Curricular-credential decoupling: how schools respond to college and career readiness policy

This study examines schools’ college and career readiness (CCR) policy responses through the lens of decoupling. We investigate how high schools have jointly implemented career and technical education (CTE) and industry-based certifications (IBCs), and whether there is evidence of curricular-credential decoupling via misalignment between the subject areas of students’ CTE coursework and IBC completion. Descriptive analyses of Texas’s statewide longitudinal dataset (n = 2,119,750) demonstrate the rapid rise in certification rates combined with minimal change in CTE course-taking patterns and a concomitant decline in the rate of CTE-IBC alignment, suggesting schools may be using IBCs as a superficial way to meet CCR requirements. Regression analyses show modest relationships between student characteristics and IBC receipt and CTE-IBC misalignment, while schools explain a substantial proportion of variation. We develop a typology based on these school-level rates, which may be a useful tool for understanding schools’ strategies for CCR implementation across state policy contexts. By comparing school characteristics across typology categories, we highlight factors that may contribute to misalignment and inform policy.