Does the Timing of Earning an Industry Certification in High School Influence Postsecondary Outcomes?

• In Event: Career and Technical Education SIG Paper Session: Career and Technical Education Student Persistence, Completion, and Outcomes

Abstract

Earning industry certifications helps people prepare for jobs in a range of careers. Doing so in secondary school may help students prepare for college. Using administrative data on two cohorts of first-time ninth graders from Florida, we examined whether earning a certification was associated with postsecondary enrollment and degree attainment and whether the timing of the certification influenced that relationship. Earning a certification in high school prepared students for success in both 2 and 4-year colleges. However, the patterns of certifications and college enrollment and degree attainment differed based on when students earned the certification. For early earners the certification was more of a pathway to 4-year college; for later earners, the certification was a pathway to 2-year college.

Authors

• Elizabeth J. Glennie, RTI International
  Presenting Author

• Benjamin W. Dalton, RTI International
  Non-Presenting Author

• Roger Studley, RTI International
  Non-Presenting Author

• Erich Lauff
  Non-Presenting Author