The No Child Left Behind Act Career Act's requirement that 100% of students in nine subgroups achieve proficiency in their academic requirements is once again placing career and technical education (CTE) at risk of decreasing student enrollments. If CTE is to remain a viable program in secondary schools, it is essential that CTE leaders and educators be able to prove that CTE contributes not just to the applied workplace competency demands of business but also to the academic proficiencies of its served student populations on state academic tests. The International Center for Leadership in Education has established that successful CTE programs pass through the following stages in moving toward models heavily focused on raising students' academic performance: (1) developing a clear, shared understanding among teachers, administrators, board members, and the general public as to why schools need to raise the academic standards for all students; (2) using data to determine instructional priorities; and (3) determining how to improve students' academic performance through CTE. CTE leaders and educators must continue to find meaningful new ways to equip students with the competencies required for employment and to develop and reinforce the academic standards that are tested on state assessments by embedding and reinforcing them in CTE courses. (Lists 5 resources.) (MN)