Should schools have a vocational track?
vocational | inherently | exceed | equivalent | focus
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Think Scientifically
Think Scientifically
Ms. Kahn’s students were reading about various programs the school district in their town offers for Career and Technical Education (CTE).
“I had no idea that CTE was an option in so many school districts, including ours,” Margo says. “It just seems inherently more interesting than taking regular courses. There’s one program where you spend time at a hospital learning about different diseases, observing medical procedures, and helping the staff. I want to do something with medicine some day, maybe even work at a hospital. I’m really going to consider doing the health professions CTE program.”
Juaquin agreed, “These options definitely exceed what I expected from our high school. I know I would really like the CTE program in electrical technology, but I wonder if taking CTE classes in high school might lower my chances of going to college, if I decide that’s what I want. Then, on the other hand, it seems like AI is changing things so fast that many post-college jobs aren’t as secure as they used to be. I don’t know what to do.”
“My parents seem to think that a vocational track is for students who aren’t doing well in school,” Hannah said. “But it seems like a lot has changed since they were in school. The hospital program Margo likes seems really challenging! And it would be cool for her to study something she’s interested in and find out if it’s really the right field for her before applying to colleges.”
Ms. Kahn stepped in. “It’s great that you all are interested in the focus of CTE programs, but I think you might be making some assumptions. In science, we try to avoid making many assumptions before we have enough information.”
Ms. Khan asked her students to write down some ideas they think are true about Career and Technical Education programs. As a class, they looked online to try to find data related to each.
ASSUMPTIONS:
ASSUMPTIONS:
DATA:
DATA:
“Nearly all public school districts offered CTE programs to high school students. About three-fourths of these districts offered CTE courses that earn both high school and postsecondary credit, commonly called dual credit.”
- U.S. Department of Education, September 2019
“High school students who were CTE concentrators* graduated from high school at higher rates (94%) by their expected graduation year than their non-concentrator peers (86%).”
- U.S. Department of Education, September 2019
“There was no measurable difference between CTE concentrators* and non-concentrators earning a bachelor’s degree; about one-quarter of CTE concentrators and non-concentrators earned a bachelor’s degree. About half of both CTE concentrators and non-concentrators earned a postsecondary credential within eight years of their expected high school graduation.”
- U.S. Department of Education, September 2019
*The term CTE concentrator refers to a student who earned two or more credits within a single program of study, such as Health Science or Business Management and Administration.
Which student assumptions were supported by data? Which were not?
Discussion Question:
What preconceived notions did you have about CTE? What data surprised you the most from the list above? What other subjects have you had preconceived notions about, but you later learned they were not necessarily true?
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