• Examine whether out-of-school activities that promote the use of technology impact attendance, grades, and persistence in career pathways.
• Consider whether social connections that emerge from technology coursework influence attendance, grades, and persistence in career pathways.
• Generate data on students’ attitudes toward school and study the relationships of student attitudes with attendance and GPA.
• Explore how school districts promote CTE, and how students and parents learn about technology courses that lead to industry certification.
• Examine students’ prior technology experiences and the relationship of these to course selection.
• Probe students’ use of technology in their other classes and its relationship to their interest in coursework that leads to industry certification.
• Study the perceived and potential barriers to technology coursework among girls, English language learners, and minorities.
Although the report addresses the 2008-09 school year, researchers note that data from Florida’s 2010-11 school year “indicate that industry certifications, in particular, are associated with positive student performance. … This [information] include students in all CTE classes, not just technology-focused courses.”
- Children learn best on paper: We need better technology, not less of it - July 13, 2026
- In districts, reaching readiness, retention, and success - March 5, 2026
- AI use is on the rise, but is guidance keeping pace? - January 2, 2026