The national profile of CTE continued to grow in 2017, with nearly every state adopting new policies related to CTE and career readiness

Join ACTE and Advance CTE on Wednesday, January 31 from 2:00-3:00pm ET for a webinar that will unpack findings from our joint publication, State Policies Impacting CTE: 2017 Year in Review, to be released January 25. The webinar will explore recent trends in state CTE policy, discuss the intersections of state and federal policy and examine how the CTE policy landscape has changed over the past few years. Participants will also hear from state leaders about policy developments in their states.

Participants will also hear from state leaders about policy developments in their states. Sign up for this one-hour webinar at https://advancecte.webex.com/advancecte/onstage/g.php?MTID=efcae420985fcfaec713830c35df97f82, and read the report on January 25.

Earlier this month, Senators Doug Jones (D-AL) and Tina Smith (D-MN) were sworn in to the U.S. Senate. Sen. Jones won a closely watched special election in Alabama to fill the seat that was vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that had been temporarily filled by Luther Strange. Sen. Jones’ election altered the balance of power in the Senate to a slim 51-49 Republican majority. Sen. Tina Smith was appointed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to fill the seat of Sen. Al Franken, who resigned earlier this month amid sexual misconduct allegations

Both Sens. Jones and Smith were appointed to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has left the HELP committee for this second session of the 115th Congress (although he remains in Congress). The committee now stands at 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Prior to his election, Sen. Jones was an attorney who had previously served as a federal prosecutor. His election to the Senate marked somewhat of a return to the upper chamber, having previously worked as staff counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Smith had served as the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota until her appointment. Before that, Sen. Smith started her own marketing firm; worked for several political campaigns and politicians; and served as vice president for external affairs for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Following her appointment, Sen. Smith did indicate that funding for public schools and early education would be among her top priorities in Congress.

ACTE will work with Sens. Jones and Smith, along with the entire committee and Members of Congress in both chambers to advance policies that benefit the CTE community.

We are excited to announce the launch of ACTE’s High-Quality CTE Program of Study Framework pilot test! After tremendous input and numerous revisions to our underlying Framework, we are ready to move to the next step of ACTE’s High-quality CTE Initiative. This phase of the initiative is a pilot test of the Framework’s validity and utility when used in program self-evaluation, and we hope you can participate!  

Who can participate?

The units of analysis for the pilot are individual CTE Programs of Study. Any CTE educator, administrator or other significant stakeholder can participate in the pilot by choosing one of the CTE Programs of Study they work with to evaluate. For example, a technology education teacher might choose to evaluate their CISCO networking academy program of study, a community college administrator might choose to evaluate their automotive technology program of study, or the CTE director in a district might choose to evaluate their district-wide health sciences program of study. It is important that only a single program of study be evaluated using the instrument during the pilot. In many cases, it might be appropriate for multiple stakeholders to provide input into completing the evaluation, but we need one individual to be our point of contact and be responsible for submitting the evaluation during the pilot process. Please do not consider only your “highest-flying” programs, as a sample of only the best programs in the country will make it difficult for us to determine the validity of the instrument.

What is required for participation?

Pilot volunteers will be asked to engage in a two-step process.

First, the Framework evaluation instrument will be completed as it relates to the chosen program of study. This instrument asks the respondent to rate their chosen program on the 102 separate indicators included under the 12 elements of the High-quality CTE Program of Study Framework. A scale of zero to three is provided, with zero representing the absence of that criterion in the program, and three representing substantial achievement of the criterion throughout the entire program of study.

Once the evaluation instrument has been completed and submitted, participants will be asked to complete a short feedback form about the experience and their thoughts on the usefulness of the instrument and evaluation process. In addition, participants must share program-level Perkins performance indicator data (in percentage form) for the program in question. Before you begin the first step of the pilot process, please make sure you have this data available for the most recent year completed or can get it from your state or district. Keep in mind that publically reported Perkins performance data is at the district or institution (for postsecondary) level, and so must be disaggregated by program for it to be appropriate for this pilot project. If you don’t have this data or aren’t sure how to get it, please contact us before beginning and we can help provide direction!

Both the evaluation instrument and feedback form will be provided electronically through SurveyMonkey, and a hard copy of the evaluation instrument will be made available as well in order to facilitate thoughtful completion before submitting electronically.

How much time will it take to participate?

We ask participants to set aside enough time to thoughtfully consider the 102 criteria that are included on the evaluation instrument. This may involve asking other colleagues for information, reviewing course materials, or discussing answers as part of a team. It might be appropriate to schedule a meeting with all the program of study’s stakeholders to complete the instrument together, although it is designed in a way that it could be done individually as well. We think between one and two hours should be enough time to complete the evaluation instrument, although larger groups with more discussion might need more time, or it could take longer if the individual completing the form is not familiar with all aspects of the program and needs to gather a significant amount of the information required. The feedback form is a much shorter survey and should be able to be completed in less than 10 minutes.

How will information collected during the pilot be used?

All identifiable information collected during the pilot will be kept confidential, including program performance data and the names of individuals and programs participating. Results will only be released in aggregate form so that information is not personally identifiable. Data obtained from the evaluation instrument will be correlated with Perkins performance data to determine the instrument’s validity as a measure of program quality, and data from the feedback questionnaire will be used to address questions about the instrument’s utility. A few participants will be selected after this part of the pilot to engage in in-depth interviews about their experiences, and this data will supplement what is collected through the survey process. Overall, the pilot will help us determine any necessary changes to the Framework, and provide insights into how ACTE can best use the Framework and make it available to the CTE community going forward.

Why should you participate?

While this pilot is completely voluntary, we hope you will participate! Your participation will help ACTE ensure that this Framework is a valuable tool for program of study self-evaluation and program improvement and will be an important contribution to the field of CTE. In addition, once you have submitted your pilot materials, we will provide you with an individual score report that can be used in your own program improvement efforts, as well as an Excel version of the Evaluation Instrument that can be shared with others or used for other programs you work with. We will also add you a priority list for future information about the project.

Thank you very much for considering participating in the pilot. If you would like to move forward, please email ACTE Director of Public Policy Alisha Hyslop at ahyslop@acteonline.org. You will then be provided with the links to the survey documents and the hard copy of the evaluation instrument. We hope to have all data collected by the end of January. 

Policymaker Perspectives: A Discussion with Representative Brett Guthrie

Policymaker Perspectives is a discussion series between ACTE and federal policymakers. It is intended to allow CTE professionals to hear directly from policymakers about their priorities and the work taking place in Washington to strengthen the CTE ecosystem.

Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) was first elected in 2008 and represents Kentucky’s Second Congressional District, which begins just south of Louisville, extends all the way to Bowling Green, and reaches Owensboro and Nicholasville on the district’s western and eastern edges, respectively. He is a graduate of West Point and Yale University, and is the former vice president of an automotive parts manufacturing business that was started by his father. Before his election to Congress, Rep. Guthrie served in the Kentucky Senate for a decade.

In Congress, Rep. Guthrie has made workforce and education issues a priority. He was an original cosponsor of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014, and was a sponsor of the Perkins reauthorization bill that passed the House in 2017. He is a member of the Congressional CTE Caucus. The Congressman serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he chairs the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee. He also serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and is an assistant whip for the Republican Conference.

Congressman Guthrie and his wife, Beth, have three children. ACTE recently spoke with Representative Guthrie as part of our Policymaker Perspectives discussion series.

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ACTE: Prior to your public service, you were vice president of a manufacturing company. In 2012, one in six private-sector jobs was in manufacturing, which accounted for 12 percent of the nation’s GDP. Estimates show that by 2020, more than half of manufacturing jobs will require some type of postsecondary degree. Based on your experience in industry and in Congress, what can be done to ensure people are equipped with the skills they need in the 21st century economy – both in manufacturing and beyond?

Representative Guthrie: Something I hear over and over again from employers in the Second District is that if someone has the right skill set, they would hire that person immediately – whether or not they were even hiring in the first place. Technical skills are in high demand throughout the country, so we need to make it possible for people to get these skills and meet the demand. For someone who works at a factory and has a family but never went to college, the idea of going to school can seem daunting. Some of the ways we can help both traditional and nontraditional students alike are year-round Pell grants, apprenticeship programs, and offering class credit for experience. There is a significant population of workers who would jump at the chance for further education but who do not fit the mold of traditional four-year institutions.

ACTE: In October, you co-authored an op-ed titled, “Closing the Cyber Skills Gap.” In it, you raised the idea of recruiting military veterans for cyber careers and improving partnerships between industry and education institutions. You have a unique perspective as both a veteran and someone who worked in industry. How can we increase opportunity for veterans in CTE fields? How can we strengthen connections between industry and education?

Representative Guthrie: Our military is made up of millions of dedicated Americans who all play a specific role in defending and protecting our country. Those specific roles are often incredibly technical in nature – engineers, mechanics, and pilots, for example. When workers who have already gone through extensive technical training through the military want to fill positions in the private sector requiring technical skills, there should be a process for them to be able to do so without simply retaking all the required classes as a civilian. We need to make professional certification and skills training programs more flexible to accommodate these types of transitioning workers. The dedicated men and women of the Armed Forces are exactly the type of leaders we want in our civilian workforce when they complete their service.

ACTE: You are the sponsor of the “Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act,” a bill that would require annual – not just entrance – counseling for students at institutions of higher education. What was the impetus for this bill and why is it important?

Representative Guthrie Too many young adults are drowning in student debt, which places a drag on our economy because the longer it takes to pay off the debt, the longer it takes for them to buy a home, start a business, etc. Oftentimes, the ones who have the most debt are the ones who completed a semester or two of higher education and then stopped – so they don’t have the benefit of a degree to help them pay off their student loans. By helping students manage their money more strategically throughout their higher education, we can set students up for success once they enter the workforce.

ACTE: The House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the "Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act" in December. As a cosponsor of this higher education bill, what impact do you believe the PROSPER Act will have on postsecondary CTE students and educators?

Representative Guthrie: If signed into law, the PROSPER Act would make higher education more accessible for both traditional and nontraditional students, whether they pursue a typical four-year degree or take a nontraditional track such as a professional certification program. If a high school CTE student wants to get into an apprenticeship to help him learn new skills and launch his career, the PROSPER Act will help him to do so. If a single mom who possesses certain skills wants to go back to school, the PROSPER Act will help her go to an accelerated course and get credit for the skills she already has. CTE programs have been great for our high schoolers in Kentucky, and we wanted to continue to support that progress through the PROSPER Act.

On December 21, Congress passed yet another stopgap continuing resolution (CR) to provide temporary funding for the federal government. The third such short-term funding measure needed since the 2018 fiscal year began in earnest on October 1, this new CR will last until mid-January. Funds will continue to flow at current levels for Perkins and other education programs until January 19, while lawmakers try to reach an agreement to raise the defense and non-defense discretionary funding levels. They will then need to pass appropriations bills under those revised funding caps before the new deadline in order to avoid a government shutdown.

As Congress returns from the holiday break, lawmakers are also under pressure to decide the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, permanently extend health care for low-income children, and shore up the Affordable Care Act’s individual insurance markets, which could further complicate the tight timeline for action on federal funding. Follow the latest CTE funding news on the CTE Policy Watch Blog.

Start the new year off with these recent reports and research about CTE, on topics ranging from rural CTE access to a new website that hosts information on a variety of credentials to how career readiness has fared in Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans.

Expanding access for rural students: States can help rural CTE students access diverse career pathways by facilitating meaningful local partnerships, encouraging the sharing of resources and funds, expanding the use of technology and supporting local innovations, according to Advance CTE’s CTE on the Frontier: Providing Learners Access to Diverse Career Pathways. The publication features examples from Nebraska, Rhode Island, Alaska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Idaho.

CTE concentrators and postsecondary enrollment: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 82 percent of 2004 high school graduates who were CTE concentrators had enrolled in postsecondary education within eight years. In comparison, graduates who earned 3 or more credits across different CTE areas of study, sometimes known as explorers, enrolled in college at a rate of 88 percent, and graduates who earned fewer than 3 CTE credits enrolled at a rate of 92 percent. Field of study matters: Concentrators in computer and information sciences, health sciences and marketing enrolled in postsecondary education at similar rates to nonconcentrators.

Career readiness and ESSA: Forty-nine states included at least one strategy to expand career readiness in their ESSA state plans, according to Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group. Thirty-five states incorporated a career-focused measure in high school accountability systems, and 20 states identified career readiness as an explicit priority for 21st Century Community Learning Centers competitive funding under Title IV, Part B. Only two states plan to leverage the Title I direct student services set-aside to expand CTE, AP and IB pathways.

Credential Registry launches: The new Credential Registry is a centralized online source for information on credentials of all types, from degrees to badges to licenses. Users can search and compare credentials on a variety of criteria. As of December, more than 1,500 credentials from more than 170 organizations had been added. The Credential Registry is a project of Credential Engine, which will gather credentialing data on a larger scale, work with vendors to develop new applications to leverage that data and launch international outreach efforts to map the global credential landscape. 

U.S. graduation rates rise: The national graduation rate increased to 84.1 percent for the class of 2016, up from 83.2 percent a year prior. In addition, differences between student sub-groups have shrunk. However, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education, the nation will likely fall short of the GradNation goal of a 90-percent graduation rate by 2020.

Returns to stackable credentials: Positive labor market returns to stackable credentials are modest at best, according to a new Community College Research Center working paper. Future research should explore why students stack awards and how best to combine awards for maximum value.

The CTE Policy Watch blog was created by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) in furtherance of its nonprofit and tax-exempt purposes. It may be used as a forum to exchange information and express opinions about career and technical education policy and advocacy, as well as other education and workforce development policy and issues. ACTE is a nonpartisan association and does not support or oppose any candidate for public office.

The views expressed on this blog are not necessarily the official views of ACTE or any of its affiliates. ACTE accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on this blog by others. ACTE asks you to be courteous and thoughtful in your comments. ACTE reserves the right to delete any comment for any reason, including but not limited to obscene, discriminatory, inflammatory or irrelevant comments.

Any questions or concerns should be directed to publicpolicy@acteonline.org.