DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Statement by
Patricia W. McNeil
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education
on
Vocational Education
April 24, 1997
Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee
Chairman Jeffords, Senator Kennedy, and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Administration's views on reforming the Federal investment in vocational education. We need a new vision of vocational education if we are going to ensure that students are prepared for the information age of the 21st century. That vision must reflect the rapidly changing demands of our economy and society brought on by new technologies, global competition, and changes in the organization of work. Our vision must reflect the knowledge and skills that workers, citizens and family members will need to be successful in a world that is dramatically different than the one that existed when we got our formal education. In short, we must envision new kinds of schools.
I look forward to working closely with this Committee in a bipartisan effort to reshape the Federal investment in vocational education to meet these challenges. I believe it is important that we think about vocational education as an integral part of our efforts to reform secondary schools and improve postsecondary education.
The debate we are engaged in is not new. A century ago, there was heated debate over how high schools should be changed to reflect the demands of an economy moving from an agrarian base to a manufacturing base. Until that time, children received a common core curriculum of academic subjects; most left school before the end of eighth grade. In 1900, the size of the Nation’s high school graduate class was only about 6.5 percent of the high-school-graduate age population (compared to about 72 percent in 1994).
That system worked for an agrarian economy, but educators, parents, and business and labor leaders felt it was inadequate for the emerging manufacturing economy. Some policy-makers proposed setting up separate vocational education programs to prepare young people for work. Others, most notably John Dewey, urged the integration of academic and vocational instruction so that all students could learn the same academic material, but do so in the context of occupations and other "real world" experiences. The Federal government came down on the side of creating distinct programs of vocational instruction when it passed the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. Eventually, most schools sorted students into "academic" and "vocational" tracks. In the 1920s, many schools added a general track to give students a little bit of both. Although commissions and studies throughout the 20th century have suggested that the Nation's approach to vocational education needs to be reconsidered, most schools and school districts have considered vocational education a separate track designed primarily to prepare students for work.
The question we must confront today is: Is the vocational education policy and practice of the 20th century sufficient for the 21st century? The answer, I believe, is an emphatic NO. As we enter what Peter Drucker calls the "knowledge society," citizens and workers will need a combination of strong academic skills, technical skills, and theoretical knowledge. Individuals also need what have come to be known as the SCANS skills, that is, information analysis, resource allocation, interpersonal skills, and thinking, problem-solving, learning, and communication skills. Brain surgeons, automobile technicians, teachers, parents home-schooling a child -- all need a combination of these skills to participate fully in the information economy. Lester Thurow notes the rapid growth of "brain power" industries such as microelectronics, biotechnology, and telecommunications. He points out that, while natural resources determined economic prowess in the 20th century, "brain power will be the competitive advantage for individuals and firms" in the information age.
These changes are not only being felt in emerging industries. Our traditional manufacturing and service firms are also feeling their impact. There is no more dramatic example than what has taken place than in the automobile industry. In just five model years, from 1990 to 1995, the percentage of the average car’s operating components that were electronic rose from 18 percent to 83 percent. There are about 80 computer chips in our 1997 model cars. If you tinker under the hood of these cars, you are likely to knock out an operating or guidance system costing $300, or much more. Recently, I spoke with a high school student at the dealership where he was in an internship. I asked him what level of math he thought he needed to be a competent auto technician. Without hesitation he replied "algebra 2." His mentor -- a master technician -- noted that an associate’s degree is essential to move up the career ladder in the industry. Even with an AA degree, he needed to return continually to school to acquire new academic, technical, and theoretical knowledge.
With the changing skill demands, many high school graduates are ill-equipped for entry-level jobs. From studying the hiring practices of several modern automobile manufacturing and insurance companies, and comparing the qualifications of entry-level employees to the scores of 17-year olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, authors Frank Levy and Richard Murnane concluded that nearly half of the 17-year olds in the Nation do not have the basic academic skills to get an entry-level job in these firms.
Our students simply are not getting the skills and knowledge they need for the future. No longer can our students succeed with only academic or only technical skills. Students need a combination of academic skills and technical skills, and the ability to keep on learning throughout a lifetime. In the information age, the distinctions between academic and vocational preparation and between college and non-college bound no longer serve us well. This means that high schools and colleges are going to have to produce a new kind of graduate.
Our educational institutions have been trying to respond to the challenge. More students are going to college than ever before, taking advanced placement courses, using computers, and gaining more advanced skills in technical courses. In 1994, 50 percent of all vocational education graduates went on to college. But this is not enough. Our schools and colleges need to change much more rapidly and dramatically in order to close the gap between what they teach, how they teach, and the knowledge and skills our citizens need to be successful in the 21st century.
For these reasons, President Clinton has called for all children reading independently and well by the end of third grade, all students knowing algebra by the end of eighth grade, and all students prepared for and having the resources for college by the age of 18. He has called on States to develop high standards and good assessments, connect schools and students to technology, promote strong and safe schools, and support good teachers in every classroom.
Federal investment has always been an important catalyst for institutional change -- from the Land Grant College Act in 1862 to the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. With the Carl Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990, Congress began to make some changes in vocational education designed to respond to the changing societal and economic conditions. The Act promoted the integration of academic and vocational learning. It required that each State use academic achievement as a measure of success. It encouraged linkages between secondary and postsecondary course work through tech-prep education. It moved away from narrow occupational skills development and emphasized exposing vocational students to all aspects of an industry.
With passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, Congress recognized that every student needs to gain challenging academic skills, have opportunities to explore careers, and learn how skills and knowledge are used in work-related settings through job shadowing, internships, and work-based learning linked to classroom learning. It affirmed that students need safe, supportive learning environments by emphasizing opportunities for youth to work with adult mentors. Far from watering down curricula or narrowing career options, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act envisions high standards, preparation for postsecondary education, awarding of certificates recognizing the skills students achieve, and helping students make smooth transitions from high school to college, from college to careers, or from high school to careers with the skills needed to continue their schooling. Republican and Democratic governors, legislators, and community leaders are recognizing the importance of these ideas in improving schools and helping students gain 21st century skills and knowledge.
Mr. Chairman, you and Secretary Riley saw these concepts in action recently when you visited one of Vermont’s outstanding schools, the Essex Technical Center, in Essex Junction, which received Perkins Act funds and is part of the Lake Champlain school-to-work collaboration. Essex offers a variety of courses that integrate challenging academic and technical skills into students’ projects. It has partnerships with seven colleges to ensure that its students have a wide range of postsecondary education options. It has 180 businesses involved with its students and programs. Secretary Riley told me how impressed he was with his conversations with students in the computer drafting and dental programs and their enthusiasm for learning.
Across the country, vocational education is making a significant contribution to school reform and school-to-work efforts. Because a significant percentage of vocational education State grants, tech-prep activities, and school-to-work activities are in the secondary schools, we have been looking at how communities are using these Federal investments to improve student achievement at the high school level. With the help of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, we identified about 30 schools that we call "new American high schools." They represent the range of public education in the country: large comprehensive high schools, charter schools, restructured vocational-technical centers, career academies, and magnet schools. These schools are committed to high academic standards for every student and to ensuring that all their students have the knowledge and skills to pursue postsecondary education. They provide the opportunity for all students to explore careers, gain technical skills, and do community or work-based learning. They use technology to enhance learning and create safe, supportive learning environments. They also stress parental involvement, have strong business partnerships, and work closely with postsecondary institutions. These schools have seen test scores go up, dropout rates come down, and postsecondary enrollment rates increase significantly.
One of these schools, Fenway Middle College High School in Boston, Massachusetts, is located on the campus of Bunker Hill Community College. Fenway sets challenging academic standards for its students -- 60 percent of whom are eligible for free or reduced priced lunch. Students you meet at Fenway can articulate what is different about their school. They learn about subjects in depth; they have the chance to figure things out for themselves; they see how academic and technical skills are used in the workplace through internships; and they care about what they are learning. They work in groups to solve problems. They create portfolios in their academic subjects that demonstrate mastery of their learning. In their senior year, they make formal presentations and defend their work in each of six subject areas. Throughout their education, they form close relationships with adult mentors at one of the school’s dedicated business partners: CVS Pharmacy, the Boston Museum of Science, and Children’s Hospital. The business partners work hard to provide students work-based and community learning experiences that students are interested in. For example, students working with CVS may be interested in pharmacy, but they may also explore the retail, management, or accounting functions within the company. The purpose of these experiences is not to train students for jobs, but rather to enhance learning and expose them to a broad range of opportunities. Fenway’s daily attendance rate is 95 percent, and 85 percent of its graduates go on to college.
At the postsecondary level, community and technical colleges serve a broad range of students: students who are still in high school, recent high school graduates, college graduates returning for some specific technical skills, adult workers returning for retraining, welfare recipients, and adults with limited basic skills trying to get a foot on the economic ladder. Community colleges are revamping their curriculum and teaching methods, and building strong partnerships with high schools, business leaders, economic development agencies, and social service entities. They, too, are redesigning vocational education to respond to the needs of the information age.
So how can the Federal investment support a new vision of vocational education? We believe it is important to align vocational education with education improvement efforts in secondary schools and postsecondary institutions. Federal investments can help to ensure that secondary students (1) have opportunities to learn about and explore careers and obtain the skills and knowledge needed to pursue them; (2) gain computer and other technical skills, (3) have access to up-to-date equipment in school and through work-based learning experiences, and (4) make smooth transitions to college and careers. Federal investment can ensure that college students (1) gain advanced technical skills and academic knowledge, (2) are prepared for careers, and (3) can make transitions to degree programs in four-year colleges and universities.
We believe there is considerable agreement around certain core principles for reform of vocational education legislation:
·330·Dramatically reduce the number of separate programs and set-asides.·330
·330·Provide States and schools with more flexibility by providing for waivers and eliminating prescriptive provisions.·330
·330·Promote high standards for learner achievement, including both academic and technical skills achievement.·330
·330·Promote program quality by establishing quality-based priorities for program funding.·330
·330·Include strong accountability provisions and a system of performance goals and indicators using common definitions developed collaboratively with States.·330
·330·Target funds to States and local areas with the greatest need.·330
·330·Promote strong partnerships among business, secondary and postsecondary institutions, and workforce and economic development systems.·330
·330·Support and become part of education reform and improvement efforts.·330
·330·Support the integration of vocational education in the school-to-work framework.·330
Streamlining and flexibility
Our proposal would consolidate the many existing Perkins Act programs. Under our proposed State grant program, States could continue many activities authorized under current law, such as programs for displaced homemakers and programs for incarcerated youth.
Opportunities for program quality
Our proposal would establish program priorities to focus Federal support on program quality. The bill would require States and local recipients, in making decisions about grants and services, to give priority to programs that have the characteristics that lead to quality results for students. These characteristics include ensuring that all students have the opportunity to develop a combination of strong basic and advanced academic skills; computer and other technical skills; theoretical knowledge; and communications, problem-solving and teamwork skills. They include promoting the integration of academic and vocational education; providing students with experiences in all aspects of industries; and linking secondary and postsecondary education.They include providing students with opportunities for internships and other work-related experiences linked to classroom learning; providing career guidance and counseling, and offering support services, such as adult mentoring opportunities, tutoring and adaptive equipment to help students succeed. Priority would also go to those that build strong partnerships with employers; use technology to enhance learning; and link career preparation to education reform efforts, school-to-work opportunities systems, workforce development, and welfare reform efforts.
Accountability
In response to the 1990 amendments to the Perkins Act, States have created and implemented State-based performance standards for their vocational education programs. At this time, the content of these performance systems, and how States use them to improve program quality, widely vary. The Department has begun working with the States to establish core indicators of performance. Our proposal would build on the current State efforts to build performance management systems. It would require the identification of program goals and expected levels of performance. The Secretary would work with the States and other stakeholders to develop common core indicators. States would establish challenging goals for improvement, which would be considered by the Secretary in the State plan approval process and in determining the Department’s progress toward its goals established pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act.
We propose to increase the use of this information to improve program quality by authorizing States to work with or sanction its grantees that do not meet their performance objectives, as well as allowing them to use State leadership funds for performance incentive grants to local programs that provide exemplary services. Our proposal would authorize the Secretary to work with or sanction poor-performing States and to make awards for national excellence to States that provide exemplary services.
Formulas and financing
As school enrollments increase, the Department believes it is critical to ensure that education programs receive sufficient funding and that Federal funds are effectively targeted. Our proposal would authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1998 at the level requested in the President’s budget, including $1 billion for the State grant and $105 million for tech-prep education.
To get funds to where they are needed most, we propose using a formula to distribute basic grant funds to States, based on population and State income, and to require States to distribute funds to local communities and institutions based on specified formulas. While our proposal would provide States some flexibility in how they allocate funds to local areas, we believe that there is a strong Federal interest in promoting equity that makes it necessary for States to take into account the enrollments and poverty in local areas when distributing Federal funds.
To further ensure that States can effectively meet their responsibilities for this program, our proposal would continue to allow States to retain a small percentage of their grants for State leadership activities, such as professional development, curriculum development and dissemination, career guidance and counseling for students, educational technology, and supporting vocational student organizations. These State leadership activities are the source of innovation and improvements in vocational education and allow States to coordinate their vocational education strategies with other education and training initiatives.
National activities
Investments in research, development, technical assistance, and evaluation at the national level have historically been extremely important. The Perkins Act, however, authorizes many very narrow and specific national programs, most of which have never been funded. Our proposal would streamline the national programs authority and create the flexibility to address new issues as they arise. Our proposal would continue to authorize a Center for research on education and careers. It would authorize a new assessment of how secondary and postsecondary schools are preparing students with the academic and technical and related skills needed for the 21st century. The balance of our national activities will support strategic investments to improve student achievement at the secondary and postsecondary level, including investments in professional development, improvements in curriculum and assessment at the local level, innovations in career information and guidance, student support services, and the use of technology to enhance learning. The development of effective performance management systems, building strong partnerships between schools and business, between secondary and postsecondary schools, and among parents, students and schools, as well as support for comprehensive high school and community college reform efforts are other areas we support.
Again, I look forward to working with you and your colleagues on legislation that will take vocational education into the 21st century. I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.