Part 1: Key Facts
Student & Teacher Information
According to 2006-2007 data from the U.S. Department of Education (the latest numbers publicly available), the total number of CTE students in Massachusetts was 125,046. This includes the following:
- Secondary: 75,824
- Postsecondary: 49,222
Delivery System/School Information
The following provide approved CTE programs at the secondary level:
- 26 regional vocational-technical school districts
- 31 local school districts
- eight academic regional school districts
- two county agricultural school districts
- one state agricultural and technical school district
- one independent vocational and agricultural school district
- one educational collaborative
At the postsecondary level, 15 Massachusetts Community Colleges offer open access to high-quality, affordable academic programs, including associate degree and certificate programs. They provide academic preparation for transfer to four-year institutions, career preparation for entry into high-demand occupational fields, developmental coursework and lifelong learning opportunities.
Funding/Financing for CTE
Federal: Massachusetts is estimated to have received $18,583,629 from the Perkins Basic State Grant and $1,648,212 from Tech Prep in FY 2008. Approximately 70 percent of funds are distributed to secondary programs and 30 percent to postsecondary programs.
State: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a complex state formula considering 11 factors (salaries, benefits, professional development, equipment, supplies) that are calculated for 12 different student categories, of which CTE is one. Only programs that are considered "Chapter 74 Approved" are eligible for state or federal funding.
Part 2: State Administration
Key State CTE Contacts
Mr. Jeffrey Wheeler
State Director of CTE
Massachusetts Department of Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148
Phone: 781-338-3910
Fax: 781-338-3950
State Agencies
The Career/Vocational Technical Education unit (CVTE) within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) administers the state law governing vocational-technical education programs in public school districts and is the eligible agency for Perkins funds at the secondary and postsecondary levels.
The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (MDHE) has responsibility for defining the mission of and coordinating the commonwealth’s system of public higher education and its institutions, including community colleges.
State Standards for CTE
Massachusetts has Vocational Technical Education Frameworks organized by career cluster. The frameworks incorporate secondary- and postsecondary-level education elements. Prior to adoption, faculty in Massachusetts’s public two-year colleges validated them to ensure a smooth transition for students from CTE programs on the secondary level to CTE and registered apprenticeship programs on the postsecondary level.
The Vocational Technical Education Frameworks include coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The frameworks are organized into six strands:
- Safety and Health Knowledge and Skills
- Technical Knowledge and Skills
- Embedded Academic Knowledge and Skills
- Employability Knowledge and Skills
- Management and Entrepreneurship Knowledge and Skills
- Technological Knowledge and Skills
Program Approval/Quality Control
New vocational-technical programs must be approved by the commonwealth to be eligible for funding. The approval process consists of an in-depth application and on-site program review. There are two program classifications:
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs—In Massachusetts, those programs that meet the definition of CTE contained in the 2006 Perkins Act.
- Vocational Technical Education (VTE) Programs—In Massachusetts, those programs that meet the definition of vocational-technical education contained in Chapter 74 of the Massachusetts General Laws and are approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education pursuant to Chapter 74 and the Vocational Technical Education Regulations. Such approved programs are known as Chapter 74-approved vocational-technical education programs. Note that all Chapter 74-approved vocational-technical education programs meet the 2006 Perkins Act definition of CTE and, therefore, may also be known as CTE programs.
While all CTE programs are eligible to receive Perkins funding, only programs that are Chapter 74-approved (VTE programs) are eligible to receive the additional state funds made available. This is a key point of leverage by which the state is encouraging programs to adopt quality measures in addition to what the Perkins Act requires, such as entering student data in the new Vocational Technical Competency Tracking System (VTCTS), having students participate in the Certificate of Occupational Proficiency and providing students career-planning services.
Eligible recipients are directed to use their Perkins accountability data to evaluate previous strategies and develop plans to improve CTE programs in relation to outcomes. The requirement for the submission of an annual local plan update will be enhanced as the 2006 Perkins Act is implemented.
Postsecondary programs seeking to improve or develop new CTE courses must have a program advisory committee consisting of representatives of local business and industry related to the program, organized labor, secondary institutions, parents/guardians, students and representatives from registered apprenticeship programs (if the program area has such registered programs). The Program Advisory Committee shall meet at least twice per year. It shall be the responsibility of the Program Advisory Committee to advise, assist and support school staff in order to improve planning, operation and evaluation in its program area. Such advice shall be based on adequate and timely information as to workforce and job development demands or job market trends, technological developments, training alternatives and other factors affecting the quality of the program.
Part 3: CTE Initiatives & Related Policies
State Education & Workforce Agenda
In 2007, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the "Readiness Project," a 10-year strategic plan for the future of education in the commonwealth. The goal of this project is to create a comprehensive, child-centered public education system that begins before kindergarten, continues through grade 12 and higher education and extends through workforce development and lifelong learning to ensure that each individual has the opportunity to achieve his of her full potential. The five objectives of the Readiness Project are:
- provide every child with the opportunity to enter public school ready to learn
- provide every student with outstanding and highly qualified teachers who are respected professionals recruited from among the best and the brightest in the commonwealth
- provide every student with the support necessary to meet the commonwealth's high standards and high expectations
- provide the support and infrastructure needed to ensure the opportunity for every student to have an accessible, affordable and globally competitive higher education
- provide an education system that enables every student to transition successfully from high school to higher education, to the workforce ready to succeed and to be a productive, engaged and contributing citizen
Recommendations for future investments and reforms in education were provided by committee reports released on June 28, 2008. The four broad recommendations and goals found in the report are:
- Raise the achievement of all students through improvements in teaching and curriculum, addressing the external factors that impede success, teaching 21st-century skills and introducing learning opportunities and a heightened attention to quality care beginning in the earliest years of life.
- Elevate teaching to a recognized profession capable of attracting the most highly qualified candidates to the field.
- Broaden and deepen the commonwealth’s commitment to public education so every student is prepared to take advantage of higher education, employment and lifelong learning opportunities, including extending the definition of a basic public education to include at least two years of postsecondary learning and aligning the curriculum with 21st-century knowledge and skills.
- Find and implement innovative ideas for educational reform from within and outside the system from teachers, business leaders, administrators, students and wherever else ideas may come.
In his 2009 State of the State address, Governor Patrick addressed Massachusetts’ budget shortfalls and problems. Despite the need for $1.1 billion more in cuts, the governor is looking to sustain the current funding for education and use federal stimulus funds to create jobs through green projects, such as installing wind turbines, solar panels and weather stripping, increasing broadband access, rebuilding critical infrastructure and updating the commonwealth’s health care management systems.
High School Reform
In November 2007, the commonwealth Board of Education approved MassCore, the Recommended High School Core Program of Studies for College- and Career-Readiness. MassCore is intended to help the commonwealth's high school graduates arrive at college or the workplace well-prepared and reduce the number of students taking remedial courses in college. MassCore recommends a comprehensive set of subject-area courses and units, as well as other learning opportunities to complete before graduating from high school.
The recommended program of studies includes four years of English, four years of math, three years of a lab-based science, three years of history, two years of the same foreign language, one year of an arts program and five additional "core" courses, such as business education, CTE, health and/or technology. MassCore also includes additional learning opportunities, including AP classes, dual enrollment, a senior project, online courses for high school or college credit and service- or work-based learning. Students enrolled in a state-approved CTE program of studies have the option of opting out of foreign language and art and still fulfilling MassCore.
Massachusetts received a National Governors Association grant as part of the NGA high school redesign initiative. Using the NGA grant, the DESE and the MDHE created a high school-to-college database that can allow reporting on students from the Department of Education to the Board of Higher Education. Findings from the efforts were included in the "Massachusetts School-to-College Report High School Class of 2005."
Career Academies
The Career Academy Support Network (CASN) indicates there are nine career academies established in Massachusetts.
Role of Career Clusters
Massachusetts has organized its CTE programs under a model of 10 career clusters, adapted from the national model of 16 clusters. They include:
Academic & CTE Integration
The new Vocational Technical Education Frameworks include one entire strand consisting of embedded academics. The embedded academics consist of the knowledge and skills from the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in the core academic subjects that are essential for students to acquire for success in the career for which they are preparing and, in further education, including registered apprenticeship programs. Academic teachers have enthusiastically endorsed the embedded academic strand.
Massachusetts will require the use of Perkins funds or other funds to improve postsecondary level CTE programs and the technical courses contained within and improve the academic courses associated with CTE programs that are relevant and challenging. Specifically, funds will be used on the secondary and postsecondary levels to strengthen the academic and career and technical skills of students participating in CTE programs by strengthening the academic and CTE components of such programs through the integration of academics with CTE programs through a coherent sequence of courses such as career and technical programs of study.
The commonwealth will also allow Perkins IV funds to be used by eligible recipients on the secondary level to develop new CTE courses and programs at the secondary level that are aligned with rigorous and challenging academic content standards and student academic achievement standards adopted by Massachusetts.
As part of the implementation of the 2006 Perkins Act, the Massachusetts Department of Education-Career/Vocational Technical Education unit will require yearly submission of randomly selected sample lesson plans and/or course syllabi from local Perkins funds recipients. Professional development on developing such lesson plans will be provided prior to the submission requirement taking effect in the spring of 2008.
As part of the Governor’s Readiness Project, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) announced that ConnectEDU will develop the college-and-career Web portal for the commonwealth. This Web portal will provide students with a single point of entry for the online tools needed to plan, prepare for, research, apply to and pay for college.
Secondary/Postsecondary Linkages
Programs of Study: DESE will provide for the completion of the development of 43 Massachusetts Program of Study Grids based in part on each of the 43 Massachusetts Vocational Technical Education Frameworks that may be adopted by eligible recipients, as well as grids for any new and additional Massachusetts Vocational Technical Education Frameworks that may be developed. The work on developing Massachusetts Program of Study Grids began in 2006-2007 through the Tech Prep program. Each Tech Prep consortium in Massachusetts is charged with ensuring that appropriate secondary and postsecondary staff contributes to the development of Massachusetts Program of Study Grids for each program in the high school that meets the Perkins IV definition of CTE used in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Perkins IV Career and Technical Education Program Checklist is used to determine if programs meet the definition of CTE. A sample Massachusetts Program of Study Grid is in the "Massachusetts Tech-Prep Manual for Consortia and Site Coordinators."
DESE will issue competitive requests for proposals to develop additional Massachusetts Vocational Technical Education Frameworks for programs that would prepare students for high-skill, high-wage or high-demand occupations in current or emerging professions. DESE recently issued an RFP for the development of a Vocational Technical Education Framework and a Massachusetts Program of Study Grid for Criminal Justice in the proposed Law and Public Safety career cluster. DESE is considering issuing an RFP for the development of a new Massachusetts Vocational Technical Education Framework in the occupation of Skilled Construction Laborer within the Construction career cluster. DESE will work with the state’s four agricultural high schools to a new program in small-scale sustainable farming.
Tech Prep: In Massachusetts, the previous Tech Prep consortia are being renamed "Secondary-Postsecondary CVTE Linkage Consortia" to more accurately convey the focus on linkages between secondary and postsecondary education. For the 2008-2009 school year, there are 13 consortia; community colleges will serve as the lead agency of each consortium.
Dual Enrollment and Articulation: A subcommittee of the Massachusetts Career/Vocational Technical Education Advisory Committee has been created to promote the development and implementation of articulation agreements between secondary education and postsecondary education institutions, including registered apprenticeship programs.
Career Guidance & Advisement
On October 10, 2006, Massachusetts Commissioner of Education David P. Driscoll endorsed the final draft of the Massachusetts Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs, which is based on the premise that career development is the lifelong process through which students come to understand their place in the world of work and society.
An initiative has been launched to institutionalize the development of career plans for all students in CTE programs consistent with the definition of career guidance and counseling contained in the 2006 Perkins Act. A career plan is a comprehensive, formalized written plan (that learners use alone or with the help of others) that relates to career goals. To encourage widespread use of the career plan, the DESE will require that a student must have developed a career plan in order to be eligible to sit for the Certificate of Occupational Proficiency (COP).
As part of the Governor’s Readiness Project, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) announced that ConnectEDU will develop the College and Career Web portal for the commonwealth. This Web portal will provide students with a single point of entry for the online tools needed to plan, prepare for, research, apply to and pay for college.
Technical Skills Assessments
The Massachusetts Department of Education is currently in the process of developing technical-skill assessments for each of the programs that have a Vocational Technical Education Framework. The technical assessments are scheduled to be implemented during the 2009-2010 school year to the high school class of 2010. It is estimated that approximately 5 percent of CTE concentrators will be reported in Massachusetts’ calculation of career and technical concentrators who were assessed the first year. The Massachusetts Department of Education anticipates that the percentage in each ensuing year will increase as a result of efforts by the Massachusetts Department of Education to gain necessary funding and efforts to show the value of assessments to students, business, industry and, ultimately, the economy.
The technical assessments, as required under the Perkins Act, will apply to all CTE programs. For VTE programs that are Chapter 74-approved, the commonwealth is developing a COP to measure CTE skill attainment. The COP is meant to convey a high level of professional readiness. It will be awarded to students who successfully complete a VTE program and, according to the state statute, "shall reflect a determination that the recipient has demonstrated mastery of a core of skills, competencies and knowledge comparable to that possessed by students of equivalent age entering the particular trade or profession from the most educationally advanced education systems in the world."
Business and Industry Involvement
The Massachusetts Career/Vocational Technical Education Advisory Committee brings together the entire career/vocational technical education community, including business and industry, to assist the Career/Vocational Technical Education unit in carrying out the department's mission as follows: "To improve the quality of the public education system so that students are adequately prepared for higher education, rewarding employment, continued education and responsible citizenship. We carry out our mission in partnership with Massachusetts school districts and other organizations that provide educational programs and services. Students, parents, teachers and other educators, elected officials, business and community leaders and the public all are stakeholders in the work of the department to improve schools and raise student achievement."
Each local school must have a General CTE Advisory Committee and Program Advisory Committees. Such advisory committees are comprised of business and industry members who will annually validate the CTE programs provided by the school to ensure they are identified as preparing students for current or emerging occupations. In order to facilitate this requirement, the Massachusetts Department of Education-Career/Vocational Technical Education unit recently published the "Massachusetts Career/Vocational Technical Advisory Guide."
The new Massachusetts Vocational Technical Education Frameworks were also recently validated by business and industry in order to ensure the Frameworks prepare students for current or emerging occupations.
In an effort to further partner with business and industry, Massachusetts Community Colleges have pioneered an innovative, commonwealth-wide workforce-training resource for business and industry called MASS*NET. Massachusetts Community Colleges are expanding their network of business partnerships to provide customized training, consulting and skills upgrading for employees at hundreds of companies throughout the commonwealth. Massachusetts Community Colleges train new employees, but also work with companies to develop programs that upgrade the skills of their current workforce.
Educator Development
The Department of Education is continually working to upgrade the Educator Licensure and Recruitment System (ELAR) so it is fully utilizable by local recipients. The Web-based online system provides for online educator licensure, license renewal and job and resume posting. Schools can enter their staff information online in a staff register, facilitating the department’s monitoring of licensure status to ensure that educators are working in appropriately licensed areas. The staff register is also used to contact eligible recipient staff regarding professional development opportunities.
Through MassONE, the Massachusetts Online Network for Education, teachers, students, administrators and other interested parties are able to participate in discussion boards, search through Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and standards, create and share lesson plans and teaching resources, and offer support for student learning. The Vocational Technical Education Frameworks are searchable in MassONE, and teachers can create, store and share online lesson plans. The Massachusetts Department of Education-Career/Vocational Technical Education unit intends to create discussion forums in MassONE for teachers who teach in CTE programs.
Through the efforts of the State Director of Career/Vocational Technical Education, the Massachusetts Department of Education-Office of Educator Licensure has begun referring to individuals licensed under the Regulations for Educator Licensure as Chapter 71-licensed educators rather than academic educators, as they were known for years. Chapter 71 is the Massachusetts law that governs educator licensure along with accompanying regulations, except for vocational-technical educator licensure, which is governed by Massachusetts law Chapter 74 and the accompanying regulations. Instead of having the "academic side" of educator licensure and the vocational side, the Department now has Chapter 71 and Chapter 74 licensure. While this may appear to be a subtle change, it, along with aligning the two sets of regulations specifically concerning professional development requirements for license renewal and mentoring/induction programs for new educators, has brought academic and technical teachers closer together, and the results are beginning to be manifested in joint curriculum-integration projects.
According to a 2008 report by the Pioneer Institute, CTE students have a lower dropout rate, 1.8 percent, than the commonwealth average, 3.8 percent.
This state profile was developed by the Association for Career and Technical Education with the assistance of the Meeder Consulting Group LLC. If you need further information or more specific details, please contact ACTE. Customized reports can be developed on specific topics or entities.
Last updated: June 1, 2009