Who Benefits From CTE?
Over time, CTE has evolved from a narrow focus on short-term job training to embrace career exploration, high-quality standards and curriculum, and opportunities to earn credits and credentials. Today’s CTE prepares students for college AND further education through pathways that enable learners to meet their goals in a variety of high-wage, in-demand career areas.
The vast majority of Americans realize CTE is a pathway to a successful future (Hunt Institute). However, misconceptions and stigma remain.
Busting CTE Myths
| Myth | Reality |
| ✘ CTE is for low-performing students. | ✓ CTE programs are academically rigorous and aligned to college and career readiness standards, with 97% of CTE students graduating high school (U.S. Department of Education). |
| ✘ CTE is for students not going to college. | ✓ Students who take CTE courses are more likely to attend a two-year college and equally likely as their peers to attend a four-year college (CTE Research Network). |
| ✘ CTE is the same as job training. | ✓ CTE programs are about exploring careers, gaining real-world experience, and building academic and technical knowledge and skills that become more targeted over time. |
| ✘ CTE is only about the skilled trades. | ✓ CTE programs prepare students for careers not only in manufacturing, construction and transportation but also in health care, IT, arts and media, business, education and much more. |
| ✘ Employers don’t care about CTE experience or credentials. | ✓ More than three-quarters of employers from in-demand industries report hiring an employee for their CTE knowledge and skills (Advance CTE) while a growing number of job postings ask for short-term credentials (Fed Communities). |
| ✘ CTE programs and institutions contribute little to the economy. | ✓ CTE generates positive returns to state and local economies. For instance, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System contributes $3.9 billion annually in added income to the state’s economy (KCTCS) while CTE programs in Oklahoma generate nearly $1 billion per year (OK CareerTech). |
Learner Groups Who Particularly Benefit from CTE
CTE has statistically significant positive impacts on academic achievement, employability skills, high school completion and college readiness – for all learners (CTE Research Network). However, research shows that certain groups may benefit the most:
- Students with disabilities in CTE programs are more likely to graduate on-time (Georgia Policy Labs) and earn industry-recognized credentials (Dougherty, Grindal & Hehir 2018).
- CTE concentrators with disabilities are more likely to be employed full-time after high school than other students with disabilities (Lee, Rojewski & Gregg 2016).
- Boys are more likely to concentrate in CTE (REL Midwest) and those who do have higher graduation rates (Brunner, Dougherty & Ross 2021).
- Young men engaged in CTE are more likely to enroll in two-year colleges (REL Midwest) and make higher wages (Olivera-Aguilar, Kell, Ezzo & Robbins 2022).
- Girls, on average, benefit equally from CTE and non-CTE programs (CTE Research Network).
- Black and Latino students are more likely to graduate from CTE-focused schools than from traditional high schools (Community Service Society of New York).
