How do college and career courses vary across public schools?

Public schools in the Northeast have the highest rate of advanced courses offered at 89%; the South and West regions of the US have the highest rate of career and technical education classes at 88%.

Published Fri, September 6, 2024 by the USAFacts Team

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Whether or not your local public high school offers college and career readiness courses depends on several factors, including its location in the country and the racial makeup of the student body.

Advanced courses are most common in Northeast public schools: 89% of schools serving students in ninth grade or above offer such courses. Eighty-eight percent of public schools in the South and West offer career and technical education (CTE), higher than the 86% of schools nationwide.

Both advanced academic courses and CTE programs are more commonly offered in schools where less than 25% of the student body are students of color.

What are advanced courses?

Advanced courses provide learning opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. These courses include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), pre-AP, and dual enrollment, offering academic experiences similar to institutions of higher learning, in some cases translating to college credit.

What is career and technical education?

CTE instructs students in technical and vocational subjects, such as auto repair, healthcare, and culinary arts. CTE programs offer high school students opportunities to develop both academic and technical skills for various job markets.

How do college and career readiness programs vary across the US?

Most US public high schools offer both advanced courses and CTE. However, the availability of each varies by region.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 73% of public high schools reported offering some type of advanced course. As of January 2024, Northeast public schools had the highest percentage at 89%. The Midwest had the lowest: 69%. Southern public schools matched the national average, while 72% of Western public schools offered them.

Meanwhile, 86% of public schools in the US offered CTE programs. Southern and Western schools offered CTE courses at the highest rate — 88% of public high schools. Schools in the Northeast were least likely to offer such programs, still 82% did so. Eighty-five percent of schools in the Midwest did.

Does college and career readiness vary by a school’s racial makeup?

Public schools where 25% or less of students were students of color were more likely to offer advanced courses and CTE programs. Eighty-four percent of these schools offered advanced courses; 92% offered CTE.

In contrast, public schools where the student body was 75% students of color or more had the lowest rates of advanced and CTE courses. Sixty-five percent of these schools offered advanced courses, and 81% provided CTE classes.

How is college and career readiness integrated into high school graduation requirements?

College and career readiness has been incorporated into graduation requirements to align high school standards with public university admissions and to prepare students for their chosen careers. This often includes additional credits in laboratory science, mathematics, social studies, fine arts, world languages and electives.

There are variations in these requirements across states. For instance, Michigan and Washington both require a mix of core subjects for high school graduation, but they differ in total credits and flexibility. Michigan requires 18 credits, including specific courses in English, math, science, and social studies, along with credits in foreign languages, visual arts, PE/health, and an online learning experience. In contrast, Washington requires 24 credits, with similar core subjects, and lets students opt to substitute some fine arts and world languages credits with courses that correspond with their postsecondary plans.

How do college and career readiness graduation requirements vary by demographic of schools?

Sixty-nine percent of schools with primarily students of color have graduation requirements that include college and career milestones. In contrast, schools with 25% or less students of color have a rate of 55%.