Attachment 3: FRSS 108 Interview Guide
INTERVIEW DATE AND TIME:
DISTRICT NAME:
SIZE:
STATE:
RESPONDENT NAME:
RESPONDENT TITLE:
Introduction
[Introduce Cindy and Laurie]. Laurie and I will be asking you questions about career and technical education programs in your district.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. To give you some background, Westat is developing a survey for the National Center for Education Statistics, within the U.S. Department of Education, on career and technical education (CTE) programs offered by your district. As a first step in developing the new survey, we are collecting information from school district personnel about the topics listed in the letter we sent to you. First, I’d like to ask you some general questions about your CTE programs.
General
Are the CTE programs offered by the district taught at district facilities (such as schools or career centers run by the district), at other public school facilities (such as area CTE centers), on the campus of postsecondary institution(s), and/or through distance education?
At what grade levels or ages are students offered CTE programs by the district?
Career Pathways
To what extent are the CTE programs offered by the district structured as career pathways? Does the district use a different term for this?
[AS NEEDED] By career pathway, we mean a series of connected education and training strategies and support services that enable individuals to secure industry-recognized certifications, obtain employment within an occupational area, and advance to a higher level of education and employment in that area.
How many CTE programs does the district have that are structured as career pathways? Are all the CTE programs structured this way?
How difficult would it be for the district to report enrollment data for the CTE programs that are structured as career pathways?
Do any of the career pathway programs include requirements at the postsecondary level?
Does the district have documents that specify the CTE program or career pathway requirements (such as the sequence of CTE courses to take, tests needed for certification, post-high school requirements)?
[If yes]: Are these documents available on the district’s website?
Credentials and Transitions for CTE Programs
What type of involvement (if any) do postsecondary institutions and/or business/industry have in developing courses or requirements for the CTE programs offered by the district?
What types of industry-recognized credentials (such as certificates or licenses), if any, can students earn by completing CTE programs offered by the district?
[If credentials earned] Does the district administer the testing needed to earn these credentials?
What types of postsecondary certificates or degrees (such as associate’s degree) can students earn by completing CTE programs offered by the district? How is the secondary to postsecondary part of these CTE program(s) structured (for example, dual credit courses)?
Does the district offer industry-recognized technical skills assessments to CTE students?
What type of outcome data (such as program completion rates, certification rates, employment rates) are maintained for the CTE programs offered by the district?
How are these outcome data used by the district?
Is aggregate information related to outcome data publicly available?
CTE for In-Demand Industries and Occupations
How does the district determine when to add or phase out CTE programs?
[PROBE] Is it based on the industries and occupations considered to
be in demand?
[If yes] what geographic area is used to
determine the in-demand industries/occupations (such as local
community, state-wide, nation-wide)?
Are other entities involved in determining which CTE programs to add or drop or which industries and occupations are in demand (such as postsecondary institutions, business/industry, state department of education, regional career centers, other districts, schools, workforce investment or development board)?
[If yes] Who are the other entities?
What industries/occupations does your district consider to be in demand? What process does your district use to determine the in-demand industries/occupations? To what extent do the in-demand industries/occupations align with the CTE programs offered by your district?
What barriers (if any) has your district faced in providing CTE programs for in-demand industries/occupations (for example, difficulty getting teachers for in-demand areas)?
Work-based Learning
What types of work-based learning activities are included in the district’s CTE programs? Are these formal arrangements (that is, more than students having jobs on their own)?
[AS NEEDED] By work-based learning, we mean a program of structured work experiences (such as internships, on-the-job training, registered apprenticeships, and school-based enterprises) that is coordinated with classroom-based learning and that is designed to enable students to learn and apply career and technical education skills and knowledge in a work context.
Does the district have partnerships for work-based learning (for example with employers)?
[If yes] How do these partnerships work?
How are the work-based learning activities coordinated by the district (for example, by a CTE manager or counselor)?
Is work-based learning included in all CTE programs in your district or just selected ones? Which ones?
Would your district be able to report on the number of students participating in work-based learning? About what proportion of CTE students in your district participate in work-based learning?
Leadership Skills Developed Through CTE Programs
Does the district have student CTE organizations that promote leadership skills? What are those organizations?
About how many students in your district participate in student CTE organizations?
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kimberley Raue |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-27 |