Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 1

Outcomes

Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary
Outcomes

Ashley Shultz

Chadron State College

Fall, 2020
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 2
Outcomes

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to compare the college and career readiness of students who were

enrolled in Career Academy Models to a matched sample of students who were enrolled in a

traditional high school model on five key areas: 1. Academic knowledge, 2. Critical thinking, 3.

Collaboration and communication, 4. Readiness behaviors (such as grit, resilience, and

perseverance), and 5. Citizenship and community involvement. Potential results show that

students enrolled in Career Academy Models score higher overall than students in a traditional

model in the areas of academic knowledge, critical thinking, and collaboration and

communication, while traditional high school model students tended to be higher in readiness

behaviors and citizenship and community involvement.

Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 3
Outcomes

Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary
Outcomes

While the desire to educate students in the United States today has not changed, the ways in

which some schools educate students looks dramatically different than 5, 10, or even 20 years

ago. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are over 23,000 public high schools

in the U.S. today.1 Because each state has their own departments of education, curriculum,

standards, and ways of doing things, schools can look different from one state to the next. One

approach that came out of Philadelphia in the 1960’s in response to a drop out crisis was the

Career Academy Model (CAM). According to the National Career Academy Coalition, the

career academy model contains three major components “A small learning community (SLC), a

college-prep sequential curriculum with a career theme, and an advisory board that forges

partnerships with employers, higher education institutions, and the community.” 2 Traditionally

these CAM schools focus on making learning hands on and relevant to potential careers by

creating team teaching opportunities between Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers

and core teachers. Many times students within CAM schools also have the opportunity to

partner with local community employers as well as collaborate with post secondary schools.

Compare this model to the Traditional High School model in which students are taught using

college preparatory standards and materials3 often through repetition and recall teaching

methods. With over 7,000 CAM schools nationwide (National Career Academy Coalition, 2019),

there is a greater demand to see if this is a method school districts should begin to implement or

if traditional high schools still create a college and career ready student. For this study, the

1
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Digest of Education
Statistics, 2018 (NCES 2020-009). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84
2
National Career Academy Coalition. 2019. About Career Academies.
https://www.ncacinc.com/nsop/academies
3
National Career Academy Coalition. 2019. About the National Standards of Practice.
https://www.ncacinc.com/nsop/about
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 4
Outcomes
focus will be on Career Academy Models found throughout the U.S. and their impact on both

college and career readiness of students.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to determine whether students enrolled in career academy models

make a more successful transition to post-secondary education or careers than those in a

traditional high school model. According to the American Institute for Research, five major

themes develop when looking at state definitions of college and career readiness (CCR): 1.

Academic knowledge, 2. Critical thinking, 3. Collaboration and communication, 4. Readiness

behaviors (such as grit, resilience, and perseverance), and 5. Citizenship and community

involvement.4 This study will reveal if students are achieving those five CCR standards and

whether students who attended CAM schools obtained these at a higher rate than their

traditional high school counterparts.

Literature Review
While the career academy model has been around since the 1960’s, it has not been widely used

by many school districts until more recently. According to the Manpower Demonstration

Research Corporation (MDRC), the career academy model is in roughly 8,000 high schools

across the country, but most of those only enroll between 30-60 students within their

academies.5 Current existing literature primarily focuses on single case studies of schools with

career academies and the outcomes of that school.

One of the earliest studies on career academy models actually focused on whether the

academy model would translate to success for employers. Linnehan (1996) found “that an

4
Mishkind, A. (2014). Overview: State Definitions of College and Career Readiness. American Institute
for Research. https://ccrscenter.org/sites/default/files/CCRS%20Defintions%20Brief_REV_1.pdf
5
MDRC. (2010). Career Academies: Exploring College and Career Options.
http://www.mdrc.org/project_29_1.html.
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 5
Outcomes
investment in an academy program may pay off for an employer, specifically by leading to better

work attendance and job performance for program graduates, relative to the same work

behaviors of those who did not graduate from the academy program” (Linnehan, 1996). In

testing the hypothesis “participation in a career academy program will have a direct, positive

effect on job performance and attendance” (Linnehan, 1996), a questionnaire sent to the

employee about their perceived behavior in the areas of job performance and work attendance

was used. A transcript that included grades and attendance was also used. One of the

potential issues with validity is that the questionnaires were filled out by employees rather than

employers with regards to workplace performance and attendance. This study also does more

to reassure companies that investing in schools is a worthwhile effort, than encouraging schools

to transform their buildings and educational practices.

In 2002, a study titled “High school career academies and post secondary outcomes” by Rubin

and Maxwell focused on long term data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS).

in comparing vocational programs and traditional high school programs. The results concluded

that overall, “students from career academies have a marginal probability of attending college

equal to that of students from the academic program” (Maxwell & Rubin, 2002). Maxwell and

Rubin go on to show that “students from career academy programs are more likely to continue

education and to believe that their high school provided them with more education and

workplace skills as compared with students from the general program” (Maxwell & Rubin, 2002).

Of interest though, is that it seems the career academy model may have a less positive impact

on males, Latinos, and English Language Learners. The authors do note the drawback of this

study is the ability to analyze why those trends exist.

In a study titled “Career Academies: A Proven Strategy to Prepare High School Students for

College and Careers” researcher suggests that participation in these academies leads to better

attendance rates, higher graduation rates, and lower overall dropout rates than the past (Stern

et al., 2010) This is due to the fact that curriculum is often more meaningful and relevant to the
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 6
Outcomes
student than in a traditional high school. Another component in many Career Academy Model

schools is a smaller learning environment which “enables students and teachers to form the

more personal and caring relationships” (Stern et al., 2010, 29). One note of concern though is

how schools begin to implement CAM within their schools. Schools that select students for

certain career pathways may only be recruiting the top percentage of students, while schools

that look to implement a CAM in which all students are required to choose a pathway, may

overwhelm the community support needed to create an effective program (Stern, 31.).

Hypothesis

Education trends have changed from making students memorize and recall information to

creating a personalized learning center where students learn through project based learning,

how to collaborate with peers, and focus on both college and career readiness. One major

model has emerged in creating focused Career Academy Models(CAM) versus traditional high

school education. The following hypothesis will be tested:

H1: Students who participate in a Career Academy Model will have an increased positive

effect in the five major college and career readiness standards compared to students

who participate in a traditional high school education.

Methodology

Participants for this study would theoretically compare students from CAM and traditional high

school models from around the United States. The actual sample for this study included

graduated seniors from one of two high schools in a Nebraska city of approximately 51,000

residents. The student body at CAM High School A is diverse, comprising approximately 56%

Hispanic, 36% Caucasian, 5 % African American and 2% identifying more than one ethnicity.

High School A also has a 68% free and reduced lunch population. Global students, those who

have chosen not to identify a particular career pathway, will be excluded from the study.
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 7
Outcomes
The student body at traditional High School B has populations of 13% Hispanic, 83%

Caucasian, >1% African American, and 2% identifying more than one ethnicity. High School B’s

free and reduced population is 26%. Because these two high schools are neighboring, some

students from High School B attend Career Technical Education (CTE) courses at High School

A. Those students will be excluded from this study. Stratified sampling will be used to identify

50 students from each High School that are similar to the student body at that high school.

Participants will be divided into subgroups and then randomly selected to participate in the

study.

A pilot survey will be given to 20 junior students at each of the high schools to test the validity as

well as the readability of the questions. A cover letter will be sent to principals of each of the

high schools to describe the purpose of this research. This digital cross sectional survey will be

given to all senior students at both High School A and B within their last month of high school.

Because the state of Nebraska requires all seniors to take an English credit, it will be distributed

there to make sure that each student only submits one survey. Surveys will be collected

anonymously, aside from information about their gender and ethnicity. Because of the large

sample size, there could be potential challenges to identifying if the school type was the

variable, or additional variables outside of school control. Additionally, as the survey is a self

created instrument, validity could be questioned. The pilot study should take care of some of

the issues, but it will be important that the questions on the survey relate directly to the

hypothesis. Another potential shortcoming is that because students are just graduating, they

may not have as much idea of how the school has prepared them for post secondary life.

Ideally, a follow up survey would be sent to students 5 years later to compare results.
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 8
Outcomes
Time Schedule & Budget

August - September: Create cover letter and pilot survey

October-December: Pilot study given to junior students (October). Survey questions and data

analyzed for validity and reliability.

January: Schools contacted and cover letters sent.

May: Survey given to students near the end of their senior year.

June: Data analyzed.

Budget Items: Paper copies of cover letters sent to high school principals and surveys given to

students.

Data Analysis

In analyzing the data of the survey, it must be considered whether to use a parametric or

non-parametric test. Many of the likert type scale questions will be easily able to be converted

into numerical data and therefore a parametric test will be used. A t test will be used to analyze

data from the survey with relation to gender and ethnicity. This will determine if there is

statistical significance between those two variables. The statistical significance will be set at .05

to avoid errors. Type I error would be the most common form of error that could result from the

data. While efforts to avoid type I error were taken (random sampling, population size), there

are multiple variables in either type of educational setting that could lead to this error.

College & Career Readiness Survey

Demographic Information
For each question, place an X beside the choice that best describes you.

1. What is your gender?

___ Male
___ Female
___ Non-Binary / Third Gender

2. What is your race/ethnicity? (Select all that apply)

___ American Indian or Alaskan Native
 Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary 9
Outcomes
___ Asian
___ Black or African American
___ Hispanic or Latino
___ Middle Eastern or North African
___ Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
___ White

Beliefs and Attitudes on College and Career Readiness Skills

Read each statement and circle whether you Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), are Uncertain (U),
Disagree (D), or Strongly Disagree (SD) as it relates to your education.

Academic Knowledge Questions

3. My high school has adequately prepared me in the area of English/Language Arts SA A U D SD
4. My high school has adequately prepared me in the area of mathematics SA A U D SD
5. My high school has adequately prepared me in the area of social studies SA A U D SD
6. My high school has adequately prepared me in the area of science SA A U D SD
7. My core classes make connections between content and future careers SA A U D SD
8. My high school has given me exposure to a career I am interested in SA A U D SD
9. I feel prepared to enter into a trade school program, 2 year college or 4 year college SA A U D SD

Critical Thinking Questions

10. My high school has given me the tools I need to know how to problem solve SA A U D SD
11. I am able to collect accurate information on an issue or problem SA A U D SD
12. I am able to analyze a problem and work out potential solutions SA A U D SD
13. My high school has given me the tools to be a creative thinker SA A U D SD

Communication & Collaboration Questions

14. My school has given me the tools I need to communicate through writing SA A U D SD
15. My school has given me the tools I need to communicate verbally with others SA A U D SD
16. I am able to meet deadlines that have been created SA A U D SD
17. I am able to accept feedback (positive or negative) about my role on a team SA A U D SD
18. I feel prepared to lead a group activity or project SA A U D SD

Readiness Behavior Questions

19. My school has given me the tools I need to know how to preserve in tough situations. SA A U D SD
20. I am passionate about my future career SA A U D SD

Citizenship & Community Involvement

21. My school has given me the tools to join community events in my chosen profession SA A U D SD
 Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary
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22. My school has adequately prepared me to be involved as a citizen in a community SA A U D SD

Results

Results of this study will likely show that there is not enough difference between the two groups

to show that CAM schools will prepare students better than traditional models. Results will be

listed both in table format and narrative to explain the tables. Initially the five college and career

standards were chosen to create specific questions about the types of schooling. Upon further

inspection, the five standards are quite vague and may not look different between the two types

of schools. In reflecting upon the research process, this question might have been better suited

for a longitudinal study in which students would be surveyed multiple times throughout their life

after high school, or even a case study in which a student from a CAM school was interviewed

throughout their high school and post secondary career to explain the benefits of that model.
Career Academy Models and Traditional High School: A Comparison of Post Secondary
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References

Linnehan, F. (1996). Measuring the Effectiveness of a Career Academy Program from an Employer's
Perspective. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 18(1), 73–89.

Maxwell, N.L., & Rubin, V. (2002). High school career academies and post secondary outcomes.
Economics of Education Review, 21(2), 137-152.

MDRC. (2010). Career Academies: Exploring College and Career Options.

http://www.mdrc.org/project_29_1.html.

Mishkind, A. (2014). Overview: State Definitions of College and Career Readiness. American Institute for
Research. https://ccrscenter.org/sites/default/files/CCRS%20Defintions%20Brief_REV_1.pdf

National Career Academy Coalition. 2019. About Career Academies.

https://www.ncacinc.com/nsop/academies

National Career Academy Coalition. 2019. About the National Standards of Practice.
https://www.ncacinc.com/nsop/about

Stern, D., Dayton, C., & Raby, M. (2010). Career academies: A proven strategy to prepare high school
students for college and careers. University of California, Berkeley: Career Academy Support Network.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Digest of Education
Statistics, 2018 (NCES 2020-009). https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84