The Institute of Education Sciences has awarded grants to six new research teams seeking to further our knowledge about CTE as part of the recent launch of the CTE Research Network (CTERN) 2.0, in which ACTE is a Network Lead alongside the American Institutes for Research, Boston College, and the CTE Policy Exchange at Georgia Policy Labs. The purpose of CTERN 2.0 is to collaborate and develop research to better understand the effects of CTE on student outcomes, building on the work of its predecessor, CTERN 1.0. 

Similarly to CTERN 1.0, CTERN 2.0 consists of six research teams, each conducting its own exploratory and impact study of CTE in school districts around the country. The studies are being conducted by different partners in the research network, including universities, think tanks and nonprofit research organizations, and are set to conclude by 2028.  

• Career Development Opportunities in Delaware: Implementation, Impact, and Cost (Principal investigator: Benjamin Dalton, RTI International)  

• Career Development in Chicago Public Schools: Advancing Equity in Opportunities and Outcomes (Principal investigator: Amy Arneson, University of Chicago) 

• Career Development Opportunities in Los Angeles Unified School District (Principal investigator: Miya Warner, SRI Education) 

• Career Development Opportunities for High School Students in Baltimore City Public Schools (Principal investigator: Jay S. Plasman, The Ohio State University) 

• Career Development Opportunities in Florida’s Leon County Schools (Principal investigator: Walter Ecton, University of Michigan and formerly of Florida State University) 

• Exploring the Impact of Secondary Career Development in Washington D.C. Public Schools (Principal investigator: Dara Zeehandelaar Shaw, DC Education Research Collaborative/Urban Institute) 

CTERN 1.0 produced several important and relevant resources documenting CTE’s impact on learner outcomes, including the recent systematic review that summarizes CTE research spanning the past 20 years – findings are also available via a two-page abstract and infographic. The literature review shows that CTE has statistically significant positive impacts on several high school outcomes and is associated with postsecondary enrollment and post-high school employment.  

CTERN 2.0 has coordinated a team to conduct another systematic review, this time with a focus on work-based learning.