Career and Technical Education and Work-based Learning: a Meta-analysis and Current Research in Three States

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This proposed panel includes research on career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning (WBL) conducted by four separate study teams from various institutions connected by the federally funded CTE Research Network (www.cteresearchnetwork.org). As an educational strategy, career and technical education has a long history of bipartisan support and federal and state funding toward CTE programs has continuously increased in recent years. The CTE Research Network seeks to ensure that public investment is well-informed by increasing the number of rigorous studies of CTE and strengthening the capacity of the field to conduct and use CTE research to ensure programs are robust and leading to positive student outcomes. In 2024, the Network published a systematic review and meta-analysis of causal CTE research from the last twenty years, demonstrating significant, positive impacts on student outcomes, including academic achievement, high school completion, employability skills, college readiness, 2-year college enrollment, and employment after high school. Work-based learning, from career exploration to immersive experiences such as internships and apprenticeships, is often a core component of CTE programs, along with coursework geared toward a group of occupations or a career cluster and other activities such as Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) participation and student supports.

For the last year and a half, research teams working with school systems in Delaware, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles have been studying the landscape of career development opportunities and planning rigorous studies to assess their impact on student outcomes. Aligned to the theme of APPAM 2026 – 50 states, 50 systems: State Policy Variations and Impacts – CTE and within it, WBL, are implemented in a variety of system-dependent ways. Implementation impacts student knowledge of and access to opportunities and the extent to which students are able to take advantage of the opportunities and excel, as demonstrated by their high school and postsecondary success. This panel will highlight findings to date from three study teams (Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles), as well as another meta-analysis from the CTE Research Network focused exclusively on work-based learning research across K-12, postsecondary, and adult populations over a 20-year period, set to be published in May 2026. The teams will share their exploratory findings and discuss how they plan to approach their impact studies. Overall, the session will provide valuable considerations for any attending researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers implementing or studying CTE and WBL programs.

Policy Area

• Education

Chair

• Kelly A Reese, American Institutes for Research

Discussants

• Shaun M Dougherty, Boston College

• Katherine Shields, Education Development Center

Organizer

• Kelly A Reese, American Institutes for Research

Individual Presentations

• Access, Participation, and Preparation: An Overview of Career Development Opportunities in Baltimore City Public Schools - Presenting Author: Jay Plasman, Johns Hopkins University

• Landscape of Career and Technical Education in Los Angeles Unified School District - Presenting Author: Miya Tamiko Warner, SRI; Non-Presenting Co-Author: THOMAS KELLEY-KEMPLE, SRI International

• The Landscape of Career Development Opportunities in DC Public Schools - Presenting Author: Dara Zeehandelaar Shaw, Urban Institute

• A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Work-Based Learning Studies - Presenting Author: Kristin Kelley, American Institutes for Research