This quantitative ex post facto study investigated the relationship of Tech Prep and non-Tech Prep participation to high school exit examination scores and college readiness scores. College readiness, for purposes of the present study, was defined as achieving the level of performance required by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) test scores on the ACT, Computerized Placement Test (CPT), or SAT for placement in ENC1101, Composition I, and MAT1033, Intermediate Algebra, in Florida public colleges and universities. The high school exit examination pertinent to this study was the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Text (FCAT).

The population included graduates from 2001, 2002, and 2003, selected for the study because they were the first three cohorts required to pass the FCAT as a condition for graduation from high school. The sample for the study consisted of 131,838 records and 32 data elements. Data elements included demographic and academic information pertinent to the research.

Discriminant function analysis was used to examine the extent to which Tech Prep and non-Tech Prep participants differed. Results indicated statistically significant differences between the two groups except when scores were below accepted college readiness scores. Though statistically significant, the small variances derived from analyses suggest that students who participate in career and technical education programs while in high school perform as well on high school exit examinations and college readiness assessments in Florida as those who do not participate.