A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

The Emergence of Tech-Prep at the State and Local Levels - 1995

I. Introduction

Changes in the U.S. and world economies, the American educational system, and the U.S. population have focused increasing public attention on the importance of helping American youth make the transition from school to work, particularly young people who do not attend four-year colleges. Technological transformation in the workplace and international competition have been increasing the level of technical knowledge and skills in mathematics, language, and reasoning demanded of even entry-level workers. The gap between these requirements and the skills youth bring to the labor market is an important focus of concern about preparation of the future labor force.

One promising approach to address this problem is Tech-Prep--a far-reaching reform model aimed at linking secondary and postsecondary school programs and joining the teaching of academic and occupational skills to promote continued education and acquisition of advanced technical skills. Federal legislation has provided substantial funding for the development of Tech-Prep programs, as well as a national evaluation to document their planning and implementation. The evaluation is being conducted under contract for the U.S. Department of Education by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR). This report presents an analysis of Tech-Prep planning and implementation, based on a national survey of state and local Tech-Prep coordinators administered in fall 1993.

Background Of The Study

Although interest in some features of Tech-Prep programs has been growing for at least a decade, Tech-Prep program development has been stimulated by recent federal legislation directing funds to support their creation and implementation in all states. In 1992, the U.S. Department of Education initiated an important study of the development of Tech-Prep programs and ways to make them effective.

Tech-Prep Program Background

Tech-Prep is a response to concerns about the readiness of large segments of American youth to take up productive roles in a workplace that requires skills in the use of sophisticated technology and the ability to learn new skills and adapt to continuing change. Many American students fail to develop these skills in high school; they either go no further in their education or go on to further education but must devote much of their time to mastering basic academic skills rather than advanced academic and technical material.

Tech-Prep, formulated most clearly as a program concept by Dale Parnell (1985), is viewed as a strategy for improving the skills and employment preparation of American youth who might not otherwise pursue higher education. The Tech-Prep concept emphasizes applied learning--teaching academic materials through practical hands-on experience--and the development of clearly defined academic and technical competencies. Rather than "watering down" or neglecting academic content, this approach emphasizes finding effective ways to teach it that work with students who learn best through tangible experience. Students are to be presented with planned career "pathways" that link their high school classes to advanced technical education in community colleges, technical colleges, apprenticeship programs, or other higher education institutions. Ideally, the planned sequences of study would develop qualifications for jobs with good pay in fields where there is strong and growing labor demand.

Federal Support for Tech-Prep

Strong interest in the Tech-Prep concept among educators and policymakers, and growing concern about strengthening skill levels among American youth, led to an emphasis on technology-oriented education in the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Act of 1984. The 1990 amendments to the Act retitled the legislation the "Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act" (referred to subsequently as the Perkins Act), and provided guidelines and funding for Tech-Prep program development in Title IIIE, labelled the "Tech-Prep Education Act."

Title IIIE of the Perkins Act identified seven essential elements of programs eligible for federal Tech-Prep funding:

Articulation agreements between secondary and postsecondary institutions participating in Tech-Prep consortia, to establish the basic framework in which links can be created between secondary and postsecondary study
A 2+2 design, in which a common core of math, science, communications and technology is defined for all students as a basis for more advanced and specialized courses over a four-year program sequence
A Tech-Prep curriculum appropriate to the needs of each secondary and postsecondary institution--so that the overall program design makes full use of each school's resources but also takes account of the needs of its student body
Joint staff development for secondary and postsecondary instructors, to promote cooperation and common understanding of objectives, overcome turf jealousies, and maximize the "seamlessness" of overall curriculum content in four-year program sequences
Training to promote effective student recruiting, retention, and post-program placement, involving both secondary and postsecondary counselors
Measures to ensure access for special populations such as minorities, handicapped or disadvantaged students, and students at risk of high school dropout
Preparatory services such as recruiting, counseling, and assessment, to help students understand the Tech-Prep option, explore the educational and career options open to them through Tech-Prep, and make decisions concerning program and course selection and ultimate career direction

Title IIIE authorizes federal spending for Tech-Prep programs that meet the design and implementation requirements specified in the legislation. Federal funds are distributed to states, which then award grants for planning and implementation to consortia of local secondary educational agencies and postsecondary institutions to plan and operate Tech-Prep programs. The U.S. Congress appropriated $63.4 million to support development of Tech-Prep programs in fiscal year (FY) 1992, an additional $90 million for use in FY 1993, and $103.7 million for use in FY 1994. This federal support for Tech-Prep has led to a proliferation of such programs and highlighted the need for a careful examination of the programs and their outcomes.

Mandate for the national evaluation

In addition to authorizing funding for Tech-Prep, the Perkins Act required the Secretary of Education to submit a report on the effectiveness of the program at the end of the first cycle of federal funding. In October 1992, the U.S. Department of Education, Planning and Evaluation Service, awarded a contract to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractor--Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL)--to conduct a national evaluation of the Tech-Prep Education Program.¹

Purpose and design of the evaluation

The Evaluation of the Tech-Prep Education Program has two primary objectives. First, it will fully describe the Tech-Prep programs funded under the Perkins Act--documenting the number of programs, their characteristics, the institutions involved, the populations they serve, and their planning and implementation activities. Second, the evaluation will identify effective practices. It will document in detail the approaches taken by mature Tech-Prep programs, as well as some newer programs with strong designs, to provide guidance to other program consortia. The evaluation will also measure the progress of Tech-Prep students in high school and postsecondary programs.

The five-year evaluation has three major data collection components:

A survey of state-level Tech-Prep coordinators, to document the state role in funding and guiding the development of Tech-Prep programs--conducted twice, in the fall of 1993 and 1996
A survey of local Tech-Prep consortia, to document their characteristics and development--conducted annually for four years beginning in the fall of 1993
In-depth studies of ten selected local programs, to document how these programs have been planned and implemented, to describe the progress of a sample of students and to identify effective program practices--conducted annually for four years beginning in the 1993-94 school year

¹ The Planning and Evaluation service is now part of the Office of the Under Sectetary.
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[Local Evaluation of Tech-Prep Implementation]

[Purpose And Basis For The Survey Report]