Category: Data and Research

Posts in this category include any posts with data/research focused information, including new ACTE data resources, information from CTERN or other federally funded research, and partner research/data. Research Roundups should also be tagged with this category.  

Safety in Secondary Construction Courses

A recent journal article examining accident occurrences reported by instructors in secondary construction programs revealed that among construction teachers participating in the Technology and Engineering Education (TEE)—Facilities and Safety Survey, 92% reported a minor accident occurrence in their construction courses in the past five years and 34% reported a major accident occurrence.

Researchers Tyler S. Love from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Kenneth R. Roy from Glastonbury Public Schools in Connecticut identified seven risk factors and 13 protective factors associated with an increase or decrease in accidents. The following list details some of the most significant factors highlighted by the researchers:

  • Facilities and Equipment: Having a laboratory in the instructional area was significantly associated with an increase in accident occurrences, as was having a separate finishing room. Lockable storage cabinets, sinks in the instructional space and fume extractors for soldering activities were all linked to decreased accident occurrences.
  • Class Size: Average enrollments exceeding 20 students were linked to increases in major accident occurrences and 52% of construction teachers in the study reported class sizes greater than 20 students.
  • Safety Training: School district training was associated with reduced minor and major accident occurrences, but few construction and TEE teachers reported receiving safety training from their school district. More construction and TEE teachers reported receiving safety training from their undergraduate or graduate coursework.
  • Teachers’ Background: Holding a teacher certification through an alternative pathway was a risk factor for accidents, while holding a bachelor’s degree in engineering was a protective factor.

The researchers note that “as students matriculate into postsecondary education programs and into the workforce, they will carry with them the safety knowledge and practices they developed during their secondary education experience” and recommend the following:

  • Partnerships among school districts, industry, state departments of education and safety officers to share best practices and provide professional development and supports for increased safety in the classroom for instructors and learners.
  • Ensuring access to CTE-specific coursework and safety training for alternatively certified instructors.
  • Placing no more than 20 students in a construction course with one certified and safety-trained educator.

Read more from Love and Roy about specific safety considerations for CTE classrooms and labs in Techniques.

Perkins V Resources: Data Sharing & Analysis

State and local CTE leaders need accurate data to identify problems, iterate solutions and make informed decisions about programs and funding. Perkins V allows states to invest additional resources in building their data and reporting systems and requires more data-informed decision making through the comprehensive local needs assessment.

As we close this week celebrating Perkins V’s fifth birthday, we’re sharing tools and resources that ACTE has developed or co-developed to support data reporting, analysis and sharing:

State and local leaders can use these resources to enhance their data reporting systems and maximize their understanding of how data leads to better CTE implementation. ACTE and Advance CTE have also collaborated to provide targeted technical assistance to states and local CTE programs focused on effectively using and sharing CTE data.

Perkins V Resources: Middle Grades & Career Development

Perkins V recognizes the importance of beginning career exploration as early as possible by enabling Perkins funds to be spent starting in grade 5. The legislation also includes new definitions and provisions that focus on expanding and improving work-based learning and career development.

As we continue our celebration of five years of Perkins V, take a look at these resources from ACTE and its partners with tips for and examples of effective strategies for career development and middle grades CTE:

  • Student Career Development series: This ACTE series of briefs and webinars dives into topics such as social emotional learning, work-based learning and equitable career development through technology.

CTE educators and career development professionals can use these resources to support career advisement, exploration and more, including programming in the middle grades.

Perkins V Resources: Stakeholder Engagement

Today we’re continuing our celebration of Perkins V by recognizing the strides that CTE programs have made over the past five years in engaging stakeholders such as employers, community leaders, parents and students. Effective stakeholder engagement enables CTE programs to respond to labor market, community and learner needs.

To support CTE educators in engaging stakeholders, ACTE has developed or co-developed the following tools and resources. These resources feature examples of effective engagement strategies from states and local CTE programs:

State and local leaders can use these tools to maximize their understanding of collaboration between key players to shape the future of CTE in their areas. ACTE and Advance CTE have also collaborated to provide more targeted technical assistance to states and local CTE programs focused on effectively connecting stakeholders.

Perkins V Resources: CLNA

As part of our celebration of the fifth birthday of Perkins V, this week we will be sharing ACTE resources that support CTE programs with implementation of the law.

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, informally known as Perkins V, mandates local recipients to conduct a comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) to be eligible to receive federal funding. The CLNA is a significant change in Perkins V that supports data-driven decision making and provides the opportunity for better alignment across planning, spending and accountability activities at the local level.

To help CTE programs with this new requirement, ACTE has developed or co-developed the following CLNA related tools and resources:

These resources can help state and local leaders maximize their CLNA process. ACTE and Advance CTE have also collaborated on technical assistance to provide more targeted assistance to states and local CTE programs focused on effectively conducting the CLNA.

Perkins V Turns Five!

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act was signed into law five years ago today, amending the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and creating what we know as “Perkins V.” States and local CTE programs have made great strides in implementing the law over the past five years, despite the immense challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the greatest challenges and opportunities in Perkins V has been the comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA), which most local recipients have now completed at least twice. Local CTE leaders report that this process for assessing student performance, program quality and labor market needs is helping them make more data-informed decisions about programs and funding.

Another innovation has been the implementation of the new program quality indicators at the high school level. National performance data shows that Perkins Basic State Grant recipients achieved the following attainment levels on these indicators during the 2020-21 school year, the first full year of Perkins V implementation:

  • Of the 12 states that elected to use postsecondary credit attainment as their program quality indicator, nearly 100,000 secondary CTE concentrators earned postsecondary credit in their CTE program area.
  • Just over 128,000 secondary CTE concentrators participated in work-based learning experiences in the 29 states and territories that chose to measure CTE program impact in this way.
  • More than 227,000 secondary CTE concentrators in the 22 states that chose recognized postsecondary credential attainment earned credentials such as industry certifications, licenses, postsecondary certificates and degrees.

CTE advocates also learned through 2020-21 Perkins data, which was the first year of performance reporting under Perkins V, that all states met their targets for secondary CTE concentrators’ four-year graduation rate, with an average graduation rate across the nation of 96%. In addition, we confirmed that CTE continues to impact millions of students, with almost 12 million participants and almost 5 million concentrators across secondary and postsecondary levels. Learn more with ACTE’s deep dive into Perkins V 2020-21 data.

As we celebrate this progress, we know that there is still work to do to ensure all students have access to high-quality CTE programs and experiences. In spring 2024, states will be setting new performance targets and also will have the option of revising their Perkins plans for the next four years. We encourage you to get involved in this process and provide your input.

At the national level, ACTE will continue to advocate for increased resources for the Perkins Basic State Grant to ensure more of the needs identified in CLNAs can be met. We will also continue to provide tools and resources to help CTE educators implement the law and deliver high-quality CTE, including Perkins V: The Official Guide. Please let us know in the comments if there are additional supports you need!

Research Roundup: CTE at Community Colleges

Analysis of Community College Health Care Training Programs: The Community College Research Center at Columbia University recently published a report in which researchers used 2019-20 data from the U.S. Department of Education to examine community colleges’ contributions to the health care workforce.

The results showed that community colleges are responsible for much of the health care programs and graduates in allied health, nursing, mental health and clinical laboratory science. Additionally, researchers looked at the demographics of community colleges and earnings outcomes that students achieve upon completion. The following represent some of the most notable findings:

  • Community colleges were cited as responsible for 76% of all postsecondary programs in mental/social health, 68% in allied health and 58% in practical nursing. They were also responsible for similar percentages of graduates in those programs across the postsecondary sector.
  • Public health programs were noted for their diverse recruitment with Latinx and African American students comprising 22% and 20% of all graduates, respectively.
  • For many health care programs, certificates are more common than longer-term awards.
  • Median hourly wages vary by program and attainment level, with the highest wages associated with two-year degrees in dental support services.

Community Colleges: Achieving Their Potential for Workforce Development: A report recently published by the American Enterprise Institute analyzed the role of public community colleges in preparing learners to enter the workforce and meet labor demand.

Community colleges are facing many hurdles, including providing academic and career supports, purchasing equipment for in-demand fields, the lack of Pell Grant access for students in non-credit programs, and the transfer disconnect with four-year institutions, among other things. Researchers highlighted some of the following recommendations for policymakers and administrators to better support these institutions:

  • Update recruitment and hiring practices to attract instructors with relevant industry experience.
  • Use labor market information and employer engagement to improve labor market alignment and better integrate work-based learning with classroom instruction.
  • Create flexible pathways and stackable opportunities in and among for-credit and non-credit programs.
  • Invest in staff who specialize in building relationships with employers and community partners.

The publication highlights examples such as Project QUEST in San Antonio, Texas, which offers community college training that supports the certification of students in high-earnings fields such as health care, manufacturing and information technology as well as the Good Jobs Challenge, which has awarded $500 million in grants extending into 2027 to regional workforce training partnerships of industry, community colleges, training partners, community-based organizations and unions.

Strategies and Resources to Align Non-credit and Credit Programs: Education Strategy Group recently published a series of resources, which share research, strategies and examples of success aimed at supporting community colleges in the pursuit of more closely aligning non-credit workforce training and degree-focused credit programs. Despite this separation often being beneficial, having two different systems internally can cause content duplication, lack of communication, missed opportunities to build and collaborate and an inequitable student experience, particularly for non-credit students.

Researchers propose the following key tenets for framework alignment:

  • Treat non-credit students the same as those in for-credit programs. Ensure every institutional decision or action is taken with both types of learners in mind.
  • Do not make non-credit programs an educational dead end. Instead develop seamless transitions between non-credit programs and credentials and associate degree programs.
  • Reorganize for joint leadership between non-credit and credit departments and be prepared to modify institutional curriculum development and design processes for better alignment.
  • Ensure that industry-focused programs are credit worthy and credit based with bridge tools like credit matrices, articulation and equivalency agreements.

Updated Resource: Information Technology Sector Sheet

Today ACTE has released CTE: Developing the Information Technology Workforce, the third in our revamped series of Sector Sheets describing CTE’s role in growing the workforce for vital industry sectors. The Sector Sheet series is published with support from ACTE’s long-time partner Pearson.

These revised Sector Sheets include job opportunities in each sector and descriptions of how CTE prepares learners for the workforce in each sector, all in a new format featuring streamlined text and additional graphics to make these advocacy tools even more effective.

This Sector Sheet describes how CTE supports the critical information technology workforce, which employs more than 9 million people nationwide and contributes approximately 8.8% to the U.S. economy. It also shares information on occupations, earnings and credentials that give readers guidance for how to enter and progress within fields such as network architecture and administration, software and web services, and cybersecurity and data science. Finally, the Information Technology Sector Sheet demonstrates the importance of CTE in developing the workforce by describing how CTE prepares learners through courses, industry credentials, work-based learning, career and technical student organizations and more.

As we move forward with the revamped Sector Sheets, both the newer and older Sector Sheets will be available on the ACTE Sector Sheet webpage for download and use. We encourage you to share these tools with students, counselors, policymakers and others to spread the message about CTE and its benefits for students and the workforce.

DC Digest: July 15-21

This week, Congress was primarily focused on continuing the FY 2024 appropriations process. The House and Senate considered several additional FY 2024 appropriations bills at the Committee level, and the House scheduled several appropriations bills to be placed on the floor next week as the Senate continued work on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Next week, both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees plan to consider their Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, which you can read more about below.

With the August congressional recess beginning on July 28, Congress is in a full sprint to complete as much work on their appropriations bills as possible. There are many CTE-related updates below and many moving parts, so check them out to keep informed:

  • ACTE Sends FY 2024 Appropriations Letter: On July 21, ACTE and our partners at Advance CTE sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee regarding the impact of the proposed cuts to education and workforce programs in the FY 2024 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill.
  • Policymaker Perspectives: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici: ACTE is re-launching our Policymaker Perspectives discussion series! In this first Policymaker Perspectives of 2023, ACTE’s Public Policy Department heard from Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), co-chair of the House CTE Caucus.
  • Senate HELP Committee Plans to Consider JOBS Act, Workforce Bills: On July 27, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee plans to consider several bills focused on CTE and workforce development, including S.161, the JOBS Act of 2023. ACTE has endorsed this legislation.
  • Senate CTE Caucus Co-chair Introduces PELL Act: On July 20, Senate CTE Caucus co-chair Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), along with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), introduced S. 2442, the Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act. The bill creates a Workforce Pell Grant to expand Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term job training programs. This is the companion bill to the House’s H.R. 496, but is a competitor to the bi-partisan JOBS Act.
  • Bobby Scott (D-VA) Reintroduces Direct CARE Workforce Act: On July 20, House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) and Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) reintroduced H.R. 4720, the Direct Creation, Advancement, and Retention of Employment (CARE) Opportunity Act of 2023. The legislation invests more than $1.8 billion over five years in training and increasing opportunities for direct care workers, including funding to recruit, retain and advance the direct care workforce pipeline and for local and regional innovation to address workforce shortages and needs in this high-demand field.
  • Roger Williams (R-TX) Reintroduces Student Debt Alternative and CTE Awareness Act: On July 20, Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) reintroduced H.R. 4819, the Student Debt Alternative and CTE Awareness Act. The bill will require the Department of Education (ED) to publish information on the Office of Federal Student Aid website regarding CTE programs and Perkins funding. Additionally, the FAFSA application must include a one-page summary about CTE programs and requires applicants to sign an acknowledgment box before starting their FAFSA application.
  • IES Announces FY 2024 Research Grant Competitions: On July 20, the National Center for Education Research and the National Center for Special Education Research released funding announcements for three FY 2024 grant competitions: education research grants, special education research grants and research training programs in special education. The application deadline is September 21, 2023.
  • Department of Labor Awards Funding to Help States Expand Access to Registered Apprenticeships: The Department of Labor announced the award of over $65 million in grants to 45 states to increase their ability to serve, improve and strategically expand their Registered Apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeships.
  • Department of Labor Awards Funding for Registered Apprenticeships in Education, Clean Energy and More: The Department of Labor announced the award of nearly $17 million in funding contracts to seven organizations to promote Registered Apprenticeships in industries such as education and the care economy, clean energy, cybersecurity, hospitality and transportation.
  • Registration Remains Open for Final Family Engagement Learning Virtual Session: On July 25 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET, this session will explore how family engagement supports college and career pathways success.
  • OCTAE Assistant Secretary Column on Second Chance Pell: ED’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) Assistant Secretary Amy Loyd and the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Justice Programs Amy Solomon co-authored a column in Newsweek to discuss the expansion of Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals that began on July 1.
  • First Lady and Secretary of Education Visit Georgia CTE Programs: On July 18, First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited the Investing in America Workforce Hub in Augusta, Georgia, to discuss ways the community is working to expand pathways to good-paying jobs in fields like advanced manufacturing. You can view pictures from the event here, as well as a recap of the visit here.
  • ED Opens Applications for Performance Partnership Pilots: ED issued a Federal Register notice inviting applications for selection as a performance partnership pilot for FY 2023 under the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) authority.

DC Digest: July 8-14

As Members of Congress returned to Washington this week, their focus was on the FY 24 appropriations process and the reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act. For CTE stakeholders, the biggest news was the House’s appropriations subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which proposed significant cuts to education and workforce development programs. As we await the next phase of the appropriations process, here are some more news and notes:

  • House Subcommittee Appropriators Approve FY24 Education Funding Bill: Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, including funding for education and workforce development programs. The bill was approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies earlier today on a party-line vote. Unfortunately, because House leaders chose to develop appropriations bills at a much lower funding level than agreed to in the debt limit deal, this bill makes significant cuts across education and workforce programs. Learn more about the bill here.
  • Department of Education Makes Corrections to Income-Driven Repayment Plan Balances: On July 14, the Department of Education issued federal student loan balance discharges to borrowers whose balances qualified for forgiveness upon correction of their count of payments made through income-driven federal loan repayment plans. Learn more about the discharges here.
  • Senate CTE Caucus Co-chairs Introduce Data for American Jobs Act: On July 13, Senate CTE Caucus co-chairs Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Todd Young (R-IN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced 2290, the Data for American Jobs Act, a bipartisan bill to ensure that CTE is included in federal data systems to help improve career readiness programs, meet the needs of the economy and expand the skilled workforce. ACTE has endorsed this legislation, and you can view the accompanying press release with a quote from ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Curry here.