A Study of Community College Students Who Are Graduates of Vocational Technical and College Preparatory High School Curriculums (19-2017). Final Report

The options selected by secondary school graduates with varying academic backgrounds, the intellective characteristics of these students, and their completion/noncompletion records were investigated. A comparison was made of 229 male vocational training (VT) graduates and 200 male college preparatory (CP) graduates with respect to demographic data, seven preadmissions educational variables, and achievement in college. An attempt was made to study the 229 VT graduates as they pursued community college programs in one of three areas: college career program related to their secondary school curriculum; college career program unrelated to their secondary school curriculum; or a college transfer program. The study also examined these three VT classifications with regard to demographic data, preadmissions variables, and college achievement. The subjects were enrolled in two comprehensive community colleges in Eastern Pennsylvania. Three hypotheses were tested. The two primary statistical techniques used were chi-square and univariate analysis of variance. The results of the study showed that CP and VT students tend to be similar with regard to demographic variables and to college graduation. They tend to be dissimilar with regard to preadmissions variables and to GPA. The three classifications of VT students tend to be dissimilar on demographic variables and on college achievement but are similar on preadmissions variables. Appendixes to the report provide a Synopsis of Research, List of VT Curriculums, and Year-by-Year Analysis of Enrollment by Curriculum. (DB)