U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan specified four key elements the federal government has established in its strategy to transform Career Technical Education (CTE) in remarks he made to the Inter-American Development Bank on December 5, 2012.

Below are some of the remarks Duncan made that may be of particular interest to CTE educators:

Our strategy for elevating the quality and quantity of education in America takes account both of the fact that education is the engine of economic growth today, and that the federal role in education in the U.S. is limited. Our strategy has four core elements. We use incentives and competition. We insist on setting a high bar for academic success. We promote innovation. And we have pursued a cradle-to-career agenda, from early childhood programs through postsecondary graduation.”

CTE programs are a significant part of the U.S. educational system with more than 90 percent of high school graduates taking at least one occupational course and about forty percent of students taking at least three full-year courses.

Contrary to what you may have heard, CTE programs are not a minor part of the U.S. educational system. More than 90 percent of high school graduates take at least one occupational course. And about forty percent of students take at least three full-year courses. Yet, too many CTE programs lack rigor and relevance, and too many have outdated equipment and labs. Instead of diminishing inequality in the U.S., too often some CTE programs perpetuate it. Every CTE program must have high-quality standards and clearly articulate a pathway to a well-paying, in-demand occupation, rather than leading to a dead-end job out of high school.

Community colleges often have robust CTE offerings but they also provide an inexpensive pathway to a baccalaureate degree for students who want to transfer to a four-year college. College and career-ready skills are really no longer two, separate tracks.

I talk a lot about the economic value and the personal freedom that a world-class education provides. But I absolutely reject the distinction between preparing students to be career-ready, with employability skills, and preparing students to be global, well-rounded citizens, with critical thinking skills.

There is a happy convergence between the career skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based economy and the citizenship skills and global competencies needed to participate in modern democracy and civil society. 

Throughout the world, when leaders make education a top priority, when they commit to change for children, when they have the courage to challenge the status quo, great things can and do happen for children.