Arizona career technical education (CTE) students perform significantly higher in math and writing than their non-CTE peers, according to recently-released 2011 state assessments.
In a recent Inside Tucson Business editorial, Kathy Prather, director of career and technical education at the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), highlights 2011 Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards scores; the outcomes underscore the “drastic contrast between the general population of [TUSD] high school students and those students in the district who are enrolled for at least two credits†in CTE.
The data shows the strong performance of TUSD CTE concentrators (students completing at least two CTE credits) on the spring 2011 AIMS assessment, with 87.46 percent of them meeting or exceeding the pass score for AIMS math compared to 41.6 percent of the general high school population in TUSD, she noted.
Further, in the AIMS writing test, CTE concentrators in TUSD had a pass/exceed rate of 95.51 percent versus 55.3 percent for the district’s general high school population. In reading, TUSD CTE students had a pass/exceed rate of 95.43 percent versus 65.8 percent for the district’s general high school population, according to the editorial.
“Today’s CTE programs are more rigorous and focus on the need for preparing students for post-secondary education success,†Prather said.
“With solid [Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards] scores and passion for their programs-of-study, these TUSD CTE concentrators are well on their way to successful careers.â€