In 2013, the Virginia legislature added a CTE credential requirement to the Standard diploma for students who entered grade 9 for the first time in 2013 or later. The policy focuses on Standard diploma graduates, who are less likely to enroll in, persist in, or complete college than graduates who earn Virginia's other main diploma, the Advanced Studies diploma. At Virginia CTE leaders' request, the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia conducted a descriptive study of attainment rates of CTE credentials, completion rates of CTE programs of study, and college enrollment rates from 2011 to 2017, the years before and after the policy change.
