Chapter Two
Admissions and Enrollment
The regional vocational-technical school system uses several methods to attract applicants. By statute, v-t schools have access to local and regional schools for purposes of recruiting students. In addition to making on-site presentations at elementary and junior high schools, written brochures are distributed, and advertisements are run on radio and television stations. The primary target of these efforts is eighth-grade students.
Application Procedures
A
person interested in attending a v-t school must submit an application to the
specific school or schools he or she would like to attend. The system places no
geographic restrictions on which school a student must attend. However, travel
considerations affect the range of towns each school attracts students from.
Figure II-1 summarizes the key steps occurring after an application for
admission to the ninth grade is submitted.
A guidance counselor from the v-t school to which a student has applied interviews the applicant, who is rated on a numeric scale with respect to motivation, attitude, and readiness for a vocational-technical program. Data about seventh and eighth grade marks, mastery test results, and absences from school are compiled and assigned a numerical value. The four sets of scores are combined on a weighted basis. (Attendance is worth 10 percent; the other categories are worth 30 percent each.) Using this total score, an applicant is placed on a ranked list.
The maximum score an applicant can receive is 120 points. There is no systemwide minimum score an applicant must attain to be admitted to a state vocational-technical school. The minimum scores of those offered admission vary from school to school, depending on the number of applicants and the size of the school.
A total of 5,618 students applied for admission to v-t schools statewide for the 1999-2000 school year as the Class of 2003. Statewide, the scores of the students who were offered admission ranged from 12 to 116. (Seventeen students did not have scores.) The minimum scores of the students accepted at the individual schools ranged from 12 to 67. The maximum scores ranged from 88 to 116.
Figure II-2 shows the status of the applicants systemwide at the start of the 1999-2000 school year. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) were offered admission. Almost 60 percent actually entered the system. The proportion of students accepted at each school ranged from 54 percent to 93 percent. Appendix D contains a detailed analysis of admission scores for the Class of 2003.
Applications for the Class of 2004 declined to 5,327. Approximately three-quarters (79 percent) were offered admission, while 58 percent actually entered the system.
Anyone not selected initially for admission to a v-t school is placed on a waiting list. As students offered admission decline, individuals from the waiting list are offered admission. Applicants not accepted at a v-t school have the right to request a review of that decision and examine all information used in assessing their own application.
To increase the chance someone on a waiting list will be able to attend a v-t school, the central office of the school system recently implemented changes to improve the coordination and exchange of information among the 17 schools. Waiting lists are shared by the schools, and applicants are notified they can have their application considered by another school.
A limited number of higher-grade level students may be accepted at a v-t school on a space available basis. Similar selection criteria are used for these students, but the time frame of the grades and attendance record reviewed is adjusted to include up-to-date information.
Capacity
The maximum number of students who can be served by a particular v-t school changes periodically. Storage areas are converted into classrooms, other classrooms are reconfigured to accommodate new uses such as computer laboratories, and buildings undergo more substantial renovations that add new space.
The last comprehensive school-by-school review of capacity was conducted in 1985. Revised estimates were developed in the mid-1990s and again in October 1999. During the 1990s, secondary-level capacity decreased at 10 schools, stayed the same at one school, and increased at six schools.
In the mid-1990s, secondary-level capacity for full-time students at the 17 schools ranged from a low of 422 in Manchester to a high of 836 in Bridgeport. The average school capacity was 670. By 1999, the same schools were still at the lower and upper limits, but their capacities were 536 and 816, respectively. The average capacity systemwide had increased to 689.
Calculation of capacity in the adult program differs. A few adults take classes with secondary students on a space-available basis, but those individuals would be counted against the secondary-level capacity. There are a few full-time adult only programs, but most adult enrollees are part-time students taking courses between 3:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Thus, these students are served in addition to the secondary students.
Enrollment
Secondary enrollment in the v-t schools peaked at nearly 12,500 students in October 1983. It declined annually thereafter, reaching a low of 9,200 in October 1994. Since then, enrollment has increased each year.
During this same period, the overall secondary student population in Connecticut also exhibited a pattern of lengthy decline, followed by annual increases. From a high of nearly 182,000 in October 1980, the number of students in grades 9-12 reached a low of 125,000 in October 1990. Enrollment increased annually thereafter, and the October 2000 enrollment totaled nearly 156,000 students.
The proportion of secondary students attending vocational-technical schools has consistently ranged between 7 and 8 percent for the past 20 years. Figure II-3 shows the total number of students in grades nine through 12 and the portion enrolled in v-t schools at five-year intervals since 1980.
Secondary enrollment levels at the 17 v-t schools differ considerably. Although the physical size of each facility limits maximum enrollment, the relationship of enrollees to capacity is highly variable. Some v-t schools consistently attract a large number of applicants for the places available, while other schools do not attract enough applicants to fill all of the spaces they have.
Using the October 1999 capacity estimates, the 17 v-t schools had enough room to accommodate 11,720 secondary students; actual enrollment was 10,452. The overall percentage of capacity used was 89 percent, but the rate per school ranged from 71 percent to 113 percent.
Figure II-4 shows the percentage of estimated secondary capacity used at each v-t school on October 1, 1999. Appendix E contains a series of graphs showing October 1 secondary enrollment versus estimated capacity for each v-t school for the period from 1993 through 1999.
Although some adults enroll in v-t schools as day students, most adults take only a few classes per year in the afternoon or evening. Systemwide during school year 1999-00, there were almost 4,000 adults in such programs.
Approximately one-third of the adult students are in apprentice-related courses. Most of the others are taking extension or bilingual classes. Fewer than 10 students were working toward high school diplomas, and less than 50 were in classes contracted for by an outside entity. (The number of registrants in the latter programs vary considerably from year to year.)
Sending towns. Children from all but five Connecticut towns attended vocational-technical schools during SY 98-99. Based on October 1, 1998, enrollment data, the number of vocational-technical school students per town ranged from one to 1,004. All but one of the towns that contains a v-t school sent more than 100 students to v-t schools.
Figure II-5 shows the portion of towns sending each specified range of students to v-t schools. One-quarter of all towns sent between 10 percent and 32 percent of their secondary students to v-t schools; half sent less than 5 percent. The number of different v-t schools attended by students from the same town ranged from one to four. Proximity to multiple v-t schools appears to be a key factor in explaining this result. Appendix F presents town statistics regarding v-t school enrollment for SY 98-99 and a map showing the percentage of children from each town who were attending v-t schools.
A less detailed analysis of data for the 1999-2000 school year found the number of different v-t schools attended by students from the same town ranged from one to five. (Six towns sent no students to v-t schools.) The number of different towns sending students to the same v-t school ranged from six to 32. Most schools have students from less than 20 towns.
Student Profile
Although the v-t school system draws students from throughout the state, a majority of its secondary students come from the major urban areas of the state. Based on groupings of towns compiled by the Department of Education for comparison purposes -- known as Educational Reference Groups (ERGs) -- for SY 99-00, the vocational-technical schools drew 60 percent of their students from towns classified as belonging to two ERGs -- H and I. The towns in these two ERG classifications have the highest percentages of single-parent families, children receiving AFDC, and families who do not speak English at home.
Less than 3 percent of the v-t students came from towns in the ERG A and ERG B classifications. Those two ERGs contain the towns with the highest median family incomes, education levels, and percentages in managerial and professional occupations.
There are some notable differences among the individual v-t schools, reflecting variations in the specific regions they predominantly draw from. During the 1999-2000 school year, 84 percent of the students from towns categorized as belonging to ERG I attended five v-t schools, while seven v-t schools had 10 students or less from an ERG I town. At the same time, a single v-t school accounted for 56 percent of all of the students from ERG A and ERG B towns who attended v-t schools. Only one v-t school had students enrolled from every ERG. Appendix G presents detailed October 1, 1999, enrollment data by ERG for each v-t school.
In terms of gender, systemwide during the 2000-2001 school year, 36 percent of the secondary students were female. The percentages of female students in individual v-t schools ranged from 18 percent to 55 percent.
Figure II-6 shows the change in the percentage of females enrolled in the v-t school system since 1980. The actual number of females and the percentage of total enrollment have increased most years since 1980. The major exception was several years in the late 1980s when the numbers declined slightly, but the percentage stayed even.
However, there is a significant gender imbalance within specific trade programs, with several predominantly attracting enrollees of one gender. For example, females comprised 10 percent or fewer of those enrolled systemwide in Electrical, Plumbing, or HVAC on October 1, 1998. At some schools no females were enrolled in those programs. Alternatively, less than 5 percent of the enrollees in Fashion Technology or Hairdressing that year were males.
The overall racial composition of the student body has become more diverse since 1980. At that time, minorities comprised 14 percent of the secondary enrollment at the 17 v-t schools. By the 1989-1990 school year, they comprised one-quarter of the students, and by October 2000, they made up 39 percent of secondary enrollment. Figure II-7 shows the systemwide racial breakdown for SY 00-01.
Again, individual v-t schools differed considerably. For SY 00-01, two v-t schools had less than 5 percent minority enrollment, while two other schools were over 93 percent minority. The median rate was 26 percent. Appendix H contains individual v-t school enrollment data regarding gender and racial composition.
The number of secondary students with disabilities requiring special education programs at v-t schools has comprised about 15 to 18 percent of total secondary enrollment throughout the 1990s. These students represented 6 percent of secondary enrollees in 1980.
For SY 99-00, systemwide 14 percent of the v-t school students were special education students. (This was the first decline since SY 89-90.) Individual v-t school rates ranged from 6 percent to 23 percent. Statewide, the proportion of students who received special education services that year averaged 13 percent.
Standardized Test Results
Schools statewide are required to assess their school systems and their students on a variety of performance-related measurements. This information is reported in the Condition of Education Report issued annually by the Department of Education. Data for the students in the vocational-technical schools are also included.
The Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT),is given annually to Grade 10 students in the spring. It tests students in four areas -- math, language arts (literature and editing), science, and interdisciplinary. From 1995 through 2000, on average, 95 percent of all v-t school 10th grade students took at least one portion of the CAPT. This is slightly higher than the state average of 92 percent.
For the test administered in the spring of 2000, systemwide 15 percent or fewer of the v-t school students scored at or above goal on any of the four areas of the test. Statewide, between 37 percent and 46 percent of those taking each area of the test scored at or above goal.
Figure II-8 shows the systemwide v-t results for each test area for 2000. The state average for the same year is included as well as the results for ERG H and ERG I, the two reference groups representative of the towns where a majority of the v-t students live. Appendix I presents individual v-t school specific data for 1995 through 2000.
Although a majority of the students attending a v-t school may not plan to attend college, some do go on to two-year and four-year colleges. Many of these students take the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) while enrolled in high school.
For the Class of 1999, systemwide 31 percent took the SATs. The percentage of the graduates of the individual v-t schools taking the test ranged from 13 percent to 55 percent. The systemwide average total score was 785. Statewide, 78 percent of those graduating from high school in 1999 took the test. The average combined score for math and verbal was 1007.
On the non-scholastic side, tenth grade students are tested on physical fitness. There are four components of the test. For those tested in the fall of 1999, 24 percent of the v-t students passed all four parts. The statewide average was 39 percent.