This study summarizes the secondary career and technical education (CTE) landscape in Oregon under its last CTE state plan, which was implemented under the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV), and it provides baseline information to guide implementation of Oregon's updated state plan under Perkins V. This study is the first to examine secondary CTE participation and outcomes under Perkins IV in Oregon, and it uses data from 2007/08 through 2017/18. To examine depth of CTE experience, this study classified students into four categories: nonparticipants (secondary students who earned fewer than 0.5 CTE credits), participants (secondary students who earned 0.5 or more CTE credits in a single CTE program), concentrators (participants who earned one or more CTE credits in a single secondary CTE program; this aligns with Oregon's Perkins IV definition of a concentrator), and concentrators+ (concentrators who earned two or more CTE credits in a single secondary CTE program; this aligns with Oregon's Perkins V definition of a concentrator). This study found that the number of secondary CTE programs has increased since 2015, with the steepest increase in urban schools, and that public high schools offered, on average, three CTE programs by 2017/18. Paralleling patterns in school CTE offerings, student participation in secondary CTE programs declined from the class of 2011 to the class of 2015 and increased starting with the class of 2016. At 67 percent, the class of 2018 had the highest participation rate of all previous cohorts in the study period. Although secondary CTE participation and concentration increased overall, disparities persisted across student demographic groups (as defined by gender, economic disadvantage, special education status, and English learner status). This study also found that CTE concentrators graduated from high school in four years at higher rates than students who did not participate in CTE or those who participated but did not concentrate, controlling for other important factors. In-state employment rates in 2018 were similar for CTE concentrators and nonconcentrators for the classes of 2011 and 2012, but CTE concentrators had higher annual earnings, after adjusting for other factors associated with workforce outcomes. The study concludes with considerations and implications for CTE leaders in Oregon that will support their efforts in continuing to ensure equitable access to and outcomes in CTE programs throughout the Perkins V years.
