Stating the case for CTE in AZ: in Arizona, academic success is making a solid case for career and technical education in the 21st century high school.(Reinventing America's High Schools)(Association for Career and Technical Education)

When ACTE issued its position paper, Reinventing the American High School for the 21st Century, it contained much good news about career and technical education (CTE). One of those "good news" items was about integrating academic standards into CTE courses in Arizona.

According to the "Career and Technical Education 2004 Data Snapshot," compiled by the Career and Technical Division of the Arizona Department of Education, in 2004, CTE high school graduates who took two or more Carnegie units in an occupational program area outperformed the general high school student population taking all three of Arizona's highstakes academic tests known as AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards).

On the AIMS reading test, 65.89 percent of CTE concentrators met or exceeded the standard, as compared to 49 percent of the general high school population. On the writing test, 72.66 percent of the Arizona CTE concentrators met or exceeded the standard, while for the general population it was 54 percent. On the math test, 40.28 percent of CTE concentrators met or exceeded the standard. For the general high school population, the number was 31 percent.

An article that appeared in the Arizona Capitol Times in January 2005 also noted the good news about CTE in the state--including the fact that, in 2003, more than 90 percent of CTE students in the state graduated in four years, compared to 72.7 percent of the general student population.

During 2003-2005, Arizona conducted a comprehensive adaptation and update of its 36 CTE programs. Through this process, all programs…