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According to a recent CNN.com article, “high schools are being transformed into career academies or adding smaller vocational schools within their buildings. In Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley recently announced an initiative that will let high school students become qualified to work in particular industries. Students would then use their certificates to find high-skill, high-paying jobs.”

Three-quarters of high school technology education programs have disappeared since the early 1980s, according to the California Industrial and Technology Education Association. As a result, the number of high school courses offered has dropped from about 40,000 in the late 1980s to 24,000 in 2005-06, according to state data.

The association cites an aging faculty, few reinforcements and competition for financial and space resources as well as pressure for college-prep courses as reasons why.

The resultant curriculum resembles a Jeopardy-style game show in which memorizing for standardized tests is the prize, says Jim Aschwanden, executive director of the California Agricultural Teacher’s Association.

“We have a generation of students that can answer questions on tests, know factoids, but they can’t do anything,” said Aschwanden, an appointee to the state Board of Education.

Congress recently reauthorized $1.3 billion for career-based courses in high schools and community colleges, which President Bush had pushed to eliminate so more funds could be steered toward reading and math courses. Now, with both federal and state support, students can now pursue career training while in high school at many schools across the nation.