Technical Schools Retool Their Admissions Criteria

HARTFORD (AP) — The state’s technical schools are looking for a new kind of student: one who can handle both a hammer and a hard drive.

The schools, which teach skills for electricians, plumbers, hairdressers, mechanics, and other trades, are putting more emphasis on academics in a new set of admission criteria.

With professions evolving and relying more on high-end technology, schools say students need the academic skills to survive on the job.

The state Board of Education approved the admission changes this week, putting more weight on grades and standardized test stores. The board said students must finish eighth grade and achieve at least a basic score in reading and math on the Connecticut Mastery Test.

Students with criminal convictions or with other serious disciplinary histories in the past two years are not eligible for admission.

“What we have found is you need a certain entry level ability in math, science, and reading to be able to be successful in the trade technology,” said Abigail Hughes, who took over earlier this year as superintendent of the Connecticut Technical School System. “Students who are very, very low functioning and who just don’ t have even the basic skills, they’ re not going to be successful.”

The system’s 18 schools enroll 10,000 full-time high school students and about 5,500 part-time adult students. While educators say the changes may initially cause a dip in enrollment, they expect it to rebound.

“We’re trying to send a very clear message we’re looking for students who are serious about being in a technical school and developing these types of skills,” said Robert Sandagata, principal of Henry Abbott Technical School in Danbury.

Gone from the admissions process is a personal interview, which guidance counselors used to identify potential in applicants. But the time-consuming process often kept counselors’ attention away from the classroom, and was also subjective and an unreliable predictor of success in high school, Hughes said.

Educators in the technical system say they want to change the perception of the schools as havens for underperforming students. While they say they are not trying to lock out students with learning disabilities or reject a student with a potential for a trade, they say a technical school is not the place for a student who is several grade levels behind in reading, writing, or math.

“The skill level that you need to read a technical manual ... the reading level is eleventh to twelfth grade,” Hughes said. “In four years, we can’t bring them up to the level that they need to be successful in technology.”

Educators are also trying to make sure they attract students who really want to be in the schools.

“Those who want to be plumbers, carpenters, and electricians need to be bright students,” said Robert Axon, principal of Kaynor Technical School in Waterbury. “A lot of extra training and time goes into it, and those types of things take a lot of skills.”