Blowe, E., & Price, T. (n.d.). Career and Technical Education: Academic Achievement and                     Graduation Rates of Students in the Commonwealth of Virginia. SAGE Open, 2(3),                     1–8. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244012455437

In this article by Eleanor Blowe, a current high school administrator, and Ted Price, a doctorate professor in Virginia Tech’s Education Department, they address the ever-growing pressures that are being placed on our students today. The study was promoted by their interest in the government’s restrictions on education and how they are causing CTE courses to diminish. To get a better understanding of why this new legislation should be changed they looked into student achievement and graduation rates for CTE and NON-CTE students in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The student achievement was based on their scores from the English reading and mathematics assessments that are outlined by Virginias standard of learning(SOL). Using data from 2008, 2009 and 2010 that were collected from the 131 school divisions in the area they were able to conclude that students enrolled in CTE programs or courses “demonstrate higher mathematics, reading and graduation pass rate”( Blowe, 2012.7). This article is well written, very informative and easy to read; anyone who is looking for more information about the benefits of CTE can understand the text. However, when discussing this article, the reader must understand that there these statements are based solely on the data from schools in Virginia and should not be applied to all students in the US. Blowe and Price’s developments provide me with concrete data that shows a CTE program in the United States that promotes academic success along with career skills.