No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of ACT WorkKeys assessments as an indicator of student success within the community college. The number of companies that are utilizing ACT WorkKeys as an indicator to determine work readiness has increased. As community colleges are challenged with training the current workforce for jobs that are in demand, skills gaps that exist have caused challenges that have created difficulties meeting these demands. Due to the responsibilities of the community college to train the workforce explored in this study will be the outcome of ACT WorkKeys as a mechanism that could assist with bridging the current skills gap. The research was conducted using ACT WorkKeys assessments in the areas of Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information. The combination of level scores on these assessments yields a National Career Readiness Level certification. Degree-seeking community college career technical students were administer these ACT WorkKeys assessments during the spring 2009 – fall 2012 semesters to determine if their National Career Readiness Level of attainment was an iii indicator of their success in avoiding remediation classes, completing their program of study, and obtaining employment. A quantitative research design utilizing Pearson’s Chi Square was used to determine if differences existed. Data included WorkKeys scores, college English and math course placement, program of study completion, and job placement. Findings revealed that significant differences existed with the National Career Readiness Level attainment, as derived from the level attainment results of Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information assessments, and student placement in college level English and reading courses. Other findings indicated differences were not existent between National Career Readiness Level attainment and program of study completion nor job placement. Recommendations include conducting further research within other community colleges observing other variables that could affect course placement, program of study completion, and job placement.

The new federal legislation focusing on student achievement, critical reports of the public educational system, and the artificial distinction between academic and career and technical education, have combined to create an urgent need for the integration of academic and career and technical education (Finch & Crunkilton, 1999). The literature suggests that integration is one alternative to raising student achievement of all students and helps to prepare them for the workplace (Benson, 1989; Lankard, 1994; Brown, 1998; Stasz, Kaganoff, & Eden, 1994). The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which teachers and principals in HSTW sites perceive precursors (consisting of integration strategies and conditions) to integrate academic and career and technical education are present in their schools. In addition, comparisons of perceptions were examined based on school type, school size, and school location. The sample included 168 academic and career and technical education teachers and 36 principals from 36 HSTW sites in Virginia. Based on the findings from the factor analysis, precursors to integrate academic and career and technical curricula can be grouped into two relatively coherent latent factors: collaboration and academic skill preparation. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences in the perceptions of teachers and principals. The multivariate analysis of variance also revealed significant differences based on school type only. Recommendations were made to assist teachers and principals to devise a plan to identify integration precursors that teachers perceive are not present in their schools. This information will be useful to principals and educational leaders for evaluating integration activities so they can provide support and guidance to increase integration activities in schools. / Ph. D.

Improving teacher quality is an effective strategy for improving student outcomes. For professional development to be effective at changing student practice and improving student outcomes the professional development topic needs to be relevant to the work of the teacher. This study surveys Virginia CTE teachers to identify their self-identified, most needed professional development topics. Virginia CTE teachers were asked to rate 136 separate teaching competencies based on each competency's importance to the teacher's practice and the teacher's ability to implement the competency. A quantitative research design was used to conduct this study. The Borich Needs Assessment Model was utilized to calculate a Mean Weighted Discrepancy Score (MWDS) for each competency. Competencies were with the largest MWDS were identified as those most needed for teacher professional development. Respondent data was disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, intention to remain in the teaching profession, CTE content area, years of experience, school division, and pre-service training in order to identify differences in professional development topic rankings for on each demographic area. Mann-Whitney U testing and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance test by ranks were used. The results of this study can be used by school divisions, schools, and professional development providers to benefit the work of CTE teachers and CTE programs. / Doctor of Philosophy / Improving teacher quality is an effective strategy for improving student outcomes. For professional development to be effective at changing student practice and improving student outcomes the professional development topic needs to be relevant to the work of the teacher. This study surveys Virginia CTE teachers to identify their self-identified, most needed professional development topics. Virginia CTE teachers were asked to rate 136 separate teaching competencies based on each competency's importance to the teacher's practice and the teacher's ability to implement the competency. A quantitative research design was used to conduct this study. The Borich Needs Assessment Model was utilized to identify the competencies most needed as professional development topics for Virginia CTE teachers. Respondent data was disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, intention to remain in the teaching profession, CTE content area, years of experience, school division, and pre-service training in order to identify differences in professional development topics for each demographic group. The results of this study can be used by school divisions, schools, and professional development providers to benefit the work of CTE teachers and CTE programs.

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), signed into law by President Obama on December 10, 2015, amended several K-12 accountability requirements. ESSA defined high school graduation rate for the first time in federal education law. In ESSA, the Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) was defined as the ratio of the number of students who graduated with a regular high school diploma over the course of four years divided by the number of students who made up an adjusted cohort. Under ESSA, high schools that graduate less than 67 percent of their students were labeled as low performing. The graduation rate differed significantly between high schools and was influenced by multiple factors. Among other factors, the difference in graduation rates might be attributed to increased dropout rates among groups, such as males, racial minorities, low socioeconomic (SES) families, and schools that were located in urban areas (Bower et al., 2013). This study was modeled after the work of Blowe (2011) and White (2015). A quasi-experimental analysis of ex post facto data was conducted to determine if CTE completion affected students' standardized assessment scores and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to determine if the completion of Career and Technical Education (CTE) sequences was associated with the graduation rates among Virginia students for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 cohort years. In addition, the study examined whether there were statistically significant differences in graduation rates among CTE finishers, non-CTE finishers, and total students when regional classifications were considered. School graduation data from the 132 school divisions were grouped according to The National Center for Education Statistics' designated locale classifications type to determine if CTE sequence completion and locale type were associated with graduation rates of each geographic region. The researcher used quasi-experimental, comparative analysis, t-test, and ANOVA to analyze the graduation data of each locale type. The study determined that CTE finishers' graduation rates were significantly higher than students who have not completed CTE programs. In addition, regional classifications had a statistically significant influence on the overall graduation rates for all students. / Doctor of Education / Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), signed into law by President Barak Obama on December 10, 2015, amended several K-12 accountability requirements for K-12 education. Under ESSA, graduation rates were an essential measure of student outcomes, and high schools that graduated less than 67 percent of their students were labeled as low performing. Across the country, the graduation rate differed significantly between high schools and was influenced by a wide range of factors. Among other factors, the difference in graduation rates might be attributed to factors including increased dropout rates among groups, such as males, racial minorities, Hispanics, low socioeconomic (SES) families, and schools that were located in urban areas (Bower et al., 2013). The achievement of a diploma allowed students to choose their path - whether they wish to attend a two- or four-year college, a technical school, workforce training, or enter the military. This study was modeled after the work of Blowe (2011) and White (2015) in using existing data to determine if CTE completion had an association with earning a diploma. The purpose of this study was to determine if the completion of Career and Technical Education (CTE) sequences was associated with the graduation rates of Virginia students for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 cohort years. In addition, the study examined whether there were statistically significant differences in graduation rates among CTE finishers, non-CTE finishers, and total students when regional classifications were considered. That is, the study analyzed the graduation rates of Virginia's 132 school divisions in determining if completing a CTE course sequence affected state graduation as well as regional graduation rates. Schools were grouped according to The National Center for Education Statistics' designated locale classifications type. The researcher used statistical analysis to compare the graduation data of each locale grouping, rural, town, suburban, and city, to the corresponding annual state average. The results of the study indicated that graduation rates for students who finished CTE sequences were significantly higher than their peers who did not finish a CTE sequence and that regional classifications influenced overall graduation rates.