S-TEAMS - Supporting a US and Texas Tech Prep (CTE) Best Practice in College and Career Readiness - Tech Prep Rio Grande Valley - Pat Bubb

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By Jim Brazell for forthcoming Book theartofthefuture.org TECH PREP & CAREER PATHWAYS RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS Patricia Bubb, from the Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Consortium, explains, "Modern vocational education is a calling to one's passions and an alignment to the problems and opportunities of the world. Tech Prep students in the Rio Grande Valley graduate high school and attend colleges and universities at higher rates than general academic students in the State of Texas. Tech Prep works and it does not sacrifice the importance of American ideals of preserving and perpetuating freedom, public discourse, creativity, and learning beyond work preparation. Tech Prep integrates all of this into modern vocational practice." According to Pat Bubb from the Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep, career pathway “dual concentrators” are an exceptional cohort: In the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, 2009-2010 mathematics testing, 92.9% of Tech Prep students met the standard, compared with 78.6% non-Tech Prep. Data for 2007-08 reflects a 94.3% graduation rate for Tech Prep, compared with 76.5% non-Tech Prep; and 69.7% of those Tech Prep graduates entered college the fall after graduation, compared with 50.8% non-Tech Prep. In the Rio Grande Valley, 79.6% of Tech Prep students are economically disadvantaged, 94.3% are Hispanic/Latino. These data are provided by the Texas Education Agency and include a total of 21,019 Tech Prep students in the 2009-2010 academic years. In 2009-2010, 12,219 Rio Grande Valley high school students earned 116,385 credits, saving over $14.8 million in tuition and fees through articulation/dual enrollment/career pathways.” A major part of Career Pathways and Tech Prep is administering the human networks and organizing practitioners across instructional hierarchies. For example, regional collaboration that Tech Prep manages brings together secondary and post secondary educators to focus on improving Rio Grande Valley students’ college and career readiness: 1. Lower Rio Grande Valley P-16 Council (in operation since 2004) 2. Lower Rio Grande Valley Counselors’ Network (in operation since 1998) 3. Lower Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Support Team (S-TEAM) Network (in operation since 1996) 4. Educator staff development; for example, annual regional conference (begun in 1999). CTE practice in Maryland and the Rio Grande Valley are starkly contrasted with the cost of remedial education in states such as Texas and California. In Texas, the direct cost of remedial education during 2006-2007 was $206 million (Terry, 2005). According to a recent study from Pacific Research Institute (Murray, 2008), "The High Price of Failure in California: How Inadequate Education Costs Schools, Students, and Society," direct and indirect costs rival California's $17 million budget deficit. Specific cost estimates related to remedial education include $274 million for public colleges and community colleges, $107 –million –to $447 million for California businesses, and $1.1 –to $5.5 billion in annual earnings lost to students who do not graduate. Maryland's model illustrates that the Career Pathways program is not at odds with the needs of 21st Century civil society. EFFICACY OF CTE Emerging research into the effectiveness of CTE is positive; however, consistent and longitudinal research that compares the performance outcomes of CTE students with non-CTE students is lacking in the research: Interpretations of this research are complicated by the great variety of CTE programs, as well as the huge variations within prominent CTE models (such as Career Pathways and High Schools That Work) due to differences in implementation. Research is completely silent on the use of CTE as the framework for comprehensive high school reform by districts and states; these reforms are too recent and, in many cases, not fully implemented. (Patterson, 2008, p. 24) Emerging longitudinal research from Dr. James Stone and the National Center for CTE Research illustrates the efficacy of CTE-Academic mergers: CTE and Academic Mergers to Enhance Mathematics An experimental study tested a model for enhancing mathematics instruction in five high school career and technical education (CTE) programs (agriculture, auto technology, business/marketing, health, and information technology). The model consisted of a pedagogy and intense teacher professional development.….The study teachers worked with math teachers in communities of practice to develop CTE instructional activities that integrated more mathematics into the occupational curriculum. After one year of the math-enhanced CTE lessons averaging 10% of class time, students in the experimental classrooms performed significantly better on two tests of math ability--the TerraNova and ACCUPLACER®--without any negative impact on measures of occupational/technical knowledge. (Alfed, et al, p. ix). CTE and Academic Mergers to Enhance Science and English This is the fourth annual report from a five-year longitudinal project that examines diverse and promising programs for integrating career and technical education (CTE, previously called vocational education) with whole-school reform in schools that serve predominantly disadvantaged students. On measures of quantity, difficulty, and success of course taking, students from the schools with CTE-enhanced reforms either: (a) fared better than students from control schools, or (b) were behind control school students in the early high school years and closed the gap during the later high school years. With respect to English, students from the study schools fared better than students from the control schools. Science results were more mixed, but generally favored students from the study schools. (Alfed, et al, p. iii). Although there is great variation in practice and performance, the unifying model of CTE is Career Pathways/Programs of Study, where students design a sequence of study integrating humanities, STEM, CTE, health, and arts courses. Learn more online at: Programs of Study: Local Implementation Readiness and Capacity Self-Assessment--A Tool for Local College and Career Readiness National Center For CTE Research Reports and Ongoing Research Studies Programs of Study Joint Technical Working Group. (2010, January). Programs of study: Year 2 joint technical report. Louisville, KY: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Louisville. PDF document Kotamraju, P., Richards, A., Wun, J., & Klein, S. G. (2010, April). A common post secondary data dictionary for Perkins accountability. Louisville, KY: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Louisville. PDF Document. On-Going Research A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative: Overview Mature Programs of Study - A Post Secondary Perspective: Overview Rigorous Tests of Student Outcomes in CTE Programs of Study: Overview Relative Impact of Interventions to Improve Achievement and Retention in Post Secondary Occupational Programs: Overview Science-in-CTE: Overview and CTE Accountability and Evaluation - A Comprehensive Strategy for Technical Assistance: Overview Feature Report: NRCCTE Curriculum Integration Workgroup. (2010, March). Capitalizing on context: Curriculum integration in career and technical education. Louisville, KY: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE), University of Louisville.