Differences in High School CTE Coursetaking by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns in high school career and technical education (CTE) coursetaking by gender and race/ethnicity across two cohorts of students over time. Using high school transcript data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) and the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), we examined participation in CTE both overall and disaggregated by field of study. While there were some differences by gender and race/ethnicity in overall CTE participation, disaggregating by field of study revealed wide variation in participation rates in each field. We found large and sustained differences in participation across CTE fields of study by gender as well as pronounced patterns by race/ethnicity, with some changes over time. Overall, these gender and racial/ethnic differences were notable because they persisted even after controlling for other potential explanatory factors.