What Is the Impact of Career and Technical Training?

The Effect of Career and Technical Education on Human Capital Accumulation: Causal Evidence from Massachusetts

Twenty percent of high school students take four or more courses in career and technical education (CTE). Despite this high rate of participation, little is known about what constitutes high-quality CTE and whether high-quality CTE allows participants to accumulate meaningful knowledge and skills to succeed in a career. This study from the Association for Education Finance and Policy examined the impact of participating in CTE on high school attendance, high school completion, professional certifications, and performance on standardized test scores. The evidence suggests that a high-quality CTE program boosts on-time graduation for higher income students and for lower income .

Citation: Dougherty, S. M. (2016). The effect of career and technical education on human capital accumulation: Causal evidence from Massachusetts. Education Finance and Policy. doi:10.1162/EDFP_a_00224.

Link: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/EDFP_a_00224?journalCode=edfp&