扩大高质量技术教育的可及性是否会促进参与并改善结果？

摘要

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has expanded with the intention to meet a changing economy and broaden pathways to higher education and training. Using longitudinal administrative data from Massachusetts, we generate causal evidence on the impact of high-quality CTE expansion in comprehensive high schools. Leveraging the staggered rollout of these programs, we find that access to a new CTE program induces 5.4 percent of prior non-participants to enroll. On average, while CTE exposure decreases four-year college enrollment, initial earnings one-year post-graduation increase by 8.8 percent among those with in-state employment. However, this early wage premium diminishes by age 23. We find suggestive evidence that these patterns are driven largely by male students and those with access to less college-aligned programs. Conversely, more college-aligned programs induce a 4.8 percent increase in quarters of employment through age 23 while experiencing a more muted decline in four-year college enrollment and completion.