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Raising academic standards and vocational concentrators: Are they better off or worse off?

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  • John Bishop
  • Ferran Mane

Abstract

In this paper we measure the impacts of tougher graduation requirements on course-taking patterns, college attendance and completion, and post-high school labor market outcomes for vocational concentrators and non-concentrators. Our main goal was to assess whether vocational education students were specifically affected (positively or negatively) by the policies' heavy emphasis on the academic part of the high school curriculum. Our results show how requiring higher number of academic credits to graduate and introducing a Minimum Competency Examination help high school graduates to be more successful in the labor market, but reduce their chances of obtaining a college degree. Vocational concentrators are better off in Minimum Competency Examination states. The positive signal they send to employers reinforces the occupational skills that vocational concentrators possess.

Suggested Citation

  • John Bishop & Ferran Mane, 2005. "Raising academic standards and vocational concentrators: Are they better off or worse off?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 171-187.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:13:y:2005:i:2:p:171-187
    DOI: 10.1080/09645290500031199
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bishop, John H. & Mane, Ferran, 2004. "The impacts of career-technical education on high school labor market success," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 381-402, August.
    2. Betts, Julian R, 1998. "The Impact of Educational Standards on the Level and Distribution of Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 266-275, March.
    3. Bishop, John H. & Mane, Ferran, 2001. "The impacts of minimum competency exam graduation requirements on high school graduation, college attendance and early labor market success," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 203-222, May.
    4. Bishop, John, 1992. "The impact of academic competencies on wages, unemployment, and job performance," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 127-194, December.
    5. Pierre Cahuc & André Zylberberg, 2004. "Labor Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026203316x, December.
    6. Costrell, Robert M, 1994. "A Simple Model of Educational Standards," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 956-971, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Camargo Juliana & Lima Lycia & Riva Flavio & Souza André Portela, 2021. "Technical Education, Non-cognitive Skills and Labor Market Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from Brazil," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-34, January.
    2. Daniel Kreisman & Kevin Stange, 2020. "Vocational and Career Tech Education in American High Schools: The Value of Depth Over Breadth," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 11-44, Winter.
    3. Shaun M. Dougherty, 2018. "The Effect of Career and Technical Education on Human Capital Accumulation: Causal Evidence from Massachusetts," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(2), pages 119-148, Spring.
    4. John Bishop & Ferran Mane, 2004. "Educational Reform and Disadvantaged Students: Are They Better Off or Worse Off?," CESifo Working Paper Series 1309, CESifo.
    5. Choi, Su Jung & Jeong, Jin Chul & Kim, Seoung Nam, 2019. "Impact of vocational education and training on adult skills and employment: An applied multilevel analysis," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 129-138.
    6. Munshi Sulaiman, 2012. "Does the Labor Market Reward Easy Certificates? Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(4), pages 336-367.
    7. Marianne Bertrand & Magne Mogstad & Jack Mountjoy, 2021. "Improving Educational Pathways to Social Mobility: Evidence from Norway’s Reform 94," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(4), pages 965-1010.
    8. Paweł Strawiński & Paulina Broniatowska & Aleksandra Majchrowska, 2016. "Returns to vocational education. Evidence from Poland," Working Papers 2016-16, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    9. Werner Eichhorst & Núria Rodríguez-Planas & Ricarda Schmidl & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2015. "A Road Map to Vocational Education and Training in Industrialized Countries," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(2), pages 314-337, March.

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