A project was conducted to obtain information about the effectiveness of the cooperative vocational education method through an examination of evaluations conducted in other states and an analysis of data gathered in South Carolina. The evaluations conducted in other states (reviewed through the literature) provide evidence to support the conclusion that participation in cooperative education programs can provide many benefits to vocational students, such as less employment, faster location of full-time employment after graduation, obtaining jobs related to their field of study, feeling job satisfaction, faster wage increases, higher ratings from employers, and a positive attitude about the cooperative program. Evidence has also been found to indicate that employers who participate in cooperative programs feel that the method is helpful and that participation is beneficial to the participating business as well as to the students. The one effectiveness outcome measured for South Carolina (ratings by employers), gathered from existing data, did not indicate that the participating students received significantly higher employer ratings than did the non-cooperative program students. The ratings for both groups were high, however, and the indication from the South Carolina data is that the cooperative programs and the regular vocational programs are doing an excellent job of training students. It was recommended that cooperative programs include factors which were identified as promoting success; namely, having coordinators who are well trained and competent in relations with employers, having maximum integration of classwork and on-the-job training, securing high quality training stations, having active and involved advisory committees, and hiring coordinators on a ten-month basis. (KC)