Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allocated $125 million for career and technical education (CTE) in her recent budget proposal, the largest funding allocation for CTE ever in the state of Michigan. CTE is popular on both sides of the aisle. A recent review of nearly every governor’s 2025 State of the State addresses found that expanding CTE and workforce development was the most popular education topic, with 33 governors highlighting the value of CTE for students, schools and local economies.
Research has found that CTE students are more likely to graduate from high school than their peers, a conclusion that is supported by the 96% graduation rate among Michigan’s CTE concentrators (students who have completed a sequence of courses). According to surveys, 95% of Michigan’s CTE concentrators are enrolled in postsecondary education, working, or both six months after high school graduation.
This is good news for the over 112,000 students – about 25% of all public high school students – who participated in CTE in 2024. This is Michigan’s highest CTE participation rate in recent memory, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers.
Despite its rising popularity and evidence of short-term benefits, there is a glaring lack of research on the long-term impacts of CTE participation. With more money likely to be spent on CTE in the upcoming years, it is imperative for policymakers to understand which investments will have the greatest impacts. This requires more robust data collection and research.
Read the full article on Crain's Detroit Business
