The “Getting to Know” blog series will feature the work of State CTE Directors, state and federal policies, innovative programs and new initiatives from the Advance CTE staff. Learn more about each one of these topics and the unique contributions to advancing Career Technical Education (CTE) that Advance CTE’s members work on every day.
Meet CTE in Michigan!
The Michigan Department of Education – Office of Career and Technical Education (MDE-OCTE) works closely with regional CTE administrators to provide support and technical assistance to implement and improve current operating CTE programs, as well as to support the development of new CTE programs. CTE Secondary Programs are intentionally structured into 27 Perkins regions and 53 Career and Education Planning Districts. This regional structure provides access to state-approved CTE programs for students throughout the state of Michigan. Programs for secondary students are available through area career centers, intermediate school districts, public school academies, and local education agencies.
Postsecondary CTE Programs in Michigan are structured into 28 community colleges, three postsecondary associate-degree-granting institutions, and one Tribal College. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Workforce Development (LEO-WD) works in close collaboration with the MDE-OCTE to implement postsecondary CTE programs.
Q: What are a few ways Michigan uses learner data to inform policy and practice?
A: Michigan uses learner data to help Perkins subrecipients prioritize use of their Perkins funds through the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment. Data on student enrollment and completion by CIP Code, race, gender and special populations are compared to labor market information and other data to identify areas of need. At the state level, learner data helps to identify professional development needs and are used in evaluation of Perkins grant applications to ensure that Perkins-funded activities align with areas of greatest need. Michigan also utilizes learner data to assess equity and access in CTE.
Q: What partnerships within your state have been most impactful in developing your data ecosystem?
A: MDE-OCTE partners with other state agencies, as well as with university researchers, to create data reports that inform policy, promote program improvement and support effective program evaluation. A major partner is the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI). CEPI is responsible for collecting, managing, and reporting K-12 and postsecondary education data in Michigan. MDE-OCTE links CTE data to other K-12 and postsecondary data to compare CTE students to all students and to evaluate post-high school outcomes. CEPI produces data reports based on linked secondary, postsecondary and wage record data. These reports are available on Michigan’s student data portal www.MISchoolData.org.
See for example: Median Annual Wages by Educational Attainment and High School CTE Status2, https://www.mischooldata.org/high-school-cte-status-by-educational-attainment/ and https://www.mischooldata.org/cte-programs-offered/.
MDE-OCTE also partners with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity – Workforce Development which oversees postsecondary CTE programs and collaborates on CTE reporting.
MDE-OCTE partners with the University of Michigan Youth Policy Lab (YPL) on collaborative projects to better understand CTE in Michigan. YPL is currently working with MDE-OCTE to describe CTE delivery models in Michigan and develop a picture of access to CTE throughout the state. Other projects have included examination of CTE in Michigan for students with disabilities, and access to CTE in Michigan by race and gender.
Additionally, MDE-OCTE is a member of the Career & Technical Education Policy Exchange (CTEx)–a multi-state policy lab dedicated to improving the quality of high school career and technical education (CTE) programs. CTEx has provided MDE-OCTE with valuable data-based insights and improved the department’s ability to collect data of value to districts and policymakers. MDE-OCTE’s research partnerships extend the department’s data analysis capacity and support work such as analyses for the Perkins State Plan.
Q: What challenges and opportunities are there for data sharing between the state and local levels?
A: The greatest challenges to sharing data for program evaluation and decision making are handling small cell sizes and accessing and linking to employment data. In order to protect student privacy, cells with fewer than 10 students are suppressed. This makes it difficult to analyze data for small groups of students such as by race or special populations, or at the program level. This can be overcome by summarizing data over multiple years, but this could mask changes over time. Legal and policy limitations on the use of employment data and logistical challenges in linking education and employment data prevent many states, including Michigan, from fully utilizing employment data to evaluate educational outcomes, including outcomes of CTE.
Q: What advice would you give to state CTE leaders regarding data-driven decisionmaking?
A: Effective data-driven decisionmaking requires investment in data and research capacity–both within the state education agency and in partnerships with other state agencies and outside partners. Investing in capacity and partnerships enhances our ability to carry out meaningful analyses that lead to new insights. In order to maximize understanding of the data, individual student data are needed to break the data into key groups and understand impact. The ability to accurately link secondary CTE student data to other K-12 and postsecondary education data, as well as to wage and employment data, is required to be able to effectively evaluate CTE outcomes.
Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media, Advance CTE
Jill Kroll, Supervisor, Grants, Assessments, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, MDE-OCTE
Brian Pyles, State CTE Director, MDE-OCTE
Carlos Lopez (Colorado) has over a decade of experience as an instructor, program coordinator and academic advisor at secondary and postsecondary institutions focused on historically marginalized learners. Carlos currently serves as the Associate Dean for the College of Health Sciences and Administration at Emily Griffith Technical College. They earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Metropolitan State University of Denver and master’s degrees in Liberal Arts and Education Leadership and Policy Studies, Higher Education from St. John’s College – Santa Fe and University of Texas – San Antonio, respectively.
Curtis Scales (Arkansas) began his career in management training in the healthcare industry and translated his passion for wellness and supporting underserved populations into a career in education. He currently serves as the Program Manager for Special Populations at the Arkansas Department of Education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Administration from the University of Arkansas, and master’s degrees in Management and Leadership and Human Resource Management from Webster University.
Dr. Dimitria Harding (Minnesota) has over 15 years of experience in the CTE field working as a cytotechnologist before pursuing a career in higher education. Dr. Harding currently serves as a Dean of Health Sciences and Career and Technical Education at Minnesota State College. She received a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and a master’s degree in Community Health from Old Dominion University, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership.
The spring of 2020 saw postsecondary institutions close out semesters remotely due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The transition to distance learning was quick, forcing postsecondary systems and colleges to shift lesson plans and instruction methods in real-time. As the spring semester comes to a close, many colleges are expecting that the summer and fall semesters (at a minimum) will be delivered remotely as well- either in entirety or in some kind of hybrid. 
