12. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012 13 Edition, Fastest Growing Occupations; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012 13 Edition, Healthcare Occupations. 13. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012 13 Edition. 14. Carnevale et al, Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2010. Association for Career and Technical Education, 1410 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 800-826-9972 Fax: 703-683-7424 www.acteonline.org Educate. Advocate. Lead.
CTE Works for High School Students A ratio of one CTE class for every two academic classes minimizes the risk of students dropping out of high school. (Plank et al., Dropping Out of High School and the Place of Career and Technical Education, National Research Center for CTE, 2005 ) The more students participate in Career Technical Student Organization activities, the higher their academic motivation, academic engagement, grades, career self-efficacy, college aspirations and employability skills. (Alfeld et al., Looking Inside the Black Box: The Value Added by Career and Technical Student Organizations to Students High School Experience, National Research Center for CTE, 2007) CTE concentrators improved their 12th grade NAEP scores by eight points in reading and 11 in math, while students who took no CTE courses did not increase their math scores and only increased reading by four points. (Department of Education, National Assessment of Vocational Education, 2004) Students at schools with highly integrated rigorous academic and CTE programs have significantly higher achievement in reading, mathematics and science than do students at schools with less integrated programs. (Southern Regional Education Board, Linking Career/Technical Studies to Broader High School Reform, 2004) CTE students were significantly more likely than their non-cte counterparts to report that they had developed problem-solving, project completion, research, math, college application, work-related, communication, time management and critical thinking skills during high school. (Lekes et al., Career and Technical Education Pathway Programs, Academic Performance, and the Transition to College and Career, National Research Center for CTE, 2007) In a 2006 report for the Gates Foundation, 81 percent of respondents said that more learning opportunities that make the classroom relevant to the real world would have helped them to finish high school. (Bridgeland et al., The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2006) CTE Works for Adults Students in programs that blend basic skills and occupational training to generate more contextualized learning are far more likely than similar adult students to improve basic skills and earn college-level credits. (Jenkins et al., Educational Outcomes of I-BEST, Washington State Community and Technical College System s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program: Findings from a Multivariate Analysis, CCRC Working Paper No. 16, 2009) Participation in skills-training programs increased wages and earnings, raised the probability and
consistency of employment, and led to work in higher-quality jobs. (Maguire et al., Job Training That Works: Findings from the Sectoral Employment Impact Study, Sectoral Employment Initiative: Public/Private Ventures (7), May 2009) CTE gives individuals in transition a way to begin a new career with a chance to reinvent themselves. MSNBC reported in March 2009 that many people who have been laid off during the economic crisis are taking this opportunity to go back to school and get retrained for a new career. CTE programs at the postsecondary level are poised to serve this population. (Wolk, Reinventing America: Stories from the Front, MSNBC, March 10, 2009, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29496604) CTE Works for Businesses and the Economy Skilled trade workers, engineers and IT staff are the top three jobs employers are having trouble filling in the U.S., and CTE can play a critical role in training workers in these areas. (Manpower Group, Talent Shortage Survey Results, 2012) More than 80 percent of respondents in the 2005 National Association of Manufacturers Skills Gap Report indicated that they are experiencing a shortage of qualified workers overall with 13 percent reporting severe shortages and 68 percent indicating moderate shortages. CTE plays a vital role in helping American business close this gap by building a competitive workforce for the 21st century. (National Association of Manufacturers and Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2005 Skills Gap Report: A Survey of the American Manufacturing Workforce) Middle-skill jobs, jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a bachelor degree, are a significant part of the economy. Of the 46.8 million job openings created by 2018, 30 percent will require some college or a two-year associate degree. (Carnevale et al., Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2010) Occupations requiring an associate degree are projected to grow faster than those requiring a bachelor degree. (BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition) By 2018, the U.S. will need at least 4.7 million new workers with postsecondary certificates, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. (Carnevale et al., Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2010) A person with a CTE-related associate degree or credential will earn an average of at least $4,000 more a year than a person with a humanities associate degree and those with credentials in high-demand fields such as healthcare can average almost $20,000 more a year. (Jacobson et al., Pathways to Boosting the Earnings of Low-Income Students by Increasing Their Educational Attainment, 2009) According to the state of Washington, for every dollar spent on secondary CTE students, taxpayers will receive $9 back in revenues and benefits. (Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, 2011 Workforce Training Results, 2011) According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 43 percent of young workers with licenses and certificates earn more than those with an associate degree, 27 percent of young workers with licenses and certificates earn more than those with a bachelor s degree, and 31 percent of young workers with associate degrees earn more than those with a bachelor s degree. (Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Valuing Certificates, Presentation, 2009) In Virginia, graduates of occupational/technical associate degree programs out-earn nonoccupational associate degree graduates by about $6,000 and bachelor degree graduates by almost $2,500 statewide. (Schneider et al., The Earning Power of Recent Graduates from Virginia s Colleges and Universities, College Measures, 2012)
CAREER READINESS SERIES JUNE 2011 EXPANDING CAREER READINESS THROUGH CAREER AND TECHNICAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG MOORE, SKILLSUSA, 2011 NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SKILLS CONFERENCE. Ensuring students are college- and career-ready has become a critical issue as concerns rise about the success of the U.S. education system and, ultimately, the country s economic competitiveness. The discussion surrounding college readiness is generally limited to academic skills, but actual career readiness requires an even more rigorous blend of academic, technical and employability skills, and the ability to apply these skills in authentic career situations. The foundations for strengthening career readiness are already in place through career and technical education (CTE), which offers this unique blend of skills through comprehensive programs of study. One of the most critical components of strong CTE programs is student participation in related leadership organizations, known as career and technical student organizations (CTSOs). Association for Career and Technical Education 1410 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 800-826-9972 Fax: 703-683-7424 www.acteonline.org Educate. Advocate. Lead. With more than 1.5 million student members combined, CTSOs provide a unique program of career and leadership development, motivation and recognition for secondary and postsecondary students enrolled, or previously enrolled, in career and technical education programs. 1 1
CTSOs are specifically authorized by the U. S. Congress in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and operate as national not-for-profit organizations divided into state associations and local school chapters. At the national, state and local levels, CTSOs offer diverse programming that is designed to enhance classroom instruction and four common organizational goals: leadership development; academic and career achievement; professional development; and community service. At the local level, CTSO chapters operate as in-school, cocurricular programs led by CTE teachers as advisers in middle schools, high schools and postsecondary institutions. For students, participation in a local chapter includes activities designed to expand their leadership abilities, contextualize their academic instruction, encourage them to pursue their education and equip them with job-related skills in their career field of interest. Students participate in local, state, national and international career-based competitions designed to measure their academic understanding and skills development. Scholarships, prizes and awards also encourage students to continue their career-path education and assume personal responsibility for their own career readiness. Research has shown that participation in activities like CTSOs has a positive impact on students overall career readiness: Students who participate in CTSOs demonstrate higher levels of academic engagement and motivation, civic engagement, career self-efficacy, and employability skills than other students, and the more students participate in CTSO activities, the better the results. 2 Students who participate in school organizations in 10th grade have higher high school grade point averages and are more likely to be enrolled in college at age 21 than other students. 3 By providing students with contextualized academic instruction and the opportunity to work in settings where the career skills learned in the classroom can be utilized, CTSOs effectively facilitate the development of students academic, technical and employability skills. ACADEMIC SKILLS To truly be career-ready, students not only need foundational academic skills, but also need to be able to apply academics in the context of real-world situations. This is one of the strengths of CTSO activities students are able to explore career-related THE 11 CTSOs RECOGNIZED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ARE: Business Professionals of America (BPA) DECA Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Future Business Leaders of America Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA PBL) Future Educators Association (FEA) Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) National FFA Organization (FFA) National Young Farmer Educational Association (NYFEA) National Postsecondary Agricultural Student (PAS) Organization SkillsUSA Technology Student Association (TSA) tasks aligned with state academic standards. One example of this is the HOSA medical reading competition, which requires students to read five different health care-related books, such as Lisa Sanders Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis, then apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate information from the assigned books in written and oral exams. CTSOs also have been shown to increase student engagement, better connecting students to academic classroom activities. Consider the following: A study of sophomore CTSO members found that participation in career and technical student organizations produced a positive contribution to student achievement as measured by student grades in high school. 4 In a study of student performance measures, FBLA high school seniors significantly outperformed their non-fbla counterparts on four performance measures: ACT scores; SAT scores; GPA; and graduation rate. 5 A study by Purdue University found that FFA members are more enthusiastic about and attach greater value to their school studies than the average student. 6 The National Research Center for College and University Admissions reported that close to 85 percent of DECA members indicate their DECA experiences have had a positive effect on their academic performance. 7 2
EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS Employability skills have often been cited by employers as the skills most critical to workplace success in the 21st-century economy. Many positive examples of these skills have been identified in CTSO programs, including teamwork, decisionmaking, critical thinking, leadership, community awareness, career awareness, and personal and social development. For example, FCCLA members have reported that career preparation, communication, and leadership were among the top skills they developed through their involvement. 8 Numerous research studies over the last several decades have also shown that students leadership skills in particular are increased through participation in CTSOs. 9 BPA 2010-2011 College/Postsecondary President Micah Hopper explained that leadership is one of his biggest gains from participation. BPA has given me the opportunity to make a difference in people s lives by helping them grow as leaders. It has also given me the leadership experience that I was looking for to be a successful business owner. 10 TECHNICAL SKILLS Through professional development activities and competitive events, students participating in CTSOs can gain enhanced job-specific knowledge and skills critical to future careers. For example, students in FBLA develop competitive projects in such areas as accounting, cybersecurity and marketing to gain in-depth skills in these areas, while students in FEA compete in impromptu speaking and lesson planning and delivery to hone their career skills, and HOSA students demonstrate knowledge of medical terminology and medical careers, as well as laboratory procedures in areas like biotechnology. These events help students transfer knowledge gained in the classroom to authentic career-related situations. Another set of such events is the SkillsUSA Championships, where SkillsUSA students showcase their skills. These contests start at the local level and continue through the state and national levels. During the 2011 SkillsUSA National Championships, more than 5,500 contestants competed in 94 separate events, which included such categories as 3-D Visualization and Animation, Architectural Drafting, Automated Manufacturing Technology, Occupational Health and Safety, and Mobile Robotic Technology. The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers needs. 11 Students who demonstrate outstanding achievement in the technical competitions will be awarded Skill Point Certificates validated by industry leaders. The certificates contain lists of competencies mastered and the logos of companies that plan and manage the competitions, and they serve as documentation of skills for students to use with potential employers. Other opportunities both in and outside the classroom, such as state and national conferences, contribute to students technical knowledge and expose them to business and industry opportunities and requirements. Recent research of students in TSA showed that TSA activities contributed significantly to students understanding of skills required for a technical career, such as knowledge of how technology works and of the design process. 12 Like all CTSOs, FCCLA chapters across the country provide significant community support through a number of diverse national programs and service projects that contribute to students career readiness. For example, FACTS Families Acting for Community Traffic Safety is a FCCLA peer-education program through which young people strive to save lives through safe driving habits. Members from Brookings High School, South Dakota, positively affected their community and developed employability skills by planning and carrying out a year-long project that focused on safe driving. Their Drive to Survive project enabled the students to advocate on traffic safety issues, influence their peers on the school campus, promote their efforts to the community and collaborate with various community stakeholders all skills that will help them as they pursue further education and careers. Specific project activities planned and conducted by students included a docudrama, DUI simulations, school assemblies and displays, and workshops on distracted driving. Students enhanced their communication skills through the development of public service announcements, newspaper articles and interviews with local radio and TV stations. One of the student members even had the opportunity to testify before legislators on texting-and-driving bills in the state capitol and Washington, DC. 3
As in other CTSOs, FFA s local, state and national leadership conferences prepare students to be leaders in their schools, jobs and communities. Students hone their leadership skills by giving speeches, participating in debates, organizing ceremonies and events and conducting community service projects. A special FFA-developed curriculum known as LifeKnowledge, which includes lesson plans, activities and e-learning modules, helps FFA advisers integrate leadership, personal growth and career success instruction into their classrooms, benefitting all students. Content includes such diverse topics as conflict management, strategic thinking, personal goal setting and business communications. FFA 2010-2011 President Riley Pagett elaborated further on the leadership skills gained in FFA. My membership in FFA has allowed me to develop real, tangible leadership looking others in the eye when spoken to, shaking hands firmly, holding the door open and practicing manners, recognizing the potential of others and drawing on that potential, delegating work, using time efficiently, allowing others to occasionally take the lead, speaking confidently, remaining flexible, respecting others, remembering the past, making wise decisions, overcoming obstacles and rising to the call of action when others need you to really serve them. 13 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT In addition to providing enhanced academic, employability and technical skills, CTSOs also have an impact on students educational attainment. The vitality and competitiveness of America s economy are contingent upon increasing the number of high school and college graduates, and more students need education and skills beyond high school for true career readiness. According to the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, participating in leadership and professional development activities in a CTSO raises students educational aspirations. 14 FFA members are preparing for postsecondary studies in slightly higher numbers and have more sharply defined career objectives than the average student. 15 According to TSA, of their 150,000 middle and high school student members, 100 percent are likely to graduate from high school and 75 percent are college-bound. 16 More than 30 percent of students in BPA are also enrolled in AP courses, above the 2010 national average of 28.3 percent, and 30 percent are involved in dual enrollment, as well. 17 More than 70 percent of DECA members at the 2009 International Career Development Conference indicated that DECA has influenced their future career plans, and more than 65 percent indicated that DECA has influenced their future college plans. 18 References 1 Fiscus, L. (Ed.), Career and Technical Student Organizations: A Reference Guide (National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations, 2008): p. 3. 2 Alfeld, C., Stone, J. R., Aragon, S. R., Hansen, D. M., Zirkle, C., Connors, J., et al., Looking Inside the Black Box: The Value Added by Career and Technical Student Organizations to Students High School Experience (St. Paul, MN: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Minnesota, 2007). 3 Eccles, J., & Barber, B., Student Council, Volunteering, Basketball, or Marching-band: What Kind of Extracurricular Involvement Matters? Journal of Adolescent Research 14, no. 1 (1999). 4 Zirkle, C., & Connors, J. J., The Contribution of Career and Technical Student Organizations to the Development and Assessment of Workplace Skills and Knowledge: A Literature Review, Workforce Education Forum 30, no. 2 (2003). 5 SchoolMatch, FBLA Student Evaluation Study 2008. 6 Balschweid, M. A., & Talbert, B. A., A Comparison of Agricultural Education Students to the `Typical High School Student as Quantified in The State of Our Nation s Youth: By the Horatio Alger Association (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 2000). 7 National Research Center for College and University Admissions, DECA: 2010 Annual Report. 8 National Research Center for College and University Admissions, FCCLA: 2011 Annual Report. 9 Alfeld, C., et al., Looking Inside the Black Box: The Value Added by Career and Technical Student Organizations to Students High School Experience. 10 Reese, S., Creating the Leaders of Tomorrow Today, Techniques 86, no. 5 (May 2011): p. 17 11 SkillsUSA, SkillsUSA Championships, www.skillsusa.org/ compete/skills.shtml. 12 Taylor, J. S., Student Perceptions of Selected Technology Student Association Activities, Journal of Technology Education 17, no. 2 (2006). 13 Reese, S., Creating the Leaders of Tomorrow Today, p. 18-19. 14 Alfeld, C., et al., Looking Inside the Black Box: The Value Added by Career and Technical Student Organizations to Students High School Experience. 15 Balschweid, M. A., & Talbert, B. A., A Comparison of Agricultural Education Students to the `Typical High School Student as Quantified in The State of Our Nation s Youth: By the Horatio Alger Association. 16 Technology Student Association, TSA Facts, www.tsaweb.org/ TSA-Facts. 17 National Research Center for College and University Admissions, BPA: 2011 Annual Report. 18 DECA, Inc., College and Career Ready, www.deca.org/ready/. 4