In this section, we reveal major findings and conclusions from the 1995 follow-up survey and compare those results to our earlier 1993 report. We also discuss how the survey findings relate to the field studies conducted during the 1996-97 academic year in the five selected sites of Danville, IL; Dayton, OH; Victoria, TX; Tampa, FL; and Gresham, OR. Together, the national survey findings as well as the field studies help to describe how Tech Prep implementation is progressing in the United States. The information collected for the field sites is particularly useful in showing how Tech Prep has developed in recent years, once the federal STWOA legislation took effect.
These findings are organized according to the five major research questions that organized our initial report on Tech Prep Implementation in the United States. First, the findings related to Tech Prep consortia and coordinators are discussed. Then, we present the goals, elements, and foci of curriculum reform. Third, we describe the level of implementation of various key components of Tech Prep. Fourth, the barriers to local Tech Prep implementation are discussed. Finally, we present recommended changes to federal and state policy provided by the local Tech Prep coordinators.