A Retrospective Cohort Comparison of Career and Technical Education Participants and Non-Participants on a State-Mandated Proficiency Test

Abstract

The sometimes poor performance of Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators on a state-mandated proficiency test is a major concern of CTE educators. This study examined whether (a) there are performance differences on state-mandated 11-grade math and reading tests between CTE and non-CTE students with similar proficiency scores in the 8-grade; and (b) 11-grade math test scores are related to 8-grade math proficiency and high school math course-taking patterns. This exploratory study was conducted using two different cohorts of students from the high school classes of 2004 and 2005, from two CTE schools and their sending schools in Pennsylvania. The study found no statistically significant differences in reading proficiency on the state-mandated 11-grade math test. In one of the two cohort groups, a statistically significant difference was found in math performance between CTE students and their counterparts, with the CTE students scoring lower. CTE students as a group had taken fewer college-prep math courses than their non-CTE peers. Such differences were associated with CTE students’ lower achievement on a state-mandated math test. When math course-taking was controlled, CTE participation was found not to be associated with math test scores.