High-quality work-based learning opportunities enable students to develop necessary skills and contribute to positive employment outcomes. State leaders are recognizing the value of work-based learning experiences -- not only for individuals but in service of state attainment and workforce development goals. As leaders recognize the value,…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) course equivalencies provide students with the opportunity to meet the learning standards for a specific core subject while simultaneously earning credit for the aligned CTE course within a single CTE class. Each year, according to Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 28A.300.236, the Office of Superintendent of…

We examined the impact of secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) credit-taking on students attaining full-time employment following graduation from high school in the United States, and whether such credit-taking impacted students entering employment in a related field. We focused on occupational programs, and we used four levels of CTE…

Career and technical education (CTE) has dramatically changed over the last 50 years. Because of this major shift of understanding in purpose and benefits, the role of the education system is vitally important in raising awareness and reshaping the perception of CTE. This research focused on the influence of high school stakeholders, specifically…

Recent educational policies in the United States have fostered the growth of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career-focused courses to support high school students' persistence into these fields in college and beyond. As one key example, federal legislation has embedded new types of "applied STEM" (AS) courses…

This Fact Sheet highlights English learner students in secondary schools who are career and technical education participants (received at least one CTE credit in that year) and concentrators (received three credits within a career cluster during high school).

This report provides an annual look at the summer 2019, fall 2019 and spring 2020 term's enrollment in categories such as student enrollment status, location and demographics of the community college student population. The content and format of this report have been developed through a collaborative effort between the Wyoming Community College…

This note seeks to look back at the development and implementation process of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). It takes stock of its main achievements and how they are taken forward in the 2020 Council Recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness…

We leverage nationally representative data and statewide data from Washington to investigate trends in occupational career and technical education (CTE) participation for students with and without disabilities. Consistent with prior work, we document declines in occupational CTE participation since the early 2000s, but we provide the first…

This Data Point examines the early labor market outcomes of public high school students, focusing on graduates who earned different numbers of credits in career and technical education (CTE; see definition in figure notes). The Data Point uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 initially surveyed a national…

This report provides an annual look at the summer 2018, fall 2018 and spring 2019 term's enrollment in categories such as student enrollment status, location and demographics of the community college student population. The content and format of this report have been developed through a collaborative effort between the Wyoming Community College…

This Data Point examines the career and technical education (CTE) coursetaking of high school students from different locales--city, suburb, town, and rural--using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). The HSLS:09 initially surveyed a national sample of more than 23,000 grade 9 students in 2009, with follow-up surveys in…

Community colleges offer an array of programs designed to help students meet different goals. Noncredit education provides training for students seeking targeted, often shorter, courses for personal and professional enrichment (Cohen, Brawer, & Kisker, 2014). Many community colleges are now increasingly emphasizing noncredit workforce…

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) administers a national engineering program in middle schools, called Gateway, and in high schools, called Project Lead the Way (PLTW). In this summary, the PLTW courses taken during high school were examined for two cohorts of students who…

In today's labor market, students increasingly need greater levels of postsecondary education and training to enter or advance in many industries. Meanwhile, employers are calling for the education system to better align with industry needs, as their demands for a skilled workforce continue to rise. In response to the increasing emphasis for…