A study examined postsecondary vocational education at Minnesota's area vocational-technical institutes (AVTIs). During the study, researchers evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of approximately 800 vocational programs offered by the AVTIs with respect to student and teacher ratios, program duplication, completion rates, placement rates, and wages. In reviewing student and teacher ratios, the researchers concluded that the existing ratio remains approximately 8 percent below what the AVTI system should be expected to achieve. The researchers found a significant amount of program duplication or overlap in public postsecondary vocational education, with 60 percent of the AVTI programs and 49 percent of community college programs operating within 65 miles of at least one similar program. Although most AVTI programs appeared to have a satisfactory completion rate, nearly one-fifth of them had a dropout rate of 50 percent or more during a recent 2-year period. Similarly, while most AVTI programs have been quite successful in placing students in related jobs, up to one-fourth of the programs had problems with related placement rates that merit close attention. Examination of the available data dealing with the earnings of individuals with high school versus postsecondary vocational training raises questions about the common conception that graduates of postsecondary vocational programs earn more than their counterparts from high school programs. Overall, it was estimated that between 40 and 50 percent of the AVTI programs examined have had at least one problem in the areas discussed above. (MN)