Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley, March 9, 2011

1. Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley, March 9, 2011 An Overview of Tech Prep StudentSuccesses in Texas–Highlighting the Lower Rio Grande Valley

2. Texas Has Created a Tech Prep SystemThat Is Effective for Students • Beginning in 1991, Texas designed Tech Prep as a system that would prepare students for success in both college and career. (Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006) • The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) work together for oversight of Texas’ Tech Prep programs and consortia (Texas Tech Prep Act: Texas Education Code Sec. 61.851-61.858) • THECB oversees Texas’ 26 Tech Prep consortia: http://www.techpreptexas.org/consortia/index.php.

3. Tech PrepLinks Education and Economic Development • “The number of jobs requiring technical training is growing at five times the rate of other occupations.”(Innovate America, U.S. Council on Competitiveness) • “It used to be the sledgehammer mechanic. These days, the technology has advanced so much that our most important tool is our brain. It is more of a thinking man’s game now.” (Jeff Nelson, Service Manager, CAT) • “….we had to upgrade our basic mechanic skills to include programmable logic controllers and electrical systems.” (Dr. Ron Lentsch, Allergan—salaries at Allergan: metrology technician, $44,000-$56,000; production set-up technician, $30,000-$50,000; mechanics, $36,000-$56,000) Source: Jim Brazell, citing data from interviews and research, 2007

4. Participating in Tech Prep Helps Minimize College Loan Debt " . . . the more than 50 million members [of “Generation Y”—also known as the “Millennial Generation”] may be best remembered for whether they can overcome the dire financial straits that plague many of them. . .  “ . . . [they have] added credit card debt onto student loans . . . [they are] not building up a cash cushion . . . graduating from college with an average of $23,200 in student debt . . . [they have] high, unrealistic expectations.”  -- USA TODAY: “‘Generation Y’ faces some steep financial hurdles,” April 23-25, 2010, pp. 1A and 2A

5. A Case Study of Student Successes: Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley • Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley, situated on the US-Mexico border, serves a large, youthful student population that is predominantly Hispanic/low-income. • The demographics of the Valley today will soon become the demographics of Texas, and then the nation, tomorrow. (Dr. Steve Murdock, former U.S. Census director). • Tech Prep is having a significant positive impact on Rio Grande Valley students’ successes. • The role of the Tech Prep consortium staff is vital to the Rio Grande Valley system’s success.Tech Prep RGV staff manage regional activities that complement, and do not duplicate, the work of public schools and colleges.

6. Tech Prep Graduates Have the Knowledge and Skills Employers Need Computer Technology Occupations Health Fields Engineering, Science, and Mathematics Fields See 2010 Labor Market Report at http://www.techpreprgv.com/lmi.html

7. Tech Prep Serves All Populations Source: Texas Education Agency data, http://www.techpreptexas.org

8. Tech Prep Students (Grade 10) Score Better Than Non-Tech Prep Students on Texas’ Standardized Tests Source: Texas Education Agency data. See additional data at http://www.techpreptexas.org/consortia/state.shtml . “TAKS” stands for Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Key to PEIMS Codes: 0 = no CTE; 1 = CTE course as an elective; 2 = coherent sequence, not Tech Prep; 3 = Tech Prep

9. Tech Prep Students (Grade 11) Score Better Than • Non-Tech Prep Students on Texas’ Standardized Tests Source: Texas Education Agency data. See additional data at http://www.techpreptexas.org/consortia/state.shtml . “TAKS” stands for Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Key to PEIMS Codes: 0 = no CTE; 1 = CTE course as an elective; 2 = coherent sequence, not Tech Prep; 3 = Tech Prep

10. Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Students Succeed in College • 2007 doctoral study of college persistence and graduation compared RGV Tech Prep high school graduates with non-Tech Prep at RGV two-year colleges: • Three RGV colleges shared outcome data • Students who graduated with two-year degrees: • Tech Prep, 26%; non-Tech Prep, 11% • Time required for graduation: • Tech Prep: almost two semesters sooner than • non-Tech Prep • (Important fact: Many RGV college students are coming out of poverty and must work part- or full-time.) Source: Doctoral work by Belinda Torres, Ed.D.

11. Rio Grande Valley Students Earn College Credits in High School Tech Prep RGV collects data from colleges about students’ credits earned in college through articulation and dual credit. Four years of data illustrated below: Source: Reports provided to Tech Prep by local colleges.

12. Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Graduates Transition to College at Higher Rates Than Non-Tech Prep NOTE: Dark purple bar on right indicates students for whom there was no CTE code assigned by public schools. Source: Study funded by TG Public Benefit Fund and conducted by Dr. Lee Holcombe, Texas High School Project, University of Texas at Dallas, comparing transition rates of Tech Prep high school graduates with that of non-Tech Prep high school graduates in the Region One Education Service Center’s seven-county region. Study began in 2007 and was completed in 2008. Study utilized data from the National Student Clearinghouse and reflected transition rates for all public two- and four-year institutions and 94% of public and private two- and four-year institutions in the nation.

13. Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Graduates Transition to College at Higher Rates Than Non-Tech Prep NOTE: Dark purple bar on right indicates students for whom there was no CTE code assigned by public schools. Source: Study funded by TG Public Benefit Fund and conducted by Dr. Lee Holcombe, Texas High School Project, University of Texas at Dallas, comparing transition rates of Tech Prep high school graduates with that of non-Tech Prep high school graduates in the Region One Education Service Center’s seven-county region. Study began in 2007 and was completed in 2008. Study utilized data from the National Student Clearinghouse and reflected transition rates for all public two- and four-year institutions and 94% of public and private two- and four-year institutions in the nation.

14. Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Graduates Transition to College at Higher Rates Than Non-Tech Prep NOTE: Dark purple bar on right indicates students for whom there was no CTE code assigned by public schools. Source: Study funded by TG Public Benefit Fund and conducted by Dr. Lee Holcombe, Texas High School Project, University of Texas at Dallas, comparing transition rates of Tech Prep high school graduates with that of non-Tech Prep high school graduates in the Region One Education Service Center’s seven-county region. Study began in 2007 and was completed in 2008. Study utilized data from the National Student Clearinghouse and reflected transition rates for all public two- and four-year institutions and 94% of public and private two- and four-year institutions in the nation.

15. Rio Grande Valley Tech Prep Graduates Transition to College at Higher Rates Than Non-Tech Prep NOTE: Dark purple bar on right indicates students for whom there was no CTE code assigned by public schools. Source: Study funded by TG Public Benefit Fund and conducted by Dr. Lee Holcombe, Texas High School Project, University of Texas at Dallas, comparing transition rates of Tech Prep high school graduates with that of non-Tech Prep high school graduates in the Region One Education Service Center’s seven-county region. Study began in 2007 and was completed in 2008. Study utilized data from the National Student Clearinghouse and reflected transition rates for all public two- and four-year institutions and 94% of public and private two- and four-year institutions in the nation.

16. Tech Prep Graduates Succeed in the Workforce and in Postsecondary Education DAVID LEAL MICHELLE LEE GALVEZ • In 1999, David Leal, a graduate of McAllen ISD’s Nikki Rowe High School, became the first-ever recipient of a Dr. Lauro F. Cavazos Tech Prep Scholarship awarded by Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley. Leal earned a degree in electrical engineering from Rice University and was hired by Motorola Corporation in Austin. He moved up rapidly in that company and became a team leader with responsibilities including managing a software development project. He is now a student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University, pursuing an MBA. • A 2006 Tech Prep Texas Scholar graduate of Los Fresnos High School, Michelle Galvez was awarded a $4,000 Dr. Lauro F. Cavazos Tech Prep Scholarship to TSTC Harlingen. She graduated from TSTC’s Chemical-Environmental Technology program and secured employment at Formosa Plastics, earning $50,000 annual salary in her first job. Michelle is now pursuing a chemical engineering degree. States Michelle: “Just because [students] come to a technical college does not necessarily mean they will make less money than someone with [a] bachelor’s degree.”

17. For Additional Information About Tech Prep RGV About Tech Prep in Texas Stacey Silverman, Ph.D. Senior Director of Academic Research and Grant Programs Division of Academic Affairs and Research Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 512.427.6206 stacey.silverman@thecb.state.tx.us Patricia G. (Pat) Bubb Executive Director Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc. 956.364.4512 pat.bubb@harlingen.tstc.edu