In Mississippi, 57% of job vacancies through 2022 will be middle-skill jobs, but only an estimated 50% of the state's workers will be trained to fill these jobs. The ACT WorkKeys assessment is the primary credentialing tool for high school students entering the middle-skill labor force. The problem addressed in this study is while Mississippi uses CTE to prepare high school students for middle-skill jobs with credentials earned by taking the ACT WorkKeys assessment, it is unclear if Mississippi's CTE program prepares students to take the ACT WorkKeys exam. This represents a serious problem for students, educators, and employers in Mississippi, as employers rely on ACT WorkKeys certification to make hiring decisions for middle-skill jobs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if student completion of a career and technical education program prepares students to take the ACT WorkKeys exam. This study was guided by Rojewski's framework for technical and vocational education to training (TVET), also called the TVET framework. The questions of the study addressed to what extent does student completion of a career and technical education program influence ACT WorkKeys performance of Mississippi high school students in the specific areas of applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace document. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to reveal if there was a significant difference in ACT WorkKeys exam performance for high school students who completed their CTE program. The study results revealed that CTE program completion influenced high school students' achievement level and performance on ACT WorkKeys applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace document skills and whether or not the students received their ACT WorkKeys certification. The study results show that CTE programs in Mississippi high schools are effective at successfully preparing students for the ACT WorkKeys assessment. Recommendations for future research include comparatively examining the career outcomes of CTE program students or a case study analysis to identify the characteristics of CTE program graduates likely to excel within a singular organization or profession. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]