Does CTE create opportunities for students that school systems cannot fulfill otherwise? Existing research on this question is thin. Federal law as well as state and local education agencies are investing in new and expanded CTE models without a clear understanding of whether and how career-focused education translates into success in the labor market.

This report is an early contribution to the work of the Career and Technical Education Policy Exchange (CTEx) at Georgia State University. CTEx is a partnership between state education agencies and academic researchers in Tennessee, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The overarching goal of this research lab is to build up the foundation of research on career and technical education in public schools to inform policy and practice related to CTE. As a starting point, the CTEx Tennessee team took a close look at the college and career outcomes of CTE concentrators from the graduating classes of 2010-16. Some of the statistics to follow can be found in earlier state reports, and some are new to the discussion.