About CTE Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) Career/Technical Education (CTE) Statistics system derives data about career/technical education primarily from existing NCES surveys. Some of the most informative data in the CTE Statistics system are from high school transcript data.This method of obtaining data provides a more accurate and complete picture of participation in career/technical education than can be obtained by other means. The CTE Statistics system also uses data from NCES' surveys of postsecondary students and institutions, surveys of secondary schools and faculty, and longitudinal surveys that track secondary and postsecondary students through schooling and into the labor market.

The tables provided on this website (see menu list on left) provide NCES' most general statistical information about CTE. The secondary (high school) tables provide information on where and how CTE is offered, student participation in CTE and in career/technical student organizations, student transitions from high school to postsecondary education and work, and the characteristics of CTE teachers. The postsecondary tables provide information on occupational education offerings and credentials awarded, student participation, student costs and financial aid, and student persistence and labor market outcomes.

Tables on adults’ participation in work-related education and training use data from an NCES adult education survey that was discontinued (due to response rate issues) after 2005. NCES’s data collection on adult education and training is currently being re-conceptualized (see GEMEnA website), with the expectation that new information will be available within the next 3-5 years.

More interpretative information on CTE is available in NCES reports on various CTE topics; these reports can be found at the “Publications and Products" link on the menu bar at the top of this page.

For additional information about the CTE Statistics system, contact Lisa Hudson at lisa.hudson@ed.gov or (202) 502-7358.