Career and Technical Course Offerings and Curriculum vary widely around the country. One way to evaluate their relevance to jobs and likely success in preparing students for career or colleges to is take a look at the classes and compare the class subject to the employment outlook for graduates in that subject matter.
For example, classes in video production are common across the country. However the number of jobs is limited to 59,000 in the United States and the average salary is $59,040 in 2016 according to the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook. By contrast, classes in agriculture are much less common, but 1,028,700 jobs exist for Farmers, Ranchers, and other agricultural managers, and the median pay is $66,360 according to the US Department of Labor.
Below is a large collection of Programs of Study from schools in states and Congressional Districts around the country. The documents include a short description of the courses taught at each school, work based learning and certification opportunities, dual eligibility with local colleges, and other information.
Best Practice Examples of schools that offer career aligned courses and programs of study include:
Mason, MI (Capital Area Career Center)
Nashville, TN Career Academies Overview
–Nashville Career and Technical Education Courses
On the webpage below are course offerings assembled from a variety of high schools. Each Program of Study is the official document published by the school with descriptions of all of their courses. To examine the CTE courses, simply look at the relevant section. For extra fun, put some of the key words from the course description in www.monster.com and see what jobs come up!
Sample Programs of Studies with Course Offerings and Curriculum (arranged by City and State)
Irvington, AL (Bryant Career Technical Center)
Mountain Home, AR (career academies)
San Diego, CA (Mira Mesa High School)
San Diege, CA (Hoover High School CTE)
Sacramento, CA — C.K. McLatchy
Sussex Technical High School, DE
Cobb County, GA (Allatoona High School)
Cobb County, GA (CTE Course Pathways)
Chicago, IL (Sarah Goode Academy)
Kansas City KS Manual High School
Lexington KY Paul Dunbar High School
Montgomery County, MD Course Catalogues by High School or Subject
Montgomery County, MD Career Programs of Study
Detroit, MI CTE Flyer (no program of study published)
Mason, MI (Capital Area Career Center)
Traverse City, MI Central HIgh School
Rochester, MN (John Marshall High School)
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, NC
Newark, NJ CTE Academy at Barringer High Aeronautics
Albuquerque Career Enrichment Center, NM
New York City Dedicated CTE Schools, NY
New York State — List of Approved CTE Programs
Columbus, OH Fort Hayes Career and Technical Education Center
Bellefonte, PA Bellefonte Area High School
Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School, PA (look under programs)
Erie, PA Strong Vincent Hight School
Erie, PA Career and Technical Education Programs
Wassahickon School District, Montgomery County, PA
Nashville, TN General Education Courses
Nashville, TN Career and Technical Education Courses
Austin, TX (Anderson High School)
Dallas, TX (Highland Park HIgh School)
Dallas TX Independent School District (all Schools)
Plano, TX (Plano West High School)
Seattle, WA (Ballard High School)
Seattle, WA (All CTE programs by High School)
Green Bay, WI (West High School)
Madison, WI (East High School)
Charleston, WV (George Washington High School)
Charleston, WV (Ben Franklin Career and Technical Education Center — Networking Example)
