NYC as a Laboratory for Learning about Career and Technical Education: Lessons from CTE-Dedicated High Schools
James J. Kemple; Rebecca Unterman; Shaun M. Dougherty (2023). Research Alliance for New York City Schools. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED626096
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examining32,917Students, grades9-PS
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: October 2024
- Practice Guide (findings for Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a cluster quasi-experimental design that provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Enrolled in college |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
3 Days |
Full sample;
|
57.20 |
61.50 |
Yes |
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| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Enrolled in college |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
67.60 |
68.80 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Average number of college course passed in high school |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
0.40 |
0.70 |
No |
-- | |
|
Passed college course during high school |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
19.70 |
29.20 |
Yes |
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Course credit for internship |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
13.90 |
12.50 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Graduated with NY Regents Diploma |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
79.60 |
78.30 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
On track for high school graduation (11th grade) |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
-1 Years |
Full sample;
|
73.80 |
67.50 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
On track for high school graduation (10th grade) |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
-2 Years |
Full sample;
|
71.40 |
66.00 |
Yes |
|
||
|
On track for high school graduation (9th grade) |
Career and technical education (CTE)-dedicated high schools—Kemple et al. (2023) vs. Business as usual |
-3 Years |
Full sample;
|
70.20 |
65.90 |
Yes |
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Other or unknown: 100% -
Urban
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New York
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 37 CTE-Dedicated high schools and an unreported number of non-CTE-dedicated high schools in an urban school district in New York City.
Study sample
The main sample includes 32,917 students, 16,615 who were placed at one of 37 CTE schools and 16,302 who were placed at non-CTE schools. No demographic information is reported for the study sample.
Intervention Group
The intervention is a school-level program called CTE-Dedicated high schools, which provide students in 9th through 12th grade with a CTE Program of Study organized around an industry-aligned theme. These schools offer a sequence of career-focused courses taught by CTE-certified teachers, work-based learning opportunities, and access to college-level coursework made possible through partnerships with employers and postsecondary educational institutions.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual 9th through 12th grade instruction. Comparison group schools did not offer a dedicated CTE program. However, students at non-CTE schools may choose to participate in a CTE program of study or other CTE option.
Support for implementation
The study did not describe any support and training offered to the providers of the intervention in this study.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).