WASHINGTON — The Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the Washington-based Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) are calling for states and schools to raise the quality of career/technical education substantially.
Leaders from the two nationally recognized organizations issued their challenge Monday as they officially released the SREB report, Crafting a New Vision for High School: How States Can Join Academic and Technical Studies to Promote More Powerful Learning. The report calls for states and schools to ensure that more rigorous academics are taught in career courses and that courses lead to industry-recognized certification and college opportunities for more students.
The report shows that too many of the nation’s students leave high school unprepared either for employment or postsecondary studies. High-quality career/technical education, combined with a college-preparatory academic core, can help improve student achievement so that more students graduate well-prepared for college and careers. The report also outlines actions that states can take to combine technical and academic studies for improved learning and highlights current best practices and policies.
"Too many high school students in the United States never even have the chance to enter a two- or four-year college — because too many never finish high school and do not see the practical aspects of education," said Gene Bottoms, SREB’s senior vice president for school improvement and the report’s lead author. "Career and technical education (CTE) can help solve these problems."
The report was released at a news conference and panel discussion held here at the CCSSO headquarters and simulcast via teleconference and the Web. SREB and CCSSO jointly held a gathering for state K-12 schools chiefs and other officials from 12 states at Amelia Island, Florida, in the summer of 2007 to discuss ways to upgrade career/technical education in the region’s high schools. The report reflects many of the priorities identified during the meeting.
"Research shows that good CTE programs can reduce high school dropout rates and increase the earnings of high school graduates. Students who struggle to learn specific academic skills in a traditional classroom environment are often better served through the project-based learning that is a hallmark of today’s best CT courses," Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of CCSSO and a former longtime state education commissioner in Kentucky, said earlier. He helped lead the Amelia Island meeting.
"Career-oriented programs of study can lead us in the direction of developing closer ties between schools and the workplace. There is no reason why high school programs of study should not link directly to local community college programs or industry-recognized career training," CCSSO Deputy Executive Director Lois Adams-Rodgers said during Monday's event.
Kathy Oliver, the assistant superintendent of education in Maryland who oversees career/technical education, also spoke at Monday’s event. She endorsed the report’s recommendations and discussed her state’s work to improve CT education.
The SREB report stresses that the 2007 reauthorization of the federal Perkins Act gives states unprecedented latitude and funding that can be used to align CT studies with broader high school reform. For the first time, the law requires that career-oriented courses in high school help students learn essential academic skills. It also requires greater collaboration between high schools and postsecondary education and an increased focus on the needs of business and industry.
The report recommends that all states take four main actions to upgrade career/technical education:
-- Create a flexible system of optional career pathways in high schools to better prepare all students for college and careers. States need policies to encourage school districts to provide programs of study that will lead more students to earn a degree or employer certification. States should provide incentives to school districts and high schools to partner with two-year colleges, shared-time technology centers, employers and others to help students access specialized courses that lead to employer credentials and postsecondary studies — especially in high-demand fields such as biomedical and health sciences and information technology.
-- Develop state education agency teams that can help underperforming high schools use improved CT programs as a strategy toward raising achievement, graduation rates and the number of students pursuing postsecondary study. States also need to align policies to realize the potential of dual enrollment courses in career/technical studies.
-- Assess and build on the contributions career/technical education can make to improving academic achievement. Create policies allowing students to earn academic credit through challenging career/technical courses, and set targets for the percentages of CT students who should meet proficiency levels used to measure adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind. Consider online options for students who cannot access to high-quality CT programs. Provide high school principals and teachers with training on aligning CT instruction with higher standards.
-- Ensure that all CT teachers meet higher training requirements such as bachelor’s degrees or industry-recognized certificates, and to demonstrate academic and technical competence. Academic and CT teachers need to work together to align existing CT courses with the state’s academic standards. States also need to develop and redesign courses that blend academic and technical content. These strategies may help more students master both the academic content and the innovative thinking, problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills they will need for postsecondary studies and 21st-century careers.
For more information, contact SREB Communications.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on improving education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.
