APPENDIX B
MODIFICATIONS TO THE TECH PREP IMPLEMENTATION SURVEY

Part I

To Part I of the survey on Tech Prep Goals and Outcomes, the following changes were made:

• Question 2 (Q-2) was changed from an open-ended item telling respondents to "briefly state one primary goal of your Tech Prep initiative" to a closed-ended item telling respondents to "rank order the following five reasons [for implementing Tech Prep] from 1 to 5 with 1 being the highest (top) reason and 5 the lowest (bottom) reason:
  • Articulate secondary and postsecondary education
  • Enhance workforce preparation
  • Give students multiple options beyond high school
  • Reach the neglected majority
  • Reform secondary school curriculum
• Questions 3 (Q-3) and Question 4 (Q-4) on use of site-based committees or teams were dropped from the 1995 survey.
• In 1995, a new question was added to the survey (Question 5) asking respondents to indicate the formal definition for a Tech Prep student used by their consortia. Fourteen different statements were presented to respondents, along with an "Other" category.
• Question 7 (Q-7) and Question 8 (Q-8) of the 1993 survey on educational reforms and student outcomes were dropped from the 1995 survey.
• A new Question 8 was created for the 1995 survey asking respondents how their consortium differentiates between Tech Prep and vocational education (to attempt to understand how the respondents were thinking about Tech Prep in relation to existing vocational education programs and practices.)

Part II

In Part II of the survey on Stage of Implementation of Tech Prep several items were added to better capture various dimensions of the School-To-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) initiatives that were evolving at the time. These items were:

• Applied academics courses such as Principles of Technology
• Formal governing/advisory board
• Individualized student training and/or career plans
• Performance standards and measures for Tech Prep
• Formal assessment and certification of skills based on industry standards
• Incorporation of "all aspects of the industry"

Part III

In Part III of the survey on Barriers to Tech Prep Implementation twenty-one items were added to the list of barriers, reflecting the barriers named by respondents in the "other" category of the 1993 survey as well as potential issues associated with implementation of Tech Prep/STWOA initiatives. These barriers were:

• Tight budgets at the state level
• Tight budgets at the local level
• Funding for Tech Prep is limited to vocational education sources
• Large distances separating institutions in the consortium
• Too many schools in the consortium
• Lack of developed competencies for the academic areas
• Lack of developed competencies for the vocational-technical areas
• Increased paperwork to support Tech Prep
• Conflict between Tech Prep and School-To-Work
• Limits on using Tech Prep funds below grade 11
• Focus on applied academics rather than other academic and vocational integration models
• Too much state involvement in day-to-day operations
• Use of advanced placement and other articulation models that allow students to complete college early
• Lack of recent workforce experience among school personnel
• Lack of interest and support from upper-level administration
• Lack of cooperation from state professional organizations
• Lack of a clear definition of the Tech Prep student
• The stigma of "tracking" is associated with Tech Prep
• Lack of certificates of mastery
• Lack of cooperation among institutional partners

Part IV

In Part IV on Tech Prep Consortium Characteristics we asked in Question 11 (Q-11) for respondents to tell us not only how many organizations were involved in their local Tech Prep consortium, but how many were actively participating. We added two questions that asked the academic year in which Tech Prep was first implemented in the area (Question 14) and the academic year in which federal Tech Prep funding was first awarded to the consortium (Question 15). In this section, we dropped two questions from the 1993 survey about Tech Prep in-service activities and involvement by secondary and postsecondary personnel.

Part V