Integrating CTE and Academics_Mayfield

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Title: Why Michigan Should Integrate Career and Technical Education (CTE) with Core

Academics

Author: Irene Mayfield

Publication Year: 2011

Abstract: With the implementation of the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC), Michigan

high school students face increased requirements for graduation. This increase inrequirements limits student choice in Career and Technical Education (CTE) if schools

do not integrate core academics. This integration, encouraged by the MMC, allows

schools to grant core academic credit through CTE and vocational courses. This paper

will review institutions that successfully integrated CTE or vocational programs withcore academics.

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Irene Mayfield

Professor Vocke

English 480014 July 2011

Integrating Career and Technical Education (CTE) with Core Academics

The class bell rings and Entrepreneurship students are working in small groups in the

computer lab. All students are excitedly implementing their small businesses.

Caitlynn, who is planning a photography business, writes in her Entrepreneurialjournal. In the corner of the room, Hunter and Zack students are create a flier for

their lawn care business. Sitting next to them, Steven counts the money he made

from the dance he operated last Saturday and writes his total on the CashflowWorksheet. At her desk, the teacher is reviewing a marketing plan with Ashley and

Jessica. The remaining students are reading biographies from entrepreneurs they

chose based on interest. Dave is immersed in Sam Waltons autobiography. Allstudents are engaged, working on tasks relevant to their lives, and learning English.

The New Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC)

The implementation of the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) has had a drastic impact

on the decisions and lives of administrators, teachers, and students in Michigan

high schools. Since 2006, when the MMC was implemented for current 8th graders,high school seniors must have 16 prescribed credits to graduate high school: 4

credits in math, 4 in English, 3 in science, 3 in social studies, 1 in Physical

Education and Health, 1 in Visual, Performing and Applied Arts, and 2 in a

Language other than English (effective for Class of 2016) (Canul et al. 1).

As I look at the graduation requirements, the only area I notice not included is Career and

Technical Education (CTE). All other elective areas (Art, Theatre, Physical

Education, and World Languages) have graduation requirements. This neglect ofCTE demonstrates what most vocational teachers already know: people do not

understand what the new CTE offers our students. In this essay, I will prove the

benefit of incorporating CTE into the MMC through granting CTE coursework foracademic credit. My goal is for all secondary institutions to implement CTE and

academic integration to improve student achievement and retention.

The Problem with MMC

Although most students will not struggle to complete the credit requirements, a

significant number of students will. The MMC leaves little room for failure ofcourses. The increased amount of requirements limits students options to take CTE

electives not required by the new MMC curriculum. I argue that the students who

need CTE the most are the same students who will be blocked from taking them ifwe do not offer CTE classes for academic credit.

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In Michigan, the drop out rate is very high. For the 2007-2008 school year, the averaged

freshman graduation rates of public high school students ranged from 51.3 percent in

Nevada to 89.6 in Wisconsin; Michigan was 76.2 percent (Chapman, Laird, andKewalRamani 7). When Michigan increases the requirements for graduation without

systematically changing teaching and learning, the risk is more students will drop out.

In a study titled The Silent Epidemic, 467 students who dropped out were surveyed to

understand their reasoning behind their decision (Bridgeland, Dilulio, and Morison 1).

Almost half (47%) of the respondents cited classes not being interesting as a primaryreason for dropping out of high school (5). When asked to elaborate on why they were

not interesting, one responded stated they make you take classes in school that youre

never going to use in life (12). When asked what they believe would improve students

chances to complete school, students surveyed overwhelming said opportunities for real-world learning (internships, service learning, etc.) to make classroom more relevant

(20).

The solution to this problem may be the area that the MMC initially neglected: Careerand Technical Education. In a recent study, data has shown that CTE reduces drop outrates when taken as a ratio of one CTE class for every two academic classes (Plank,

DeLuca, and Estacion 360). A 2009 report titled Joining Forces for Student

Achievement recognized the main benefit of the recognition of academic credit for CTEcoursework is it helps students to gain a deeper understanding of academic content that

might have eluded them if it were presented only through abstracted and traditional

classroom teaching approaches (Meeder and Hebert-Giffen 1). The academic content incontextual learning is very important for the engagement and learning of our students.

Finally, increasing graduation requirements for the aforementioned areas can block

students from the ability to take electives such as CTE. These elective choices are oftenthe ones that most fully engage their personal interest, provide a sense of confidence and

accomplishment, and give them a reason for staying in school (2). This lack of choice

not only hurts the student who is unable to learn the CTE content, but also the entire CTEdepartment. As students do not have available blocks to schedule CTE courses,

enrollment decreases, and the courses are eliminated.

New vs. Old Career and Technical Education

As a teacher of CTE courses, I observe core academic teachers, administrators, and evenparents confuse the rigor and relevance of the new CTE classroom with the old

vocational education programs. We do not teach students how to do hair or change

oil, we teach students how to conceptualize, organize, document, defend, problem-solve and so much more. The new CTE classroom is highly relevant and rigorous.

The new CTE programs and courses are designed together with thebusiness community, using the latest equipment and technology(Hupfeld and Buck 2 ).They combine specialized knowledge and skillsfoundation knowledge and skills that lead to academic and career

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success, such as teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking (2).In addition, students learn about different career pathways and how toachieve education and career goals (2).

Results of the New MMC on ACT Scores

Although the new Michigan Merit Curriculum is one of the most rigorous in the country,

it is not improving student ACT scores. Since 2008, the ACT (a standardized test moststudents in Michigan take for college admissions) has been a component of the Michigan

Merit Exam (MME). This exam is taken by Michigan high school students in their junior

year. In 2009, the first group of students required to take the Michigan Merit Curriculum

took the ACT. The results are disappointing. The 2009 ACT composite test score forMichigan students was the same as 2008, whileEnglish and Reading scores dropped (see

Table 1.2).

Source: ACT, ACT Profile Report: Graduating Class 2010 Michigan, ACT National and StateScores. Web, Table 1.2. 11 July 2011.

Although the ACT composite, English, Math, and Reading scores showed slight

improvements between 2009 and 2010, scores for 2011 declined. A recent news articlefrom the Detroit News reports the statewide ACT composite fell from 19.7 to 19.3 and

reading scores fell as well (Wilkinson, par .3).

In addition to the slight increase or declines in scores year to year, Michigan studentsoverall lag behind the national averages in every category since 2008. A report titled

Capitalizing on Context: Curriculum Integration in Career and Technical Education

supports my point: what we do know from the data is that more of the same is notworking for our young peoplethat is, increasing academic requirements does equate to

increased academic achievement (Pearson et al. 5).

If tougher graduation requirements are not increasing our students achievement, what

will?

Granting Academic Credit through CTE

Michigan, among many other states, recognizes the granting of academic credit through

CTE classrooms. The State Board of Michigan has approved ELA units for

Business and Marketing courses. These units take business and marketingcurriculum and align them to ELA standards. In addition, in the Michigan Merit

Curriculum (MMC) High School Graduation Requirements written by the

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Michigan Department of Education (MDE), alternative methods for obtaining

required credits are described:

The Michigan Merit Curriculum requires . . . a minimum of 16 credits forgraduation, which could be met using alternative instructional delivery methods

such as . . . career and technology courses, industrial technology or vocationaleducation courses. (Canul et al. 1)

In the Michigan CTE State Profile from the ACTE Online, Michigan is documented asa state that is looking at expanding its programs that allow CTE classes to be taught for

both CTE and academic credit. Michigan is also using funds to develop new CTE

programs that integrate technical content requirements with rigorous academic content

requirements (ACTE). In addition to the units of study already developed for ELA,curriculum resources are currently being developed with state approved CTE and

academic teachers in the 16 career clusters to incorporate academic content into new

programs of study(ACTE).

While the State of Michigan is working to develop CTE programs that grant students

academic credit, local school districts already have these programs in place. In a TECHPREP Study conducted by Wayne State Universitys Center for Urban Studies, eight

districts in Macomb County and two districts in Saint Clair County offer academic credit

for CTE courses. At Oakland Schools Technical Campuses (a group of career technicalcampuses that serve high school students in Oakland County's 28 public school districts,

public academies, private learning institutions and home schools) students can earn 12th

grade ELA credit in nine different course offerings, including Business (Academic

Credit Offerings).

Michigan is not the only state integrating CTE and academics for academic credit. Manystates are working to support the recognition of academic credit for CTE coursework: 24states (including Michigan) have state law or regulation, 19 states have curriculum

framework in place, and 17 states have state-led initiatives (including Michigan) (Meeder

and Hebert-Giffen 4). The differences in support vary from state to state in policy andinitiatives.

How are other states integrating traditional academics with CTE? The state of

Washington required each school district to adopt academic course equivalencies forCTE course, for whole or partial credit, that would help students meet state graduation

requirements (Career and Technical Educations Role in American Competitiveness

5). In Kentucky, students meet academic requirements by taking classes that carefullymerge academic standards with career-oriented content (4). And finally, in New York,

students have the flexibility to enroll in specialized courses that combine academic and

career and technical skills and content (5).

Arizona is an example of a state that made academic content explicit in CTE courses. Theresult of this integration is that CTE students have outperformed the general high

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school population when they took two or more CTE courses on all three of

Arizonas high stakes academic tests (AIMS) (4).

As Michigan implements one of the most rigorous graduation requirements in the nation,it should follow Kentucky, Washington, New York, and Arizonas lead to become more

aggressive in its approach to encourage and support CTE course-work for academiccredit.

Research Supporting CTE/Academic Integration

High Schools That Work Studies

High Schools That Work (HSTW) is a whole-school reform model from the Southern

Regional Education Board (SREB) that combines rigorous academics with a career focus.The following schools implemented the HSTW model of integrating CTE with academics

and produced measurable student achievement.

Delcastle Technical High School in Wilmington, Delaware is a comprehensive high

school that serves 1,450 students (Scarbrough and Sullivan 14). After joining HSTW, the

school went to work integrating English and CTE (14). They did this by creating three

student projects: the Exploratory Manual, the Senior Magazine Project, and theCooperative Work Manual (14-17). These projects combine the traditional English

curriculum with the work of CTE. For example, the Senior Magazine Project, a part of

the 12th grade Technical English course, combines students skills in English with theirknowledge of a career (15-16). The requirements include interview an expert in the

chosen field, review a field-related book, compose an article on new products or technical

developments, and write a how-to paper (16). Development of the projects, instruction,

and evaluation are accomplished through the combined efforts of the English teacher andthe CTE teacher (16).

The results of this effort are overwhelmingly positive:

o Increased student motivation

o Increase in student attendance and decline in disciplinary infractions

o Increased number of students, as opposed to other Delaware schools, meet or

approach state writing standards

o Increased student graduation rate

o Teachers are finding new respect for each others disciplines (17)

Hoke County High School, comprehensive high school of 1,350 students in grades 9-12in Raeford, North Carolina, revamped the curriculum to ensure more rigorous contentand strengthen the teamwork of academic and vocational teachers in planning integrated

studies (Sullivan 1). As a result, academic and vocational teachers worked together to

integrate learning and raise expectations in their classrooms (3).

The benefits of this new learning community were significant:

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o The number of Hoke County students taking the SAT increased and average

scores have risen (from 773 to 841)

o More Hoke County students now than in the past are planning to pursue further

education (from 20% to 53%)

o The 1996 students scored considerably higher than career-bound students

nationally in reading, mathematics and science (9-13)

At Sussex Technical High School, a comprehensive facility for 1,091 students in grades9-12, integrated curriculum is at the heart of what they do (Scarbrough and Sullivan

2). This school in Georgetown, Delaware requires rigorous academic curriculum

liked to industry-based technical studies (2). Every student selects a technicalconcentration or major and receives instruction throughout the curriculum (2).

Each career cluster includes English, mathematics, science and social studies

teachers who meet during common planning time to share curricula and plan

integrated projects (2). The teachers work together as a team during a commonplanning time (5). This common planning time allows academic and vocational

teachers to share curricula and plan integrated projects (6). One example of anintegrated project is the Senior Exhibition of Mastery at the 12 th grade level (6). Inthis project, students develop a product related to their technical major, write a

related research paper and make an oral presentation and are evaluated by

administrators, teachers and advisory council members (6).

The results of this impressive integration of all content areas are:SAT scores increased in all categories (Verbal: from 378 to 447; Mathematics: from 411

to 429; Combined: from 789 to 876)

More career-bound students took advanced coursework in high schoolAttendance rate is 95%

Drop-out rate is less than 2% (12-14)

Math-in-CTE Study

The Math-in-CTE study was conducted during the 2004-2005 academic year. The

experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of math-enhancedlessons in CTE classrooms. These Math-in-CTE classrooms were then compared

against a control group. As a part of the framework of the experiment, CTE

teachers worked with math teachers in communities of practice to develop CTEactivities that integrated more mathematics into the occupational curriculum.

(Stone et al. ix) After only one year, these math-enhanced CTE lessons (which

averaged only 10% of class time), increased student performance significantly ontwo measures of math ability- the TerraNova and ACCUPLACER. (ix)

Authentic Literacy in CTE Pilot Study

Most recently, a pilot study titled Authentic Literacy in CTE was published by the

National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE). Thisstudy was conducted to apply the principles of the Math-in-CTE study to literacy in

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the CTE classroom (i.e. reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and

motivation to read). The researchers compared the effects of literacy strategy

instruction on student achievement (Pearson et al. 6). During the six month pilot,the reading strategy instruction produced a statistically significant impact on

reading comprehension and vocabulary compared to a control group as measured

by pre- and post-testing on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests (GMRT) (6). Inaddition, student focus groups revealed the following positive findings: students

understood the importance of reading to their career, student engaged in reading if

they could apply the information, and students desired a utility value in theirstrategy use (6).

Barriers to Granting Academic Credit through CTE Coursework

The 2002 TECH PREP Study of Macomb and St. Clair Counties surveyed school district

administrators to identify barriers to offering academic credit for CTE classes. Most

administrators indicated that there are significant barriers to offering academic credit for

CTE classes, primarily the resistance by traditional subject area teachers (Colombo 35).The study also interviewed CTE teachers who echoed the administrators observations:

traditional subject area teachers have the mistaken idea that there is not much academiccontent in the classes" (21). The 2009 report Joining Forces for Student Success cited

the same problem: the biggest hurdle is obtaining buy in from teachers regarding the

integrity and academic value of these courses (Meeder and Hebert-Giffen 6).

In addition, the overall structure of a school district, or the educational system at large,

makes it difficult to integrate curriculum because of the barriers created from established

educational systems and subsequent traditions of curriculum and instruction thatseparated vocational education from academic education for more than a century

(Pearson, et al. 9). This complete refocus of any institution is difficult and will be metwith resistance.

As a CTE teacher who has worked through the process of granting academic credit for

CTE coursework, I would agree with all of these observations. However, we cannotcontinue to separate CTE and core academic areas because it has always been that way.

We have to change the perceptions and expectations of administrators, teachers, students,

and the community from the status-quo of separated educational disciplines toward the

integration of these two worlds. This task is difficult due to the entrenchment ofindividuals to their discipline areas. The barrier to academic integration is also

compounded by the current climate of job insecurity.

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act

In the most recent reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and TechnicalEducation Act, the federal legislation that governs and funds CTE, explicitly requires

CTE courses to integrate coherent and rigorous academic content standards (Section

122(c)(1)(A)(ii)). It also calls for opportunities for the appropriate academic and careerand technical education teachers to jointly develop and implement curricula and

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pedagogical standards (Section 122(c)(2)(A)). The United States FederalGovernment is calling for CTE and core academic teachers to work together instead of

guarding their subject area boundaries.

CTE is a natural application of core curriculum. Students in Entrepreneurship cannot

write Business Plans without teaching English. Financial documents, such as IncomeStatements, include mathematics. Should granting academic credit for academics

already taught in CTE be blocked by the lack of information of a few subject area

teachers?

My Proposal

Academics and Career and Technical Education should be integrated at all secondarylevels and all subject areas. Models found in the High Schools That Work (HSTW)

programs all incorporated rigorous coursework with career foundations. This is the

ideal educational environment that all states should strive toward.

However, I understand that systematic change is a long, difficult process. My immediategoal is much more personal. My aim in obtaining an English Language Arts (ELA)

certification is to teach Entrepreneurship, currently a business elective, for a 4 th

year ELA credit. As it is currently taught, Entrepreneurship is extremely ELAdense. However, I plan to implement the ELA units approved by the Michigan

State Board and write additional units using ELA standards, Marketing standards,

and local business input.

I would like to make it clear that my goal to integrate CTE and the core academiccurriculum is not borne out of self-preservation. I am currently endorsed to teach

social studies and do not currently fear losing my job. My intent is to do what isbest for kids. I fully believe that incorporating what we do in CTE would help

students learn in all content areas, increase student engagement, and develop richerconnections between our staff.

Decisions regarding curriculum integration cannot be made on a micro level. Individuals

entrenched in their own subject area are less likely to understand and see the bigpicture. The effort to integrate the two disciplines was likened to turning around a

battleship (Pearson et al. 4). Systematic change, such as the type I am proposing,

is best implemented in a top-down manner as implemented in the HSTW case

studies.

In my own school, I propose Entrepreneurship should fulfill the 12th grade ELA credit

because I already teach English in context. I make relevant connections to the

content areas and the world in which they will work. I leave abstraction for core

academics and my students thrive as a result. My students compete in nationalcompetitions, write twenty page business plans, and present their ideas to leaders in

business. Students read, listen, view, write, and express. In addition, students in my

class are engaged. I observe students who skip all their other classes, but come in

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for CTE. I see students who devote countless hours after school to work on

projects, compete against other students, and present their ideas to authentic

audiences.

Will we give our high school students the opportunity to learn English in the context of

the world in which they will work?

Works Cited

Academic Credit Offerings for the Oakland Schools Technical Campuses. Oakland

Schools Technical Campuses. 14 June 2010. Oakland Schools. Web. 11 July 2011.

ACT Profile Report: Graduating Class 2010 Michigan.ACT National and State Scores.

2010. ACT. Web. 11 July 2011.

Bridgeland, John, John Dilulio, and Karen Burke Morison. The Silent Epidemic:Perspectives of High School Dropouts. Civic Enterprises. Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation.March 2006. Web. 11 July 2011.

Canul, Yvonne Caamal, et al. Michigan Merit Curriculum: Course/Credit Requirements.

English Language Arts. [Michigan Department of Education], Web. 11 July 2011.

Career and Technical Educations Role in American Competitiveness.ACTE Issue

Brief. Association for Career and Technical Education. October 2006. Web. 11 July

2011.

Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. Pub L. S. 250. 1-67. 3

January 2006. Web. 11 July 2011.

Chapman, Chris, Jennifer Laird, and Angela KewalRamani. Trends in High School

Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2008 Compendium

Report. U.S. Department of Education. (2010): 1-104. Web. 11 July 2011.

Colombo, Marie. TECH PREP Study: Macomb and St. Clair Counties. Center for

Urban Studies. Wayne State University. (2002): 1-205. Web. 11 July 2011.

Kelly Hupfeld and Beverly Buck et al. Colorado Succeeds: Great Schools are GoodBusiness. Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA). (2007): 1-28. Web. 11 July

2011.

Meeder, Hans and Michelle Hebert-Giffen. Joining Forces for Student Success: The

Emergence of State and Local Policies to Support the Recognition of Academic

Credit for CTE Coursework.Association for Career and Technical Education.

(2009): 1-8. Web. 11 July 2011.

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Michigan CTE State Profile.ACTE Online. Association for Career and Technical

Education. 27 April 2009. Web. 14 July 2011.

Pearson, Donna, Jennifer Sawyer, Travis Park, Laura Santamaria, Elizabeth van der

Mandele, Barrett Beene, and Marissa Taylor . Capitalizing on Context: CurriculumIntegration in Career and Technical Education.A Joint Report of the NRCCTE

Curriculum Integration Workgroup. (2010): 1-74. Web. 11 July 2011.

Plank, Stephen, Stefanie DeLuca, and Angela Estacion. High School Dropout and the

Role of Career and Technical Education: A Survival Analysis of Surviving High

School. Sociology of Education 81 (2008): 345-370. Web. 11 July 2011.

Scarbrough, Mary An and Margaret Sullivan. Integrating Vocational and Academic

Studies: What Three High Schools in Delaware Are Doing. High Schools That

Work.High Schools That Work. Southern Regional Education Board. (1995): 1-51.

Web. 11 July 2011.

Stone, James, Corinne Alfeld, Donna Pearson, Morgan V. Lewis, and Susan Jensen.Building Academic Skills in Context: Testing the Value of Enhanced Math Learning

in CTENational Research Center for Career and Technical Education. University

of Minnesota. July 2006. Web. July 2011.

Sullivan, Margaret. Case Study: Hoke County High School, Raeford, North Carolina.High Schools That Work. Southern Regional Education Board. (1997): 1-19. Web. 11

July 2011.

Sullivan, Margaret. Case Study: Sussex Technical High School, Georgetown,

Delaware.High Schools That Work. Southern Regional Education Board. (1997): 1-18. Web. 11 July 2011.

Wilkinson, Mike. Michigan Juniors ACT Scores Stable, Merit Exams ShowImprovements. The Detroit News. 28 June 2011. Web. 11 July 2011.

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Integrating CTE and Academics_Mayfield