Impact of Career and Technical Education on Postsecondary Outcomes

A new report from REL Central describes the impact of being a career and technical education (CTE) concentrator in high school on rates of on-time graduation and postsecondary education enrollment and completion within two and five years of expected high school graduation. CTE concentrators are students who complete a sequence of CTE courses aligned to specific career fields such as manufacturing or education and training. Outcomes were examined for students in Nebraska and South Dakota whose expected high school graduation year was between 2012/13 and 2016/17. Outcomes were also examined for CTE concentrators by career field. Findings include the following: CTE concentrators were more likely than non-CTE concentrators to graduate from high school on time and to enroll in postsecondary education. CTE concentrators were more likely than non-CTE concentrators to earn any kind of postsecondary award within two years of and within five years of their expected high school graduation year. CTE concentrators were 4 percentage points more likely than non-CTE concentrators to attain up to an associate’s degree as their highest postsecondary award within five years of their expected high school graduation year but 1 percentage point less likely to attain a bachelor’s degree or higher. Postsecondary enrollment and completion rates varied across career fields.