Impact of Career and Technical Education Program Completion on Graduation Rates of Select Student Groups in Kansas High Schools

Abstract

Career and Technical Education’s (CTE) original purpose was to build trade-skillsin individuals entering the U. S. workforce directly after graduation. As the yearsprogressed and the needs of the workforce changed, so did the scope and sequence ofCTE programs to provide skills and knowledge in both vocational and post-secondaryacademic degrees. Recent research has shown the benefits for students participating inCTE programs. The purpose of this study to examine the impact of completing a CTEprogram of study on the graduation rates in three urban Kansas high schools. Thepurpose of the study was to compare the graduation rates of CTE completers to the stateaverage graduation rates of CTE completers. The graduation rates were specificallycompared based on gender, males and females, and ethnicity, White, African-American,and Hispanic. Archival data were collected from the Kansas Department of Education(KSDE) Data Governance Board. Graduation and demographic data from three urbanschool districts, from 2015 to 2018, were included in the sample population. Using anindependent-sample t test, it was discovered that the average graduation rate of CTEcompleters was significantly higher than and the average graduation rate of CTE noncompleters. Using a one-sample t test, a statistically significant difference between theaverage graduation rate of White CTE completers and the overall average graduation ratewas discovered. No other statistically significant difference was found in this study.