EARNING, LEARNING AND CHOICE: THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND FUTURE OF CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

WHEREAS, career and technical education (CTE) remains one of our nation’s most important links between learning and long-term prosperity, and

WHEREAS, career and technical education increases average earnings by $1,200 immediately after graduation and by $1,800 seven years later for students taking four high school CTE courses, and

WHEREAS, the instructional cost of such a CTE program (above the cost of a standard academic program) is less than $6,000, amounting to a rate of return of more than 20 percent a year; and

WHEREAS, high school CTE courses provide additional earnings that help students pay for college; and

WHEREAS, two-year associate degrees in a CTE field raise the average earnings of young women by 47 percent and young men by 30 percent; and

WHEREAS, the content and rigor of CTE courses has responded to employers’ growing demands for skilled workers with specialized knowledge; and

WHEREAS, the greater emphasis on academics has produced results such as the reading scores of CTE concentrators increasing by nearly a grade equivalent on the NAEP between 1994 and 1998; and

WHEREAS, CTE students have been closing the gap with academic students including the fact that 26 percent of CTE concentrators take trigonometry, pre-calculus and other advanced math courses, compared with 42 percent of other students; and

WHEREAS, academic course-taking by CTE concentrators has increased by 27 percent since 1982, and the number completing the New Basics curriculum increased from 5.0 percent in 1982 to 45.7 percent in 1998; and

WHEREAS, college attendance has increased among CTE students; and

WHEREAS, CTE empowers students by providing a range of learning opportunities serving different learning styles; and

WHEREAS, CTE provides not only the acquisition of knowledge but also the active application of knowledge, skills and processes that promotes the transfer of learning; and

WHEREAS, CTE allows students to explore career options and clarify career goals; and

WHEREAS, CTE prepares students for a variety of postsecondary options including higher education, skilled employment and lifelong learning; and

WHEREAS, CTE provides opportunities to earn an industry-recognized credential or certificate:

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge the federal government, through the Perkins legislation, to support efforts to:

·       continuously improve and replicate high-quality secondary and postsecondary CTE programs of study that include pathways between the two;

·       continuously support improvement and greater accountability for outcomes that will require embedded rigorous research, with targeted evaluations, technical assessments, and better tracking of employment and earnings outcomes;

·       improve CTE teacher quality through enhanced professional development;

·       continue to increase academic achievement;

·       develop state and local leadership;

·       improve connections to employers and relevant unions through better skills standards and assessments, as well as update labor market demand data;

·       strengthen connections between secondary and postsecondary CTE through articulation agreements, academic standards and dual credit options; and

·       improve career guidance and counseling.