Part 1: Key Facts
Student & Teacher Information
According to 2004-2005 data from the U.S. Department of Education (the latest numbers publicly available), the total number of CTE students in Pennsylvania was 220,863. This includes the following:
- Secondary: 120,766
- Postsecondary: 76,430
- Adult: 23,667
Delivery System/School Information
CTE in Pennsylvania is delivered through 85 regional technology centers, and over 300 comprehensive high schools. Of the regional technology centers, most provide CTE courses for part of a student’s school day, but 12 centers provide comprehensive technical and academic courses. Most secondary students enrolled in CTE in Pennsylvania are in grades 10-12.
There are 14 community colleges in Pennsylvania, founded under the Community College Act of 1963. Each college must have a local sponsor, which may be a city, county, individual school district or consortium of these entities. Four are sponsored by school districts and 10 are sponsored by counties.
Funding/Financing for CTE
Federal: Pennsylvania is estimated to receive $45,499,323 from the Perkins Basic State Grant and $4,238,522 from Tech Prep in FY 2007. Of funds available for local distribution, about 70 percent are allocated to secondary CTE, and 30 percent are allocated for postsecondary CTE. Approximately $4.5 million is used for leadership activities.
State: In addition to federal funds, the state provides approximately $63 million in funding for CTE, including some funding for competitive equipment grants, adult training, and about $5 million for special purposes determined by the Bureau of Career Technical Education.
Part 2: State Administration
Key State CTE Contacts
Dr. Lee Burket
Director, Bureau of Career and Technical Education
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 11th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Phone: 717-787-5530
Fax: 717-783-6672
State Agencies
CTE in Pennsylvania is managed through the Department of Education (PDE) under the direction of the Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Bureau of Career and Technical Education (BCTE). The Department of Education provides guidance and support through the state’s school districts and also works directly with community colleges receiving Perkins funding.
State Standards for CTE
Pennsylvania has recently adopted comprehensive and wide ranging Career Education and Work standards that begin in the third grade and continue through high school graduation. The standards are broken into four categories: Career Awareness and Preparation; Career Acquisition (Getting A Job); Career Retention and Advancement; and Entrepreneurship. The categories are intended to complement and work with the other Pennsylvania academic standards and disciplines. While the skills have been identified at the state level, each district can decide the best way to teach and meet the standards. There are no program-specific state technical standards.
Program Approval/Quality Control
The existing CTE program approval system requires secondary entities to submit secondary and postsecondary scope and sequence. Under the new Perkins Act, model scope and sequences are being developed, and each local applicant will need to indicate how their Programs of Study align to the model standards.
Part 3: CTE Initiatives & Related Policies
State Education & Workforce Agenda
Competitive grants will focus only on the programs that align with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry identified industry clusters and high priority occupations which, for 2008, include mechanical drafters, industrial engineer technicians, biological technicians, medical/clinical technicians, HVAC mechanics/installers, secondary and postsecondary CTE teachers, and registered nurses.
Community colleges have established articulation agreements with the majority of four-year colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges maintains a list of the four-year institutions with which community colleges have articulation agreements. In 2005, Act 46 replaced the colleges’ old funding formula with a more streamlined and predictable one. Other key provisions of the new law included allowing for dual enrollment and establishing an independent auditing process, a separate line item for capital funding and annual data reporting.
Another piece of legislation, Act 114, has been fostering significant action to improve articulation and transfer among postsecondary institutions. The legislation required the 28 state system universities and community colleges to:
- Form a Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee that will serve as the decision-making body in the building of the transfer system.
- Develop and approve a set of course equivalency standards by the end of 2006.
- Identify and approve at least 30 credits of foundation-level courses that will be accepted across all 28 institutions by June 30, 2007.
- Report annual transfer data to the Department of Education.
High School Redesign
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has established Project 720, indicating the number of hours the typical student spends in high school, as its signature high school redesign initiative. With the overall objective of preparing all Pennsylvania students to graduate from high school prepared to enter college and the high-skills workforce, there are four key objectives:
- Transform Pennsylvania high schools. Project 720 is focused on helping transform Pennsylvania’s high schools so that every student can succeed. Approximately $11 million in funding for 2007-2008 is allocated to the Project 720 pilot districts, and supports 161 schools across the Commonwealth.
- Help students earn college credit before graduating from high school. The 2007-08 state budget signed by Governor Rendell includes $10 million to fund Dual Enrollment Programs for high school students to take college-level, credit-bearing courses at local community colleges and four-year colleges and universities. State funds will be targeted to at-risk students, academically challenged school districts, and the Project 720 sites.
- Upgrade “Vo-Tech” for the 21st century.Nearly 100,000 Pennsylvania high school students enroll in a CTE program during their high school career. Project 720 indicates that “CTE must be dramatically improved so that students are held to high academic standards and receive training for high-demand occupations.”
- Create seamless transitions from high school to higher education. Pennsylvania is exploring using the 11th grade statewide reading and math assessments as college entrance and placement exams and will create a statewide transfer policy between two-and four-year public higher education institutions to ensure that students can move their credits from one institution to another – and that the credits count in their major field. Governor Rendell created the Commission on College and Career Success to focus on preparing high school students for post-graduate opportunities in higher education or the workforce.
Career Academies
Some of the nation’s earliest career academies were founded in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Academies, Inc., a sponsor of career academies in the city, indicates that the academy model was marked with the opening of the first academy in a public high school in 1969 with 30 students and involved business partners who promised employment upon graduation. Over the decades that followed, new career areas were developed into academies with new partners in various career fields. In 1987, former Superintendent Constance E. Clayton, delivered the challenge to the academies to expand enrollment to 5000 students by 1996--a goal which was met and surpassed.
The Career Academy Support Network indicates there are 61 career academies operating in Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh School District is currently reforming its CTE systems based on career academies. The redesign of CTE in Pittsburgh is part of the proposed Excel.9-12, “The Plan for High School Excellence.”
The Smaller Learning Communities page on the federal Department of Education’s Web site indicates that Pennsylvania high schools have received 31 grants to support create smaller, more personalized and academically rigorous high school settings in high schools with enrollments over 1000 students. Prominent strategies employed include career academies, school-within-a-school, freshman academies, and themed academies.
Additionally, the “College and Career Counseling” competitive grants coming from the state department of education support the development and implementation of career academies.
Role of Career Clusters
As of 2008, Pennsylvania has not adopted a Career Clusters-type of organization. Instead, it is maintaining a focus on vocationally-specific programs. However, at the local level, many career technology centers have successfully restructured their programs under the career clusters model.
Academic & CTE Integration
School districts and Career Technology Centers (CTCs) are required to prepare students to attain academic standards in 12 content areas, which include mathematics, reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as career education and work. School districts and CTCs develop a local assessment plan that includes a description of how the academic standards will be measured and how information from the assessments is used to assist students having difficulty meeting the academic standards.
State Board of Education regulations require all school districts and CTCs to provide for the attainment of the academic standards through integration in the design of their educational programs. Attainment of the academic standards requires students to demonstrate the acquisition and application of knowledge. The Agency has been providing in-services, conferences, workshops and pre-service sessions on integrating the academic standards into technical content areas.
The part-time CTCs will have to work closely with the participating school districts to ensure the state recommended academic common core of courses is provided to all students enrolled in the CTE program of study. Competitive grants will be used to strengthen the linkage between the part-time CTCs and the participating school districts.
State supported research has also been conducted and results disseminated that provide evidence that the integration of academic standards into technical content has led to increased student achievement levels on the state academic assessment.
Secondary/Postsecondary Linkages
Programs of Study Implementation: PDE is developing and making available a recommended (or model) scope and sequence for each Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) that is aligned to Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry targeted industry clusters. Each recommended scope and sequence will evidence secondary planned academic and technical courses aligned to the postsecondary general education requirements with the technical courses articulated according to the state authorized articulation agreement. The regional Tech Prep consortia are assisting PDE in developing programs of study that meet requirements of the 2006 Perkins Act.
In order for local entities to receive approved CTE program status, the entity must evidence a labor market analysis and use of an occupational analysis, and alignment with high priority occupations and postsecondary opportunities. The program of study must address the state recommended academic standards.
Tech Prep Consortia: Pennsylvania is keeping its Tech Prep funding separate. It is placing responsibility on the Tech Prep consortia to help develop and implement programs of study at the regional level.
College CTE Credit for High School Students: State legislation provides state funds to support dual enrollment activities. Funds are awarded competitively and support academic dual enrollment activities. Dual enrollment activities are for high school students to take college-level, credit-bearing courses at local community colleges and four-year colleges and universities. These courses will also count towards high school graduation requirements. Pennsylvania’s dual enrollment program also emphasizes early college, middle college, and gateway to college programs. State funds are targeted to at-risk students, and academically challenged school districts. Career and technical schools are eligible to apply for these state funds.
Career Guidance & Advisement
The State Board of Education has also adopted academic standards of Career Education and Work that assist all students in assessing their educational opportunities and academic achievement in light of their chosen career path(s). The standards address career awareness and preparation, career acquisition, career retention and advancement, and entrepreneurship for all students beginning at the elementary grades and continuing through to the twelfth grade. Students are to develop career plans, career portfolios and education plans. Each plan is to address high priority careers that are appropriate and of interest to individual students. By establishing programs of study, the individual student education plan will be facilitated.
The state has committed $3 million toward systemic change of the counseling programs in school districts. The funds are distributed to schools applying for “College and Career Counseling” grants. With this funding, school districts develop a student-centered career development system to better prepare students for college and career success. Schools applying for and receiving the competitive state funds will provide all students with a college preparatory sequence of academic courses, and will incorporate the career education and work academic standards into their curricula. This effort will ensure that students are developing education and career plans under the guidance of an adult advocate.
Technical Skills Assessments
The state program approval system for CTE programs ensures all programs are aligned with industry standards where applicable. All programs must align with industry credentials or certificates at the secondary level. During the transition year, postsecondary recipients must align their portion of the program of study with industry credentials where applicable.
In addition, An Industry Certification Resource Guide was developed by the state utilizing the state-identified statewide and regional high priority lists as well as the state’s list of “Industry-Recognized Certifications for Career and Technical Education Programs” currently used by the CTCs within the Pennsylvania.
State staff plan on using this information to identify programs in need of viable industry certifications and the associated industry groups. After program areas are identified, those areas in greatest need will be targeted so that state staff can contact the relevant industry partners to determine the desire to develop an industry certification.
The Bureau of Career and Technical Education (BCTE) has been able to align nearly all program areas with a third party national assessment. Of the 109 approved program CIPs, such an alignment has been made for 94. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it is expected that at least 86 percent of CTE concentrators will be tested for job readiness in general or industry credentials in particular. BCTE is continually seeking to add to the list of approved tests for use in assessing student skill attainment.
Business & Industry Involvement
A school district or CTC administering CTE programs will appoint two levels of advisory committees. The first level, a local advisory committee, provides broad input to the school district or CTE on the scope and need for its CTE programs. A second level, the occupational advisory committee (OAC), is established for each CTE program offered in the school district or CTC. The OAC is comprised of business and industry representatives. The purpose of the OAC is to verify that the programs meet industry standards and/or licensing board criteria where applicable, and that students are prepared with occupational related competencies. State guidelines direct how the local advisory committees are operated.
Educator Development
The Pennsylvania State Department of Education’s Bureau of Career and Technical Education has developed and implemented a Comprehensive Professional Personnel Development program by working with the three Professional Personnel Development Centers. The Centers were established and approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education on July 1, 1978. The Professional Personnel Centers are located at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania State University and Temple University.
One day workshops are held on topics such as program approval, data submission, assessment administration, counseling, and integration of academics into CTE. PDE offers an annual conference that is focused on integration of academics into CTE, counseling, postsecondary alignment, and instructional strategies. PDE also supports week-long training sessions, called the Governor’s Institute, that focus on academic and technical instructors learning how to integrate reading and mathematics academic standards across the technical content areas.
Part 4: Results
Coming Soon!
This state profile was developed by the Association of 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 4/25/08
