National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1090


For Immediate Release

Webcast Addresses Math in Career and Technical Education

The National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education will 
present a webcast entitled "Math in Career and Technical Education" on Dec. 
13, 2005, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. EST. This interactive event, and previous 
webcasts, can be viewed on any computer with Internet access at 
http://www.nccte.org.

Too many students leave high school without both the math skills needed for 
further education and required by employers. While high school students are 
taking more math courses, the performance of 17-year-olds on the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has shown little improvement over 
the past three decades. Additionally, students who concentrate in Career 
and Technical Education (CTE) during their last two years of high school 
are especially likely to be deficient in math skills.

This webcast presents the results of a study conducted by the National 
Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE). The study 
tested whether explicit instruction in math found in CTE curricula could 
improve performance on standardized math tests. The study was conducted 
with random assignment of teachers and their classes to experimental and 
control groups. Over 100 teachers and more than 3,000 students from 10 
states and five occupational areas participated in the study during the 
20042005 academic year.

Post testing conducted at the end of the 2005 school year found that the 
classes of the experimental teachers performed significantly better on the 
TerraNova and Accuplacer™ tests. This improvement was produced by teachers 
using a combination of pedagogy and specially designed professional 
development. The director of NRCCTE, Dr. James Stone III, will present 
details of this study and explain the five core principles that underlie 
the intervention that was tested.

Stone has served as director of the NRCCTE since 2002. He has also served 
as the deputy director, with responsibilities for developing new research 
initiatives and coordinating the work of the centers' associate partners, 
Johns Hopkins University and the Academy for Educational Development. In 
addition to the "Math in CTE" study, he is presently involved in an 
examination of CTE-based, whole school reforms in schools serving 
disadvantaged youth.

Beyond the traditional forms of disseminating research results, Stone has 
worked directly with schools and school systems supporting efforts to 
improve occupationally oriented education. He worked for more than five 
years with the Oakland (Calif.) public schools, helping to implement a 
community-based, school-to-work plan that included career academy 
development and school-based enterprises. He worked with a Minneapolis high 
school, in partnership with the American Indian Opportunities Industrial 
Centers, developing a program targeted at urban Native American youth. 
Also, he recently completed a study of postsecondary occupational/technical 
education in Minnesota. Stone earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees at 
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and his master's degree 
in school administration at George Mason University.

Viewers of the webcast may ask questions of the panel by signing up (at no 
charge) for a chatroom account at http://www.nccte.org. The chatroom allows 
you to submit questions during the presentation. Please allow one full day 
for your account to be validated by e-mail confirmation.

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this e-mail list, please visit this web 
page: http://www.nccte.org/ctemail/subscription.asp or send an e-mail to 
nagy.8 at osu.edu or contact Barbara Reardon below.


The work reported herein was supported under the National Dissemination 
Center for Career and Technical Education (PR/Award No. VO51A990004) and/or 
under the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education 
(PR/Award No. VO51A990006), as administered by the Office of Vocational and 
Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. However, the contents do not 
necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Office of Vocational 
and Adult Education or the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not 
assume endorsement by the federal government. The National Dissemination 
Center for Career and Technical Education and the National Research Center 
for Career and Technical Education are funded by the Office of Vocational 
and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.

For Additional Information Contact:
Barbara Reardon
The Ohio State University
Director of Communications
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1090
Phone: 614-292-2894
Fax: 614-688-3258
Email: reardon.30 at osu.edu
Web site: www.nccte.org