1. HSTW sites that participated in the assessment in 1994 and again in 1996 showed significant improvement in average reading scores for health occupations students. The scores increased from 269 to 278. A higher percentage of students in health occupations programs met the HSTW performance goal in reading than did all students participating in the 1996 assessment. (See Figure 1.)

2. HSTW sites widened the gap between their students in health occupations programs and vocational students nationally between 1994 and 1996. In 1994 health occupations students at HSTW sites had an average reading score of 269, compared to 267 for vocational students in the national sample. They had a mathematics score of 278, compared to 277 for vocational students nationally, and a science score of 279, compared to 267 for vocational students in the national sample. Students at HSTW sites continued to outpace the national group in reading, mathematics and science in 1996. (See Figure 2.)

3. Male students in health occupations programs had higher reading, mathematics and science scores in 1996 than in 1994.

The bad news is that smaller percentages of students in health occupations programs met the HSTW performance goals in mathematics and science than did all students participating in the 1996 assessment. (See Figure 1.) Furthermore, their average mathematics and science scores were statistically lower than the average scores for all youth participating in the assessment. This news must be a concern for teachers in a field in which accurate use of mathematics and science skills by employees in hospitals or other health care settings can mean the difference between life and death. Also, the mathematics and science achievement of African American youth and females in health occupations programs did not improve between 1994 and 1996.

Health occupations teachers must ask themselves if their students, who are predominantly female, are taking the mathematics and science courses that require them to do challenging assignments that boost achievement, such as solving complicated problems. Or are their students taking courses in which they get good grades by mainly memorizing facts and procedures, without really having to understand or use them?

There is hope in knowing what to do to correct the situation. By reviewing their school’s assessment report, health occupations teachers can look at what high-achieving schools are doing to get more youth to meet the HSTW goals. There are more minority students at high-achieving sites than among all health occupations students at all HSTW sites—42 percent at high-achieving sites, compared to 32 percent at all HSTW sites.

Health occupations students at high-achieving schools substantially exceeded the HSTW goals in reading, mathematics and science. They had a reading score of 291, compared to 278 for health occupations students at all sites; a mathematics score of 298, compared to 283 at all sites; and a science score of 287, compared to 281 at all sites. Successful health occupations programs can:

• Set high expectations and get students to meet them.

HSTW sites that got health occupations students to complete challenging assignments both in and out of class had significantly higher reading, mathematics and science scores. Reading achievement was significantly higher if students did at least one hour of homework daily. Achievement also rose if students were encouraged to take more mathematics and science courses, including at least one of these courses in the 12th grade.

The bad news is that at least one-third of health occupations students are enrolled in watered-down academic courses that they can pass without making any effort outside of class. Twenty-eight percent of health occupations students who scored below the basic level in mathematics and science said they usually had no homework or did not do it. Further, at least 40 percent of health occupations students had no weekly homework assignments from a vocational teacher. Teachers need to get students to work harder in academic and health occupations classes.

• Offer intellectually challenging health occupations studies.

The good news is that health occupations students who said their vocational teachers often stressed reading, mathematics and science in getting them to complete challenging assignments had higher achievement than students who said their vocational teachers never stressed those academic skills. (See Figure 3.)

The bad news is that one-third of health occupations students who participated in the assessment at HSTW sites in 1996 were enrolled in health occupations courses that lacked challenging assignments and projects. Thirty-seven percent of these students were rarely required to apply mathematics to complete assignments; 20 percent rarely had to seek technical information and organize it into a procedure for completing a project; 36 percent rarely had to use scientific principles to explain particular systems; 47 percent seldom or never had to use a computer to complete a vocational assignment; and 51 percent never or seldom had to write critiques of their work or make oral reports. Between 1994 and 1996, there was no significant increase in the percentage of health occupations students who said they had these experiences. Approximately half of these students are still enrolled in courses that are not preparing them for an information-centered workplace in the health field. Health occupations teachers need to decide if they are going to change or continue to provide courses taught in ways that deny youth access to successful further study and to higher paying jobs that require learning and thinking skills.

• Increase access to classes that teach high-level content.

The good news is that between 1994 and 1996 increasing proportions of health occupations students completed higher-level mathematics and science courses. Students who take rigorous academic courses have significantly higher reading, mathematics and science achievement than students who take lower-level courses. For example, health occupations students who completed the HSTW-recommended curriculum of high-level English, mathematics and science courses had higher average scores than students who took lower-level courses. (See Figure 4.)

The bad news is that health occupations students taking high-level mathematics and science classes have average achievement that fails to meet HSTW goals, in comparison to students from other occupational areas who take these courses and meet the HSTW mathematics and science goals. (See Figures 5 and 6.) The challenge is two-fold:

• Health occupations teachers need to take the initiative in working with mathematics and science teachers to develop joint health-based projects that cause students to apply mathematics and science content to complete them.
• Mathematics and science teachers need to teach in ways that motivate health occupations students to work hard to meet higher standards.
• Have students complete a challenging program of study consisting of an upgraded academic core and a major. An upgraded core includes at least four years of college preparatory English and three years each of mathematics and science, including at least two years in each area equivalent in content to courses offered in the college preparatory curriculum. A major includes at least four Carnegie units in a broad technical field or further academic studies and two Carnegie units in related technical or academic core courses.

The good news is that health occupations students who complete all components of the HSTW-recommended curriculum greatly exceed the HSTW goals in reading, mathematics and science. Students completing the recommended curriculum scored 28 points higher in reading, 44 points higher in mathematics and 29 points higher in science on the 1996 assessment than did students who completed a less demanding program of study. Students completing the recommended curriculum have average reading, mathematics and science scores that begin to approximate those of college-prep students nationally.

The bad news is that 74 percent of health occupations students at all HSTW sites did not complete an upgraded academic core with a health occupations concentration. However, 71 percent of health occupations students at all sites completed the recommended curriculum in mathematics. This is evidence that the problem is with the “system” rather than the student. Teachers must educate their prospective students and their parents about the type of academic courses needed to succeed in further education and the health field. Health occupations teachers must recognize that the success of their graduates is dependent on taking rigorous mathematics, science and language arts courses and quality health occupations courses.

• Provide a structure of work-based and school-based learning.

The good news is that health career students who work up to 15 hours a week have higher reading, mathematics and science scores than students who do not work at all or work more than 15 hours weekly. More health occupations students than other vocational students earn school credit through work-site learning—42 percent, compared to 34 percent for all vocational students. A higher percentage of health occupations students than students in other vocational fields are having the high-quality work-site learning experiences associated with higher achievement. For example:

• 30 percent of health occupations students rotated through several departments, compared to 23 percent of all students;
• 55 percent said someone taught them to do the work, compared to 47 percent of all students;
• 54 percent said their job performance was evaluated by clear standards, compared to 43 percent of all students;
• 60 percent said they were encouraged to develop good work habits, compared to 53 percent of all students;
• 61 percent said work experiences encouraged them to develop good customer relations, compared to 52 percent of all students;
• 35 percent said their employer encouraged them in their academic studies, compared to 30 percent of all students.

The same percentage of both groups—29 percent—observed veteran workers, but health occupations students had higher average scores in reading.

The bad news is that health occupations students who receive school credit for work-based learning have lower reading, mathematics and science achievement than students who receive no credit. Two factors contribute to lower achievement: 1) Students who receive credit are more likely to work 21 hours or more per week and 2) They are much less likely to take mathematics or science courses in the 12th grade.

The hope lies in the fact that health occupations teachers can set high standards for awarding school credit for work-site learning. In doing so, they should:

• Award work-site credit only to students who are completing the HSTW-recommended curriculum;
• Require students to take four school-based credits as seniors, including three credits in high- level academic courses.
• Enable academic and vocational teachers to plan together.

The good news is that the achievement of health occupations students at the 15 HSTW sites participating in an advanced integrated learning effort—giving academic and vocational teams time to do collaborative planning—was higher than that of such students at other sites. Health occupations students at advanced sites exceeded the HSTW goal in reading and nearly met the goals in mathematics and science, in comparison to health occupations students at all sites, who scored slightly below the HSTW reading goal and considerably below the goals in mathematics and science.

The bad news is that there is little evidence that more health occupations and academic teachers were working together in 1996 than in 1994 to get students to complete joint learning assignments. Health occupations teachers need to take the lead in joining with English, mathematics and science teachers to get an organizational schedule that enables them to plan and carry out joint instructional efforts that motivate students to do more demanding assignments.

• Actively engage students in learning.

The good news is that health occupations students learn more when they are engaged in doing challenging assignments. Activities associated with higher achievement include collecting, evaluating, organizing and presenting information for senior projects, major research papers, short reflective writing assignments and special mathematics projects. Other activities include solving open-ended problems and completing projects that require academic and technical knowledge.

The bad news is that many health occupations students do not remember having to complete intellectually-challenging assignments.

• 71 percent never made a presentation in class about a special mathematics project;
• 61 percent never used a computer to complete a mathematics assignment;
• 50 percent seldom presented oral reports in their vocational classes.

Health occupations teachers can take the lead in involving academic teachers in using national standards to plan challenging health-related projects that cause students to use high-level academic, technical and problem-solving skills.

• Involve students and parents in planning a program of study.

The good news is that the percentage of HSTW health occupations students planning to pursue further study increased from 70 percent in 1994 to 77 percent in 1996.

The bad news is that at least half of the health occupations students planning to continue their education were not prepared to do so. The quality of guidance services provided to these students did not improve very much between 1994 and 1996. Twenty-six percent of health occupations students at HSTW sites in 1996 reported that they received no help in planning a program of study or that they simply did not have a plan. Only 22 percent of youth said they met with their parents and a counselor or advisor to plan a program of study. Health occupations teachers can take the lead in giving prospective health occupations students, their parents and their academic teachers a “reality check” on the strengths and weaknesses of students’ preparation for further learning in a postsecondary or work setting. These “reality checks” can include postsecondary placement exams, employment tests, job-shadowing experiences and internships.

• Provide extra help.

The good news is that more than half of health occupations students at HSTW sites reported receiving extra help in reading from their English teachers. Almost 82 percent reported receiving extra help from their mathematics teachers.

The bad news is that only 19 percent got help from a mathematics tutor and only 14 percent received extra help in reading from a special resource teacher. More health occupations students may need help in specific mathematics concepts and skills.

• Use Student Assessment to Advance Student Learning.

The good news is that HSTW sites make improvement when they use data on student achievement and on school and instructional practices to change what is taught and what is expected. Schools make progress in advancing student learning when leaders and teachers work together to find and implement solutions to problems identified by the data.

The bad news is that too many health occupations teachers are failing to use data to engage other faculty and health-related business leaders in efforts to better prepare students for further learning in health career fields. Health occupations teachers need to obtain the 1996 HSTW Assessment data from their HSTW site coordinator and use it.

• Summary