CTE Accountability & Participants/Concentrators

Section 113 of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) requires that each state establish a performance accountability system to “assess the effectiveness of the State and the eligible recipients of the State in achieving statewide progress in career and technical education, and to optimize the return of investment of Federal funds in career and technical education activities”.

The Arizona accountability system must address federal and state data collection requirements and may change each year as new requirements are implemented. Expected levels of state performance must be reviewed annually by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) for each performance measure.

All CTE performance measures contain both a Numerator and a Denominator and result in a percentage which is then compared to the State Determined Level of Performance (SDLP) for each measure. The State Determined Level of Performance (SDLP) is a measurable and quantifiable indicator of performance negotiated between ADE and the U.S. Education Department Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE). The state must attain the SDLP which increases annually. A district/subrecipient is required to meet at least 90% of the SDLP for each performance measure to be considered “meeting” the performance measure. Failure to meet at least 90% of SDLP for one or more performance measures may result in the District being required to create and implement an Improvement Plan.

Secondary Performance Measures

• Coming Soon - Click here to view the Secondary Performance Measures guidelines, including Perkins grant eligibility criteria, Performance Measures, and the State Determined Levels of Performance.
• Click here to view all Secondary Perkins V Performance Measures, including SDLP (one sheet).

New for Perkins V:

• CTE Concentrator definition 
  • A student who has completed and passed at least 2 courses worth 1 credit each in a single career and technical education program. Internship, cooperative education, and diversified cooperative education courses are not included in defining a CTE Concentrator.

• CTE Participant definition  
  • A student who has completed and passed a single course in a CTE program.

• Placement  
  • Placement surveys are no longer restricted only to concentrators who graduate. Under Perkins V, placement information should be collected for all CTE concentrators who left secondary education in the reporting year (those who placed in the second quarter after exiting high school). Performance Measure 3S1 includes students who graduated (including mid-term and summer graduates), dropped out, aged out, or attained a GED.
  • Students who are in postsecondary education, advanced training, in military service, in a service program that receives assistance through the National and Community Service Act of 1990, are in the Peace Corps, or are employed are considered placed. National Service Program or Peace Corps placement is also considered “related placement” for funding purposes. See CTE Placement for more information.

Participants/Concentrators

CTE participants and CTE concentrators are tracked in the CTE Data Portal. The system automatically creates and updates the list of participants and concentrators for each district using historical data and current year enrollment data. Click on the “Click here for instructions” link on the Participant/Concentrator page within the CTE Data Portal for instructions on modifying or creating new Participant/Concentrator records. Concentrators displayed on this list are used for Perkins Performance Measures and for CTE data reporting purposes. CTE programs 3 years or older must have at least one concentrator for the program to be considered eligible for funding (see the Secondary Performance Measures guidelines grant eligibility section for more information).

Postsecondary Performance Measures

Postsecondary performance measure data is collected from community colleges in the CTE Data Portal through the annual Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) forms. Instructions for completing the CAR forms can be found by clicking the “Click here for instructions” link on each CAR page within the CTE Data Portal.

• Coming Soon - Click here to view the Postsecondary Performance Measures guidelines
• Click here to view the Postsecondary Performance Measures, including SDLP (one sheet)

New for Perkins V:

• Definition of CTE Participant
  • At the postsecondary level, a CTE participant is a student who completes not less than 1 course in a Career and Technical Education program in the reporting year.
• Definition of CTE Concentrator
  • At the postsecondary level, a CTE concentrator is a student who completes 12 credits in a single program of study (or completes the program of study if less than 12 credits). Only 3 credits may be from academic courses.