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

Postsecondary Education And Training

A key component of the Tech-Prep model is specialized technical education or training at the postsecondary level culminating in an associate degree or certificate from a two-year program. Ideally, students begin planning for postsecondary education during high school, and their secondary school program is coordinated with curricula at the college level.

The national survey contained three questions about transitions of Tech-Prep students to postsecondary education. First, the survey asked consortium coordinators to report the number of districts that maintained records on the number of Tech-Prep students who entered postsecondary programs in member institutions. Second, coordinators were asked to report the number of students identified as Tech-Prep high school graduates who had entered different types of postsecondary institutions or activities in fall 1993. Third, they were asked to report the number of students entering and completing articulated occupational specialties.

Tracking postsecondary education is a substantial challenge in some consortia

Some consortia have reached the stage in which Tech-Prep students have reportedly entered postsecondary education or training. Seventy-nine of the 94 consortia that could report Tech-Prep high school graduates reported that some of these graduates had entered postsecondary institutions. Only 4 of the 94 said that none of their Tech-Prep graduates were pursuing postsecondary education.

However, it is often difficult for consortium coordinators to determine whether and how many Tech-Prep students have entered or completed postsecondary education or training. The remaining 11 coordinators from the 94 consortia with Tech-Prep high school graduates did not know whether any high school graduates were entering college or other postsecondary activities. Even some consortia where Tech-Prep students are reportedly entering postsecondary transitions do not maintain records that would enable coordinators to report the number of such students. Seventeen of the 79 consortia that reported having postsecondary transitions either did not know how many districts track postsecondary entry or knew that none of the districts had this capability and therefore were unable to report actual numbers of students. Sixty-two of the 79 consortia did have the capability of reporting on postsecondary entry.

Consortium size may affect the feasibility of reporting postsecondary enrollment. Small consortia may have closer relationships among members, which facilitate the tracking and collection of data on students. Small consortia also generally have fewer Tech-Prep students whose progress they must track. Among the consortia that had Tech-Prep high school graduates, smaller consortia could report on postsecondary entry in a higher proportion of member districts than could larger consortia (Figure IX.2). This finding may also reflect the fact that larger consortia are more likely to be concentrating implementation in a few districts, and to have member districts in varying stages of development; a smaller proportion of districts in these large consortia would thus be able to report Tech-Prep participation and outcomes such as postsecondary entry. 

                               FIGURE IX.2         PERCENTAGE OF MEMBER DISTRICTS REPORTING POSTSECONDARY                       ENTRY, BY CONSORTIUM SIZE  NO. OF POSECONDARY AND SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS             2-5 ==============================================>94%            6-10 ===================================>68%           11-25 ===================================>69%           26-50 =========================>51%             51+ ===>6%                +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+                0         20        40        60        80       100                           PERCENTAGE OF MEMBER DISTRICTS  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993

Postsecondary education or training is a pathway for many Tech-Prep high school graduates

Tech-Prep students who graduate from high school are expected to pursue postsecondary education or training. The 62 consortia that could track postsecondary entry of 1993 graduates reported a total of 3,551 Tech-Prep students entering postsecondary education institutions or programs (Figure IX.3). This figure represents slightly less than half of the Tech-Prep students who graduated from high school in those consortia in spring 1993.

It is important to interpret these data with some caution. The computed rate of postsecondary entry is based on relatively few consortia--slightly less than 10 percent of all 702 survey respondents. However, the 62 consortia were able to track postsecondary entry of Tech-Prep students in virtually all of the districts in which they could track students' graduation from high school. Therefore, the report on postsecondary entry should not be biased by lack of information.

Community colleges are the primary destination of Tech-Prep students who pursue postsecondary education or training

Although Tech-Prep students are engaged in a variety of postsecondary activities, the majority of those who pursue postsecondary education or training enroll in a community, junior, or technical college (Figure IX.3). Of the 3,551 postsecondary entries reported in fall 1993, 2,422 (68 percent) were to two-year institutions.4 In contrast, the numbers of students entering proprietary schools, registered apprenticeship programs, or the armed forces were considerably smaller. More than 700 Tech-Prep students reportedly enrolled in four-year colleges. This distribution may reflect the way in which consortia targeted students (for example, enrolling students with declared plans to enter a community college), the influence of articulation agreements on where students pursue postsecondary education, or the greater availability of community college programs relative to proprietary schools and registered apprenticeship programs.

Most Tech-Prep students who attend community colleges are in articulated occupational programs

Tech-Prep college students enroll in articulated occupational programs more often than in general academic transfer programs. More than 50 of the 61 consortia with students attending community colleges reported that students had entered articulated postsecondary specialties in fall 1993. Forty-six consortia were able to report the number of Tech-Prep students in these programs. The reported 1,678 students represent 70 percent of Tech-Prep students attending community colleges in fall 1993 in those 46 consortia. 

                               FIGURE IX.3            NUMBER OF TECH-PREP HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES ENTERING        POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OR TRAINING, BY TYPE OF INSTITUTION  TYPE OF INSTITUTION       Two-year College ========================>2,422      Four-year College =====>738     Proprietary School =>86  Registered Apprentice =>35           Armed Forces ===>270                    All ====================================>3,551                       +---------+---------+---------+---------+                       0        1000      2000      3000      4000                             NUMBER OF POSTSECONDARY ENTRIES  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993

In a few consortia, students have already completed postsecondary degrees or certificates

Given that Tech-Prep initiatives are relatively new, we expected that only a few consortia would have had students completing the postsecondary component of the Tech-Prep program in spring 1993. Consortia with students at such an advanced stage in the program would have to have graduated these Tech-Prep students from high school in spring 1992 or earlier, and to have implemented the secondary school components of the program before SY 1989-1990.5 We did not anticipate that many consortia would have conceived of and begun planning for Tech-Prep several years before Title IIIE funding was available.

Seventeen consortia reported that Tech-Prep students completed articulated postsecondary programs in spring 1993. However, only eight of the 17 had begun graduating Tech-Prep students by spring 1992. A total of 203 students from these eight consortia received postsecondary degrees or certificates from articulated occupational programs.6

4 Sixty-one of the 62 consortia that could report on postsecondary entry said that at least some students matriculated to community, technical, or junior colleges.

5 Because data on postsecondary program completion were based on completion in spring 1993, students repotedly completing a two-year program would have had to have graduated from high school in spring 1991 or earlier. In analyzing reports of postsecondary program completion, we also included consortia that first graduated Tech-Prep seniors in 1992, since some students may have pursued a one-year postsecondary certificate or degree program.

6 The other nine consortia had first graduated Tech-Prep students from high school in spring 1993. It is impossible to conceive of a way for these students to have completed even a one-year postsecondary program at the same time as their graduation from high school, even in a well-articulated, time-shortened program. It is possible that the reported program completions represented those of adults who entered postsecondary Tech-Prep componenets through what is often termed a "bridge" program. However, Title IIIE considers a Tech-Prep program to be a four-year program beginning in high school. Therefore, we did not count the potential bridge program completers in our estimates of Tech-Prep postsecondary completion.
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