New data provided by the Institute of Education Sciences highlights the proportions of CTE concentrators who enrolled in postsecondary institutions, how long it took them to enroll, and the types of degrees or certificates they earned between 1992 and 2000.

A recent update to the IES Web site presents data relative to the conversations being had in the political and educational arenas regarding students’ postsecondary goals and successes. As presented by IES, the figures speak to the following primary questions:

What percentage of CTE concentrators enrolled in college? How soon after high school graduation did they enroll, and what types of postsecondary institutions did they enter?
•By 2000, the majority of CTE concentrators from the class of 1992 had enrolled in postsecondary education (65 percent of the total group of CTE concentrators, 59 percent of the CTE only subgroup, and 82 percent of the dual CTE and college preparatory subgroup).
•About three-quarters of all CTE concentrators who enrolled in a postsecondary institution did so within 7 months of their high school graduation
•More than half (56 percent) of all CTE concentrators began their postsecondary education at a community college, while 37 percent began at a 4-year institution, and 7 percent at another type of institution.

What proportion of CTE concentrators who enrolled in a postsecondary institution earned a postsecondary certificate or degree?
•Among the total group of CTE concentrators from the class of 1992 who enrolled in a postsecondary institution, about half earned a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2000, while about one-quarter (26 percent) earned a bachelor’s or higher degree.
•A higher proportion of college preparatory only students earned a postsecondary certificate or degree than both the total group of CTE concentrators and the subgroup of dual CTE and college preparatory concentrators.
•Comparing the total group of CTE concentrators with general education students, there was no detectable difference in the proportion who earned a postsecondary certificate or degree, but CTE concentrators were more likely to have earned an associate’s degree as their highest degree, and less likely to have earned a bachelor’s or advanced degree by 2000.
•About 6 percent of the total group of CTE concentrators had not earned a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2000 but were still enrolled in postsecondary education, while 43 percent had not earned a postsecondary credential and were not enrolled.

Visit the IES Web site for more information.