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Contact: Anne Hierholzer

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Career and technical education courses are linked to higher graduation rates for Mississippi high school students, according to a new Mississippi State report.

A recently released study by the university’s Research and Curriculum Unit found students completing at least one CTE course graduate at a higher rate. The report is based on an analysis of 2011-12 school-year data covering more than 15,000 public school students.

According to the data, CTE participants had a four-year graduation rate of 83.9 percent, compared to 75.5 percent for Mississippi high schoolers overall.

On average, nearly a third of Mississippi high school students take at least one CTE course each year, researchers said.

The link between CTE participation and on-time graduation is most notable among African Americans, researchers said. Specifically, black CTE students had a four-year rate of 82.9 percent, while the overall rate in the same category was 68.1 percent.

Among the various CTE programs, the highest graduation levels were among health science students at 94 percent. This was followed by graduation rates of nearly 91 percent among both marketing and arts-audiovisual technology-communication students.

The RCU’s assessment manager and principal author of the study Sean Owen noted that Mississippi continues to bear a large economic burden resulting from the lost earning power of high school dropouts. By linking high school coursework with students’ college and career goals, CTE holds promise for keeping students interested in school, he emphasized.

Additionally, Owen said CTE programs provide the real-world skills necessary for students to obtain employment in fields ranging from agriculture to polymer science.

To learn more about the report, as well as RCU’s work to support state public education, contact Owen at 662-325-9424 or sean.owen@rcu.msstate.edu. Also, see .

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