Expanding seats for CTE is good for state

LEE — Vocational-technical high schools, once considered second-tier alternatives for underperforming students, have become the superstars of the Massachusetts public education system.

In the Berkshires, we have the Charles H. McCann Vocational Technical School in North Adams which has been providing quality technical career training for 35 years and currently serves over 500 students. In January 2023, the Pittsfield School Committee approved a plan to convert Taconic High School to a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, with the goal of having a fully vocational student body, a total of 925 seats, by the fall of 2026.

Student performance at Massachusetts high schools dedicated to CTE has improved during the past several decades to levels that equal, and in some cases surpass, traditional high schools. For example, Massachusetts’ voc-tech schools, have a graduation rate of 96 percent, compared to 91 percent for all Massachusetts high schools.

Standardized test results also show that the historical gap in performance between voc-tech schools and traditional high schools is closing. Voc-tech schools have an average math proficiency score of 39 percent versus the overall average of 44 percent and a reading proficiency level of 54 percent compared to the statewide average of 57 percent.

A key factor driving the performance of voctech schools in Massachusetts is that these institutions are schools of choice. Students must choose to enroll in them, rather than being residentially assigned, and they choose their content track within the school. This gives students more ownership over their education, which helps them stay motivated.

Vocational schools have become so ascendant throughout the state that there are not enough spots for all the students who wish to attend. The Massachusetts Department of Education reports that there are 1.75 applications for every open seat at a voc-tech. Some 18,500 rising ninth graders applied for 10,616 available seats in the state’s vocational schools during the 2020-2021 academic year.

“There’s a huge demand for vocational-technical education,” says Steve Sharek, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators. “The problem is this: There simply are not enough seats.”

The push to gain admission to vocational schools has become so intense that an advocacy group has filed suit challenging the strict admissions criteria used by most voc-tech schools.

A federal civil rights complaint filed last February claims that the state’s vocational-technical schools use admissions criteria that inappropriately exclude students of color and those who are learning English, have disabilities or come from low-income families.

The complaint asks federal officials to investigate practices at the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and prohibit the use of “exclusionary” admissions criteria like grades, attendance records and interviews. Instead, students and advocates say these schools should use a lottery system when they have more interested students than available seats.

Why the increased demand from students for CTE Programs?

The hands-on learning approach is attractive to students. Students in voc-tech schools alternate weeks between academics and shop work, and they get to learn by doing. This hands-on learning approach includes studying physics while working on hydraulic brakes or using the Pythagorean theorem to frame a house. Some students are even able to secure internships or apprenticeships with local companies, giving them a chance to learn a trade or skill on the front line.

Another driver is the recognition that a CTE program can provide a solid pathway to college. Research at Florida State University and Vanderbilt University found that students who studied fields such as health care and information technology in technical schools attended college at higher rates than students from traditional high schools, and earned more money seven years after graduation. Approximately two-thirds of voctech graduates continue to some type of post-secondary education, including apprenticeships, associate degree programs, or studies at a four-year college.

But this can also be a source of frustration for businesses who rely on CTE Program graduates to fill positions that don’t require a college degree. I have heard from business colleagues who bemoan the fact that the seats at some voc-tech schools in the eastern part of the state are being filled by college-bound students with no intention of entering the trades or technical careers desperately needed by their companies.

With the demand from students for career technical education and a state economy desperate for workers with the type of manufacturing, construction and technical skills taught in vocational technical schools, the solution is to expand the number of CTE seats available in the commonwealth. This would be a win for students and businesses.

Patricia Begrowicz, the president of Onyx Specialty Papers in Lee, is chair of the board of Associated Industries of Massachusetts.