The importance of standards to influence the expectations of quality learning continues to expand across the nation. States continue to identify strategies for implementation and integration of the common core state standards using national and state resources, as reported at the recent fall meeting in Baltimore.
Dr. Karen L. Alexander, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Texas Tech University provided a very insightful view of Achieve Texas: Promoting a Local College and Career Ready Culture initiative. The vertical alignment project resulted in standards that are now available under the P-16 initiative section at Texas Higher Education Commission website. The resulting crosswalks ensure that CTE courses integrate academic standards and career preparation skills and waited standards and skills can be applied to real-world. A copy of her PowerPoint is available at www.careertech.org.
Kate Blosveren-Kreamer, who is the Associate Director, Strategic Communications and Outreach, at Achieve, Inc., provided a compelling and thoughtful update on the processes associated with state implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In addition, she provided an update on the creation of educational exemplars that integrate the CCSS of math and English language arts with the CTE Knowledge and Skill Statements. The pilot project began in Illinois and build from the process rubric that identified alignment and the intensity of that alignment for tasks targeted in the Pre-Design Construction Pathway. Opportunities for additional states to participate in this work is available.
Mark Williams, Illinois State CTE Director, provided a deeper of the protocol and process utilized to create the math and CTE exemplars. Expanding the use of the protocol to engage additional program areas has led to an expansion of resources developed within the state. The importance of ensuring that all students are college and career ready continues to be an important goal to achieve.
Dr. Dean R. Folkers, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc), provided an overview of the revision process of the Career Cluster(TM) Knowledge and Skills revision and the emergence of the Common Career Technical Core to support a state led development of common career technical standards among states. The unique opportunity to support a common expectation, among states, allows for an equity of opportunity among student learning experiences, and supports a clearer alignment to the Common Core State Standards in the emerging Next-Generation Science Standards.
The presentations and supporting resources are available at www.careertech.org
Dean Folkers, Deputy Executive Director
Tags: Career Clusters®, college and career readiness, common core state standards