Written before the congressional deliberations which resulted in changes in the Vocational Education Act, this report makes the recommendations for national priorities of vocational education legislation. The report is in two general sections: (1) A National Planning Association (NPA) joint statement entitled "Strengthening Vocational Education in America" and (2) the basic report in six chapters and five statistical tables. The joint statement contains footnoted explanatory or contradictory comments by individual committee members. Chapter 1 provides an overview of current developments in vocational education and briefly discusses alternative issues. A discussion of enrollment changes, program changes, and the need to reach handicapped and disadvantaged students is contained in chapter 2. Economic and educational performance indicators in relation to vocational education programs are discussed in chapter 3. Chapter 4 considers the labor market changes and discusses rural urban differences. Chapter 5 deals with dollar spending as an indicator of priorities, and chapter 6 discusses the grants system tied to specific legislative objectives. (HD)