DEPTH OVER BREADTH: The Value of Vocational Education in U.S. High Schools

Taking upper-level career and technical education (CTE) classes in high school can pay off with higher wages for students who do not attend college. This article highlights research that examines the relationship between taking CTE coursework and high school graduates' success in college or the workforce. The authors' study, making use of a nationally representative sample of early-career Americans, shows that students tend to enroll in vocational classes based on whether such options are available to them, suggesting that the commonly held belief that marginal students are funneled into such classes is untrue. Further, they find that not all vocational classes are equal: students earn about 2 per cent more annually for each advanced or upper-level vocational class they take but enjoy no wage premium for having completed lower-level or introductory vocational study. In terms of college enrollment, while lower-level vocational courses may deter marginal students from college, they have no impact on net graduation rates; advanced courses at worst do no harm.