Data and Research Archives

Research Roundup: CTE Teacher Salaries, School-to-work Pathways, Workforce Almanac, CTE Communication

The Front End of the CTE Teacher Pipeline: A working paper from the Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) examines the earnings of CTE teachers who enter the profession with prior industry experience.

After analyzing employment data from Washington state, the researchers found that, on average, CTE teachers with prior industry experience make $13,000 more in their first year of teaching than in their prior industry jobs. Apart from Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technology, CTE teachers in most Career Clusters experience first-year salary increases.

When comparing the salaries of traditionally and alternatively certified CTE teachers with prior industry experience, the researchers found that although alternatively certified teachers have higher industry salaries, both groups experience salary increases when they transition to teaching. While traditionally certified CTE teachers across all Clusters experience a first-year salary increase, alternatively certified teachers in the Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technology Clusters earn more in industry than teaching.

Career Education Recruitment and Communication Toolbox: A new toolkit from Advance CTE provides practitioners with resources to effectively recruit and support students in CTE programs:

A guide on recruiting and supporting students with disabilities in CTE programs, including strategies and case studies.
A resource outlining how two pilot programs in Colorado and Louisiana worked to better engage with CTE students to inform their recruitment and communication practices.
A guide on conducting focus groups as well as customizable CTE program recruitment templates.

America’s School-to-work Crisis: A survey conducted by the Schultz Family Foundation and HarrisX examines the education and workforce attitudes of young adults, parents, navigators (e.g. teachers, counselors, workforce specialists) and employers. The researchers surveyed over 5,600 respondents and found the following:

Across each group, most respondents indicate that while four-year degrees can lead to a job, other skills and experiences are more important.
- Fifty-eight percent of employers say skills are more important than degrees.
- While navigators express support for noncollege pathways, 70% still advise young people to pursue a four-year degree. Parents also primarily recommend a four-year degree despite reservations about its value.
Sixty-four percent of young adults want hands-on experiences to explore career options before choosing a pathway, and 45% say that current career resources available to them offer little guidance.
- Young adults are also engaging with AI: 20% use AI tools to explore education and career possibilities. However, 54% are concerned about whether AI will replace the jobs they seek.
Tools that navigators recommend for young adults include goal setting (54%), career assessments (41%), college fairs (37%) and job fairs (36%).
Thirty-eight percent of employers offer internships, and 14% offer job shadowing opportunities.

Updating and Expanding the Workforce Almanac: A recent update to the Workforce Almanac from the Project on Workforce at Harvard University provides new figures on short-term workforce training providers nationwide. As of August 2025, more than 20,000 providers are captured in the Almanac’s data, including federal Registered Apprenticeship providers, higher education institutions and WIOA-eligible providers. The researchers analyzed this data and found the following:

Nonprofit providers account for 37% of total providers, followed by WIOA-eligible providers (29%), higher education institutions (18%) and Registered Apprenticeships (16%).
The Midwest has the highest number of providers per 100,000 workers and per 100,000 unemployed individuals.
Washington, D.C., Wyoming and Alaska have the highest number of providers per 100,000 workers; Nebraska, Texas and South Carolina have the lowest.
Puerto Rico, West Virginia and Arkansas have the highest ratio of postsecondary institutions that offer short-term workforce training programs to workers.
The most common Registered Apprenticeship program sponsors are union/labor organizations, employers, business associations and community colleges/universities.

Research Roundup: Postsecondary PD, Community College ROI, College and Career Readiness, Skilled Trades Perceptions

Gaps in Understanding the PD Needs of Postsecondary CTE Educators: A white paper from CAST examines how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can improve postsecondary CTE instruction and boost student outcomes.

In a separate study, the authors found that there is a lack of research and guidance on postsecondary CTE professional development (PD) practices. Moreover, interviews they conducted revealed that postsecondary CTE instructors struggle with supporting students and managing their classroom. Because teacher self-efficacy—the belief in one’s ability to help students learn—relies on positive PD experiences and is tied to higher student outcomes, the authors argue that there is an urgent need to fill the postsecondary CTE PD gap and propose UDL as a potential solution.

UDL’s emphasis on student access and success makes it applicable to postsecondary CTE and can increase self-efficacy, according to the authors. They point to the experiences of postsecondary CTE instructors who received UDL-based PD from CAST; the instructors described shifting their perspectives to focus on how they present information to students, such as utilizing videos to introduce a piece of equipment, and being more aware of the different ways students process information and express their knowledge.

Moving forward, the authors provide a series of recommendations that call on stakeholders to implement UDL-based PD for postsecondary CTE instructors, including promoting awareness of UDL, conducting research and investing in teacher support initiatives.

A Regional Look at the ROI of California’s Community and Career Colleges: A study from College Futures analyzes the return-on-investment (ROI) of California’s community and career colleges. The researchers compared the median salary of graduates from individual colleges to the median salary of a California high school graduate with no postsecondary education ($32,476). They then calculated how long it took for college graduates to recoup the costs of their credential based on their additional earnings.

The researchers found that the ROI varied greatly between California’s regions. Thirty-eight percent of community and career colleges in the Bay Area enable students to recoup the costs of their credential in under a year compared to only six percent in the Inland Empire; notably, 34% of colleges in the Inland Empire provide no economic returns at all. Differences also emerged between public and private colleges, with 40% of public community and career colleges allowing students to recoup costs in under a year compared to five percent for private colleges. The top 25 institutions with the quickest ROI span the entire state and allow students to recoup costs in under six months; these colleges also primarily serve low-income students, charge less than $5,000 annually, and demonstrate earnings that are at least $10,000 more than a high school graduate.

A 50-state Analysis of College, Career, Military and Civic Readiness Indicators: A report from the Urban Institute and All4Ed examines how states are utilizing and measuring college and career readiness (CCR) indicators. The author scanned indicators across all 50 states and Washington, DC, and found the following:

Forty-two states use at least one CCR indicator in their federal or state accountability systems, with 17 states using multiple.
- 20 states also measure military or civic readiness.
AP or IB coursework is the most common college readiness measure used by states (35), followed by dual or concurrent enrollment (34) and college admissions tests (25). For career readiness measures, industry-recognized credential attainment is most common (23), followed by CTE pathway completion (16) and work-based learning (14).
Only 12 states report data on how students demonstrate readiness through their CCR measures.
Twenty-six states exclusively rely on input measures—such as test scores—to measure a student’s readiness rather than outcomes measures such as wages and college enrollment.

American Sentiment Toward The Skilled Trades: A recent survey from The Harris Poll investigates how individuals view careers in the skilled trades. The researchers surveyed over 2,000 adults aged 18 and older across the nation and found the following:

Americans overwhelmingly support the skilled trades: 90% of respondents believe that the skilled trades offer a fast and affordable path to a good career while 91% believe they are as important as white-collar jobs. Ninety percent agree that most people do not realize how high paying the skilled trades can be.
- Attitudes differ by age group: 59% of boomers said that the skilled trades offer the best job opportunities compared to only 38% for Gen Z.
Across all age and racial/ethnic groups, respondents said that the biggest barrier for individuals pursuing skilled trades is that trade careers are seen as less prestigious than other occupations. Other barriers ranked highly by respondents include lack of awareness of trade careers, pressure to attend a four-year college and trade careers not being seen as financially rewarding.

Research Roundup: CTE Faculty Shortages, CTE in Ohio, College and Career Readiness Standards, Work-based Learning

Addressing CTE Faculty Shortages in Community Colleges: An article by Brandon Hensley, Michelle E. Bartlett, James E. Bartlett II and Sophia Alston in The CTE Journal investigates the challenges that shape CTE faculty shortages in community colleges and the institutional practices aimed at recruiting and retaining instructors.

The researchers surveyed postsecondary CTE instructors nationally and analyzed data from community college faculty in North Carolina to provide state-specific insights. They found that respondents from North Carolina struggle to find instructors, with 66% of respondents stating it is always or often hard to find full-time faculty and 60% reporting the same for part-time faculty. Within CTE program areas, 41% of respondents say that their institutions face a shortage in one area, 17% in two areas, 13% in three areas and 14% in 10 areas. Health (50%), Construction/Trades (27.5%) and IT (23%) are the most common program areas in which respondents report faculty shortages.

When asked about how their institutions recruit and retain CTE faculty, the most common strategies reported by North Carolina respondents are posting positions on the school’s website or online job boards, word of mouth and faculty referrals. For retention, respondents report that their institutions actively address factors that lead to faculty burnout and consider feedback from faculty in decision-making. However, respondents rate their institution’s benefits and sense of community among faculty members as weak.

The State of CTE in Ohio: A report from the Fordham Institute examines the current state of CTE programs and work-based learning opportunities in Ohio using state longitudinal data.

Participation in CTE coursework and work-based learning opportunities has risen in recent years. About one in four high school students completed at least one CTE course in the 2022-23 school year, up from one in six for 2014-15. In addition, about one-third of students, over 44,000, graduated as CTE concentrators in 2023 compared to 36,000 students in 2020.
The class of 2023 saw over 4,500 additional students (26% of CTE concentrators) accumulate more than 250 hours of work-based learning experiences compared to the class of 2022.
Attainment of industry-recognized credentials soared from 14,500 earned in 2014-15 to nearly 70,000 earned in 2021-22.
- Attainment of high-demand credentials, as defined by the state’s Innovative Workforce Incentive Program (IWIP), also rose significantly—from about 3,000 earned in 2019-20 to over 19,000 in 2022-23. However, IWIP credentials only made up 16% of the credentials students earned in 2022-23, indicating that students are largely pursuing lower demand credentials.
The top CTE programs for concentrators are agribusiness and production systems (15.4%), engineering and design (9%) and allied health and nursing (8.5%).
Low-income and Black students are underrepresented in enrollment at specialized career centers, which are more likely to offer high-demand programs and credentials.

Which College and Career Readiness Standards Best Align with Positive Outcomes after High School?: A study from the Urban Institute examines 12 college and career readiness standards in state accountability models, investigating which ones best predict post-high school outcomes.

The author analyzed 100+ studies that examined the causal impact of each standard and found that seven are positively linked to post-high school outcomes:

AP or IB Enrollment	Mandatory SAT or ACT Testing	Mandatory FAFSA Completion
Early College or Academic Dual Enrollment	CTE or CTE Dual Enrollment	Industry-recognized or CTE Dual Enrollment Credentials
	Military Enlistment

Participation in early college programs or academic dual enrollment as well as participation in CTE or CTE dual enrollment are the standards mostly positively aligned to positive outcomes, each supported by a significant number of studies that indicate strong links to postsecondary enrollment, persistence and degree attainment as well as employment and earnings. The author noted that enrollment in CTE coursework appears to be particularly beneficial for male, Black, Hispanic and disabled students, echoing other studies that have made similar findings.

Strengthening Career Value Across Diverse Models of Work-based Learning: A report from the Strada Foundation explores students’ experiences and attitudes toward various work-based learning (WBL) experiences. The researchers surveyed over 2,000 undergraduate students at public four-year colleges nationwide and found the following:

65% of students who participated in WBL said it was to gain experience and skills in a specific career they plan on pursuing. Students highly value WBL experiences, with 40% ranking the career value of their experiences a ten on a 1-10 scale, 13% ranking their experiences a nine, and 18% rating their experiences an eight.
Experiences that students rated the highest in making them stronger candidates for careers are paid internships, undergraduate research experiences and practicums. On- and off-campus jobs were ranked the lowest.
Students indicated that, broadly, WBL experiences helped them expand their professional network, develop technical and soft skills, and receive extensive feedback and mentorship from their supervisors.

Research Roundup: CTE Concentration and Course-taking, Dual Enrollment Partnerships, Career Navigation Policy

The Impact of CTE Concentration on the Success of High School Students: An article by Michael Shoemaker in the Journal of Career and Technical Education describes positive academic and behavioral outcomes for CTE concentrators compared to non-concentrators.

After analyzing data from 2019-22 graduates of a Midwest high school, Shoemaker found that CTE concentrators scored higher on both the ACT Science and Kansas Assessment Program Science exams. CTE concentrators also had higher final GPAs and graduation rates than non-concentrators. For behavioral outcomes, CTE concentrators had a significantly higher attendance rate and received slightly fewer disciplinary infractions than non-concentrators.

Understanding Interest in CTE Course-taking: In the same journal, an article by Ellen Rydell Altermatt, Andrea Rorrer, Rachel Barnett and Tamara Goetz examines how students value and perceive CTE coursework. The study specifically examines the intrinsic value (personal enjoyment) and utility value (perceived usefulness) of CTE courses.

The researchers surveyed grade 9-12 students at a Utah high school and found that the students, as a whole, find both intrinsic and utility value in CTE coursework. The utility value of CTE courses for college and career readiness ranked the highest, followed by intrinsic value, then the utility value for jobs and networking. Female students ranked each of the three values higher than male students, as did students planning to go to college. Students of color ranked perceptions of intrinsic value and utility value for college and career readiness lower.

The researchers also measured students’ interest in taking CTE coursework and found that students of color were less interested in taking CTE courses, while older students and students who planned to go to college were more interested in taking CTE courses. Students who rated intrinsic and utility values of CTE courses higher were much more likely to have already taken a CTE course or plan on taking additional CTE courses beyond their graduation requirement than students with lower value ratings.

How State Policy Can Transform Career Navigation for Young People: A report from American Student Assistance and Jobs for the Future examines how states are developing career navigation systems. The researchers identified 19 policies across four components – actionable information (labor market information and student outcomes data), personalized guidance, work-based learning (WBL) and short-term credentials – which they identified as critical in developing an effective career navigation system. The researchers then conducted a scan of all 50 states and Washington, DC, to determine which states have policies that align with each component the most.

For each component, the researchers found the following:

Actionable Information: Actionable information still needs much work as many states do not produce disaggregated student wage and employment data and do not collect statistics on nondegree credentials. Notably, only four states publish interactive tools that display disaggregated wage and employment data from postsecondary degrees.
Personalized Guidance: Personalized guidance also falls short. While 21 states prioritize Perkins state leadership funds to support career guidance programs, only six have developed quality standards for secondary career counseling and advisement.
Work-based Learning: States fare better with WBL, with 45 states having a formal definition of WBL and 27 providing financial incentives to employers who engage in WBL. Continued work remains crucial however, as only six states have adopted quality standards for WBL programs.
Short-term Credentials: While 24 states provide financial aid to short-term, high-demand credentials, only five include them in their outcomes-based funding formula for postsecondary programs.

The Link Between Dual Enrollment Partnership Characteristics and Outcomes: A report from the Community College Research Center explores how the characteristics of dual enrollment (DE) partnerships in the state of Texas affect student outcomes.

Using state administrative data, the researchers found that contextual measures, particularly an urban setting and the use of the early college high school (ECHS) model were stronger predictors of student outcomes than the structures of DE courses (e.g., type of instructor, virtual course, subject). DE partnerships with an ECHS are associated with a 20 percentage point increase in four-year college enrollment compared to partnerships with a traditional high school. Partnerships in urban high schools are associated with a 30 percentage point increase in four-year college enrollment, compared to rural high schools, and a 27 percentage point decrease in two-year college enrollment.

Geographic locale and the ECHS model also predict degree attainment. Partnerships with ECHSs are associated with a 26 percentage point increase in associate degree attainment, while partnerships with urban high schools are associated with a 37 and 32.5 percentage point increase in associate and bachelor’s degree attainment, respectively.

Research Roundup: Middle-skills Gap, Career Academies, Career Readiness, Postsecondary Retention

Bridging the Middle-skills Gap: A report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) examines the gaps between high-paying jobs that require postsecondary credentials such as certificates and associate degrees, categorized in the literature as high-paying middle-skills jobs, and the projected size of the middle-skills workforce. CEW further defines high-paying middle-skills jobs as ones where early-career workers have annual earnings above $55,000 and mid-career workers have median annual earnings of $83,300.

The researchers analyzed national education and workforce data and made several findings:

Annually, the nation faces a shortage of nearly 712,000 certificates and associate degrees aligned with high-paying middle-skills jobs in four occupational groups: skilled trades, management, STEM and protective services. These shortages are expected to persist until at least 2032.
Health care is the only occupational group not projected to face shortages of certificates and associate degrees aligned with high-paying middle-skills jobs.
Men, Asian and white individuals are more likely to earn high-paying middle-skills credentials compared to women, Black and Hispanic individuals. In addition, white men hold more high-paying middle-skills jobs in the skilled trades, management, STEM and protective services occupational groups, while white women hold more of these jobs in the health care group.

Examining the NAF Academy: An article by Edward C. Fletcher Jr., In Heok Lee, Tong Xing Tan and Gen Li in Innovative Higher Education studied the college matriculation rates of students who attended a National Academy Foundation (NAF) career academy.

The researchers analyzed data from the 2019 graduates of over 400 NAF academies nationwide and found that NAF academy students who engaged in some combination of NAF course completion, internships and/or dual enrollment were significantly more likely to matriculate into college compared to NAF academy students who did not participate in those activities. Male, white and Asian NAF students were more likely to matriculate into college than other racial/ethnic groups, and students enrolled in engineering or finance-focused academies were more likely to matriculate into college than students in hospitality-focused academies.

The researchers also examined the levels of stress in communities surrounding the academies (stress related to economic, education, health, housing and crime-related issues) and found that students who matriculated into college attended academies in communities with lower stress levels than students who did not matriculate into college.

Making Career Readiness Count: A report from Advance CTE and the College in High School Alliance examines how states have developed and implemented career-focused indicators in their state and federal accountability systems.

The analysis found that, as of 2024, 43 states include at least one career-focused indicator in their state or federal accountability system. This represents a slight increase from 2019 and a substantial increase from 2014. Indicators that states utilize the most are dual enrollment success (32), industry-recognized credential attainment (26), achievement on an academic career readiness assessment (21), CTE completion (21) and experiential/work-based learning (16). Of the 43 states that use a career-focused indicator, 35 publicly report college and career readiness data but only 13 disaggregate that data for each indicator in their accountability systems.

Postsecondary Persistence and Retention: The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released new data on the rates of persistence (i.e., remaining enrolled at any institution) and retention (i.e., remaining enrolled at their starting institution) for beginning postsecondary students, tracking persistence and retention in the students’ first spring and second fall in college. Major takeaways from the data include:

Among students who entered postsecondary education in fall 2023, the national persistence rate for fall 2024 was 77.6% and the national retention rate was 69.5%. These represent slight increases compared to the fall 2022 cohort.
While public and private four-year institutions saw increased persistence and retention rates for both first spring and second fall, community colleges held steady for first spring but saw small declines in second fall.
Trades-related certificate programs, such as precision production and construction, made up four of the top five certificate programs with the highest second fall persistence rates.
Part-time students fell far behind full-time students for both persistence and retention.
Younger students (aged 20 or below) were more likely to persist and be retained than older students.
Hispanic, Black and Native American students have retention rates lower than the national average and have mixed persistence rates.

Research Roundup: High-earning CTE Pathways, Returning College Students, Non-college Pathways

Who takes High-earning CTE Pathways?: A report from the Career and Technical Education Policy Exchange examines which students enroll in high-earning CTE pathways.

The researchers analyzed data on CTE concentrators from five school districts across the country to find that gender is the strongest predictor of earnings potential. Across all five school districts, female CTE students were more likely to enroll in Career Clusters associated with lower earnings such as Education & Training and Human Services as well as the higher earning Health Science Cluster. Meanwhile, male students were more represented in high-paying Clusters such as IT, STEM and Finance.

Smaller but noteworthy differences were also found between racial/ethnic groups. Black and Hispanic CTE students tend to enroll in Clusters that are associated with slightly lower earnings than white students, but the researchers noted that these gaps are much smaller than the national pay gaps between Black, Hispanic and white workers. CTE students from low-income households enroll in Clusters with similar wages compared to high-income students, and differences by disability status were mixed.

Some College, No Credential Outcomes: A report and data dashboard from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center examines the current population of some college, no credential (SCNC) individuals. Major takeaways from the report include:

At the start of the 2023-24 academic year, the total SCNC population under 65 years of age was 37.5 million, a 2.2% increase from the previous year.
Most institutions saw reductions in the number of students leaving postsecondary education; notably, community colleges saw a 10.7% reduction in the number of stopouts compared to the previous year.
More than one million SCNC students re-enrolled in postsecondary education in 2023-24, and the share of re-enrollees who earned a credential in their first year of re-enrollment increased by 4.7%.
Community colleges are the primary destination for returning SCNC students, with nearly three in five re-enrolling in a community college.
Approximately one-quarter of SCNC credential earners attained a credential without re-enrolling, possibly owing to state/institutional policies aimed at awarding credentials to learners who had previously stopped out.
Although white and Asian students earned credentials at higher rates compared to other SCNC re-enrollees, all racial/ethnic groups saw gains in re-enrollment and credential attainment.

Gen Z’s Limited Awareness of Non-college Pathways: A report from Gallup, the Walton Family Foundation and Jobs for the Future surveyed over 1,900 Gen Z high school students and their parents/guardians as well as adults nationwide to better understand Gen Z’s experiences and awareness of non-college pathways.

The researchers found that:

Fewer than three in 10 students feel very prepared to pursue any pathway after high school. Apprenticeship programs rank the lowest, with only 8% of students feeling very prepared to pursue them.
Only 15% of Gen Z students received information from their schools on career pathways that do not require a college degree, only 24% reported being prepared for an apprenticeship program, and only 39% reported that their schools prepared them to pursue an internship.
Gen Z students and their parents know very little about pathways other than college. Despite this, nearly half of all high school students reported interest in pursuing a pathway other than a job or a bachelor’s degree.
Students are much more likely to express interest in a pathway if their parents have talked with them about that pathway. For instance, students are 37 percentage points more likely to express interest in pursuing an apprenticeship if their parents have talked to them about apprenticeship.

2025 Post-graduation Readiness Report: A report from YouScience examines the pathways high school graduates from the class of 2024 pursued and the career guidance that they received.

The report finds that graduates are increasingly pursuing non-baccalaureate pathways – from 2019 to 2024, the percentage of graduates who pursued a bachelor’s degree dropped by 20 percentage points. Over the same period, graduates were 15 percentage points more likely to be working toward a specific career goal, reflecting a shift toward more skills-based pathways.

Despite this, 70% of graduates reported lacking confidence in their post-graduation career plans. In addition, students reported the following:

50% said that their schools could have offered more work-based learning opportunities.
39% wished that they had participated in more CTE courses.
38% wished that they had participated in an internship, job shadow or part-time work.
27% wished they had done more research on other postsecondary options.

Research Roundup: Apprenticeships, Micro-credentials, Virginia Workforce Grants

Apprenticeship: Earn-and-learn Opportunities Can Benefit Workers and Employers: A report from the Government Accountability Office examines current federal support for earn-and-learn opportunities, such as apprenticeships, and the benefits and challenges associated with these opportunities.

The researchers found that participants in Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) are largely concentrated in high-wage, high-demand fields. Of the 10 most common RAP occupations, six are projected to grow faster than the average occupation by 2033 and nine pay above the median wage. The top three occupations for RAP participants in 2024 were electricians, plumbers/steamfitters and computer-related occupations. RAP participants also earned higher wages and completed their programs at a higher rate compared to two-year certificate or associate degree students.

Despite strong federal support for apprenticeships, stakeholders identified barriers that hinder their growth, including awareness gaps, administrative burden and pressure to pursue a full-time college education.

Policy Blueprint to Modernize and Expand Apprenticeship Nationwide: A brief from Jobs for the Future describes the current landscape of apprenticeships, arguing that the nation should expand these opportunities to meet the evolving needs of the workforce. Accordingly, the authors pitch several policy recommendations for policymakers to consider, including:

Reimagining how apprenticeships are funded by not only increasing funding but also utilizing funding streams such as WIOA and Perkins, establishing tax credits and adopting a formula-based funding model.
Streamlining the process for apprenticeship registration, supporting apprenticeships that are competency based in addition to time-based programs and establishing clear timelines for registration.
Strengthening pathways into apprenticeships beyond youth apprenticeships by expanding work-based learning opportunities and aligning service programs, like AmeriCorps, with apprenticeship pathways.
Reforming data collection and quality standards by creating a centralized apprenticeship database instead of relying on fragmented state data, which is often riddled with errors and duplicate information.

Evaluating the Effects of Virginia’s Workforce-targeted Free College Program: A report from the Annenberg Institute evaluates the outcomes of Virginia’s Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3). The initiative, which was enacted in 2021, provides tuition assistance for students enrolled in community college programs that lead to high-demand careers, such as education or skilled trades.

The researchers analyzed data from the Virginia Community College System and found that the initiative increased student grant and financial aid use while also reducing borrowing. These effects were concentrated on middle-income students, a population that may not receive full Pell Grants or other forms of financial assistance. The initiative also increased FAFSA completion, enrollment in eligible G3 programs and certificate attainment. Middle-income students in G3 programs were found to be more likely to earn a certificate than students in non-G3 programs.

The Emerging Micro-credential Movement in K-12 Education: A report from FutureEd analyzes the evolution of micro-credentials in K-12 education, outlining challenges in this shifting landscape:

There is little trust in the value of micro-credentials among employers and colleges. The current micro-credential landscape is massive, and stakeholders lack the tools to assess their value. There is also a mismatch between the skills micro-credentials offer and the skills employers want to see.
It is difficult to adapt existing infrastructure to implement micro-credentials. To encourage micro-credential attainment in a K-12 setting, schools need to invest in professional development. Micro-credentials must also be rigorous, portable and aligned to academic standards.
Many educators worry that micro-credentials would become a form of tracking for students who struggle in a traditional education setting.

This Week : McMahon Testifies Before Both Chambers of Congress

This week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified before lawmakers in both chambers of Congress.

On Tuesday, she testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies on President Trump’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request for the Department of Education (ED). Then on Wednesday, she testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce on the policies and priorities for ED.

Senators questioned McMahon about the proposed budget for ED, which would cut funding by 15%. Notably, Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith (R-MS) asked McMahon to provide more details about ED’s plans to fund CTE programs. In response, she said, “we're looking very much across all states and we're level funding CTE. It's not being reduced.”

Sec. McMahon returned to the Hill on Wednesday where she emphasized that her main policy priorities for ED include risk sharing related to student loans at postsecondary institutions and workforce Pell. Many other topics were covered in the three-hour hearing that often got contentious.

In support of workforce Pell, McMahon stated that “bold reforms” are needed to help fill the more than 8 million open jobs in the United States.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) asked about proposed plans to move the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) to the Department of Labor. McMahon stated, “I can tell you that one of the executive orders from the president was that the Commerce Department, Department of Labor, and Department of Education should coordinate and look at workforce programs. There are over 50 – 43 different workforce development programs across all of the agencies. It's certainly inefficient in operation. So, I have had many discussions with Commerce. I've had many discussions with the secretary of labor, and I think there are opportunities to move some of those programs.”

When asked to clarify, McMahon confirmed that she has had discussions to move OCTAE “to the other agencies,” but did not elaborate further on the specifics of OCTAE’s future at ED.

Also of note, Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA), Co-Chair of the House CTE Caucus, asked about ED’s recent decision to eliminate the contract for the National Evaluation of Career and Technical Education (NECTEP) under Perkins. He noted that Congress is set to begin work on reauthorizing Perkins and this data is vital to that work. The NECTEP data was set to be completed and lawmakers want to “maximize opportunities” when reauthorizing legislation.

McMahon said in response, “we're going to continue to collect the data that we need to collect.” She added that she would look further into the specifics of the NECTEP contract and get back to lawmakers.

The State of CTE: Credentials of Value

Advance CTE recently released a comprehensive report analyzing the current landscape of nondegree credentials, including certificates, industry-recognized credentials, apprenticeship certificates and occupational licenses. Through a national scan of state practices, a 50-state survey and interviews with state leaders, the report shares four key findings:

Forty-four states have made lists of recognized credentials publicly available, including 34 states with a formal approval process. The most common approval strategy is employer recommendations, followed by educator recommendations, occupational demand data and wage data. Many states have multiple lists for different populations, programs or funding streams.
States are farther behind in developing consistent processes for revalidating approved credentials. Only 27 states have a process to revalidate credentials, while only 14 states take occupational wage information into consideration for reapproval. In addition, less than half of states have a process for phasing out credentials and 13 states reported not removing any credentials in the past five years.
States are investing in accountability measures and incentives to increase credential attainment. Twenty-six states include industry-recognized credentials in their ESSA and/or state accountability systems; 22 states measure credential attainment as a Perkins V secondary program quality indicator; and 10 states incorporate industry credentials in their high school graduation requirements. Thirty-five states fund credentials with either federal and/or state funds, including 30 states that cover assessment costs and 23 that fund specialized professional development for teachers.
Although 35 states collect data to inform their credential data systems, only 15 collect at least three leading indicators such as pass data, and only eight report examining the outcomes of credentials. Common data elements that many states track include certification names, CTE program enrollment and credential providers.

For each of these findings, the report provides recommendations and reflection questions for state CTE leaders to consider as they work to improve their state’s credential system. Recommendations include taking a unified approach across K-12, postsecondary and workforce; developing stronger revalidation processes; and structuring incentives to focus on credentials that have demonstrated value.

Alongside the report, Advance CTE also released two data dashboards: one contains information on how states are approaching credentials, and the other lists the top employer-requested credentials, filterable by Career Cluster and state.

New Career Cluster Resources: Industry Sector Profiles and CTSO Connections

Advance CTE has released two new resources for students, educators and other stakeholders interested in learning more about the updated National Career Clusters® Framework.

The Industry Sector Profiles compile industry-related information for each Career Cluster, including an analysis of quantitative and economic data organized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes as well as national labor market data. Advance CTE also worked alongside various national CTSOs to develop a resource that highlights how the CTSOs are aligning with the Framework.

For more information and resources, visit Advance CTE’s website.