National Evaluation of Career and Technical Education under Perkins V (NECTEP)
Contract Information
Current Status:
Underway
Duration:
September 2019 – September 2025
Cost:
$4,136,906
Contract Number:
919900-19-D-0002
Contractor(s):
American Institutes for Research
Contact:
Even with constant change in the nature of work and the economy, the education decisions students make today will influence their later career direction and success. Helping secondary and postsecondary students develop skills that have value in the workplace is the key goal of career and technical education (CTE). Congress has supported CTE for over a century, most recently through the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act in 2018 (Perkins V). Many provisions of the prior Perkins Act remain, but Perkins V includes some changes designed to: (1) enhance CTE program quality through new mechanisms for program improvement and labor market alignment, (2) increase flexibility in Perkins funding and accountability, and (3) promote equity by expanding exposure to and participation in CTE for all students. Perkins V also requires IES to conduct this national evaluation to assess CTE programs under the new law.
- How have CTE participation and outcomes changed since the prior Perkins Act?
- How, and to what extent, does current CTE implementation reflect key policy goals and objectives of Perkins V? What challenges do State agencies and local recipients face in administering and delivering CTE services, particularly the newly introduced provisions in Perkins V?
- In what important ways has CTE implementation evolved since the prior version of the Perkins Act?
- What CTE strategies and practices are effective and for whom?
The national evaluation will draw on a variety of data sources and studies for its assessment of CTE. New surveys of all state directors of CTE and a nationally representative sample of district coordinators of CTE were initiated in 2023 to collect information about Perkins implementation. Trends in CTE participation and outcomes will be obtained by analyzing other national data, including those from the National Center for Education Statistics, state-submitted Perkins V performance reports, and labor market repositories. To identify and report on the effectiveness of key CTE strategies, the evaluation will review rigorously conducted research, where it already exists, and consider conducting new studies of CTE approaches deemed most critical to the field's improvement.
The study's first report is expected in 2024, and IES will report on results from the evaluation every two years thereafter. These publications will be announced on https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/.
Key findings will be available after the study reports are published.