The Influence of Earning an Industry Certification in High School on Going to College: The Florida CAPE Act

Jobs that pay livable wages increasingly call for educational attainment beyond a high school diploma, but many of these jobs do not need a bachelor's degree. By earning industry certifications in high school, students may be better prepared for life after graduation. In 2007, Florida enacted the Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act, through which schools receive support to give students the opportunity to earn industry certifications while in high school. Once the state enacted this policy, the number of students earning certifications increased dramatically. Using data from the Florida Department of Education’s Education Data Warehouse, we compared college enrollment and degree attainment for certification earners to non-earners. Then, we compared outcomes for earners within each career cluster (such as Architecture & Construction) to the combined results for earners in all other career clusters. Relative to non-earners, certification earners had higher rates of immediate enrollment at 2-year colleges, and higher rates of earning an associate degree. Among certification earners, few career clusters had positive associations with postsecondary outcomes relative to other career clusters.