Science Achievement and Occupational Career/Technical Education Coursetaking in High School: The Class of 2005

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Science Achievement and Occupational Career/Technical Education Coursetaking in High School: The Class of 2005 compares the science coursetaking and science achievement of public high school graduates who were occupational concentrators--those who earned at least two credits in an area of occupational education, such as agriculture or computer and information sciences--with those who did not take such coursework (nonconcentrators). Findings include:

* Overall, occupational concentrators earned fewer science credits than their nonconcentrator peers. Occupational concentrators also scored lower on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 12th-grade science assessment.

* These findings varied, however, depending on students' area of concentration and the number of science credits they earned. For example, no measureable differences were found in the science coursetaking of concentrators in three areas—business finance, engineering technology, and computer and information science—compared with nonconcentrators. Concentrators in these three areas also scored as well as or better than nonconcentrators on the NAEP 12th-grade science assessment.