Trends in Elementary and Secondary Education - Who's Preparing For Both College And A Vocation?

Traditionally, secondary schools prepared students either for entry-level jobs or for college. A new trend is to prepare for either or both. An increasing number of students are completing both a college preparatory curriculum and a vocational concentration. College preparatory graduates complete a course of study consistent with the entrance requirements of public four-year colleges. Vocational program graduates are prepared for manufacturing jobs, for jobs in the services and information industries, or for jobs in business.

The chart shows that more and more students are preparing only for college. In a mirroring fashion, the number of those preparing for future jobs immediately out of high school is dwindling. But there is a new trend. Out of about 2.6 million students who graduated in 1982 and in 1994, less than a percent (0.6%) went for a "mixed" preparation in 1982 — and 4.5% in 1994. The trend is so new, the tabulators haven't had a chance yet to collect much data about this phenomenon.

This group can be viewed through two lenses. Of those who concentrated on the college preparatory curriculum, 7% also took a Vo-Tech concentration in 1982. In 1994, this number had risen to 12%. Of those who concentrated on vocational education, 2% also took the college preparatory curriculum. In 1994, this number had risen to 18%.

Which vocational education students were most likely also to elect a college preparatory curriculum? As the chart below demonstrates, technology and business specialists were most likely to complete a college preparatory curriculum (43% and 27% respectively), while a food service and hospitality specialist was least likely to do so (only 3% completed a college preparatory curriculum).

Percentage of High School Grads with a Vocational Concentration Who Also C ompleted a College Prep Curriculum, by Vocational Program Area: 1994

Why do vocational education students interested in the business and technology programs take college preparatory classes? Perhaps because they think there are better job opportunities in these fields for people with college credentials.

Business and technology programs are the areas most likely to use modern equipment such as computers. In general, the media describe traditional vocational education programs as archaic, underfunded, and neglected, especially those operating in large urban areas. This is beginning to change as businesses and government get more involved in school business.

Employers are vocal about what they expect from schools — and willing to act. For example, the California Business Roundtable, an organization composed of chief executive officers of leading California businesses, is working to require exit exams, finance new facilities, and integrate technology into the state's classrooms as a way of ensuring qualified future employees.

The 1994 passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act encouraged employer involvement in schools and led to job shadowing, mentoring, internships, and apprenticeships. More signs of the new order? It is largely thanks to donations from businesses and their pressure for more federal and state funding that nearly every school in the country now has an Internet connection (see the last panel in this chapter, "Tracking the Digital Divide"). As schools incorporate modern technology, vocational education programs are benefiting. This may make them more appealing to more students.

Sources: Chart: Lisa Hudson and David Hurst. "Students Who Prepare for College and a Vocation." Education Statistics Quarterly. Winter 2000; Vocational Education in the United States: Toward the Year 2000 (NCES 2000-029). Online. Available: http://nces.ed.gov. February 25, 2002. California Business Roundtable. "Education." Online. Available: http://www.cbrt.org/education.html. February 27, 2002. "Hire Education." City Limits, May 1999, p17-21. Goldman, Abigail. "Schools Tackling Job Training Needs." Los Angeles Times. 6 September 1994, pB1.