Evaluating Long-Term Effects of Secondary Career and Technical Education Concentration on Postsecondary and Wage Outcomes

• In Event: Career and Technical Education Student Outcomes

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of secondary CTE concentration on postsecondary enrollment, earnings and their long-term patterns. Using the nationally representative NLSY97 cohort and AIPW matching model, we compare CTE concentrators to non-concentrators over a 20-year follow-up. The paper finds that CTE concentrators are more likely to enroll in and complete two-year colleges, earn a persistent wage premium—early in their careers and for male students—and that the initial four-year college enrollment penalty dissipates over time. These results provide evidence of college enrollment effects and wage premium effects in the longer term. The paper suggests that policymakers should provide flexible pathways for lifelong learning and target support to close gender gaps in CTE pathways.

Author

• Zhonghan Xie, University of Michigan