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Home Products Data in Action: Using Labor-Market Alignment Data to Improve Career and Technical Education
Read the full study: Assessing the Alignment between West Virginia’s High School Career and Technical Education Programs and the Labor Market.
In a recent Institute of Education Sciences (IES) report, Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia (REL AP) partnered with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) to conduct a first-of-its-kind study to determine the alignment between the state’s high school career and technical education (CTE) offerings and high-demand occupations that do not require additional postsecondary education. A previous blog post highlighted five types of decisions that alignment data can inform. Here we share insights gained through conversations with WVDE about how CTE leaders might take the results of a study like this, combine them with additional information, and update CTE program offerings to improve student outcomes.
The CTE alignment study in West Virginia gave policymakers and stakeholders information about whether each of the state’s high school CTE programs aligns to a high-demand occupation within the region, state, or nation. But how do you move from a list of aligned and unaligned programs to programming decisions? Do you simply cut all the unaligned programs? It is not that simple. Since all studies have limitations, stakeholders must understand which pieces of the puzzle a given study fills in and which it leaves out. Moreover, state and district leaders have deep local knowledge that can provide context and nuance for some of the absent information.
Below, we describe some additional factors WVDE CTE leaders are considering regarding program decisions. While the specific study limitations and contextual information at play will vary by state, their approach to making sense of alignment data may be helpful for other state or district leaders contemplating conducting a similar study as they face similar decisions. WVDE CTE leaders are considering:
This blog draws on the analysis and implications from the REL AP research study, available here. Refer to the resources below to learn more about CTE programs in West Virginia and beyond.
Author(s)
Julie Harris
Miya Warner
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