New Report: NYC’s CTE Movement Holds Critical Lessons for Educators

The new CTE is at a critical midpoint; new report highlights its promise and future challenges

NEW YORK, NY — Vocational education, once one of the most disparaged forms of education in the U.S., has emerged in the past decade with a new name (career and technical education, or CTE) and exciting promise. A new Manhattan Institute report aims to capture New York City’s CTE movement at a critical midpoint, highlighting both its promise and the work yet to be done.

Nearly 10 percent of New York City high school students attend a dedicated CTE school, while about 40 percent take at least one CTE course before graduation. Data suggest that young people who attend CTE schools have better attendance rates and are more likely to graduate.

As CTE continues to expand, the report’s authors, Tamar Jacoby and Shaun Dougherty, identify five challenges ahead:

1. Programs must prepare students for college and careers, allowing young people to keep their options open.
2. There can be no meaningful career training without engagement by business and industry.
3. The passage from secondary to postsecondary education or training is perilous and requires special attention from educators.
4. What happens in the classroom is not enough—students need exposure to the workplace and work experience.
5. Educators know a lot about assessing academic excellence, less about determining career readiness—and among the best tools at their disposal are industry-recognized occupational credentials.

The report identifies two broad areas for reform: the share of students who get work experience and state approval of CTE offerings and teachers.

The state should hold schools responsible for placing students in internships, empowering them by providing CTE programs with supplemental funding to develop relationships with employers and place students in the workplace.

State approval of CTE teachers and industry credentials also requires an overhaul, allowing greater flexibility and adaptability to keep pace with advances in the industries that partner with CTE programs.

Click here to read the full report.