The College Paths of Career/Tech Students
Related Stories
In too many public policy discussions about higher education, they are largely invisible -- the one-fifth of high school students who take primarily career and technical coursework rather than the more typical college prep or general education curriculums. A new study from the National Center for Education Statistics suggests, however, that while such students are less likely than their peers to go on to college, they do so in significant numbers and aren’t easy to pigeonhole in terms of where they go to college or what they study once there.
The study, “The Postsecondary Educational Experiences of High School Career and Technical Education Concentrators,” is based on the National Educational Longitudinal Study, which examined the high school class of 1992 (beginning in 1988) and followed their college experiences through to 2000.
About 21 percent of those high school students surveyed as part of the study were deemed “concentrators” in career and technical education, compared to 38 percent who pursued a college prepatory curriculum and 41 percent who studied general education. (About a quarter of the career/technical students completed a college prep course of study, too, and were characterized as “dual concentrators.”) The CTE concentrators were about 60 percent male, but largely reflected the overall student population in terms of race and ethnicity, and they entered high school with somewhat weaker academic preparation than other students.
By 2000, eight years after the class graduated, 65 percent of career/technical students had completed some college education, compared to 76.7 percent of all students. The career/tech students were significantly less likely to have enrolled in college than were students who had completed a college prep curriculum (91.8 percent), but they went to college at roughly comparable rates to students who had taken a general education curriculum (68.9 percent). Those career/technical students who jointly took a college prep curriculum were likelier than the career/tech only students to go to college, by a margin of 82 percent to 59 percent.
About three-quarters of the career/technical education concentrators who enrolled in college did so within seven months of graduating high school, and the vast majority of them (91 percent) took significant enough numbers of credits that they were not characterized as “incidental” students.
In terms of where they enrolled, about 56 percent of them went first to a community college and 37 percent to a four-year institution. (The rest went to institutions of various kinds that primarily offer certificates.) For comparative purposes, about a quarter of the college prep students an about half of the general education students attended a community college first.
Just over half of the career/technical education concentrators who went to college had earned a certificate or degree by 2000, and 26 percent of them had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. By comparison, 74.5 of college prep students had earned a degree by 2000, and 64.5 percent had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. And just under half of general education students had earned a degree or certificate, and 35.2 percent had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Of those career/technical students who had completed an associate degree by 2000, more than a third (35.6 percent) had done so in academic rather than career or technical fields. And of those who had earned a bachelor’s degree, more than a fourth had done so in academic disciplines.
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Past:
- 1 day
- 1 week
- 1 month
- 1 year
Similar Jobs
-
GRE Instructor
Los Angeles, CALoyola Marymount University is seeking a talented and highly motivated individual to hire as a part-time GRE instructor.
... -
Surgical Technology Department Chair
Altamonte Springs, FLCity College, established in 1984, is a non-profit organization that provides higher education including a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration; Associate of Science Degrees in Nursing, Emergency Medical Service, Business, Allied Health, Legal, Broadcasting, and Private Investiga
... -
Advisor II - 3 Positions (#4747)
Tomball, TXLone Star College System:
Recognized nationally and ranked #1 by the Houston Business Journal as the largest College or University in the Houston, Texas area with a total enrollment of more than 85,000 students, Lone Star College System is poised for greatness. -
Part-Time Counselor II (#5402)
Houston, TXRecognized as a "Great College to Work For" for the past three years, the Lone Star College System (LSCS) is one of the fastest growing community college systems in Texas.
... -
Instructor
Columbus, OHColumbus State Community College invests in employee development by providing numerous resources, partnerships, training and mentoring opportunities. We offer a comprehensive benefit package that provides a variety options for you and your family.
-
Academic Advisor I
Philadelphia, PAThe Advisor I, at the College of Education, will assist students in making decisions affecting their academic progress at the University through personal guidance, changes in major courses of study, interpretation of University and School guidelines and policies, administrative counsel, developme
Featured Jobs
-
President of the College
10FebNewberry, SCNewberry College in South Carolina invites applications, nominations, and inquiries as the private institution begins its national search for its 22nd President.
-
Alexander Crombie Humphreys Chair in Economics of Engineering
10FebHoboken, NJThe School of Systems and Enterprises (SSE) at Stevens Institute of Technology is seeking candidates for the Alexander Crombie Humphreys Chair in Economics of Engineering.
-
Chief Diversity Officer
10FebKennesaw, GAKennesaw State University seeks applications and nominations for a noted scholar and national leader to fill the cabinet-level position of Chief Diversity Officer.
-
Science Data Librarian
10FebMiddlebury, VTMiddlebury College, located in Middlebury, Vermont, is a nationally recognized liberal arts institution where the pursuit of knowledge knows no bounds.
-
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor-Doctoral Studies-Dreeben School of Education
10FebSan Antonio, TXThe University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is one of America's two largest Hispanic-serving Catholic institutions.
... -
Manager, Academic Collective Bargaining Administration
09FebYpsilanti, MIThe major responsibilities of this position are to assist with administration of labor agreements and negotiations between Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and the instructional bargaining units representing employees engaged in the delivery and support of academic services; including the Americ








