This blog series provides readers with insight on the valuable content that is being shared at the NASDCTEc Spring Meeting. Guest bloggers are partner organizations, supporters and other experts that will be present at the national gathering in Washington, DC in April.
Dr. John C. Foster is first and foremost a dedicated leader and advocate for individuals preparing for the workforce. He currently serves as the President/CEO of NOCTI and its sister company NOCTI Business Solutions. Amie Bloomfield is the Customer Care and Outreach Manager for NOCTI, and will also be in attendance at the spring meeting.
NOCTI and NOCTI Business Solutions provide technical performance assessment for career and technical, secondary, and post-secondary programs in 48 of the 50 states. They also provide career and technical teacher occupational competency testing for universities delivering teacher training. Lastly, these firms provide assessment development, delivery, and reporting help for private industry and associations.
NOCTI, An Eye Toward the Future
The Career Pathways Effect, a joint publication between NASDCTEc and CORD, offers many practical applications for CTE stakeholders. One section within the book is titled “Ensure†and the focus of the chapters within this section discuss proving the successfulness of Career Technical Education (CTE) and ensuring its continuous improvement. Another chapter titled “Certifications†discusses the vast amount of credentials available to CTE students. With available credentials reaching over 1500 options, a focus is clearly needed. Although there has been much debate regarding rubrics for evaluating the quality of certification systems and the resulting certificates, it really boils down to the credibility and applicability of the assessments that drive the certifications.
There is strong emphasis on college and career readiness and this focus continues to make gains in terms of public recognition. Conversely, there are numerous influences within the education community that are drawing the attention of administrators away from this emphasis. These influences include, but are certainly not limited to, the implementation of the common core standards, requirements states have put in place to include student growth measures based on third-party assessments for teacher and principal evaluation processes, the impact of free online learning (MOOCs), and the rising costs of higher education.
NOCTI, a not-for-profit entity governed by an unpaid board elected by the state directors of CTE in all 50 states, works solely for the CTE community to provide the data and support that schools and students need. NOCTI works closely with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE), NASDCTEc, and the Pathways to Prosperity program, just to name a few. New collaborations and initiatives are underway. Here are just a few worth mentioning:
- Alignment of standards and assessments has been completed for three additional certifications and extensive discussions continue with three other organizations.
- Formal discussions are underway with the International Baccalaureate program.
- College credit is now available to CTE students for over 25 assessment titles, with 30 more slated for the 2013-14 school year.
- A Student Growth Measures program has been developed as a tool for the new teacher evaluation requirements.
- Finishing touches are being placed on modules to assist with training new CTE teachers regarding assessment and the use of data.
- Work is underway to incorporate badges into CTE assessments.
Contact us at nocti@nocti.org to see how we can help you. NOCTI is also a gold sponsor of the NASDCTEc spring meeting; stop by and say hello!
The NASDCTEc Spring Meeting will be held in Washington, DC April 15-17 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. More information
Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager