Vocational Education

Changes in the U.S. economy during the past 20 years--the decline of the manufacturing sector, stronger foreign competition, and improvements in information technology--have underscored the importance of a skilled labor force. Today, vocational education remains an especially important tool for preparing entry-level workers for the labor market. In 1990, Congress amended the Perkins Vocational Education Act to realign national priorities for vocational education. GAO compared student participation and program features in high school vocational education programs in school year 1993-94 (after enactment of the amendments) with 1990- 91 (before enactment of the amendments). GAO answers the following questions: For students from special population groups--including students with disabilities, poor students, and those with limited English proficiency--what changes have taken place in (1) participation in vocational education, including participation in innovative programs; (2) availability of support services; and (3) college attendance and employment following graduation? For vocational education programs, to what extent have school and school districts adopted recommended approaches to enhance quality, such as school-to-work transition activities, integration of academic and vocational learning, development of competency standards for students, and greater use of quality indicators for program assessment.

GAO found that: (1) between 40 and 50 percent of students in special population groups participated in vocational education programs in 1990 through 1994, despite the removal of the set-aside requirement; (2) schools continued to offer all students access to support services at the same or greater levels in 1994 than in 1991; (3) there was no significant changes in the proportion of program students who attended college, went directly to work, or were unemployed; (4) the percentage of schools offering tech-prep programs increased from 27 percent in 1991 to 45 percent in 1994 and the percentage of students participating in the programs rose from 9 to 16 percent, respectively; (5) traditional school-to-work transition programs showed no major change in participation; (6) teacher training in integrating vocational and academic instruction also increased, but most of the schools surveyed did not use integrated learning concepts in the classroom; (7) some school districts reported increased use of quality indicators in their self-assessment processes, however, the number of vocational education programs that require graduates to meet competency standards has remained stable; and (8) many of the program features associated with high-quality vocational education still affect a relatively small percentage of students and many more students will need to be exposed to these features before they become a standard part of vocational education.