What is CTE?
Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides students with the academic knowledge and technical skills they need to gain entry to high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand industries. CTE provides work-based learning experiences that combine hands-on learning with real-world scenarios so students are prepared to enter the workforce or college after they graduate high school.
Mission: To provide opportunities for students to acquire 21st century academic and technical skills needed for entry into the global workforce and/or postsecondary education in order to become contributing members of their community.
Vision: All Career and Technical Education students will graduate ready for college, career and life in a global, multicultural society
Motto: CTE - Preparing Today for Careers of Tomorrow
Common Terms
Program of Study
Programs of study are course sequences that prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in a particular career. These sequences embed relevant, real-world experiences and culminate in a postsecondary credential that will prepare students for a high-wage, high-skill, in-demand career. The courses contained within statewide and regional programs of study are determined by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) per the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V).
CTE Indicators
Based on their level of participation in CTE Courses, students may be considered
- CTE Participant: A student completing only one CTE course for any number of credits OR more than one course for less than two credits
- CTE Explorer: A student completing two or more high school CTE courses for a total of two or more credits
- CTE Concentrator: A student completing and passing two or more courses for a total of at least two credits within the same program of study, but who is NOT a completer (see below)
- CTE Completer: A student completing and passing three or more courses for a total of four or more credits within a program of study, including one level three or level four course from within the same program of study
Industry-Based Certifications
Industry-Based Certifications (IBCs) are industry validated, third-party professional credentials that identify high school students as having acquired specific, job-ready skills for a particular industry. Under the TEA accountability system, students meet College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) if they:
- Earn an Industry-Based Certification officially recognized on the TEA IBC List and
- Meet criteria as a CTE Completer (see above)