State Profile For Texas

Data sources used in this profile (MSWord,54Kb)

State Director

Mrs. Karen Batchelor, State Director
Career Technical Education, Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Avenue, 3-121
Austin, TX 78701

CTE Web Site(s) as Applicable

Secondary: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/cte/index.html

Mission

Texas CTE supports and enhances academic and technical educational opportunities for students, including rigorous and relevant career preparation. The vision is for the public education system to recognize the unique needs of a diverse student population, prepare students for college and career success, and prvide students with a quality education that prepares them to be competitive within a global economy.

CTE Statistics

Number of Public High Schools: 1,673
Number of Public High Schools Offering Solely (or primarily) CTE courses: 28
Number of Students in Public High Schools: 1,140,954
Number of Secondary Students Enrolled in CTE: 893,243
Number of Public Community Colleges: 67
Number of Students at Public Community Colleges: 545,103
Number of Postsecondary Students Enrolled in CTE: 344,024
Perkins Funds Received: $104,185,597

CTE Governance Structure

Perkins Eligible Agency: Texas Education Agency
Agency Administering Secondary CTE: Texas Education Agency
Agency Administering Postsecondary CTE: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Programmatic Control For Secondary CTE: State Board of Education
Programmatic Control For Postsecondary CTE: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

CTE Funding

Key: Increased Funding  Small_green_arrow_up    Decreased Funding   Small_red_arrow_down    Funding Maintained   Small_blue_arrow_both
State Secondary Funding: Small_red_arrow_down
State Postsecondary Funding: Small_red_arrow_down
Local Secondary Funding: Small_red_arrow_down
Local Postsecondary Funding: Small_red_arrow_down

State Director Roles and Responsibilities

The State Director has the title of State Director of Career and Technology Education. The Director reports to the Associate Commissioner for Standards and Programs. The Director’s primary areas of responsibility are all CTE programs, which are based on the 16 Career Clusters.

CTE Connections to Secondary Education and High School Reform

Career technical education plays a critical role in high school reform efforts. In Texas, the new state Performance-Based Monitoring System includes academic performance accountability measures for CTE students used to evaluate and monitor program effectiveness. All Texas students are held to the same high NCLB academic standards, including CTE students

Implementation of Career Clusters

Texas believes that Career Clusters are the basis for high school reform and is in the process of transitioning from traditional programs to the 16 career clusters. The state sees Career Clusters as providing the infrastructure for a seamless educational transition between all learner levels. Career Clusters are seen as a tool for academic and career guidance and a way to organize coherent sequences of courses.
In order to effectively implement Career Clusters, Texas has adopted a state policy that supports Career Clusters and has integrated them into the state plan. Texas is using Career Clusters to support seamless transitions between secondary and postsecondary education. The state now requires local Perkins plans to incorporate Career Clusters and all accountability information is to be collected by Career Clusters. Texas is benchmarking existing program standards against Career Cluster knowledge and skill statements.
Several delivery methods are being used to implement and deliver Career Clusters, including small learning communities, career academies, career magnet schools, project Lead The Way, High Schools That Work and Tech-Prep.

Indicators

Secondary Indicators

Indicator Yes/No
Source: CAR Report 2003-4 2004-5
Academic Achievement Small_red_x Small_green_check
Vocational Skills Small_red_x Small_red_x
Diploma Equivalent Degree Credential Small_green_check Small_green_check
Diploma With Proficiency Credential Small_green_check Small_blue_line
Total Placement Small_green_check Small_green_check
Nontraditional Participation Small_red_x Small_green_check
Nontraditional Completion Small_red_x Small_green_check

Post Secondary Indicators

Indicator Yes/No
Source: CAR Report 2003-4 2004-5
Academic Achievement Small_green_check Small_green_check
Vocational Skills Small_green_check Small_green_check
Diploma Equivalent Degree Credential Small_green_check Small_green_check
Total Placement Small_green_check Small_red_x
Retention Small_red_x Small_red_x
Nontraditional Participation Small_red_x Small_red_x
Nontraditional Completion Small_red_x Small_red_x

Key:

  • Small_green_check - Yes
  • Small_red_x - No
  • Small_blue_line - Data unavailable

The data for 2003-2004 in the above chart was taken directly from the Consolidated Annual Reports (CAR Report 2003-04). The CAR is a mandatory fiscal and accountability report submitted by each state to the U.S. Department of Education. It provides performance information on 14 Perkins indicators. A red X means a state did not meet its adjusted level of performance and a green checkmark means that the state did meet its goal.A blue bar in the Secondary Indicators table means that the state does not offer students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and other credential (e.g., a skill certificate) or that the data was not otherwise provided by the state. A blue bar in the Postsecondary Indicators table indicates that the state did not provide data.

The data for 2004-2005 was taken from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, Report to Congress on State Performance, Program Year 2004-05, Washington, D.C., 2007.

Last updated on 08/07/2008