Tech-prep program - American Education

An approach to vocational education that links the last two years of high school to continuing, post-secondary vocational instruction or training at a community college, technical institute or industrial or business facility. Usually a comprehensive four-year curriculum, tech-prep programs are most often organized by faculty or training aides at the post-secondary facility, with the cooperation and participation of a high school’s own instructors. Because it is a comprehensive continuing program linked to post-secondary training or education, high school seniors must work seriously and assiduously throughout their senior year or risk failing the entire program. In addition to the link with post-secondary education, tech-prep programs differ from traditional vocational education in that they require students to focus entirely on nonvocational academics and acquire the same academic skills as college-bound students during their first two years of high school. Tech-prep students begin vocational training in their junior year with the same reading and comprehension skills, analytical skills, computer literacy, problem-solving and decision-making skills, and human relations and communications skills as students in the academic track. By 2002, more than 1,000 tech-prep programs had been established in 21 states. Enrollment totaled more than 1.25 million high students, or 9.4% of the public high school student population.

(See also TWO-PLUS-TWO PROGRAM.)