The curriculum is provided by Virtual Enterprises International (VEI), a non-profit organization that also provides training for the VE teachers (known as facilitators), provides virtual start-up capital to the firms, and runs the online marketplace in which firms sell their goods or services. Together, the students develop and implement a strategy for the firm and participate in a virtual economy with other VE firms. Individual students assume specific roles, such as CEO, marketing manager, or human resources employee.
Intervention: VE is a year-long class in which students run a virtual firm.
IES VE COST FOR FREE
Between 7 and 90 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The student demographics in the targeted schools range from 1 to 63 percent African American, from 4 to 76 percent Hispanic, and from 1 to 74 percent white. Sample: Approximately 6,800 students in the 11th and 12th grades will be part of the RCT. The participating schools come from four urban and suburban counties. Setting: The study will take place in high schools in New York, Florida, and California. The research team will also present results to participating schools. These products will be shared via conferences and social media. The research team will disseminate shorter products for education practitioners, policymakers, and CTE and workforce development organizations. Products: The research team will produce a report documenting findings and at least three published journal articles. The researchers will use a combination of administrative data, assessments, and surveys during and after the intervention to compare academic and employment outcomes for eligible students who were assigned to the VE program and those who were not. Eligible students from two cohorts (school years 2022-24) will be randomized into the VE program.
IES VE COST TRIAL
Project Activities: The research team will conduct a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) including districts in three states and approximately 40 high schools that already have an oversubscribed VE program. VE has been adopted by over 430 schools across 18 states, and prior implementation studies indicate that it has the potential to increase student motivation and employability skills. However, there is very little causal evidence showing the impacts of CTE or WBL on student academic or employment outcomes, and none showing the impacts of SBE. School-based enterprises (SBE) are one form of WBL, in which students run a business that produces and sells goods or services, and may offer unique benefits relative to other types of WBL by providing opportunities for more students to participate, reducing the need for transportation, and allowing students more room to make, and learn from, their mistakes. A growing number of education practitioners and researchers have argued that incorporating career and technical education (CTE), including work-based learning (WBL), into high school curricula can improve students' engagement and their readiness for postsecondary education and the workplace. Many high schools are struggling to ensure that all graduates are prepared for college and the workforce, and employers consistently report difficulty in finding workers with sufficient employability skills, such as teamwork and communication. Purpose: For this project, the research team will provide the first causal evidence on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Virtual Enterprises (VE), a virtual SBE program.
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