Teacher and student behaviors in the classroom have been linked to student achievement. The hands-on, real world experiences which students are offered through career and technical education courses provide an opportunity for agricultural education to make contributions to student achievement. The purpose of this study was to compare engaged time during traditional instruction and during the instruction of an inquiry based curriculum (CASE [Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education]). The target population for this study consisted of students enrolled in animal science courses taught by secondary agriculture teachers. The study employed a quasi-experimental, static-group comparison design. Nine CASE certified teachers represented the treatment group, which were matched with nine traditional agriculture teachers on selected criteria. Student engagement was measured using the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools. Matched pairs t-tests were used to compare the CASE group and the traditional group on student engagement. Students in the CASE group were found to spend significantly more time actively engaged than those in traditional agriculture courses. From the findings it was concluded that the CASE curriculum and professional development can impact the active engagement of students in the classroom and potentially affect student achievement.