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Posts Tagged ‘Computer Science’

Advance CTE 2023 Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Platinum Sponsor, Oracle – Oracle Academy’s Commitment to CTE Learner Success

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023

As Oracle’s global philanthropic educational program (FREE), Oracle Academy is open to educators around the world to advance technology education, skills, innovation, diversity and inclusion. We offer academic institutions and their educators free teaching and learning resources ― including curriculum, cloud, software and educator professional development ― that help prepare millions of learners with hands-on practice and career-relevant skills.

In my role as Sr. Regional Director for North America, I have the opportunity to speak with education leaders at all levels ― learning, sharing ideas, celebrating successes and understanding challenges. In return, I share information on Oracle Academy learning resources that can be utilized to help elevate Career Technical Education (CTE) learner success and overcome those challenges.

For the last 25 years, Oracle Academy has provided teaching resources as a means to continue the good work of preparing learners with relevant industry skills. Below is a synopsis of a few new resources and tools that are available to current educators:

As Oracle Academy, we understand and value CTE state leaders as partners and welcome the opportunity to collaborate by developing a statewide Oracle Academy membership agreement as a means to support both sustainable and scalable CTE programs. In North America, we also can engage directly with K12 school districts to create Oracle Academy membership agreements to offer teaching and learning resources to support CTE learner success.

Learn more at academy.oracle.com

Denise Hobbs
Senior Regional Director, Oracle Academy North America
denise.hobbs@oracle.com

By Layla Alagic in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Report Examines Differences between “Traditional” and “New Era” CTE

Friday, May 10th, 2019

Last week, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a report examining course taking and learner outcomes in CTE. The author used data pulled from the School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED), and looked specifically at CTE credits taken across 12 occupational areas from 1985 through 2013. The occupational areas were largely divided into two categories: “traditional,” which includes manufacturing, human services, transportation, construction, agriculture and public service; and “new era,” which includes engineering, computer science, communications, health care and hospitality.

The report found that while course taking in the “traditional” areas have either remained stable or declined over time, course taking for “new era” programs increased by 238 percent. The author also pointed to data that show while CTE students on average have outcomes on par with non-CTE students, that overall average masks differences in outcomes between students in “traditional” and “new era” programs, where those in the former are generally not experiencing the same positive outcomes and experiences as those in the latter.

The author recommends that policymakers address these gaps when developing CTE-related policies, and work to ensure that as CTE becomes more popular with more students, students who need higher-quality programs and more supports are not forgotten in a data system that still shows overall gains.

While this report contains a lot of valuable and interesting discussion, there are a few additional points to consider. What the report calls “new era” CTE are the program areas that represent growing industry sectors across the country, so the increase in course taking is an incredibly positive data point, worth celebrating. That finding validates that the field has been and continues to evolve to better meet the needs of the full economy. The occupational areas deemed “traditional” are still incredibly robust and vital fields but do not occupy the same share of the economy as they once did. For example, over 18 million jobs in 1980 were in the manufacturing sector, and that number declined to 12 million by 2013. The work is still rigorous and important, but increasing course taking in an area with declining job opportunities would not serve students or the economy well. CTE should encompass the entire world of work, not just a few limited fields.

An extremely important aspect of the report centers around data. State leaders continue to grapple with finding a better understanding of who is being served by the CTE system, and importantly, who is being served well. To date, states and locals have not been required under federal accountability systems to examine performance data by both student population and Career Cluster or program level to understand where programs are and are not having positive impacts. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) presents important opportunities to address this knowledge gap with intention, and states should take advantage.

Ashleigh McFadden, State Policy Manager

By admin in Uncategorized
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Numerous States Pass Policies Related to Computer Science in 2018

Wednesday, December 5th, 2018

Digital literacy and computer science skills are increasingly necessary for success in today’s workforce, even in fields that are not directly related to information technology. As such, state leaders are recognizing the role that a robust computer science education strategy plays in preparing learners for their future careers and numerous states passed policies related to computer science during their 2018 legislative sessions.

Most recently, in Missouri, on October 30 the governor approved HB3, which creates the STEM Awareness Program to increase STEM career awareness in students grades six through eight. The law also directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to convene a work group to recommend academic performance standards related to computer science.

Similarly, in June, the Hawai’i legislature passed HB2607, which requires the Department of Education to develop and implement statewide computer science curricula plans for public school students in kindergarten to grade twelve and ensure that by the 2021-2022 school year, each public high school offers at least one computer science course for each school year.

In March, the Indiana legislature passed SB172, which establishes the Next Level Computer Science fund and grant program, which will provide grants to eligible entities to implement professional development programs for teachers to provide training in teaching computer science.The bill also requires public schools and charter schools to offer a computer science course as an elective course by 2021.

In total, more than eleven states have passed policies related to computer science, many of which direct the state Department of Education to establish computer science standards or direct schools to offer a computer science course. To learn more about CTE policy trends from 2018, look out for Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education’s (ACTE) State Policies Impacting CTE: 2018 Year in Review coming out in late January 2019. You can still view the 2017 version of the report here.

Brianna McCain, Policy Associate

By admin in Public Policy
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New PDK Poll Shows that Americans Overwhelmingly Support Career Preparation in High School

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

The 49th annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools was released recently, and once again showed the importance of career preparation in K-12 for American students. Respondents overwhelmingly supported the idea that students need classes devoted to preparing them for the real world, including training for specific careers and training on employability and interpersonal skills. Over 80 percent indicated that they would prefer career and jobs preparation courses even if it meant students spending less time in academic courses.

Fewer than half of public school parents (47 percent) expect their child to enroll in a four-year college full time. Other parents expected their child to enroll in two-year colleges or vocational programs, while others expect their students will enroll in postsecondary training part-time while also working. These findings indicate that parents are thinking deliberately and strategically about their students’ futures in the real world.

New Research Highlights Number of Jobs Available for Those without Bachelor’s Degree

A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, in collaboration with JPMorgan Chase & Co. details the 30 million “good” jobs available in the US for workers without Bachelor’s degrees. These jobs pay a median wage of $55,000 annually, and are largely found in the manufacturing and skilled-services industries.

The research also points out that even though there is a wide public perception that there are no jobs available for those without Bachelor’s degrees, workers without them still comprise 64 percent of all workers. However, this does not mean that workers do not require any postsecondary training. Increasingly, jobs are requiring Associate’s degrees or other postsecondary credentials, so future job seekers should still plan on attaining some level of postsecondary experience.

Odds and Ends

The Education Commission of the States recently put together a comprehensive summary of state policy actions taken related to high-quality computer science education. These actions include adopting statewide computer science standards and creating banks of high quality resources for educators to use.

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce also recently released a report detailing the effects of the current healthcare debate on the nursing profession. The report finds that a college education is increasingly important to be successful in nursing, and also finds that lack of diversity remains a challenge for the field.

Ashleigh McFadden, State Policy Manager

By admin in Uncategorized
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Tennessee Expands Access to Community College for Adult Learners

Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

This month Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s vision for increasing postsecondary credential attainment in his state came one step closer to reality. On May 24, Gov. Haslam signed the Tennessee Reconnect Act into law, providing tuition scholarships for adult learners to access one of the state’s many community colleges and Colleges of Applied Technology. The Reconnect Act, a core piece of the Governor’s 2017 state of the state address, will be available to eligible non-degree holding adult students who are admitted into qualifying postsecondary institutions beginning in the fall of 2018.

The program is expected to have a substantial impact. The Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee estimates that 5,503 additional part-time students and 4,102 full-time students will be eligible to receive the grant award in Fiscal Year 2018-19, at an estimated cost of $8.5 million.

Expanding access to postsecondary education and training has been a priority for Gov. Haslam during his tenure. In 2014, Tennessee launched the Tennessee Promise program, a last-dollar tuition scholarship that has seen tremendous growth and success since it was proposed in 2014. The state is seen as a pioneer in expanding access to free community college.

Separately, Gov. Haslam approved bills

Coming Soon to Iowa Schools: New K-12 Computer Science Pathways

Meanwhile, Iowa passed a law to enhance digital literacy with new K-12 computer science standards and funding for teacher professional development. The legislature’s goal is that by July 2019, all elementary, middle and high schools in the state will offer some form of computer science instruction. The bill directs the Department of Education to establish a computer science education workgroup to put together a plan to adopt new graduation requirements, integrate computer science instruction into CTE pathways and develop new K-12 computer science pathways.

Additionally, the law establishes a computer science professional development incentive fund, which Governor Terry Branstad has proposed to fund at $500,000 in his 2019 budget. The fund is designed to help school districts pay for teachers to get additional training on computer science.

South Dakota Approves CTE Standards in Six Clusters

Speaking of standards, the South Dakota Board of Education voted in its May meeting to adopt new Career Technical Education (CTE) standards in six Career Clusters®: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications; Finance; Health Science; Human Services; and Manufacturing. The standards were developed by workgroups of secondary CTE teachers, postsecondary faculty, industry representatives and others. Standards for five additional Career Clusters® will be developed later this summer.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

By admin in News, Public Policy
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Two States Report Positive Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Results

Thursday, May 18th, 2017

Colorado and Washington both released reports recently citing positive numbers on participation dual and concurrent enrollment. In Colorado, 38,519 students, which equals 30 percent of all 11th and 12th graders, participated in concurrent enrollment during the 2015-16 school year. Nearly 40 percent of those students participated in Career Technical Education (CTE) concurrent enrollment courses, which allow students to apply credit towards a technical certificate or degree. Students passed 93 percent of all the credit hours attempted in any concurrent enrollment program.

In Washington, 190,000 students, or two-thirds of Washington high school students, earned dual credit in the 2015-16 school year, which is an increase of 18,000 students over the previous year. In addition to promoting Advanced Placement courses, the state provides supplemental funding for students who enroll in college-level courses at community and technical colleges. While this is an encouraging mark of progress, state officials were quick to note that work remains to be done in closing gaps between racial subgroups.

ACTE Releases Recommendations for Effective Career Counseling in Middle School

The Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), in partnership with Career Cruising, recently released a report and set of recommendations related to career counseling in middle schools. Research has shown that middle school is an excellent time to explore different careers and take introductory CTE courses. The report goes on to describe six recommendations, which are listed in the graphic on the right, for effective career counseling programs and dives into some of the barriers middle schools can face in providing students with quality career exploration experiences. Though many of the recommendations are focused at the local level, the authors note that state leaders have an important role to play in supporting these local innovations and practices.

Odds and Ends

A new analysis out of the California Community College system finds high salary returns for students completing an associate degree. According to the study, which draws on public earnings data through Salary Surfer, 48 percent of students graduating with an associate degree and 44 percent of students graduating with a certificate earned $56,000 or more within five years of completing their credential.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allow computer science coursework to fulfill a core graduation requirement. That’s according to a new state scan from EDC and other research organizations examining state strategies for writing, adopting and implementing computer science standards. The report describes state policies related to ten policy priorities and identifies common challenges and approaches across the states.

A survey of entry-level employees, conducted by the Rockefeller Foundation and Edelman, finds that 49 percent of employees aren’t using skills they learned in college while 90 percent feel they are using skills they learned on the job. The authors suggest that screening candidates based on college degree may limit the talent pool and cut off high-quality employees who could be trained on the job.

Ashleigh McFadden, State Policy Manager

By admin in Research
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Getting to Know… Virginia

Monday, February 13th, 2017

Note: This is part of Advance CTE’s blog series, “Getting to Know…” We are using this series to help our readers learn more about specific states, State CTE Directors, partners and more.

State Name: Virginia

State CTE Director: Lolita Hall, State Director of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Virginia Department of Education

About Virginia: Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Virginia has for years benefited from strong enthusiasm in the state legislature as well as sustained support and commitment from the Office of the Governor. Just this year, Gov. Terry McAuliffe in his State of the Commonwealth speech said that Virginia is “transforming our K-12 system to prepare students for the jobs of the 21st Century, with a particular emphasis on modernizing the [Standards of Learning] and how we deliver high school education.” This effort to modernize the Standards of Learning was initiated by major legislation passed in 2016. The law directs the Board of Education to identify a “Profile” for a Virginia graduate and adopt a more flexible high school experience. Currently, the Board is working with various state agencies to identify opportunities for a new high school graduation system, which is scheduled to be implemented in 2018.

A more seasoned initiative under way in Virginia is the Governor’s STEM and Health Sciences Academy network, which was launched and expanded under McAuliffe’s predecessors, Governors Tim Kaine and Bob McDonnell. The network, which includes 22 STEM Academies and 8 health science academies, are embedded within comprehensive high schools and CTE centers. Through partnerships with business leaders and local institutions of higher education, these academies expose students to a rigorous education with pathways to postsecondary opportunities. Each program includes at least two pathways and undergoes an intensive review process before qualifying for an official Governor’s Academy endorsement.

Programs of Study: Virginia students can also access CTE through 132 school divisions, approximately 350 comprehensive high schools, 10 regional technical centers and 47 local technical centers. Using local labor market information, Virginia identifies and funds programs aligned to priority high-wage, high-demand industries in each region. These programs are aligned with the 16 Clusters and 79 Pathways in the national Career Clusters framework.

A current priority in the Commonwealth is developing a rigorous curriculum in computer science to meet the rapid rate of growth in that sector. This work began in the 2013-14 school year and included cybercamps that provided students with project-based learning opportunities and guest lectures from industry experts through an intensive summer program. In 2016, Virginia held 32 cybercamps, reaching approximately 700 students across the Commonwealth. Moving forward, the Department of Education aims to finalize and launch cyber security curricula to be piloted in the 2017-18 school year.

Cross-Sector Partnerships: Although 85 percent of Virginia’s Perkins allocation is distributed at the secondary level, the Commonwealth has strong, collaborative partnerships across various agencies and sectors. One example is Gov. McAuliffe’s goal to help Virginia students and jobseekers attain 50,000 credentials, a primary objective of the Commonwealth’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) plan. This goal is now shared across 24 state and federally funded workforce programs, each working through various means to increase credential attainment in the Commonwealth. The New Economy Workforce Credential Grant program, for example, is a performance-based grant passed last year that covers up to two-thirds of the cost of tuition for noncredit workforce training programs that culminate in a credential. The initiative is administered by the Council of Higher Education, in partnership with several higher education institutions, and draws on a list of credentials identified and reviewed by the Board of Workforce Development.

On the Horizon: After a busy legislative session in 2016 that culminated in eight CTE-related laws and substantial increases in funding for credentials and CTE equipment, Virginia is fully engaged in implementing and expanding new programs. Even still, the legislature is eying new policies related to apprenticeships and CTE teacher licensure. Additionally, the Office of Career and Technical Education recently merged with the Office of Adult Education in order to streamline programs and facilitate more efficient program and service delivery under WIOA. The office, under Lolita Hall’s leadership, is engaged with integrating both the CTE and adult education portfolios in order to strengthen workforce preparation services for individuals all across the Commonwealth.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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