STRATEGIES FOR STUDENT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATIONL. Allen Phelps, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Essential and Emerging Insights Clarity of Outcomes Matters Expanding Learner Diversity Renewing Career and Technical

Education Redesigning High Schools for All Youth Data-driven Decision-making is

Imperative

Policy Influences• Performance Accountability • Access to postsecondary education• Equitable Access for Special Populations

Outcomes• Careers• College• Civic engage-

ment

Policy Influences• Disaggregation of

data• Performance gaps• Dis-proportionality

Expanding Learner Diversity

• Gender• Disability• ELL• Ethnicity• SES• Dropouts• NEET

Redesigning High Schools• Academic engagement• Personalized learning environ.• Engaged youth & communities• Aligned standards and systems• Empowered educators• Accountable leaders

Renewing CTE• Secondary-post-secondary programs of study• Career clusters• SLCs w/career themes• Academic and technical skills

Policy Influences• State Systems of

Support• Highly Qualified

Teachers• Supplemental

Education Services

A FRAMEWORK FOR ALIGNING CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN HIGH SCHOOLS

Post School Outcomes:Status 2 Years Beyond High SchoolCareer Outcomes NELS88 NLTS2 (1-2 yr) Employment 65% 50% Wages 70% >Fed min. Satisfying Work 65 82College Outcomes 63 37 Enrolled: 2 year 22 21 Enrolled: 4 year 36 10 Enrolled: Technical 5 6Civic Engagement Volunteering 30 25 Registered to Vote 64Not Employed or in Education and Training 7.3

Source: 1994 SRI (2005)

Changing Student Populations

Extent of CTE Participation

According to the NCES, the 1998 high school grads:

96.5% completed at least one course, 61.5% completed three courses in any of ten

program areas 25.0% completed three or more credits in one

program area, e.g., health care, marketing, child care education

Completed 25 credits with 4.0 in career-technical courses in 1998.

Completed 21.6 credits with 4.6 in career-technical courses in 1982.

Expanding Learner Diversity:Percent of 1998 Seniors in CTE

Course- Invest- Concen-

takers ors trators All seniors 96.5 61.5

25.0 Students with a disability 99.1 83.0 37.5 Limited English proficient 95.8 52.2 8.7 GPA >2.0 98.8 75.2 35.2

College and Career PreparationCurriculum Specialization 1982

1990 1994Total 100% 100% 100%

College preparation only 8.1 25.9 32.2 Career concentration only 33.1 25.0 20.9Both college preparation and

career concentration 0.6 2.8 4.6Other/general 58.2 46.3 42.4

Source: NCES: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs99/1999072/

Optimal Mix of Academic and CTE A combination of 3 CTE courses and 4

academic courses reduces the probability of dropping out for at-risk courses. (Plank)

Recent research evidence indicates that participation in CTE does not increase academic test performance (NAVE)

CTE courses neither hurt nor help students’ chances of going to college, but they are associated with a shift away from bachelor’s degrees toward earning associate’s degrees or certificates (NAVE)

CTE/Academic Courses:Optimal Student Engagement

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

CTE/Academic course-taking ratio

Pro

bab

ilit

y o

f d

rop

pin

g o

ut

Tests & GPA 1 s.d. below grand means Tests & GPA at grand means Tests & GPA 1 s.d. above grand means

Career Academies: Data

No studies examining access to or effects for students with disabilities.

Male graduates of career academies had significant long term earnings benefits (≈18% greater over 4 years, $10K differential) over female graduates. (Kemple)

Higher student satisfaction, attendance, grade point averages, and course credits earned (3 studies)

Career Academies, additional data Lower absenteeism and dropout rates (3

studies) Postsecondary education outcomes that are

at or above the national averages for preparation, enrollment (particularly in 4-year colleges), and success (3 studies). However, most longitudinal studies do not reveal significant effects/advantages for career academy and non-academy participants from similar communities and backgrounds.

Curriculum Integration

In a review of qualitative studies reviewed by Eisenmann (2000), the integration of academic and vocational curricula promoted meaningful engagement and inclusion of students with disabilities by increasing persistence, academic achievement, and postsecondary engagement.

Project Lead the Way – a 6-course pre-engineering curriculum aligned with science, math, and technology education standards. Emphasizes real-world problem solving and interaction

with engineers and technicians Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Biomedical

Eng.

Project Lead the Way:Student Engagement in 4 High Schools

Percent of Students Who Said They Had Grown "Quite-a-Bit" or "Very Much"

5661 61

75

59

5147

7469 67

64 6257 56

404142

4952

6057

Usingcomputers &the internet

Working wellw/others

Treatingpeople with

respect

Acquiringwork related

skills

Reading &understanding

challengingmaterial

Developingclear career

goals

Solving real-world

problems

National

PLTW

Non-PLTW

School Based Enterprises

In a large longitudinal database, some career-focused high school programs (school-based enterprises) have positive effects on going to college while others do not (Tech Prep, job shadowing, mentoring, apprenticeships, and cooperative education). (Neumark)

Key Features of SBE for students with disabilities: (Gugerty)

Learned a myriad of business skills and real world business practices (e.g., ordering equipment, accounting and personnel management, customer relations)

Experienced the critical relationship of math, language, interpersonal skills, and performance to personal and organizational success in a “real world” context.

Work Based Learning

Compared to other college students, graduates of high school youth apprenticeship programs in WI (4 courses and 1000 hours of work-based learning): enter college with comparable ACT scores, persist in college at the same rate with comparable grades, and are significantly more likely to complete an Associate’s degree than their peers. (Knox and Phelps, 1999)

Youth with disabilities represented 5% of Youth Apprenticeship students

Several studies conclude that some work during high school (15-20 hours) a week is correlated with better grades. (Kazis)

CTE Practices in Place

% of all Public High Schools Offering

Career Academies21.5%

Written Career Plans for all students 57.0Career Majors (academic and CTE courses) 49.0Work-based Learning for credit 71.8Job Shadowing 60.0Dual Enrollment courses offered

Academic focus 92.0CTE focus 51.0

Source: ELS 2002 and 2004

Redesigned High Schools: Key FeaturesSchool A: SwD: 22% School B: SwD: 17%

Core Teaching and Learning PracticesIntegrated academic Service learning

requirements curriculum

Service learning & Senior project to graduate

internships

Graduation by portfolio Critical friends group for

and exhibitions professional development

Redesigned High Schools, Results Graduates of two high schools using individualized,

real-world approaches to learning (portfolios and senior projects for graduation, integrated academic curriculum, curriculum-linked service learning and internships, advisories, personal learning plans) reported substantially higher outcomes than national longitudinal study participants on the following measures:

entering a 4-year college, employment and job satisfaction, and participation in community groups.

Restructured High Schools

Coalition Campus Schools Project (2002), a 7-year study of a restructured NYC high school, Julia Richman High School

Five independent small schools were created to replace a comprehensive high school operating with a 37% 4-year graduation rate.

Small school design features included small school size, reduced pupil load, advisement structures, and multiple strategies for active learning.

Restructured High Schools: Results As a group the five small schools produced

substantially better attendance, lower incident rates, better performance on reading and writing assessments, higher graduation rates, and higher college-going rates than the previous school, despite serving a more educationally disadvantaged population of students.

Prior to restructuring 7.3% were special education identified and 4.2% were served in resource rooms.

In 2001, across the five small schools, 2.2% were special education identified and 10.6% of students were served in resource rooms.

Recommendations for State TeamsEnhance State data system and planning capacity Develop longitudinal student record data using ID

numbers to link records across schools and systems

Ensure adequate assessment accommodations and alternate assessments

Include untested students Measure academic growth using value added

measures Create college and work readiness standards for all

graduates Align federal performance requirements with State

needs and priorities: NCLB, IDEA, Perkins, WIA

Recommendations for State TeamsDevelop/expand professional development

partnerships Address big questions: What do high school

graduates need if they are to engage effectively in college, career and civic pursuits? Examine all stakeholders perspectives.

Focus on data-driven instructional and inclusion leadership strategies (data retreats and equity audits)

Support data analysis applications that are important at the classroom and school level, e.g., college and career success rates for academy or SBE graduates with disabilities.

Create systems and incentives for measuring progress

Contact Information

Allen PhelpsDirector and Professor Center on Education and WorkUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

608.263.2714aphelps@education.wisc.edu