Obama Administration Releases ESEA Blueprint

March 15th, 2010

This weekend, the Obama Administration released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) with the goal of raising expectations of students and rewarding schools for producing dramatic gains in student achievement. The blueprint builds on the reforms currently being undertaken through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including:

  • College- and Career-Ready Standards and Assessments
  • Great Teachers and Leaders in Every School
  • Equity and Opportunity for All Students
  • Raise the Bar and Reward Excellence
  • Promote Innovation and Continuous Improvement

Many of these priorities align to the areas of focus in NASDCTEc’s ESEA reauthorization recommendations.

Of particular note in the blueprint is the administration’s plan for funding for assessments in the law, which CTE could be a part of [emphasis added]:

“States will receive formula grants to develop and implement high-quality assessments aligned with college- and career-ready standards in English language arts and mathemat­ics that accurately measure student academic achievement and growth, provide feedback to support and improve teaching, and measure school success and progress. States may also use funds to develop or implement high-quality, rigorous statewide assessments in other academic or career and technical subjects, high school course assessments, English language proficiency assessments, and interim or formative assessments. Beginning in 2015, formula funds will be available only to states that are implementing assessments based on college- and career-ready standards that are common to a significant number of states. The program also will support competitive grants to consortia of states, and to other entities working in partnership with states, for research on, or development and improvement of, additional high-quality assessments to be used by multiple states in such areas as science, history, or foreign languages; high school course assessments in academ­ic and career and technical subjects; universally designed assessments; and assessments for English Learners and students with disabilities.”

CTE may also benefit from the proposed grant program to increase access to accelerated learning opportunities  that help students prepare for, or directly provide, college-level work such as dual enrollment and early-college programs.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will testify before both the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday to discuss the blueprint.

By Nancy in Legislation, Public Policy
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Sneak Peak at ESEA Proposal: President Obama’s Weekly Address

March 13th, 2010

PresidentOn Monday, the Administration will to send to Congress its blueprint for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Leading up to this unveiling was today’s Presidential Weekly Address, titled ‘Education for a More Competitive America & Better Future.’  The address can be viewed here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/weekly-address-education-a-more-competitive-america-better-future 

Key messages:

  • Education is absolutely essential to our nation’s competitiveness.
  • The goal of ESEA is to ensure ALL students are prepared for college and a career.
  • The federal role will be to encourage reform and set high standards but educators will have flexibility in how to meet these goals.
  • The legislation will reward excellence, push for continuous improvement for schools doing an OK job and push for dramatic change in the lowest performing schools.
  • There will be a strong focus will be on teachers- teacher preparation, professional development and retention.

The President’s closed the address by stating,

“As a nation, we are engaged in many important endeavors: improving the economy, reforming the health care system, encouraging innovation in energy and other growth industries of the 21st century.  But our success in these efforts – and our success in the future as a people – will ultimately depend on what happens long before an entrepreneur opens his doors, or a nurse walks the rounds, or a scientist steps into her laboratory.  Our future is determined each and every day, when our children enter the classroom, ready to learn and brimming with promise.” 

Check back on Monday for a summary of the ESEA blueprint!

By Kimberly in Legislation, Public Policy
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NASDCTEc Explores National Inventory of Credentialing Programs

March 12th, 2010

Students today may graduate and receive a high school diploma, but what leverage does this provide out in the real world? You don’t have to be an employer to know that a high school diploma will not give someone a leg up when looking for a job. In today’s competitive workforce, individuals will have to be equipped with some proof that documents their ability to meet career expectations. Many programs may cultivate well-qualified and skilled individuals, but without a recognized credential these students do not have the documentation that will capture employers’ attention and trust. So, how do we help individuals stand out and, most importantly, secure a job?

CredentialsExamplesA credential – a license, certification or degree – is a form of documentation that may give a student the edge employers look for, as they place a higher premium on evidence of career training and some type of postsecondary education. We may recognize this fact, but what are the next action steps we must take? The long hard work of determining which credentials are of the quality that will be recognized by employers stands before us. But do we even know what credentials are out there? At NASDCTEc, we have put together sample listings of credentials that exist nationally in order to provide a foundation upon which to build as knowledge and implementation of credentials grows.

These listings reflect NASDCTEc’s vested interest in the Career Clusters framework and the programs of study model born out of it, which clearly states the necessity for studies to end in a credential. We are aware, however, of the limited resources for credential information. To help publicize what is available nationally, we have updated the credentials listings, originally part of the 2002 Career Clusters Resources guides, to remove and edit inaccuracies and to reflect the new credentials that have emerged in the past eight years. These credentials, organized by cluster, are not endorsed by NASDCTEc; they do not include everything that is available, but rather provide examples of the different kinds of licenses, certificates and degrees currently granted on a national level.

While interest in credentials is increasing, we realize that assessing the inventory of credentials is just the first step to understanding how credentials will play a role in helping individuals gain employment. We must still address some challenging questions, particularly: how do we create and implement assessments that both accurately measure skills and provide students with a credential that is valued by industry and postsecondary institutions?

TechniquesAssessmentsA recent article written by our own Executive Director Kimberly Green and Communications and Marketing Manager Erin Uy for ACTE’s Techniques magazine, “Raising the Bar: Technical Assessments for Secondary CTE Programs” (page 23-26), tackled this difficult question. To help give answers, the article looks at OVAE’s exploration of a test item bank and assessment clearinghouse as a means of systemic solution and also SkillsUSA as an example of an incremental solution that is industry-guided. Finally, it cites the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) program as an example of an assessment and certification that is valued by both industry and postsecondary institutions. These three main examples show the difference in approach the nuance required to respond. There is no one correct way, we must combine the new and existing assessments; collectively, there is a solution.

While our work has been cut out for us, we hope that our updated credentials listings will serve as a valuable resource!

By Emma in Career Clusters, Research
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Recording Now Available for NCES Webinar

March 12th, 2010

The recording of the recent webinar CTE Statistics and Your Input Equals Better Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is now available. Staff of the National Center for Education Statistics are continuing to welcome your comments and suggestions, particularly in the following areas:

  • What workforce preparation issues are most important in your state: at the secondary leval, at the postsecondary level, for adults who have left school?
  • What specific data do we need to show how education prepares people for work?
  • What would be good ‘workforce preparation’ indicators?

Please direct your responses to Lisa Hudson of NCES at lisa.hudson@ed.gov.

By Ramona in Research
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Congressional Leaders Urge Inclusion of SAFRA in Reconcilliation Bill as They Mull Cuts

March 11th, 2010

Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, joined House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra at a press conference this morning to address the need to include the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) as part of the reconciliation bill. The Congressmen said that they believed attaching the bill to health care legislation in reconciliation would garner more votes for health care passage. The House passed SAFRA this fall, while the Senate is being held up by health care.

This press conference comes in the wake of new analysis last week by the Congressional Budget Office showing that SAFRA would save $67-billion over 10 years by ending the bank-based system of distributing student loans. This projection is $20 billion less than President Obama’s estimates.  As a result, Congressional Democrats have reportedly begun private discussions about cutting down the $87-billion SAFRA bill.

The President’s American Graduation Initiative became part of the House passed SAFRA bill and would fund grants for community colleges and area CTE schools to expand their academic and training programs, enhance linkages, and create innovative programs.  Funding would also be available for facilities modernization.

The Congressmen declined to say what would be cut from the bill, with Rep. Miller telling the The Chronicle of Higher Education: “That’s a matter of discussion between Senator Harkin and myself and the leadership. I’m not going to answer the question because I’ve got to sit down with them.”

By Nancy in Legislation
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Local Jobs for America Act

March 11th, 2010

Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. George Miller, announced H.R. 4812, Local Jobs for America Act yesterday along with Reps. Keith Ellison and Phil Hare, Elizabeth Kautz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and  Ronald  Loveridge, president of the  National League of Cities.  The goal of the bill is to create or save one million jobs, preferably local jobs that will increase the demand for small businesses and help spur recovery.  Included in the proposal is $23 billion to help states support an estimated 250,000 education jobs, as well as $500 million for 50,000 on-the-job training slots to help private business expand employment.

“Job cuts by local communities threaten to derail America’s economic recovery,” said Miller. “Local communities are having to choose between raising taxes to sustain essential services or firing more workers. We should not ask students to forgo a year of education or tell families that their safety will be compromised because local governments have to lay off teachers and police officers. This bill will quickly create local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.”

By Nancy in Legislation
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CLASP Recommendations for WIA Reauthorization Promote Shared Accountability System

March 10th, 2010

In a new set of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) recommendations, CLASP advocates for significant changes to performance accountability for workforce development and adult education programs authorized under WIA.  The recommendations included:

  • Title I of WIA should focus on high quality education, training and related services that provide individuals with the necessary skills and experience to access jobs that pay family-supporting wages and have advancement potential.
  • Title II of WIA, also known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, should focus on increasing the rate at which all adult education students attain career and postsecondary success.
  • Title I and II should be better aligned within a career pathways framework in order to provide more intensive and integrated workforce development and adult education services that are linked to income, work and academic supports and to better connect these systems with employers and postsecondary education.

Regarding their recommendation for better alignment, CLASP would also like to see a shared accountability system across WIA and other workforce development and education programs like the Carl D. Perkins Act, postsecondary education, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This shared system of accountability would include a shared set of interim and outcome measures, consistent definitions of units of service that can be used across federal programs, commonly agreed upon cost-allocation methods for services funded by multiple sources, and consistent standards of data quality and data sharing.

By Nancy in Legislation, Public Policy
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Senate ESEA Hearing: The Importance of World-Class K-12 Education for our Economic Success

March 10th, 2010

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the first in a series of hearings focused on reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), titled “The Importance of World-Class K-12 Education for our Economic Success.”  Committee chairman, Senator Tom Harkin, in his introductory remarks emphasized that the United States has fallen in many educational categories relative to the rest of the world.  For example, college completion rates of U.S. students have fallen to 12th in the world, and this country has fallen from 3rd to 15th in the number of scientists and engineers produced – an area vital to our increasingly technological world. Ranking member, Senator Michael Enzi, stated that our economy depends on skilled workers and that some training and education beyond high school is needed to earn a family sustaining wage. We are threatened with a deficit of skilled workers, which impedes our ability to lead the world in global competitiveness.

Witnesses included:

  • Andreas Schleicher, head of the Indicators and Analysis Division, Education Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Paris, France
  • Dennis Van Roekel, president, National Education Association
  • Charles Butt, chairman and CEO of H-E-B, San Antonio, Texas
  • John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable

In his written statement, Mr. Van Roekel stated that we live in a rapidly changing world, and “our public school system must adapt to the needs of the new global economy. Every student will need to graduate from high school, pursue postsecondary educational options, and focus on a lifetime of learning because many of tomorrow’s jobs have not even been conceived of today.”

Mr. Castellani provided the Business Roundtable’s ESEA recommendations in his written testimony.  Included in these recommendations was to engage students by “demonstrating that standards based curriculum has real world applications in acquisition of knowledge and increased opportunities for career exploration and exposure.”

While none of these witnesses mentioned CTE, certainly their recommendations and concerns could be met in part by the the work being done in CTE.

By Nancy in Legislation
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Deficits of $1 trillion per year expected over the next decade

March 8th, 2010

New preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released on Friday projected that President Barack Obama’s budget would lead to annual deficits averaging nearly $1 trillion for the next decade. These estimates are larger than the budget shortfalls expected by the White House. According to CBO, annual deficits under Obama’s budget plan would be about $976 billion from 2011 through 2020, while the Obama administration estimated that its budget would result in an average annual budget shortfall of $853 billion for the next 10 years. The reason for the discrepancy is that the Obama administration’s estimate expects more tax revenue.

The CBO and the White House agree on the amount of government spending over the next 10 years — about $45 trillion — but CBO expects Obama’s policies laid out in his budget will bring in $35.5 trillion in tax receipts, while the White House expects $37.3 trillion. CBO expects less tax revenue due to slowed economic growth over the next decade.

President Obama recently created a bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform consisting of lawmakers and experts who are tasked with making recommendations to Congress by the end of the year to balance the by 2015. Democratic congressional leaders have pledged to hold votes on the commission’s recommendations after the mid-term elections.

By Nancy in Public Policy
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Community Colleges’ Assets Hidden, Report Says

March 5th, 2010

Community colleges have long served the nation and its workforce by playing a significant role in providing the necessary education and training for individuals. And in light of the nation’s economic turn of events, community colleges are experiencing even more growth and facing greater demand to serve as an educational and training hub.

But with this great opportunity, community colleges are also facing different and higher expectations. An obstacle to their growth may be their inability to demonstrate accountability – comparable evidence that community colleges are meeting the desired goals.  A recent report, Counting the Hidden Assets: First Steps in Assessing the Impact of Community College Noncredit Education Programs on the Workforce and Local Economies, by the Community College Resource Center explores the issue.

The report notes that “there is no standard national measurement of the direct educational and economic benefits of noncredit courses to their communities, so they are not systematically evaluated.” That means despite the demand for community colleges by individuals and the growing requirement by employers for workers with postsecondary education, policymakers and other funders may lack the valid information to understand the need to support community colleges, the report said.

The report provides recommendations on how to measure success of community colleges as a first step to address the very large issue of data collection and measurement, and relating the information to accountability and standards.

By Erin in Public Policy, Publications
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