Tech prep runs into problems in South Carolina

Black Issues in Higher Education, Nov 27, 1997 by Scott W. Wright

COLUMBIA, S.C. - In what could be a harbinger of the future for the nation, early signs indicate the tech-prep route in South Carolina's high schools does not run much better than the so-called "general track" that it replaced. Education officials believe that inadequate teacher training for the rigorous applied classes could be one problem with the program.

Tech-prep courses target students who cannot handle college-prep work yet still need preparation for jobs. But some say tech prep has become synonymous with mediocrity.

The federal government, other states and national tech-prep supporters are closely monitoring the outcome of the debate here because every state offers tech-prep programs.

"This is not just a problem in South Carolina," says Dan Hull, president of the Center for Occupational Research and Development, a Waco, Texas, group that supports tech prep. "The problem, in many cases, is that principals and superintendents are not providing the professional development that teachers need to change their teaching styles."

Jan Nashatker, a teacher at South Aiken (S.C.) High School who instructs students in algebra, geometry, and math for technologies courses, says tech prep has a tarnished reputation.

"In the minds of a lot of teachers, you're cast into a situation you're ill-prepared for with students who are ill-prepared," she says, adding, "And you're expected to produce results."

The federal government for the past several years has allotted $100 million for tech-prep programs under the Carl D. Perkins Act. The money is divided among the fifty states.

South Carolina education officials say that a handful of school districts statewide perform superbly with good teacher training and high expectations for students. In most districts, however, teachers do not get special training and do not ensure that applied classes are as challenging as their college-prep courses.

"My worst fear, and I think the worst fear of all of us, was that the general track would just be renamed," says Nancy Dunlap, a top aide to state Education Supt. Barbara Nielsen. "My fear is that's what's happening."

The Center for Occupational Research and Development recommends that high school teachers receive at least five days of training on how to teach in tech prep's contextual learning style.

"Then, about every month for the first year," Hull says, "those teachers will need from two hours to a half day of follow-up training" to smooth over any problems they may encounter.

Nationally, tech-prep programs have been around for more than a decade. South Carolina lawmakers, concerned about students poor performance in the general track, mandated the change to tech prep in 1994. Last year for the first time, South Carolina high school freshmen were required to choose either a tech-prep or college-prep path. More than 73,000 students took tech-prep courses last school year.

The state's Department of Education is collecting results from South Carolina's eighty-six school districts and the board plans to discuss the issue this month.

State education officials contend that the applied-path and college-path courses are supposed to teach students the same body of knowledge - just in different ways. For instance, a college-prep physics class might discuss speed and velocity in abstract and mathematical terms. An applied-physics student might learn that lesson while trying to design a car to win the Indianapolis 500 motor race.

Across the country, approximately 4 million students, 20 percent are enrolled in tech-prep programs. But Hull says a higher percentage probably should be placed in tech-prep courses.

"The research shows us that about 80 percent of all students are not abstract learners," he says. "Traditional courses in math and science don't work for them."

Sandy Sarvis, who oversees tech prep for South Carolina's Lexington District 4, worries that if the tech prep is not seen as the equal of college prep across the state, all districts may suffer the stigma. Officials at the University of South Carolina, for instance, say they are watching how well students who came out of tech-prep programs are doing in college classes.

"If they're doing fine, I think our committee will feel comfortable," says admissions director Terry Davis. "If we see students are struggling, we'll have to question [tech prep's rigor]."

Hull has some harsh words for high schools, two-year colleges, and four-year colleges and universities that insist on sticking with conventional teaching methods.

"The schools of education at so many universities have not come forth and recognized the research on contextual learning," Hull says. "They don't teach these methods to our teachers, so our teachers come out of school teaching science and math the same way they did thirty years ago. As long as the universities remain in the dark ages, we'll have these problems."