With Taconic High School in Pittsfield reporting a waitlist for fall enrollment, we’re republishing this piece on excellence in vocational education and why it matters — originally posted last summer on the Substack for the Center for Educational Progress.
The post-World War II economic boom was the heyday for vocational education. Commonly associated with shop class, voc-ed, now rebranded “career and technical education” (CTE), involves training for careers in the skilled trades as opposed to academic preparation for a four-year college. In the 1950s and 60s, voc-ed enjoyed high participation rates among students, huge demand for skilled workers, bipartisan political support, and training partnerships with labor unions. It also benefited from the widespread cultural acceptance of a non-college pathway to middle-class life. A factory job was a good job, and “good…
