AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper Mismatch? Aligning Secondary Career and Technical Education with Regional Workforce Demand.
“Career and technical education provide a number of benefits to students,” said Erin Valdez, policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Right on Work initiative. “Students who complete more than two courses in a CTE program of study are more likely to graduate high school, enroll in postsecondary education, and be employed full time eight years after graduation compared to their peers.”
The high school graduation rate for students who took two or more CTE courses in 2016 was 95.6 percent compared to Texas’ overall graduation rate of 89.1 percent for the same year.
“The Texas Legislature has committed nearly $2.8 billion per annum in fiscal year 2020-21 for secondary and postsecondary CTE programs,” said Sam Johnson, legislative fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Due to the variations in regional labor markets across the state, it is imperative that we ensure the investment in CTE courses is as beneficial as possible for students, taxpayers, and the continued success of the Texas economy.”
To read the paper in full, please visit:
https://www.texaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Valdez-Johnson-Workforce-Demand.pdf