English Learners, CTE Participation, and Credential Attainment in Ohio

• In Event: Evaluating Equity, Access, and Outcomes in Workforce and Technical Education

Abstract

Introduction
CTE has re-emerged as a key policy strategy linking secondary education to workforce development. Under Perkins V, this includes expanding access for special populations, including English learners (ELs). High-quality CTE can improve completion, early labor market outcomes, and credential attainment, while concentration and industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) mark sustained participation and labor market value. In Ohio, these measures also matter for accountability and graduation. Yet little is known about whether EL students’ access and benefit from CTE at rates comparable to non-EL peers. Examining enrollment, concentration, and credential attainment can show whether CTE expands opportunity or reproduces stratification.
Purpose/Research Question
This study is motivated by concerns about equity, accountability, and how career-readiness investments are distributed, in addition to questions about academic and workforce outcomes.RQ1: Are EL students more or less likely than non-EL students to enroll in at least one CTE course?RQ2: Among CTE participants, are EL students more or less likely than non-EL students to become concentrators?RQ3: Among CTE concentrators, are EL students more or less likely than non-EL students to earn an industry-recognized credential?DataWe use quantitative statewide longitudinal administrative data from Ohio, 2015-2022, linking student records, CTE course-taking files, and credential records. With observational data, our analysis focuses on identifying patterns and adjusted associations rather than making causal claims about the effects of CTE participation.
Outcome: CTE participation, CTE concentration, IRC attainment.
Control variables: Gender, race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, disability status.
Research Design and Methods
The analysis proceeds in three stages. First, we examine whether EL differ from non-EL students in the likelihood of enrolling in at least one CTE course. This analysis is conducted on the full sample using a binary indicator for any CTE participation as the outcome; Second, we restrict the sample to students who enrolled in at least one CTE course and estimate whether EL students are more or less likely to become CTE concentrators; Third, among CTE concentrators, we estimate whether EL students are less likely to earn an IRC or IWIP and, among IRC earners, whether they are less likely to earn an IWIP.
Preliminary Results and Conclusions
Preliminary results indicate meaningful differences across the CTE pipeline for EL students in Ohio. EL students were less likely to enroll in CTE course and were also less likely to become CTE concentrators. However, among CTE concentrators, EL were slightly more likely to earn IRC. There are several implications of this study. First, EL students’ lower CTE enrollment suggests inequities in access, a key concern under Perkins V, which identifies ELs as a special population. Districts should examine whether advising, recruitment, placement, schedules, and prerequisites limit entry. Second, lower rates of concentration indicate that the challenge is not only access but persistence, meaning accountability systems focused on end-point outcomes may miss earlier inequality in the pipeline. Third, EL concentrators’ slightly higher IRC attainment suggests that, once given access, EL students can benefit from CTE. Our next step is to examine academic performance to assess sorting, trajectories, and academic tradeoffs or benefits.

Author

• HAOFEI LI, The Ohio State University
  Presenting Author