Project Activities
The researchers conducted the first rigorous evaluation of the P-TECH model, estimating impacts for students enrolled in seven P-TECH 9-14 schools under the purview of the New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). In addition to the impact study, the researchers assessed program implementation across these P-TECH 9-14 schools to determine the extent to which the model was implemented with fidelity and to inform interpretation of impact findings. The researchers also investigated what types of programs and supports students who did not attend a P-TECH 9-14 school experienced in the business as usual condition. The team investigated each school's efforts to implement programming that supports the four core program components: a focus on early college, focus on career, focus on individual student pathways, and efforts to add extended learning time to the school schedule. The researchers also conducted a cost-effectiveness study examining the costs of implementing the P-TECH 9-14 model.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The study took place in New York City.
Sample
The analytic sample for the impact study consisted of 3,161 students. The sample for the implementation consisted of approximately 2,900 students and adults.
P-TECH is an approach to career and technical education that begins in high school and includes pathways to college and careers, employer and college partnerships, work-based learning, and opportunities to earn a high school diploma and an associate in applied science or an associate degree in a high-skills field awarded by the school's lead postsecondary partner. Each school also has one or more employer partners who provide work-based learning opportunities. The postsecondary degree pathways in each school align with the work of the employer partner(s).
Research design and methods
The researchers used an experimental design to study P-TECH 9-14 schools within NYC, which are some of the only P-TECH schools to thus far have a history of serving students that is long enough to be evaluated. In addition, because of the random process built into the district-wide high school choice process in NYC, the research team was able to use the random assignment process to identify two sets of comparable students: students who randomly won the opportunity to attend one of the seven NYC P-TECH 9-14 schools and students who were randomly placed elsewhere. This experimental analysis was complemented by an in-depth, multi-year examination of program implementation in the NYC P-TECH 9-14 schools. The researchers also collected survey, interview, and focus group data from multiple informants including faculty and staff, students, and postsecondary and employer partners regarding the implementation of the P-TECH 9-14 model.
Control condition
Students who did not win seats in the P-TECH 9-14 in NYC schools were placed in 399 different high schools, meaning that the comparison was almost every other high school experience in NYC.
Key measures
The research team used the following measures to assess the P-TECH 9-14 model's impact on student outcomes: (1) high school course credits earned, (2) scores on the English language arts and math Regents exams, (3) number of dual enrollment credits attempted and earned, (4) high school internship participation, (5) high school graduation, (6) postsecondary enrollment, and (7) postsecondary degree completion. For the implementation study, the researchers asked adults and students about how the core components of the model were implemented in the school, the frequency and duration of activities offered and student participation in those activities, and the facilitators and challenges to implementation.
Data analytic strategy
Estimation strategies included estimates of the effect of being offered the opportunity to enroll in P-TECH 9-14 (intent-to-treat [ITT]) and estimates of the effect of enrolling in P-TECH 9-14 (the complier average causal effect [CACE]). From a policy perspective, the availability or offer of P-TECH schools is within the purview of policy-maker control, but enrollment and take-up are contingent on individual student selection. Thus, the ITT estimate can lead toward understanding the overall impact of P-TECH 9-14 for the general population of students and student outcomes, while the CACE estimate provides insight into the value of P-TECH 9-14 for individual students. For the implementation study, the research team imported and coded qualitative data in a software program, Dedoose, to identify themes regarding local context, program implementation and student experiences across the P-TECH schools.
Cost analysis strategy
The cost study for this project collected a combination of publicly available school finance reports, as well as interview data from key informants from all school partners. The costs were estimated using the ingredients method.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project are as follows (Rosen et al., 2023):
- The high school, career, and college elements of the P-TECH 9-14 model were implemented at all schools, though there was also variation across the schools in the opportunities they had available and how they implemented specific elements of the model.
- Students in the P-TECH 9-14 group were 38 percentage points more likely to have had an internship during 4 years of high school than students in the comparison group.
- After 4 years of high school, 46 percent of students in the P-TECH 9-14 group had dual enrolled in at least 1 college-level course, compared with 20 percent of students in the comparison group.
- Seven years after entering high school, students in the P-TECH 9-14 group were 5 percentage points more likely to have completed an associate’s degree. These impacts primarily reflect results among young men: 13 percent of young men in the P-TECH 9-14 group completed an associate’s degree, compared with 3 percent of young men in the comparison group.
- The cost analysis shows that the resources needed to operate PTECH 9-14 schools are not significantly different than for other high schools in the community. Postsecondary costs were higher for the P-TECH 9-14 group, as would be expected given the model’s focus on earning a college degree. The findings about the model’s cost effectiveness in producing postsecondary degrees at 6 years are inconclusive. Additional cost analyses over longer periods are needed.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project include evidence of the impact of the P-TECH school model; information about its implementation and cost; a restricted access data file (that will be housed at the Research Alliance for New York City Schools at New York University); and peer reviewed publications.
P-TECH infographics:
- https://www.mdrc.org/publication/overview-nyc-p-tech-grades-9-14-model
- https://cteresearchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/PTECH-Infographic24-508.pdf
Project video:
Interim report:
Dual enrollment brief:
Final report:
Project website:
WWC review:
The interim report from this study was rated by the What Works Clearinghouse and given a rating of meets standards without reservations. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/WWC/Study/89818
Additional project information
This project is a member of the CTE Research Network, R305N180005.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
