ACSA supports President Obama’s focus in the Ble
College and Career Ready uprin
t for Re ms emphasis on college and for ’
career ready students as the goal of America’s educational system. ACSA supports college and career ready standards to ensure all students will have the essential skills and knowledge to succeed and have meaningful opportunities upon graduation from high school. ACSA supports California’s commitment to implementing the national Common Core standards in English/language arts and mathematics, however we do believe greater clarity is critical regarding the aspects of career ready.
The role of the federal government in mandating or incentivizing national standards must be carefully navigated given the severe financial constraints of states. Implementing new standards, instructional materials, assessments and new accountability systems is very costly for states. We, therefore, recommend the following key components to effectively implement and strengthen states’ ability to adopt a college and career ready focus:
The federal government should provide financial support for all accountability requirements associated with college and career ready standards. This would include implementation of standards at all grade levels, new instructional materials, assessments, data systems and teacher and leader professional development and training. The federal government should support states to align college and career ready standards to two-year and four-year college entrance requirements of both public and private colleges and universities.
The federal government should support states to align college and career ready standards to career technical education and industry standards and programs offered at the secondary level and beyond. This should include an emphasis on a PreK-16 model where even the lower grades focus upon career awareness and exposure. The federal government should also support the alignment of both college entrance requirements and industry standards with Common Core and other state content standards and support greater collaboration among K-12, business/industry and post-secondary partners.
Defining Career Ready at the National Level
There is an opportunity to better define career readiness at the federal and state level at this point in our history. The national Common Core movement greatly improves upon the articulation of what students should know and be able to do in English/language arts and mathematics. The performance in the sciences and general critical thinking skills should also be expanded in the definition of career readiness. The importance of including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) not just as a set aside, but as an integral trans- discipline must be emphasized at all grade levels. There must be a continuum from PreK-16 so that students can advance at each level and not repeat or have different expectations at each level. This coordination will take the collaboration of national and state policymakers, PreK-12, postsecondary and business/industry.
IHEs and industry must be integral to expanding the definition and role of career readiness in the PreK-12 system. It must be the responsibility at all levels, not just PreK-12, to ready students for careers. It is the responsibility of all partners to truly prepare students for both academic and technical skills needed to succeed.
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