Folder: College Readiness

In Arizona as elsewhere, the future belongs to the skilled. Education and training are the stepping stones to individual development and economic self-sufficiency. Trained entrepreneurs, professionals and workers fuel business growth, attract prized employers and drive statewide prosperity in all sectors. As Arizona emerges from the Great Recession, its future success requires an education system that provides future workers with the skills and credentials to meet the rising challenge of glob...Read more

Folder: Student Engagement

Student assessment in Career and Technical Education (CTE), and in all disciplines, serves many important purposes. While rooted in demonstrating student proficiency, assessments are also used to measure the effectiveness of curricula, teaching practices, targeted supports, program design, and other aspects of the educational system. A thoughtfully-designed assessment system can be transformative to a teacher’s instructional practices (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005; Popham, 2008). CTE educators c...Read more

Folder: Transitions

In the United States, postsecondary education and training has become more necessary than ever.
For recent high school graduates, life is tough. In the past year, one in four young high school
graduates was unemployed and over half were underemployed.1 In the past decade, recent
high school graduates’ wages have fallen by 12 percent to just $19,400 annually in 2011,
below the poverty threshold for a family of four.

The downward plight of high school graduates did not begin yesterday....Read more

Folder: Transitions

Career and technical education (CTE) is a significant component of high school education. For the last several decades, more than 90 percent of public high school graduates have earned at least some credits in CTE, with graduates from the class of 2005 earning an aver-age of 4.0 CTE credits (Hudson and Laird 2009; Levesque 2003; Levesque et al. 2008; Tuma 1996).1 As demand for a high-skill workforce has increased, re-forms have focused on changing high school CTE from an alternative to the c...Read more

Folder: Leadership

The evolution of convergence nationwide and worldwide has prompted education leaders to once again address the persistent gaps and inconsistencies in education. The downward spiral of the achievement levels of U.S. students continues. If the United States is to maintain its prominence in the global marketplace, a convergence of rigorous academic and relevant career and technical education (CTE) skills required by business and industry needs to manifest itself in new ways.

Teaching for both...Read more

Folder: Student Engagement

Student-Identified Barriers to Community College Success

A this recently released study, considerations reported on the opinions of current and former community college students (including completers and non-completers) about the expectations for and experiences in college. This report, by Public Agenda and WestEd, is a part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success initiative, Completion by Design. In the focus groups that inform the substance of this study, the aut...Read more

Folder: Teacher Effectiveness

The National Research Council just released this mammoth study. It addresses the research on and standards developed for 21st century competencies, which the authors further break down into cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies, and the need for more research on the relationship between these competencies and adult outcomes.


Interestingly for CTE, the report calls attention to the practical and applied dimensions of deeper learning. The authors recommend policies that s...Read more

Folder: Student Engagement

The Center for American Progress’s new publication, Do Schools Challenge Our Students? What Student Surveys Tell Us About the State of Education in the United States, examines student-reported survey data from the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The researchers draw the conclusion that, for many students, school is insufficiently challenging. For instance:



•37 percent of fourth-graders report that their math work is too easy.
•39 percent of senior...Read more

Folder: Leadership

The best high schools in America are creating stronger blueprints for success through the use of career and technical education (CTE) concepts and applications: model CTE programs are already embracing their role in delivering academic skills and knowledge; likewise model academic high schools are already embracing traditional CTE program components to improve student achievement.

You can download the most recent whitepaper from the Career and Technical Education Technical Assistance Cent...Read more

Folder: Transitions

Overview:
Achieve
May 24, 2012

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by 46 states and the District of Columbia, there is a tremendous opportunity to rethink the role of literacy and mathematics not only within academic classes but also in CTE courses and pathways, encouraging more collaboration and integration between educators across disciplines.

Details:
Common Core State Standards & Career and Technical Education: Bridging the Divide between College and Care...Read more