The status of Iowa’s CTE programs highlighted in annual report

DES MOINES - A recent report released by the Iowa Department of Education shows that career and technical education continues to make impressive strides in Iowa. The Annual Condition of Secondary Career and Technical (CTE) report highlights trends in courses and programs and provides data and informative details on enrollment, student characteristics and program instructors.

The report also provides an overview of implementing high-quality CTE programs in the four areas of focused policy interest: career and technical student organizations, career and academic planning, work-based learning programs and regional centers. Details from the report will help continue the alignment of House File 2392, a policy framework to provide access to equitable secondary CTE programs, with the implementation of the Perkins V State Plan, which is committed to providing all students with real-world learning experiences.

'This report shows the tremendous growth that we've seen in career and technical education across the state and how vital the programs are for communities,' said Jeremy Varner, administrator for the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation. 'CTE programs provide junior high and high school students with hands-on training and education in career fields that are in high-demand while also providing Iowa communities with a more highly skilled workforce.'

As featured in the report, notable data highlights from academic year 2020 (AY20) included:
Number of CTE courses: 9,027 CTE courses were offered in AY20, up 1.4 percent from last year.

Most growth: Information Solutions was the CTE program with the most growth, up 16.5 percent from last year with a total of 83 programs. Applied Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing provided the largest number of programs with 595.

Increase in participation: CTE participation has risen by 3,018 students, a 3.1 percent increase. This tracked with an increase in participation in college credit contracted courses, which saw a 3.3 percent increase of 618 students.

Enrollment in three or more courses: The number of students taking three or more CTE courses has risen to an all-time high of 17.4 percent of all enrollees.

Students: Male students and ninth graders represented the majority of CTE enrollment. Female students and high school seniors represented the majority of work-based learning enrollment.

Highest enrollment: Human services was the CTE service area with the highest enrollment.

Demographics: Of all secondary CTE students, 55 percent were male and 45 percent were female. 77.6 percent were white, 22.4 percent were a minority and 39.5 percent were eligible for free/reduced-price lunch.

Teachers: The number of full-time secondary CTE teachers continued to rise. It saw an increase of 2.2 percent to 1,860 full-time teachers. The number of full-time college credit contracted CTE faculty held steady at 611. The split of CTE teachers by gender continued to grow more evenly.

Work-based learning: The number of work-based learning courses went up 8.9 percent to 196.

Regional centers: There were 19 regional centers providing 183 career academy programs to 6,150 high school students from 110 school districts.

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