Vocational Education Achievement Gap: Evidence From Chile

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: Division H Section 3 Poster Session 1: Perspectives on Assessment in Schools

Abstract

IIn theory, vocational education should equip students with the skills for steady employment after high school. In Chile, this theory is disproved by the fact that only 20% of vocational high school graduates finds a job in their technical field and most of them aspire to go to college. However, vocational students score much lower in college admission tests, which is the main factor considered in admissions to most Chilean colleges and universities. Using latent growth modeling, we obtained the longitudinal achievement trajectories of vocational and college-track students over K-12 education. We found that the vocational achievement gap is already 0.4 to 0.5 SD in Kindergarten and only widens over the schooling years.

Authors

• Paulina Perez Mejias, Johns Hopkins University

• Juan Pablo Queupil, Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez