Linkage Between Fields of Concentration in High School Career-Technical Education and College Majors

This study examines the extent to which students obtain postsecondary credentials in the CTE fields of focus they choose in high school. Using school fixed effects models, we find that focusing on a particular CTE field in high school is associated with an increased probability of enrolling and obtaining a postsecondary credential in that field. The secondary-postsecondary relationship varies across focus areas, and it is strongest in health (increase of 12.5 percentage points), which is disproportionately chosen by females. Across all fields of focus, however, most students enroll and obtain a postsecondary credential in fields that are different from what they focused on in high school.

This is an updated version of the paper originally released in July 2022.