Let’s start with the good news. CTE delivers tangible outcomes where core academics often stumble. While only 26% of eighth-graders scored proficient in math on the 2022 NAEP, the Nation’s Report Card, CTE programs demonstrably funnel kids into the workforce. High schoolers who take multiple CTE courses tend to outperform peers who don’t in earnings and employment rates. Even more encouraging, a 2022 report published by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University found these CTE “concentrators” are 8.4 percentage points more likely to avoid poverty and are significantly more likely to earn above the poverty threshold seven years after high school. They are also less likely to be disengaged — neither employed nor participating in education or training.