• Program Offerings
• Ensuring the Teaching of Relevant Job Skills
• Skill Competency Lists
• Defining Vocational Program Completers
• Credentialing Processes
• Relationships Among Program Characteristics

The secondary school survey was conducted through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), and the postsecondary survey was conducted through the NCES Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS). The FRSS survey was administered to public secondary schools that include grades 11 and 12; respondents were asked about program activities for 28 selected occupations within 6 broad occupational areas. The PEQIS survey was administered to less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions, and respondents were asked to report on program activities for 32 selected occupations in the same 6 occupational areas. Survey findings are presented by school type (comprehensive, vocational) for the FRSS survey, and by level of institution (2-year, less-than-2-year) for the PEQIS survey. Most findings are based on schools and institutions that offered at least one of the listed occupational programs.

Overall, a majority of all public secondary schools offered at least one of the listed occupational programs: 35 percent of the schools offered 1 to 5 programs, 18 percent offered 6 to 10 programs, and another 13 percent offered more than 10 programs. However, about one-third of the schools did not offer any of these programs. As one might expect, vocational schools were more likely than comprehensive high schools to offer the listed occupational programs; 98 percent of vocational schools offered at least one listed program, compared to 63 percent of comprehensive schools. On average, vocational schools also offered more occupational programs than did comprehensive schools; for example, 44 percent of vocational schools compared with 9 percent of comprehensive schools offered more than 10 of the listed occupational programs (figure A).

Ninety percent of less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions offered at least one of the listed occupational programs. About half of the institutions offered 1 to 5 programs, another 11 percent offered 6 to 10 programs, and an additional 27 percent offered more than 10 programs. A similar percentage of 2-year and less-than-2-year institutions offered at least one listed occupational program; 91 percent of less-than-2-year institutions offered at least one of the listed programs, compared to 88 percent of 2-year institutions. However, 2-year institutions offered more of the listed occupational programs; for example, 43 percent of 2-year institutions compared with 5 percent of less-than-2-year institutions offered more than 10 programs. With one exception (cosmetology), each specific occupational program was more common among 2-year institutions than among less-than-2-year institutions.

Among the public secondary schools and less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions that offered at least one listed occupational program, some broad program areas and some specific programs were more popular than others. A majority of these public secondary schools offered at least one program in two of the six broad program areas—business and marketing (85 percent) and technical occupations (60 percent). About half of these schools offered at least one program in each of the other broad program areas—mechanical occupations, the building trades, health/life sciences, and service occupations. Among less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions offering any listed program, a majority offered at least one program in three of the six broad program areas—service occupations (64 percent), health/life sciences (61 percent), and business and marketing (60 percent). About half of these institutions offered programs for technical occupations, and fewer than half offered at least one program in mechanical occupations and the building trades.

Figure A.—Percentage distribution of public secondary schools and less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions that offer various numbers of occupational programs, by type of school or institution: 1999

Educators responsible for occupationally specific courses typically attempt to ensure that the content of their courses relates well to the occupations for which they prepare students. Various procedures exist to ensure a match between course content and occupational skill requirements, five of which were included in the surveys. For public secondary schools, the five procedures listed were industry advisory committees, surveys of employers' skill needs, follow-up surveys of graduates, student work experience (e.g., internships), and faculty externships (occupational work experience). Except for faculty externships, each of these procedures was used by at least two-thirds of all public secondary schools that offered at least one of the listed occupational programs. About half of these schools used faculty externships to ensure that courses teach appropriate job skills. For less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions, the five listed procedures were industry advisory committees, surveys of employers' skill needs, follow-up surveys of graduates, mechanisms for faculty to get recent work experience, and periodic internal reviews. Except for mechanisms for faculty to get recent work experience, each of these procedures was used in at least one listed occupational program by about four-fifths of less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions that offered at least one of the listed occupational programs. About half of these institutions used mechanisms for faculty to get recent work experience.

To examine the use of skill competencies in occupational programs, respondents in both surveys were asked whether skill competency lists had been developed or adopted for each listed occupational program. Most public secondary schools with one or more of the listed occupational programs had developed or adopted skill competency lists for their programs; 78 percent of these schools had developed or adopted skill competencies for all of their offered programs and 95 percent had developed or adopted skill competencies for at least one program. As with secondary schools, a large proportion of 2-year and less-than-2-year postsecondary institutions that offered one or more of the listed occupational programs reported that skill competency lists had been developed or adopted for their programs; 77 percent of these institutions had developed or adopted skill competencies for all of their programs and 93 percent had developed or adopted skill competencies for at least one program.

Secondary schools and postsecondary institutions also were asked to indicate the extent of educator and industry input in skill competency developmentthat is, whether the skill competency lists were developed or adopted exclusively by individual course instructors or group(s) of educators, primarily by educators with industry input, with about equal educator and industry input, or primarily or exclusively by industry. Skill competency lists for at least one program were developed or adopted exclusively by educators, without industry involvement, in about one-third of all public secondary schools that offered at least one listed occupational program. About half of these schools reported a minor level of industry involvement in the development or adoption of skill competency lists for at least one listed program, fewer (34 percent) reported equal industry and educator involvement, and fewer still (6 percent) reported primary or exclusive industry involvement. Industry seemed to have a comparable level of involvement in developing or adopting skill competency lists at the postsecondary level. Almost half of less-than-4-year institutions with one or more of the listed occupational programs reported a minor level of industry input for at least one program, 36 percent involved educators and industry equally, and 8 percent used primarily or exclusively industry input.

The FRSS survey asked secondary schools what criteria, if any, they used to determine whether a student is a "vocational program completer." The criteria listed were an end-of-program exam (not a course or graduation exam), passage of specific vocational courses, a minimum grade- point average in the program, and passage of specific academic courses other than graduation requirements. The majority of public secondary schools with listed occupational programs used some criteria to determine whether a student was a program completer in at least one of their occupational programs (89 percent) and in all of their programs (77 percent). The most commonly used vocational completer criterion was the passage of specific vocational courses; 75 percent of public secondary schools with listed occupational programs used this criterion in at least one program, while only 17 to 30 percent used each of the remaining criteria in at least one program.

Occupational programs are sometimes linked to a credentialing process, through which students are awarded official documentation that they have completed a program and/or passed a skills test. At the secondary level, potential credentials (other than the high school diploma) are state or industry regulatory exams (resulting in registrations, licenses, or certifications) and occupational skill certificates. The FRSS survey asked whether each occupational program prepared students to earn either of these credentials. Seven percent of public secondary schools with listed occupational programs prepared students in all of their programs to take a state or industry regulatory exam (leading to registration, licensing, or certification), while 41 percent prepared students in at least one of their programs to do so (figure B). Thirty-one percent of public secondary schools with listed occupational programs prepared students in all of their programs to earn an occupational skill certificate, whereas 55 percent prepared students in at least one of their programs to do so.

The PEQIS survey asked less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions whether their occupational programs prepared students to earn various types of educational or occupational credentials. First, the survey asked about two standard academic credentials—associate's degrees and institutional certificates/diplomas. The survey also asked about regulatory credentials—state registrations, licenses, or certificates­and two types of credentials offered by industry, associations, or unions—industry/trade certificates or diplomas, and company certificates (e.g., Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert). About half of less-than-4-year postsecondary institutions that offered at least one listed occupational program offered institutional certificates/diplomas in all of their programs, and 87 percent offered this type of credential for at least one of their programs. Next most common were associate's degrees and state-awarded regulatory credentials (registrations, licenses, or certificates), each offered by about half of these institutions for at least one of their programs. Industry/trade certificates or diplomas were available for at least one program at about one-third of these institutions, and company certificates were offered at about one-fifth of these institutions.

Most program characteristics cited in the FRSS survey, such as offering skill certificates or defining vocational program completion, represent program quality-control structures. These quality-control structures are often related to each other. That is, programs that used one quality-control structure often use another as well. Looking specifically at programs that offered skill certificates, these programs were found to be more likely than those that did not offer skill certificates to use skill competency lists, to have industry input in the development or adoption of their skill competency lists, and to define program completers. In contrast, programs that identified program completers were no more likely than programs that did not identify program completers to use skill competency lists, but they were more likely to involve industry in the development or adoption of competency lists and to offer skill certificates.

Figure B.—Percent of public secondary schools offering listed occupational programs that prepare students to earn an occupational skill certificate or to take a state or industry regulatory exam, by school type: 1999