The effect of capstone cooperative education experiences, and related factors, on career and technical education secondary student summative assessment scores

Many researchers have discussed the benefits of contextual or experiential learning. Research has also addressed the benefits of cooperative education experiences. Yet, in this era of high stakes testing and program accountability, the amount of time that career and technical students are permitted to participate in these experiences has diminished. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence to suggest that there is a relationship between capstone cooperative education experiences and performance on end of program assessments. The purpose of this baseline study was to determine if there is a significant difference in the mean summative test scores of secondary career and technical education students who participated in capstone cooperative education experiences and those students who did not participate, as measured by NOCTI scores. The population studied was secondary career and technical school seniors during the 2009/2010 academic year in seventeen schools throughout Pennsylvania. Additionally, this study sought to determine if student grade point average (GPA), Individualized Education Plan (IEP) status, length of time on coop or quality of student training plan could significantly account for any established mean differences. It was determined that students who participate in cooperative education experiences score significantly higher on both the written and practical portions of their summative NOCTI exams than those students who do not participate in cooperative education. While student GPA and IEP status appear to be the best predictors of both written and practical NOCTI scores, collectively the four moderating variables could only predict about 22% of the variance in test scores between students who participate in cooperative education and those who do not, which is not a particularly significant amount.