The National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) Career/Technical Education (CTE) Statistics system derives data about career/technical education primarily from existing NCES surveys. Some of the most informative data in the CTE Statistics system are from high school transcript data. This method of obtaining data provides a more accurate and complete picture of participation in career/technical education than can be obtained by other means. The CTE Statistics system also uses data from NCES' surveys of postsecondary students, secondary and postsecondary faculty, adult learners, and from longitudinal surveys that track students through high school and into the labor market and/or postsecondary education.
The primary use of the CTE Statistics system is to report on the status of career/technical education. NCES has published several reports on career/technical education topics, including student participation, staff characteristics, and adult education for work. These publications include Career and Technical Education in the United States: 1990–2005, the most recent NCES publication that synthesizes career/technical education data at the secondary and postsecondary levels. In addition, the CTE Statistics system is a primary data source for the Perkins Act periodic, congressionally mandated evaluations of career/technical education.
For additional information about the CTE Statistics system, contact Lisa Hudson at lisa.hudson@ed.gov or (202) 502-7358.
What's New
February 8, 2011:
Secondary-level tables on public high school CTE teachers
December 2, 2010:
Secondary-level tables on trends in public high school graduates’ participation in CTE from 1990 to 2005
November 18, 2010:
Postsecondary tables on (1) student enrollments in 2007-08 and (2) student costs and financial aid in 2007-08
September 16, 2009:
Who Takes Career/Technical Education Courses in High School? Detailed Tables from the Class of 2005