Report: Career academies work

Want to know why Florida education officials are so gung-ho about career and technical education? Check out this new national report, based on a 15-year study, which found that students who attend career academies earn 11 percent more per year than their peers who went the traditional route.

More than 80 percent of the students in the study were black or Hispanic. For more on the report, see the New York Times here. For more on the push for career and technical education in Florida, see the St. Petersburg Times here. See also this story on career academies in Pinellas and this one for more on career academies in Pasco.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[jwt]

IF Florida is so gung-ho--and they should be--why don't the folks in Hillsborough know it, yet???? Teachers have been screaming for years--nobody at ROSSAC wants to hear!

Ron- Did you read the report? There were no gains in academic achievement nor an increase in graduation rates. the 'successes" made $9.75, the 'failures' made $9.01. There were no gains in employment for young women or medium to low risk young men.
Career academies are working?

Sorry Ron- I read the OLD report that tracked only 4 years after high school.

The latest report really isn't much different from the prior. Same stuff, different day and not very impressive at that.

[Teacher]

Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia doesn't get bonus money for kids enrolled in career and technical education programs. She gets kick-backs from the College Board for enrolling kids in the AP Program (regardless of whether they actually pass any AP exams). The state pays the College Board for the expense of taking the exams, the kids fail, but Elia gets her bonus.

[APhelps]

FL education statute as it pertains to AP....

Only funding if students pass with a 3,4,5 on AP does the AP teacher get a bonus of $50 per student up to $2000 per year. The training to become such a teacher costs about $500-800 at the teacher's expense.

College Board also pays 80% of $$ to the school from where the PASSING students took the exam, and it is not a "kick back" if it is in FL statute, IN OTHER WORDS IT IS LEGAL.

College Board does audits of AP classes, has to approve the curriculum and then the teacher can continue teaching it.

It is not subject to instructional fads like LFS,Essential Learning, or whatever local counties call it since it has it's own guidelines that must be followed.

And lastly it saves parents the expense of 1) paying the $75 fee that is costly, and 2) helps reduce cost of college when the class is passed.

Yes the down side is that more students will be pumped into the classes who are
1)below average and could not pass the FCAT and are told to go into AP only on the chance that they might pass the test and earn the school some money, and
2) let the student enroll to "reach their highest potential" even though they have a below average ability.

[Teacher]

I wasn't talking about the bonus to the AP teacher or the school. I'm talking about the bonus paid to the Superintendent, who gets a bonus based on AP enrollment not pass rate. Same goes for guidance counsellors, who are pumping the kids into those classes. AP is the new Honors. Honors is the new Regular. Regular... well let's not go there.