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

Definition Of A Core Program

Programs are generally defined by the activities in which participants are involved. Although cohesive Tech-Prep programs may allow students to make choices (for example, of career clusters), they normally have some requirements that ensure a common core experience for those involved. This common experience provides the basis for measuring participation; without it no two Tech-Prep students can be said to have been part of the same program. The structure or required set of activities that define a Tech-Prep program--what we call the "core program"--may become available only after all components are fully implemented, and it may change over time. Tech-Prep consortia may differ in the extent to which they promote a common experience for participating students and in critical program components, in part because some are still in the planning stages.

We asked consortium coordinators whether a core program for all secondary-level Tech-Prep students had been implemented, defining "core program" as the set of activities in which all Tech-Prep students were expected to participate. Coordinators indicated which elements were core program components by selecting from a list that included (1) completing an individual student plan indicating a sequence of secondary and postsecondary courses, (2) choosing a broad career cluster, (3) choosing an occupational specialty within a career cluster, (4) taking applied academic courses, (5) taking required or elective academic or vocational courses related to a career cluster, (6) participating in specified types of career development activities or classes, and (7) participating in specified workplace activities.

In most consortia, a defined core program has been adopted by all or some members

Most consortia report having a required set of activities or courses that define the Tech-Prep program. A majority (63 percent) of consortia reportedly have implemented a specified set of activities for all Tech-Prep students in at least some schools or districts in the consortium (Figure V.2). Almost half of the consortia have a defined core program that has been adopted uniformly by all members of the consortium. In two thirds of these cases (33 percent of consortia overall) the consortium-wide definition was developed locally by the members and/or by consortium staff; in the remaining one-third, the definition of a core program was reportedly mandated by state agencies. Another 15 percent of the consortia have defined core programs that vary across individual member districts and/or schools. 

                                   FIGURE V.2                      Sources Of Core Program Definitions                            (Percentage of Consortia)  Consortium-Wide Definition ==========================> 33%       (Locally Developed) Consortium-Wide Definition ===========> 15%       (State Mandated)     Definition by District ===========> 15%         and/or School              No Definition =============================> 37%                            +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+                            0       10      20      30      40      50  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993.

The longer a consortium has been established the more likely it is to have defined its required program elements. Almost 70 percent of consortia that received their first Title IIIE grant in FY 1992 had defined a core program in at least some member schools, compared with about 50 percent of those that received their first Title IIIE grant in FY 1993. The FY 1993 grantees were also less likely to have a definition for a core program that was being implemented consortium-wide. These findings suggest that it may take consortia a few years to decide "what the Tech-Prep program is." Before defining and implementing the key elements of Tech-Prep student experiences, consortia may need time to define objectives, develop articulation agreements and new curricula, conduct staff training, and build consensus across consortium institutions, to develop a program definition that is acceptable to all members.

Having a state definition of Tech-Prep does not guarantee consistent local understanding of it

Some states have tried to encourage consistency in approaches to Tech-Prep. However, in most states, consortia are developing their own program definitions, even if their state agency provides guidance or imposes requirements. Twenty-seven state Tech-Prep coordinators reported developing a required definition for Tech-Prep program goals and components and most other state coordinators reported prescribing at least some features of Tech-Prep with which consortia were expected to comply. However, only a small proportion of consortia in most of these states reported relying on a state definition for a core program. Outside of those with only a single statewide consortium, only in three states did substantial proportions of consortia confirm the existence of a state mandated program definition; more than 75 percent of consortia in Arkansas, Idaho, and Indiana reported adopting a state definition for a Tech-Prep core program. In South Carolina and Texas, about half of the consortia with any type of core program reported adopting what they believed to be a state definition.

Some key elements of core programs are common to most consortium-wide definitions

Consortium coordinators' reports indicate that many Tech-Prep consortia have similar components. Five of the key features identified in the Tech-Prep literature are reportedly components of most consortia's core programs (Figure V.3). At least three-fourths of consortia that have consortium-wide definitions of a core program expect Tech-Prep students to (1) choose a broad career cluster; (2) take or complete one or more applied academic courses; (3) take required academic or occupational courses related to a career cluster, or take a minimum number of such courses as electives; and/or (4) participate in career awareness/development activities.2

                                FIGURE V.3                    ELEMENTS OF DEFINED CORE PROGRAMS            CORE ELEMENT            Student Plan ================================>73%         Career Clusters =====================================>82%  Occupational Specialty ======================>49%       Applied Academics =================================>75%         Related Courses ========================================>91%      Career Development =================================>75%      Workplace Exposure ====================>45%              of Mentor    Paid/Unpaid Workplace ========>18%               Training                         +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+                        0        20       40       60       80       100                                     PERCENTAGE OF CONSORTIA  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993 NOTE: The statistics are for consortia that have a uniform definition of a core program adopted by all consortium members.

Although these consortia combine definition elements in different ways, some core program models were reported relatively frequently (Table V.1). The most common model--reported by almost 20 percent of consortia--is, in many ways, the most complicated to implement. This model requires all Tech-Prep students to choose a career cluster and occupational specialty, enroll in applied academic courses, take academic and vocational courses related to their career cluster, participate in career development classes or sessions, and participate in occasional workplace exposure experiences or mentor activities.

Although the survey question asked coordinators to indicate "which elements are currently part of the core program for Tech-Prep," we believe that responses partially reflect program goals, rather than actual program operation. Roughly 20 percent of the consortia that reported requiring students to choose a broad career cluster as part of the Tech-Prep program model do not, according to another survey question, currently have any member schools in which broad career clusters are "defined and used to guide Tech-Prep students' choices of academic and vocational courses." This finding suggests that the concept of these elements as real requirements for all Tech-Prep students may be "in progress," rather than fully implemented. Similarly, some combinations of core program elements call into question the model being defined. For example, it is hard to determine what a consortium means by a "broad career cluster" when it requires students to choose a cluster but does not require them to take cluster-related academic or occupational courses. Thirty-eight consortia (almost 10 percent of those with consortium-wide core programs) reported this as part of their definition.

To date, required workplace experiences are mostly low-intensity activities

Workplace activities are reportedly a standard part of Tech-Prep student experiences in about half of the 336 consortia with consortium-wide definitions. However, the consortia were much more likely to classify occasional workplace exposure activities as a key element of the program, rather than ongoing instruction at a work site (Figure V.3). Forty-five percent reported that their programs involve all Tech-Prep students in relatively low-intensity workplace activities, such as job shadowing, work site tours, or interactions with an assigned mentor. In contrast, only 18 percent require Tech-Prep students to participate in a regular schedule of instruction or training at a work site, or to work as a paid youth apprentice in a position related to a course or career focus chosen in Tech-Prep.

Rural consortia are much less likely than suburban consortia to include workplace experiences of any kind in the Tech-Prep core program (Figure V.4). This difference probably reflects the comparatively more limited access to employers and narrower range of industries in rural areas. Federal officials have acknowledged the difficulties of implementing work site activities in rural communities by establishing a program of grants to low-income rural (and urban) areas under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

TABLE V.1
Most Common Core Programs Among Tech-Prep Consortia That Have Consortium-Wide Definitions
Elements of Consortium-Wide Core Programs

Completing Student Plan Choosing Career Cluster Choosing Occupational Specialty Taking Applied Academic Class(es) Taking
Cluster-Related
Academic/
Occupational
Courses		 Participating
in Career
Development Sessions/
Classes		 Participating
in Workplace
Exposure Experiences/
Assignment to Mentor		 Number of Consortia Percentagea of Consortia

X X X
7 2.1

X X
X 6 1.8
X
X X X

34 10.1
X


X X X 7 2.1

 X X X X

15 4.5

 X X
X X
10 3.0

 X X

X X 9 2.7

 X

X

25 7.4

 X


X
15 4.5

X X X X 17 5.1
X
X X X X
21 6.3
X

X X X X 39 11.6

 X X X X X X 66 19.6
All Definitions 271 80.8

a The percentage of consortia was calculated using as the denominator the number of consortia reporting a consortium-wide definition of a core program(336 of 702). 

                               FIGURE V.4        PERCENTAGE OF CONSORTIA INCLUDING WORKPLACE ACTIVITIES          OF ANY KIND IN CORE PROGRAM, BY METROPOLITAN STATUS  METROPOLITAN STATUS                Urban ======================>53%             Suburban =======================>56%                Rural =================>38%                     +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+                     0        20       40       60       80       100                                	PERCENTAGE OF CONSORTIA  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993

Although relatively few consortia required workplace experiences as part of Tech-Prep in fall 1993, the number is likely to increase. Discussions with state and local Tech-Prep coordinators suggest that consortia are increasingly interested in offering workplace activities to Tech-Prep students. Much of this interest is related to the passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act and the funding that consequently will be available to develop workplace experiences.

2 Data on core program elements were collected only from the 336 consortia with consortium-wide definitions. Although another 100 consortia have defined core programs in at least some of their schools, these defintions vary across schools and districts, and it would have been overly burdensome to ask consortium coordinators to define each school's core program separately.
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