Introduction

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are expected to increase student achievement, prepare students for both careers and lifelong learning, integrate academic and technical curriculum, and provide rigorous and relevant instruction. Many practitioners faced with these expectations have expressed a desire to learn from those who have implemented especially successful career and technical education programs. This project, an initiative of the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education, was designed to identify exemplary and promising program models. Funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education during the period of 2000-2002.

Goals

1. To identify exemplary and promising CTE programs in the United States.
   
2. To identify and describe effective components of exemplary and promising CTE programs.
   
3. To disseminate information about exemplary and promising CTE programs and their effective practices to policy makers, researchers, and practitioners.

Activities

In 2000, a group of highly regarded CTE researchers and practitioners were invited to form an advisory council to establish a set of standards and indicators for high quality CTE programs. These standards and indicators formed the basis for evaluation criteria used to identify exemplary and promising programs between 2000 and 2002. Subsequently, qualified programs submitted applications, which were evaluated by a panel of reviewers, and the most highly rated programs were invited to provide additional information with top programs being visited by a team of CTE and evaluation/research experts. Exemplary and promising program designations were announced at national meetings and forums, with formal notification to federal, state, and local education leaders and government officials. Information was further disseminated to practitioners, policy makers, and researchers via an extensive website, written publications and conferences presentations.

Products

Publications and additional project information is available on the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education website at www.nccte.org.

Participating staff: Debra D. Bragg, Lisa Hood in collaboration with Wes Budke and Sheila Thompson of The Ohio State University.