Employability skills of high school students in a career and technical education program

This study describes the acquisition of employability skills by eleventh grade students participating in technical preparation programs at a Career and Technical Center during the 2000--2001 school year. In addition, this study describes the perceptions of the teachers and administrators concerning the acquisition of employability skills.; This study utilized a case study format using qualitative data and archival quantitative data. The pretest and posttest scores from the American College Testing (ACT) Work Keys assessment for Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information and Locating Information were used as the dependant variables while the grade point average (GAP) and the number of absences served as the independent variables for this study.; Methods used to analyze the ACT Work Keys test scores, were descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation analysis. The chi-square statistic was used to investigate the relationship between absences and the test scores, and the relationship between grade point average (GPA) and the test scores.; The results showed that twenty-seven percent of the students received higher posttest scores in applied mathematics; thirty-seven percent showed higher scores in reading for information; seventeen percent received higher scores in locating information. The results indicate that the technical preparation programs were marginally successful in preparing students with employability skills. There was not a significant relationship between students with higher grade point averages and those with lower grade point. Nor was there a significant relationship between students with fewer absences and those with eleven or more absences.; Data was also collected from documents, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. The low proportion of students improving ACT Work Keys assessment scores supports the findings from the focus group and the interviews that suggest many students are not academically prepared to acquire adequate employability skills. Furthermore, this data supports the integration of academics and technical preparation programs.