Linking the Timing of Career and Technical Education Coursetaking With High School Dropout and College-Going Behavior

This research study examines coursetaking behavior for high school students and finds that CTE coursetaking in high school was associated with lower chances of dropout and increased chances of on-time graduation.

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Linking the Timing of Career and Technical Education Coursetaking With High School Dropout and College-Going Behavior

This research study by Michael A. Gottfried and Jay Stratte Plasman, published in the American Educational Research Journal, examines national longitudinal survey data from 11,000 students who were in 10th grade in 2002 to determine outcomes for Career Technical Education (CTE) coursetaking behavior. Specifically, the authors aim to uncover whether or not additional CTE courses have any influence on college-going, graduation or drop out rates. 

The authors find that CTE coursetaking in high school was associated with lower chances of dropout and increased chances of on-time graduation. Specifically, for each yearlong CTE course students took sometime during high school boosted their chances of on-time graduation by 1.6 percent. However, the authors did not find any evidence that CTE boosts college-going behavior.

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