Information on effective policies/practices for assessing student performance in Texas' tech prep programs was gathered and disseminated during a project involving the following activities: formation of an advisory committee to oversee the data collection/analysis and product development processes; compilation/review of performance assessment…

The 1996 hearing of the Minnesota State Council on Vocational Technical Education included testimony from 13 individuals representing state agencies, local education agencies, professional and public policy organizations, and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Testimony indicated that secondary and postsecondary vocational and technical…

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report challenged schools, parents, and businesses to help all students develop competencies in the basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities required for work in the current and future workplace. In response to this challenge, vocational-technical programs were…

Tech Prep is currently in practice in over 1,000 consortia and 5,700 schools nationwide. The skills required for employment in the future require schools to forgo traditional classroom and learning methods to implement courses where content is allied with real world living and working. However, concerns that community colleges have failed to…

A study identified and ranked those factors which facilitate and those which impede the linkage between technology education and tech prep. The top four states with regard to integration of technology education and tech prep were Illinois, South Carolina, Oregon, and Idaho. Factors that facilitated integration were as follows: technology…

A survey of the state directors of vocational education was conducted to determine the current state of entrepreneurship education through vocational education in the United States. A total of 39 states and territories responded to the questionnaire about their involvement in entrepreneurship. Findings were as follows: entrepreneurship was part of…

This manual was prepared as a resource for administrators, faculty, university counselors, and independent school districts in developing and reviewing articulation agreements and tech prep programs. Chapter 1 is the introduction to the program. The chapters that follow are: (2) benefits derived from articulation; (3) types of articulation,…

Career pathways align vocational and academic education within career clusters and provide students new options from grades 9-14. They must have the following elements: industry breadth and depth; opportunities for many populations; career options at entry, technical, and professional levels; and alternative delivery options and academic and…

Discusses the development and trends of the "Shadow College," a flexible and responsive set of programming options that exists at the periphery of most two-year institutions. Reviews the Shadow College's relationship to regular collegiate programs and offers guidelines for evaluation of this alternative educational system's…

Discusses the development of the South Carolina Technical College System in the 1960s to help draw industry to the state. Describes the System's Innovative Technical Training initiative to infuse high technology into curricula, the Access and Equity Program, tech prep and school-to-work initiatives, and distance learning. (10 citations) (AJL)

The societal effects of rapidly changing technologies signal the need for an educational system combining the best in vocational and academic learning. Career paths join a liberal arts academic core with hands-on technological options. A New Hampshire high school's tech-prep/school-to-work partnership with local higher education institutions and a…

Reviews the implementation of the Tech Prep Associate Degree Program in Ohio. Discusses six components of the state's approach to establishing Tech Prep, the program's current status, and linkages with other state and national education reform efforts. Suggests that strong state leadership and the active participation of postsecondary institutions…

Reviews the Boeing Tech Prep Program, an associate degree program combining high school and community college vocational and academic curricula. Describes the three phases of the program's development: the provision of seed grants to schools, the development of an associate degree program, and the institution of an internship program. (MAB)

Tech prep offers students a well articulated, rigorous course of study from the last two years of high school through at least a two-year (2+2) college degree, directed toward learning for and about technologically focused careers. Tech prep provides opportunities for more students to make the transition from high school to college. (Contains 25…

Examines the status of Tech Prep in the North Carolina Community College System and compares the attitudes of senior administrators and faculty toward Tech Prep programs. Discusses four research questions regarding college and faculty involvement in Tech Prep and finds that, in most cases, it has not yet made substantial changes within community…