There are, of course, many problems involved in the establishment of an adequate reporting and evaluating system. Some are soluble technical problems. Others, stemming from the lack of staff and budgets at Federal, State, and local levels, can be solved with money. In particular, if the Federal Government wants accurate and adequate reports and evaluation, it will probably have to provide funds to the USOE for this purpose. It should not expect to withdraw funds from basic support budgets for reporting. The more important problems, however, are those of politics and leadership. Traditions of State and local independence in vocational education are strong and sensitive, but the reporting of pertinent data need not violate them. Actually, many States already accumulate most of the needed data in order to manage their own programs and need only to be asked for it. The Commissioner of Education already has legislative authorization to demand it and sufficient sanction to get it, but this authority remains unused.

The gaps in statistical data, the deficiency in depth of reporting, as well as the lack of adequate standards for evaluation of performance are not merely mechanical or technical problems. They are actually problems of leadership. Without accurate and adequate information, administrators cannot give direction. And giving clear direction as to how to carry out the objectives of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 is the responsibility of the leaders in vocational education.

It is the responsibility of Federal leadership to (1) carefully design a system which will yield the pertinent information with a minimum of expense or burden to State and local educators, (2) sell the latter on the need for the data, (3) see that it is obtained accurately and on time, and (4) see that it is used for meaningful evaluation. This process undoubtedly would be expedited if part of the cost of data collection could be paid to the States.

ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Federal and State legislatures, industry and labor representatives, and many school administrators have recognized the benefits of advisory committees in developing effective vocational education programs. For many decades, ad hoc committees, particularly on the local level, developed curriculums, evaluated school programs, and increased the interest of the community in vocational education. The Vocational Education Act of 1963, however, added new functions to the role of advisory committees. In step with the policy of involving the economic groups of the society in shaping policies, planning and implementing training programs, the 1963 act set up a National Advisory Committee on Vocational Education. The act also made mandatory the creation of State advisory councils in all States where "persons familiar with the vocational education needs of management and labor in the State" were not represented on the State board which administers Vocational education. To the National Advisory Committee was assigned the important responsibility of advising the Commissioner of Education on all policy matters, including preparation of general regulations for all Federal vocational education programs.

How seriously have the administrators of vocational education taken this mandate of the Vocational Education Act of 1963?

No reports are available that permit an evaluation of the contributions that the new boards have made. On the local level the oldestablished ad hoc committees have continued to give valuable assistance to the planning and administration of vocational education programs, but in many States the boards have yet to come to grips with their statutory duties.

The responsibility for the failure of these committees, to function properly rests, to a large extent, with the U.S. Office of Education, which has not learned how to use advisory committees successfully for the purpose of reviewing existing programs and policies, and for originating new programs. Basically, it is the role of the Office of Education to give leadership to the advisory committees on the national as well as on the State levels and to stimulate interest in the effective use of committees for planning, coordination, and evaluation of programs. The National Advisory Committee on Vocational Education will not function properly unless full-time staff is assigned to coordinate its work with the Office of Education and to relate continuously the work of the Office to the Board members. The State advisory committees will not function properly unless the Office of Education gives serious leadership to the States through guidelines and publications, including "how-to-do-it" instructions.

Advisory committees should not be regarded as a chore to which the administrators give lipservice. They are conveyor belts which transmit the interests and needs of the "customers" to the "producers”—administrators, policymakers, and teachers.

SUPPORTING SERVICES

The Vocational Education Act of 1963 requires that at least 3 percent of the each State's allotment be used for ancillary services to assure quality in all vocational education programs. Actually, the States spent almost 10 percent in 1966 for this purpose, a total of $49,663,000 in Federal, State, and local funds. The 1963 act defines ancillary services in a very broad sense, listing six specific examples: teacher training and supervision, program evaluation, special demonstration and experimental programs, development of instructional materials, State administration and leadership, and "periodic evaluation of State and local vocational education programs and services in light of information regarding current and projected manpower needs and job opportunities."

Here again, the reporting system is not very helpful in evaluating the effects of the ancillary services and activities on the quality of

vocational education.

The number of vocational teachers (full time and part time) increased from 109,000 in 1965 to 124,000 in 1966, a gain of 16.6 percent. The increase is promising, but estimates are that a 150-percent increase during the next decade will be needed to meet projected enrollments. This, along with the continuing need for upgrading present teachers, is a major challenge.

Although the States and, particularly, local school administrators are now giving greater attention to vocational guidance and counseling, the size of the guidance staff in vocational education is still much too small. Only 1 out of 10 academic high schools are without a

counselor, but only half the vocational schools furnish guidance and counseling services. Only one-half of the States have guidance personnel on their staffs, usually one person to each State. The guidance and counseling functions at the U.S. Office of Education are also greatly understaffed.

Adequate counseling services are indispensable to high-quality vocational education. Little progress has been made since the enactment of the 1963 act toward offering vocational students the same services that are provided-at least in some States-to the college-bound students. Practically no guidance and counseling services are provided to outof-school youths and adults and very little to youths with special needs. However, the critical need for more counseling and guidance for vocational students at all levels should not be an excuse for creation of a separate counseling and guidance system. What must be available are well-trained counselors familiar with the full range of opportunities open to all youths, not those so specialized that they tend to bias students' decisions in one direction or another.

Lack of data prevents evaluative statements as to the impact of the 1963 act on most of the other supporting services for which Federal funds can be used. In some States significant demonstration and experimental programs on the local level are now in progress. Important experiments and demonstrations are also supported by other programs such as those in MDTA skills centers. Some progress is being made in preparing curriculums and instructional materials. No definite information is available as to the impact on the quality of programs.

Research projects funded by the Division of Comprehensive and Vocational Education Research have investigated problems and practices of various ancillary services, including teacher training, curriculum development and administration, and leadership in vocational education. The Research Division also has funded several national seminars for leaders in vocational education; for example, for guidance personnel and for teachers and administrators in several occupational categories.

THE IMPACT OF THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1963

In summing up accomplishments, or their lack, one constantly must be aware that insufficient time has passed to permit the new law to be fully implemented. The impact of changes is clearly visible in some areas, and, thus, credit should be given for achievements. In other areas, the objectives of the new law have not yet been accomplished, and a faster pace is in order.

The Vocational Education Act of 1963 introduced two new basic purposes into the Nation's vocational education system: First, Vocational education was to serve the occupational needs of all people in the community through unified programs rather than to train them in separate programs of selected occupational categories. Secondly, a new group was to be served: The persons who could not succeed in a regular vocational education program because of educational, socioeconomic, and other obstacles. There is little evidence that either of these major purposes has been accomplished so far.

The second main objective-to serve the youths with special needs— has hardly been touched.

The box score on other changes has been considerably higher: Home economics has made real progress toward a greater concern for gainful employment; research in vocational education has begun; area schools have been rapidly established; business education has been accepted as an integral part of vocational education; time requirements for vocational programs have been brought more into accord with needs, instead of being rigidly prescribed; a start has been made toward effective relationships with the Employment Service; work-study programs have been successful; a Federal Advisory Committee on Vocational Education has been established; States have more balanced representation on their boards of vocational education and their advisory committees; and vocational guidance has been improved in quantity and quality.

III. THE STATUS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

The achievements and limitations of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 discussed above suggest significant improvements in the status of vocational education in the United States. They also indicate the continuance of substantial problems. Because of the absence of information on who receives vocational education, how much they receive of what kind, what its quality is, and what happens in the lives of people as a result, we have been unable to complete satisfactorily our assignment to appraise the results of VEA 1963. However, we have access to a number of limited studies, and we aggregate among us considerable experience with vocational education in various parts of the country and under varying circumstances. Quality, quantity, and practice differ greatly by State and community and across rural, suburban, small city, and large city areas. Generalizations, however, can be made. One distinct generalization is this: In vocational education the Federal Government gets greater results per dollar spent than in any other occupational preparation program. The 100,000 vocational teachers are one of the Nation's greatest assets, and the work they do must be expanded, as well as improved. What follows is our best judgment of the general status of vocational education in the United States of America on January 1, 1968.

WHO GETS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION?

Overall enrollments increased from 4.5 to 6 million between fiscal years 1964 and 1966, but secondary level enrollment constitutes only a quarter of the total high school enrollment of the Nation, even though five out of six youths never achieve a college education. Less than one-half of the non-college-trained labor force was found by a 1964 Labor Department survey to have had any formal training for current jobs. Less than 4 percent of the 18 to 21 population were enrolled in postsecondary full-time vocational education, with less than 3 percent of the 22 to 64 population involved in part-time adult extension courses. Yet we are convinced that the time has arrived when almost every person requires some formal preparation for employment and most will continue to need some type of continuous up

grading.

As mentioned in preceding sections, even more troubling is the fact that vocational education still appears to suffer most in quantity and quality for those who need it most. Rural high schools tend to be too small to offer more than agriculture, home economics, and office education. Most of their students will ultimately seek urban jobs but have no preparation for urban life. This deficiency has been particularly serious for rural southern Negroes whose resultant plight can be observed in most large cities of the land. Generalized programs of orientation to the world of work could be provided within the resources of small rural schools, but a satisfactory solution will require consolidation of schools and, in some parts of the country, residential schools.

Vocational offerings also tend to suffer in both quantity and quality in the slums of large cities if for no other reason than that most school offerings suffer from overcrowding, deficient personnel, inadequate budgets, and deteriorated facilities.

Many suburban high schools still assume that all students will pursue a 4-year-college degree. Their vocational offerings tend to be high in quality but often deficient in quantity. Thus, as a general rule, adequate vocational offerings for secondary school youth are found most frequently in cities of small to medium size faced with none of the crushing rural and slum problems.

Viewed by sex and age groupings, vocational education opportunities are currently most inadequate for women and out-of-school youth. There are too few meaningful occupationally oriented public school courses and programs available for any adult, most evening courses having more of a hobby orientation. Proprietary school courses are available in some areas but not in others, and tuition is an obstacle. For women the problem is worse because of the limited range of courses offered even for girls in school.

A third of our labor force is made up of women, most of whom are expected to cope with the difficult task of maintaining a home and a career simultaneously. Women predominate as students in practical nursing, business education, and the homemaking programs. They are reasonably well represented in distributive education. They rarely participate in agriculture and trade and industrial education programs. Since employment of women is high in manufacturing and service occupations, vocational education must strive to meet their needs in these fields. The first step is for vocational educators to become aware of the available employment opportunities for women in many fields, arrange courses to meet their needs, and structure existing courses to attract their enrollment. The second step is for counselors to encourage their participation outside the traditional areas. Research clearly indicates that women profit even more from vocational education than do males.

The persons least well served by our society and by our education and training system are those out of school and under age 20. Graduates of the general high school curriculum, graduates of the college preparatory curriculum who did not attend college, and graduates of the many Vocational curriculums which have lost touch with the world of employment have nearly as many problems as the people we label "dropouts."