Statistics show that American students' reading and writing skills are lagging at a time when literacy skills are needed more than ever. Efforts to address low adolescent literacy levels meet numerous challenges, chief among them is the fact that formal literacy instruction ends for most students after the elementary grades. Career and technical education (CTE) helps students bridge the literacy gap by exposing them to rigorous and relevant content that motivates learning; integrating content-area reading and writing strategies; and providing enrichment activities to help students apply higher-level literacy skills. CTE programs have a valuable role to play in improving adolescent literacy. CTE programs provide students opportunities to extend their literacy skills through exercises involving the in-depth integration of both reading and writing, along with critical thinking and employability skills like oral communication, leadership and teamwork. This higher-level literacy will be essential for students in postsecondary education and the 21st century workplace. (Contains 9 endnotes.)