The educational reform movement has caused parents, students, businesspersons, and legislators to question the relevance of vocational education. Charges that vocational education has become obsolete have compelled vocational educators to work on improving its image in three areas--function, quality, and style. The vocational education programs in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio have each found their own way of responding to increases in the academic requirements for high school graduation. New York has taken a proactive leadership role by designing state syllabi for vocational education that make it possible for students to earn credit for academic skills acquired in occupational courses. Virginia has provided substitutions, guidelines, and standards that will help students obtain academic credit for vocational course work at the local level. Pennsylvania has initiated the idea of fractional credit that may be approved by counting parts of the vocational program that are documentable to be academic credit. Ohio, on the other hand, has not approved vocational courses for academic credit. It did, however, develop a two-year pilot of nine projects allowing three alternatives for obtaining academic credit for vocational courses. Reports from all three states indicate that these programs have been successful and well received. (MN)