Pioneer Institute Statement on Vocational-Technical School Admissions

Advocates seek to require that admission to vocational-technical high schools be done strictly via lottery, but this would only rearrange who gets excluded.

Thanks to their strong performance, voc-tech schools in Massachusetts have roughly 8,000 students on waiting lists.

There are good reasons why mandated admissions lotteries are not the answer to the problem.  First, Massachusetts voc-tech high school enrollment in the aggregate already generally reflects the demographics of sending districts.

There are equally good reasons why the current admission criteria include categories such as discipline, grades, attendance, guidance counselor recommendations and personal interviews.  First, the high-tech equipment voc-tech students use can be dangerous, and precautions must be taken to ensure that students can operate it responsibly.  Second, a voc-tech education is 15 percent more expensive to deliver than a traditional high school education, so it’s important to ensure that students are genuinely interested in pursuing this specialized education.

Finally, nearly every voc-tech school has already changed its admissions policies to reflect regulations promulgated by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2021.  The new policies generally downplay the importance of grades and eliminate excused absences as a factor in the admissions process.  Many schools have also increased their outreach to students and provided staff that conduct student interviews with anti-bias training.

One reform that should be adopted is making it easier for voc-tech high schools to gain access to 7^th and 8^th grade students.  Lack of access disproportionately affects the very students that lottery advocates want to see enrolled in the schools.

In this case, state leaders should take a “first, do no harm” approach.  Rather than pursue a solution in search of a problem, they should invest in expanding vocational-technical high schools that are a national model so they can meet demand.