Career and Technical Education in Vermont

This report presents an overview of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Vermont and nationally. A preliminary analysis of curricular opportunities available through Vermont’s CTE programs reveals that while there are many options for students to pursue across the state, programmatic offerings differ at each individual center, meaning that the full slate of CTE offerings is rarely available at any given center. Furthermore, a variety of assessment strategies exist at both the local and national level. Moving past curricular analysis, an exploration of the funding mechanisms used in Vermont reveals additional findings. Although current funding mechanisms highlight the importance of equity, there are efficiency impacts from using a complicated funding formula for CTE finance. Last, a careful comparative analysis across states reveals both strengths and weaknesses for the Green Mountain State. Specifically, these peer state analyses indicate that Vermont would be served by expanding the variety of CTE programs that are offered to its students.