Balancing Career and Technical Education With Academic Coursework: The Consequences for Mathematics Achievement in High School. (June 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bozick, Robert; Dalton, Benjamin
• Is Part Of: Educational evaluation and policy analysis. Volume 35:Number 2(2013)
• Page Start: 123
• Page End: 138
• Publication Date: 2013-06
• Subjects: career and technical education -- vocational education -- engineering courses -- technology courses -- math achievement; Education -- Evaluation -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; Education -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; 370.7
• DOI: 10.3102/0162373712453870
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0162-3737

Abstract

Federal legislation has attempted to move career and technical education (CTE) from a segregated component of the high school curriculum to an integrated element that jointly improves both academic and career readiness. However, concerns remain about the ability of CTE to improve academic learning. Using a nationally representative sample of high school students, we examine the relationship between CTE coursework and mathematics achievement in high school. Accounting for observed and unobserved characteristics of students, we find that CTE courses neither limit overall gains in mathematics learning nor the acquisition of basic and intermediate mathematics skills. Additionally, engineering and technology courses, a subset of CTE courses that incorporate quantitative reasoning, logic, and problem solving, are unrelated with math achievement.