Occupational Programs and the Use of Skill Competencies at the Secondary and Postsecondary Levels, 1999. E.D. Tab.

This document presents information from and about two 1999 surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics: "Vocational Programs in Secondary Schools" and "Occupational Programs in Postsecondary Education Institutions." The first 25% of the document consists of an introduction and selected findings. The introduction provides overviews of the various policy initiatives that have intensified the push for standards and accountability in occupational education and the methods and assumptions underlying the two surveys. The selected findings focus on the following three areas: (1) use of skill competencies (large proportions of secondary and postsecondary schools had developed or adopted skill competency lists for some or all of their programs); (2) industry input in skill competency development (substantial proportions of secondary and postsecondary institutions had at least some industry input in developing skill competency lists); and (3) skill certificates and industry-related credentials (half of secondary schools and most postsecondary institutions offering one or more occupational programs reported that at least one of their programs prepared students to earn skill certificates or work toward industry-related credentials). The remainder of the document contains 35 tables summarizing the study findings and three appendixes that include the following: methodology and technical notes; and survey instruments examining vocational programs in secondary and postsecondary schools. (MN)