Policy makers have taken more interest in career and technical education (CTE) in recent years, but evidence regarding what kinds of programs produce the most important outcomes is still emerging. Shaun M. Dougherty summarizes what recent research tells us about the impact of these programs. Evidence has shown that CTE-dedicated schools, career…

The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in career and technical education (CTE) as a way to engage students, help people build the skills necessary to succeed in a technologically advanced economy, and meet employer demand for workers. MDRC--which has a three-decade history of developing and evaluating CTE programs, including a landmark…

The responsibility to deliver college- and career-readiness education programs and services has evolved to include an array of organizational partnerships and alliances. Some act as intermediaries or hubs that coordinate communications, policy, and curriculum with state and local districts. Others operate whole-school models within a school…

Current approaches to secondary school are producing high numbers of dropouts and low numbers of students well prepared for college and careers. Given global demand for better education quality and relevance, a reform movement in the US that blends rigorous academic learning and applied technical study may be of interest to other countries. Yet…

The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in career and technical education (CTE) as a way to engage students, help people build the skills necessary to succeed in a technologically advanced economy, and meet employer demand for workers. MDRC--which has a two-decade history of developing and evaluating CTE programs, including their…

University-agency partnerships funded by Title IV-E encourage students to enter the child welfare field by providing student stipends, thus supporting child welfare agency workforce development. This article examines the literature and historical roots of Title IV-E and other partnerships, identifies common structures and outcomes, and discusses…

With the help of close to $30 million in grant monies from Career Technical Education (CTE) and Overcrowding Relief grants, and Joint-Use and High Performance grants, Lake Tahoe Unified School District and architect LPA, Inc., have already completed a CTE "Green" Construction and Transportation Academy, a new classroom building and the…

This article highlights San Diego's dropout problem and how much it's costing the city and the state. Most San Diegans do not realize the enormous impact high school dropouts on their city. The California Dropout Research Project, located at the University of California at Santa Barbara, has estimated the lifetime cost of one class or cohort of…

The Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD), located in the Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and San Bernardino metro areas, receives students from eight area K-8 districts. AVUHSD is home to seven career academies with themes ranging from digital design and engineering to law and government, each of which integrates core content with…

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in college courses and potentially earn college credit. The term concurrent enrollment is sometimes used interchangeably with dual enrollment, and sometimes to refer to a particular model of dual enrollment. In some programs, students earn high school and college credit simultaneously;…

A collaborative at several sites across the state of California will offer evidence of how successful linked learning, which connects academics to real-world work, can be. This article presents examples that illustrate the powerful connections and linkages that are generated by combining academic rigor with the relevance of applying learning to…

Career academies, after more than four decades of development and three decades of evaluation, have been found by a conclusive random assignment study to be effective in improving outcomes for students during and after high school. Career academies have therefore become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy to…

Multiple pathways connect college-preparatory curriculums with exceptional career and technical education, motivating students to learn by helping them answer the question, Why do I need to know this? Real-world learning is organized around such industry sectors as finance and business; health science and medical technology; building and…

In 2007, the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI) was launched in California's 109 (now 110) community colleges. This initiative responds to an increasing awareness that state policies favoring "open access" also result in the enrollment of large numbers of students who are underprepared to succeed in college-level work. Identified as a key…

Today's long-term jobs crisis is not about the current financial meltdown. It is about an accelerating talent showdown. The basic cause is that unprecedented technological advances are ever more rapidly transforming the world of work. The global economy will be more tech-driven with each passing year. This will continue to raise the U.S. talent…