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Testimony Before the State Board of Education Presented by Dr. Thomas J. Bistocchi, Superintendent, Union County Vocational-Technical Schools
January 21, 2009
Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the Standards and Assessment Code and changes in New Jersey's high school graduation requirements. I know you have heard frequently from the Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, our member school districts, and even some students regarding the impact of the requirements being considered. We have been highly vocal on this issue because new high school graduation requirements will define the future of vocational-technical education in New Jersey.
The State Board of Education has always been a strong supporter of what we now call career and technical education or CTE. The members of this board and your predecessors have shown an appreciation for and commitment to CTE opportunities that goes far beyond your formal role as the State Board of Career and Technical Education. You have visited programs, encouraged students, promoted opportunities, and supported sound policy to strengthen career and technical education in New Jersey. We are immensely grateful for your past support. I am here today to ask for your help in preserving CTE opportunities for those students most in need of hands-on learning and career preparation.
Please understand that county vocational school leaders are not opposed to the Standards and Assessment Code that is now before you. We support high standards and have stated from the outset that every child should graduate from high school well-prepared for college or a career.
Over the past 15 years, county vocational schools have led the way in raising academic standards and incorporating rigorous academics into career programs. Our schools have developed new career academy programs that challenge students and address emerging economic needs. And since traditional careers still exist, we have updated traditional vocational areas such as construction trades, culinary arts, auto technology and graphic design to prepare students for these 21st century jobs.
The Union County Vocational-Technical Schools serve 1,600 secondary students in five different schools. The college-bound students in our career academies for engineering, information technology, health careers and performing arts already meet the graduation requirements being considered. They come to us well prepared to take four years of rigorous math and science as part of a demanding academic and career program. These talented students do well in college and go on to successful careers. I am not here with concerns for these students.
But more than half of our students are full-time and shared-time students in our vocational-technical high school. They are enrolled in more than 20 different programs for regular and special education students including cosmetology, auto technology, commercial art, construction trades, and computer repair. Many of these young people come to us without a track record of academic success, and they will struggle with college prep requirements that are not in sync with their career program.
We are at the point where increasing academic requirements will reduce the time available for career and technical training. Already we see shared-time students who cannot come to us for a half day in 11th grade because they are not on track to address existing graduation requirements. Other students who do not pass the HSPA cannot return to us in 12th grade because they are held back in their home high school for remediation.
This situation will increase exponentially when requirements for algebra II and chemistry take effect. Students who fail a course or required state test, will lose the option of enrolling in the county vocational school in their junior year of high school. In my experience as an educator, some of these students are those who would benefit most from career training.
I do not want to see these young people lose out on the chance to prepare for a union apprenticeship or an entry level job, to get a jump start on career training, or earn an industry credential. I do not want to see them become disengaged in school and give up without graduating.
Certainly, the Department and State Board of Education do not want to limit CTE opportunities for average students who benefit from applied learning. Yet we are disappointed that recommendations to provide essential flexibility for these students have been dismissed.
County vocational school leaders are especially concerned about the algebra II requirement; many average students will have difficulty mastering this content. Algebra II has become a flashpoint in this debate. Its content is not a prerequisite to enter any of the trade unions, and is not required or used in most service or professional positions.
Rather than force every child to master algebra II content designed to prepare students for higher level math, CTE students should have the option of completing algebra I, geometry and a third year of math that supports a student's career program. (For example, a student might take business math, accounting, or an applied math program that reinforces the algebra, geometry and trigonometry concepts used in the construction trades.)
Similarly, the requirements for biology, lab chemistry, and a third year of lab science are too specific and prescriptive and do not support a CTE program. After biology, CTE students could have the option of pursuing two other lab, technical, or applied sciences that are appropriate for a student's career program.
The Standards and Assessment Code includes a provision for Personalized Student Learning Plans. The Department has wisely recommended that this new approach be piloted for several years before requiring such plans for every student.
The Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools believes that personalized student learning plans hold tremendous promise. They can provide essential flexibility within the context of a formal plan that ensures accountability for results.
That is why we recommended language to permit a personalized plan to specify alternatives to non-essential coursework that would be a barrier for participation in a CTE program. The intent is not to get out of tough courses. Rather, the purpose is to ensure that a struggling student will not be precluded from pursuing a career program that reinforces academic learning, provides relevance, and gives the student concrete goals and motivation to complete high school.
If every student is required to take algebra II and chemistry as part of a college prep program and pass some number of state end-of-course competency exams, struggling students will be pushed out of traditional career tech programs. As I said earlier, this will redefine career and technical education by eliminating many traditional programs that prepare students for trade and service jobs that will remain in demand even in uncertain economic times.
Thank you for considering the plight of students who want or need to enter the workforce after high school, and thank you for considering the continuation of those programs in the county vocational schools. One of our primary goals is to provide industry credentialed graduates to become tomorrow's carpenters, auto technicians, electricians, chefs, bakers, beauticians, welders and masons. Please help us continue to provide those opportunities for the young people of New Jersey. Thank you.