America Diploma Project Network Jauary 2008 POLICY BRIEF The Perkis Act of 2006: Coectig Career ad Techical Educatio with the College ad Career Readiess Ageda By Has Meeder for Achieve, Ic. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 1
Executive Summary At the forefrot of the movemet to improve America s high schools ad esure all studets are prepared for college ad careers is the America Diploma Project (ADP). There curretly are 32 states i the America Diploma Project Network, each dedicated to developig ad implemetig a college ad career readiess ageda. At the same time, all fifty states are implemetig requiremets of the Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Improvemet Act of 2006. Although, o the surface, their approaches look very differet, the Perkis Act ad the America Diploma Project focus o a commo objective: esurig that all America youths graduate from high school with the skills ad kowledge they eed to be ready for college ad careers. This paper addresses the major compoets of the ew Perkis Act, reviews how the Perkis Act curretly is beig implemeted by states ad suggests a umber of specific strategies state ADP leadership teams could employ to implemet the ADP ageda ad the Perkis Act. The overarchig purpose of the Perkis Act is to develop more fully the academic ad career ad techical skills of secodary educatio studets ad postsecodary educatio studets who elect to eroll i career ad techical educatio programs. The 2006 reauthorizatio icluded four sigificat chages to the Perkis Act that have relevace to the America Diploma Project ageda. These chages focus o the improvemet of CTE Programs of Study; the expasio of state ad local accoutability measures, icludig ew measures of techical skill attaimet; Tech Prep flexibility ad accoutability; ad the lik betwee CTE ad persoal ad ecoomic competitiveess. By April 1, 2008, every state will be required to submit a Multi-Year Pla to the U.S. Departmet of Educatio to cover activities for the remaiig five years of the authorizatio cycle. For the states i the ADP Network, this provides a timely opportuity to closely alig the ADP ageda with the state s Perkis pla. There are four major areas that offer the potetial for aligmet betwee the ADP ad Perkis policy agedas, each represetig their ow opportuities ad challeges for ADP leadership teams. Specifically, the two policy agedas may be coordiated as policymakers cosider the aligmet ad itegratio of academic cotet stadards to esure multiple pathways that are equally rigorous; the use of CTE Programs of Study to ecourage studet preparatio for college ad careers; the measuremet of techical skill attaimet to determie work readiess; ad the stregtheig of accoutability systems to measure ad improve local results. There are importat opportuities to lik implemetatio of the Perkis Act with a state s America Diploma Project ageda. I particular, state ADP teams ca support the developmet of Programs of Study ad support policies that give all high school studets, ot just CTE participats, the opportuity to create a persoalized pla of study that icludes a rigorous academic core paired with courses focusig o a idetified career iterest. States ca also closely coordiate the developmet of CTE assessmets ad accoutability mechaisms, ad pay particular attetio to graduatio data ad trasitio data that track studets from secodary to ad through postsecodary educatio. The followig is a list of strategies that state ADP teams ad CTE leaders ca cosider workig o together: Coordiate Perkis plaig with school improvemet plaig; Coordiate the developmet of CTE Programs of Study to iclude K-12, postsecodary ad busiess represetatives; Facilitate the itegratio of academic ad CTE cotet ad applicatios; Build shared logitudial data systems betwee K-12 ad postsecodary systems; ad Assure portability of CTE dual erollmet credits. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 2
INTRODUCTION At the forefrot of the movemet to improve America s high schools ad esure all studets are prepared for college ad careers is the America Diploma Project (ADP). There curretly are 32 states i the America Diploma Project Network, each dedicated to developig ad implemetig a college ad career readiess ageda. These states are workig to develop a public policy structure to esure all studets complete high school possessig the kowledge ad skills they eed to succeed i college courses or etry-level jobs with opportuities for advacemet through skilled employmet. Accordig to Achieve, Ic., sposor of ADP, 18 states have already adopted ad are begiig to implemet a college readiess curriculum requiremet for all studets. At the same time, all fifty states are implemetig requiremets of the Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Improvemet Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-270), which was passed by the U.S. Cogress ad siged ito law by Presidet George W. Bush i August 2006. Some of the ew provisios of this law took effect i the fall of 2007, ad other reforms take effect begiig i the summer ad fall of 2008. The provisios of the ew Perkis Act reflect the reforms ad recofiguratios of programs that have take place i career ad techical educatio sice the 1990 ad 1998 revisios of the federal law. I some places, state ad local practices have preceded ad shaped the ew federal law, ad i other places, the pace of chage has bee much slower. Policymakers ad educators aroud the atio are wrestlig with a importat challege how to raise expectatios for high school achievemet, while icreasig relevace ad egagemet i learig to keep studets i school. Career ad techical educatio (CTE) is receivig reewed attetio as a strategy for icreasig school egagemet ad rigor as policymakers grapple with these complex challeges. Although, o the surface, their approaches look very differet, the Perkis Act ad the America Diploma Project focus o a commo objective: esurig that all America studets graduate from high school with the skills ad kowledge they eed to be ready for college ad careers. If studets complete high school with a high level of readiess for college ad the workplace, it will help stregthe America ecoomic competitiveess at the regioal, state ad atioal levels. This paper is writte to iform leaders, particularly those who are implemetig the ADP ageda i their states, about the opportuities to alig ad coordiate strategies betwee ADP ad the Perkis Act. It addresses the major compoets of the ew Perkis Act, discusses CTE more broadly i the cotext of the ADP ageda ad reviews how the Perkis Act curretly is beig implemeted by states. Fially, the paper reviews a umber of specific strategies state ADP leadership teams could employ to implemet the ADP ageda ad the Perkis Act, which are complemetary ad mutually supportive. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 3
OVERVIEW OF THE PERKINS ACT The overarchig purpose of the Perkis Act is to develop more fully the academic ad career ad techical skills of secodary educatio studets ad postsecodary educatio studets who elect to eroll i career ad techical educatio programs. The Perkis Act of 2006 is the result of a multi-year process i which Cogress ad the Admiistratio squared off over a umber of widely varyig policy optios. I the ed, the eacted legislatio maitais a federal fudig stream desigated solely for career ad techical educatio programs, while buildig upo ad stregtheig the existig CTE accoutability system ad emphasizig activities to ease the trasitio of studets from secodary ito postsecodary educatio programs. Fuded at a little over $1.3 billio, the Perkis Act is very small i compariso to other federal educatio programs such as $12.8 billio for Title I of the Elemetary ad Secodary Educatio Act/No Child Left Behid Act ad $11.8 billio for the Idividuals with Disabilities Educatio Act. 1 A 2001 estimate foud that federal vocatioal grats amouted to about five percet of local spedig o secodary vocatioal educatio programs ad about two percet of spedig at the postsecodary level. 2 Still, Perkis fuds are the oly federal fuds desigated for career ad techical educatio services, ad as such, the requiremets of the law put a miimum set of stadards i place that ifluece how all state ad local fuds are spet o CTE programs. As oe state director of CTE said recetly, the Perkis Act is 10 times the driver of CTE policy i my state tha other CTE fuds appropriated by the state legislature. Aother uusual feature of the Perkis Act is that it iflueces CTE services at both the secodary ad postsecodary levels directly ad has leveraged a growig degree of cooperatio betwee the systems. Key Chages i the 2006 Legislatio There are four sigificat chages to the ew law that all have relevace to the America Diploma Project ageda. These are CTE Programs of Study, Accoutability, Tech Prep, ad Competitiveess. All of these chages, as well as additioal budgetary ad o-discrimiatio requiremets, must be addressed i each state s pla for Perkis implemetatio that is submitted to the U.S. Departmet of Educatio for approval. Requirig New Career ad Techical Programs of Study Uder Perkis 2006, states have the resposibility to create ad/or recogize a series of ew CTE offerigs called CTE Programs of Study. Programs of Study iclude a subset of the geeral types of CTE courses that are typically offered at high schools, regioal CTE schools ad commuity ad techical colleges. What makes Programs of Study distictive from geeric CTE is that each Program is meat to be a cohesive offerig of academic courses paired with CTE courses. Curretly, high school studets ofte choose CTE courses without cosiderig the academic courses ecessary to pursue the career field at the postsecodary level, ad select academic courses without makig a coectio to ay area of career iterest. The Programs of Study help esure studets are takig the right mix ad sequece of CTE ad academic courses. 1 U.S. Departmet of Educatio (2008), Departmet Of Educatio Fiscal Year 2008 Cogressioal Actio, U.S. Departmet of Educatio, Washigto, DC. 2 Silverberg, Marsha, et al (2004), Natioal Assessmet of Vocatioal Educatio, Fial Report to Cogress, U.S Departmet of Educatio, Washigto, DC. http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/sectech/ave/avefial.pdf ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 4
I additio to likig academic ad career courses withi the high school, a Program of Study has specific mechaisms that coect the etire high school program to a related postsecodary program. A Program of Study should have closely aliged cotet that is ot duplicated across systems, ad may allow qualified studets to ear college credits while still erolled i high school. A CTE Program of Study also is desiged to culmiate with a recogized credetial, certificate or degree at the commuity or techical college level although certificates could also be offered at the secodary level of the Program as a itermediate skill validatio. A sample pla of study, selected from 81 sample plas of study created by the States Career Clusters Iitiative is icluded i Appedix B. 3 The Perkis Act descriptio of CTE Programs of Study allows for programs that lead from high school directly to baccalaureate degree programs at colleges or uiversities, i additio to programs that lead to certificates ad associate degrees at commuity ad techical colleges. While the ew defiitio of CTE does ot actually shift Perkis fuds to baccalaureate level programs, the broadeig of the defiitio still represets a sigificat shift i philosophy for CTE ad the Perkis Act. Uder the ew law, each local recipiet of Perkis fuds, which icludes school districts, commuity/techical colleges or area CTE schools, must offer the portio of at least oe Program of Study that is appropriate to its studets. This is a miimal requiremet, sice may colleges ad districts that offered Tech Prep programs already met this requiremet. May states are cosiderig how to require all or most of their high school-based CTE courses to be icorporated ito Programs of Study. For states that choose to require all secodary ad postsecodary CTE programs to be aliged through the developmet of active ad ogoig parterships ad shared program expectatios, this will mark the begiig of a dramatic trasformatio of CTE. Expadig State ad Local Accoutability for Results Uder the Perkis Act of 2006, local recipiets are held accoutable for the achievemet of idividual studets i a series of performace idicators, while the previous versio of the Perkis Act oly held the state accoutable for aggregated results. Typically, studets are couted i the Perkis accoutability system whe they have ivested a sigificat amout of time i a CTE program area. Although the Act defies CTE as a sequece of courses, i local applicatio, it is ot always ecessary or required that related classes be take i a fixed sequece. Measurig Achievemet, Completio ad Trasitios There are separate idicators set by the state for secodary ad postsecodary educatio providers. High school programs must measure academic achievemet ad high school graduatio; techical (career-related) skill attaimet; ad trasitios to college, employmet or the military. Postsecodary idicators iclude techical skill attaimet; program retetio ad completio; ad trasitios to further postsecodary educatio, the military ad employmet. Both secodary ad postsecodary programs are also accoutable for o-traditioal participatio ad completio, meaig the percetage of youg me ad wome that participate i ad complete a CTE program i which their geder is uderrepreseted sigificatly. For a full table of the various accoutability idicators required uder Perkis, see Appedix A. For high school academic achievemet, Perkis requires states to use idicators that are already established by the state through the accoutability system uder the No Child Left Behid Act, focusig o achievemet i math ad Eglish Laguage Arts ad high school graduatio rates. Otherwise, the Perkis Act gives states the authority to establish their 3 For the full list of sample Programs of Study developed by the State Career Cluster Iitiative, see their website: http://www.careerclusters.org/resources/web/pos.cfm ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 5
ow performace idicators i cosultatio with the local recipiets of fuds. Performace targets are established for each of the idicators at the state level, ad the also by each local recipiet, based o the state performace target. If the state or local recipiet does ot come close to meetig its performace target for ay oe of the idicators, it must create a pla of actio to improve performace o that idicator. Uder certai circumstaces, if a state or local recipiet fails to make ecessary improvemet agaist the idicators, the federal govermet ad state govermet is authorized, but ot required, to implemet sactios. The U.S. Secretary of Educatio or the state is required to provide techical assistace targeted to improvemet o the missed performace idicator, but o specific actios or supports are madated. I reportig o studet performace o the idicators, studet iformatio is to be disaggregated by the group categories established i the No Child Left Behid Act,4 as well as the categories outlied i Perkis, ad disparities ad performace gaps are to be idetified at both the local level ad the state level. However, local recipiets ad states are ot held accoutable for studet performace accordig to the subgroup categories. Accoutability targets are established for the aggregate performace of all studets across all high school pathways at the local or state level. A New Approach to Assessig Career-Techical The law ow requires ew measuremets for techical skill attaimet, usig assessmet istrumets that are valid ad reliable, ad based upo idustry-recogized stadards, where available. States are ot ecessarily required to use idustry-based credetials ad may choose ot to. It ca be difficult to obtai performace data from such credetials, sice the results ofte are the legal property of the studet, ot the school or college. If the state does ot use idustrybased credetials for some or all of its programs, it must develop aother assessmet mechaism ad justify that the assessmet process meets the criteria for validity ad reliability. I order to develop CTE assessmets, may states are reewig ad upgradig their CTE cotet stadards, or developig them for the first time. Ultimately, as the ew assessmet mechaisms are developed ad admiistered, the goal is for there to be a much higher level of comparability ad accoutability for program improvemet. Providig More Accoutability ad/or Optios for Tech Prep Tech Prep is a smaller program withi the Perkis Act that was created i 1990 with the purpose of demostratig a more rigorous form of CTE that held studets to high academic expectatios ad helped them make smooth trasitios ito postsecodary studies ad appreticeships. The program required school districts ad colleges to form cosortia to which the Tech Prep state fuds were distributed. Over the years, Tech Prep was implemeted with a wide variatio i quality. 5 Some Tech Prep programs developed explicit ad active parterships that helped studets make successful trasitios; i may other sites, results were difficult to measure. While may articulatio agreemets had bee created betwee schools ad colleges that liked programs, few studets actually kew about or took advatage of the articulatio agreemets opportuities to ear advaced college credit. Give that the ew CTE Programs of Study requiremets i Perkis 2006 are very similar to previous requiremets for Tech Prep, the Act gives states the optio to maitai Tech Prep as is with icreased accoutability idicators or to merge Tech Prep ito the geeral Perkis state grat program. If a state maitais Tech Prep, it must idetify Secodary Tech Prep studets studets who have erolled i at least 4 See Sectio 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elemetary ad Secodary Educatio Act of 1965. 5 Natioal Assessmet of Vocatioal Educatio: Fial Report to Cogress. U.S. Departmet of Educatio, Washigto, DC, 2004. http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/sectech/ave/avefial.pdf ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 6
two courses i the secodary educatio compoet of a tech prep program ad Postsecodary Tech Prep studets studets who have completed the secodary portio of a Tech Prep program ad subsequetly erolled i the postsecodary portio of that program uder the Tech Prep accoutability model (See Appedix A). New performace idicators for Tech Prep will measure how may studets ear postsecodary credits while i high school, how may go o to eroll i postsecodary educatio, how may cotiue i the course of study at the postsecodary level i which they participated at the high school level, how may complete the postsecodary program i a reasoable legth of time ad what employmet sector the CTE program completers eter. About half the states are mergig their Tech Prep fuds ito the Perkis state grat program. Some that are mergig the fudig are also explorig ways to cotiue Tech Prep activities by requirig ad supportig local coordiatio to build parterships betwee school districts ad colleges, ad supportig the implemetatio of CTE Programs of Study. Ecoomic ad Persoal Competitiveess A ew purpose of the Perkis reauthorizatio is to provid[e] idividuals with opportuities throughout their lifetimes to develop, i cojuctio with other educatio ad traiig programs, the kowledge ad skills eeded to keep the Uited States competitive. Additioally, throughout the Act, states are called upo to ecourage preparatio for high-skilled, high-wage ad high-demad careers, while the specific workig defiitios of these terms are left to the states. I draftig these provisios, Cogress drew a careful balace betwee helpig idividuals grow ad advace i their areas of iterest ad aptitudes ad makig sure that available programs are focused o those areas that will help keep the Uited States competitive. There is a uavoidable tesio betwee idividual iterests ad relevace to the job market whe a educatioal istitutio is decidig which programs to offer. I some CTE ad job traiig programs, the pedulum may have swug too far to the side of idividual iterests. Restorig a good balace may mea that more attetio should be paid to esurig the market relevace of programs that are offered. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 7
KEY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES By April 1, 2008, every state will be required to submit a Multi-Year Pla to the U.S. Departmet of Educatio to cover activities for the remaiig five years of the authorizatio cycle (Federal Fiscal Years 2008 through 2012.) For schools ad colleges, the Multi-Year Plas will gover activities for school years 2008-09 through 2012-13. For a state, the Multi-Year Pla explais what the state curretly is doig to meet the requiremets of the Perkis Act ad how it will carry out ew requiremets of the Act. For the 32 states i the ADP Network, this provides a timely opportuity to closely alig the ADP ageda with the state s Perkis pla. Sice the state agecy with the lead resposibility for the Perkis Act is ot always the state s K-12 agecy, ADP coordiators may eed to exert substatial effort to secure proper aligmet betwee the ADP ageda ad the Perkis Act. This sectio reviews the followig challeges ad opportuities for that aligmet: The America Diploma Project (ADP) is a iitiative, maaged by Achieve, Ic., to esure that all studets graduate from high school prepared to face the challeges of college ad the workplace. The ADP Network icludes 32 states dedicated to the same goal. ADP is desiged to esure that all states: 1. 2. 3. Alig high school stadards with the kowledge ad skills required for success after high school. Require all high school graduates to take challegig courses that prepare them for life after high school. Streamlie the assessmet system so that the tests studets take i high school also ca serve as readiess tests for college ad careers. The Aligmet ad Itegratio of Academic Cotet Stadards; Usig Programs of Study to Ecourage Studet Preparatio for College ad Career Readiess; 4. Hold high schools accoutable for graduatig studets who are ready for college or careers, ad hold postsecodary istitutios accoutable for studets success oce erolled. Measurig Techical Skill Attaimet to Determie Work Readiess; ad Aligig Accoutability for Results. The Aligmet ad Itegratio of Academic Cotet Stadards Several provisios of the Perkis Act articulate how CTE programs should relate to established academic stadards. Oe provisio directs the state to support programs that iclude coheret ad rigorous cotet aliged with challegig academic stadards, that have bee adopted by the state uder the No Child Left Behid Act. Aother provisio requires the state to esure that studets who participate i such career ad techical educatio programs are taught to the same challegig academic proficiecies as are taught to all other studets A third related provisio i the Perkis Act promotes programs that itegrate rigorous ad challegig academic ad career ad techical istructio. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 8
Implicatios Each of these sets of provisios addresses the cocept of rigorous ad challegig academic stadards from a slightly differet approach. The first approach is to esure that CTE cotet is aliged to rigorous ad challegig academic cotet that CTE course cotet rus parallel to ad complemets challegig academic cotet stadards. The secod approach is to esure that CTE studets themselves are taught to the same academic stadards ad expectatios as other studets. Furthermore, the third expectatio is that rigorous ad challegig academic cotet is itegrated ito ad with the CTE cotet. These provisios origially were desiged to couter the practice that prevailed at oe time whe CTE studets were held to lower academic expectatios tha o-cte studets. They ofte were placed ito a lower level o collegeboud track. While some of the provisios are holdovers from previous Perkis authorizatios, icludig esurig CTE studets are taught to the same academic stadards as their o-cte peers, the ew Perkis improves upo the legislative itet to elimiate the two-track approach ad raise expectatios for studets who take CTE courses. As far as aligmet to rigorous ad challegig academics ad teachig to the same stadard, ufortuately these provisios carry little weight o their ow. I states where there is a wide variatio of expectatios for studets, CTE programs ca still be aliged to less rigorous academic expectatios ad meet the requiremets of the Perkis Act, particularly sice there is o clear defiitio of rigorous ad challegig. Itegratio of academic ad career ad techical educatio is ot defied i the Perkis Act, but it typically is implemeted through two otable approaches. Oe approach is to idetify academic cotet that is iheret withi a CTE program, ad teach those skills more explicitly through applied lessos. The secod approach is to fully itegrate the cotet of a academic course ad CTE cotet i a way that both academic credit ad CTE elective credits ca be awarded. For example, i some cases, a agriculture sciece program ca be couted for a sciece credit o a studet s high school trascript, ad a busiess accoutig program ca be recogized as a mathematics credit. A first step toward academic itegratio is creatig a crosswalk of academic stadards that reside i a CTE curriculum. A vital secod step is to prioritize which academic stadards should be taught ad create clear processes for how to itegrate academic cotet i CTE courses. This requires sigificat professioal developmet ad the creatio of model lesso plas for academic itegratio. Noteworthy State Practices Schools i Miesota, Colorado ad Ketucky have participated i the Math-i-CTE Project, coordiated by the Natioal Research Ceter for Career ad Techical Educatio. This project ivolves professioal developmet i which groups of teachers from several CTE disciplies work with math teachers to idetify ad extract math cocepts embedded i their courses. CTE ad math teachers collaborate to develop CTE istructioal practices that allow CTE istructors to teach these cocepts usig the same termiology ad formats that studets experiece i their traditioal math courses. O multiple measures, these activities produced measurable improvemet i the math achievemet of CTE studets. 6 The Florida Departmet of Educatio provided support to the Volusia/Flagler Career Coectio Cosortium to develop a comprehesive set of stadards, lesso plas ad professioal developmet relatig to 6 For more iformatio, see http://www.ccte.org/ ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 9
academic itegratio. 7 I a wide rage of CTE courses, there are lesso plas that crosswalk ad prioritize the teachig of relevat ad assessed academic stadards, as well as employability skills that are valued by employers. A umber of other districts have bee traied i the process ad are ow cotributig additioal resources ad lesso plas to the project website. 8 Ketucky has created a series of fully itegrated CTE/academic courses such as Costructio/Geometry, Graphic Arts/Geometry, ad Agriculture/Life Sciece. These courses are taught i a double block or over a two-year period ad fulfill all the cotet requiremets of a academic course ad a CTE course. The courses are listed separately o the studet s high school trascript. 9 I Colorado, the Jefferso Couty School District has itegrated academic stadards ito a umber of its CTE courses offered at the Warre Techical High School ad awards academic credit coutig toward graduatio for these courses. Lovelad High School offers a fully cotextualized Costructio/Geometry course, primarily for 9th ad 10th graders. Studets who took this course last year (the first year of the program) scored at the highest level of proficiecy o the Colorado Studet Assessmet Program geometry test of ay other group of studets i the Lovelad school district. 10 I Califoria, the state Departmet of Educatio recetly fialized its Model Curriculum Stadards ad Framework, a extesive set of documetatio that icludes foudatio skills ad specific curriculum stadards for CTE programs withi each of the idetified 15 Idustry Sectors, a term which is parallel to the clusters termiology used i other states. A advisory group made up of over 50 idividuals from busiess ad idustry, higher educatio (icludig commuity colleges), teachers ad faculty developed ad reviewed the CTE framework durig a four-year process. Through this process, Califoria also did a crosswalk of the state academic stadards that ca be ifused ito various CTE courses. I some program areas, such as agriculture, educators have developed model CTE program criteria to describe how academic ad CTE cotet ca be delivered so that the course ca be idetified as part of the A-G Curriculum. 11 Local school districts may build local programs based o the model curriculum stadards with the cofidece that the Uiversity of Califoria ad Califoria State Uiversity systems will recogize the course as meetig A-G requiremets. I Massachusetts, the Blackstoe Valley Regioal Vocatioal Techical High School has demostrated cosistetly high levels of studet achievemet o the state Massachusetts Comprehesive Assessmet System (MCAS) i Eglish ad Math. Blackstoe s expected graduatig class of 2009 reached its highest level ever, with 96 percet of its studets scorig proficiet or advaced o the first admiistratio of the madatory state graduatio test. 12 Similarly, New York ad Arizoa have gathered data that idicate CTE studets are scorig at higher level o the states Regets ad Arizoa Istrumet to Measure Stadards (AIMS) exams, respectively, tha the geeral studet populatio takig these assessmets. 7 Florida State Pla for Carl D. Perkis Career ad Techical Educatio Act of 2006, 10/19/07 Draft. http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/perkis/perkis_home.asp 8 For more iformatio see http://www.career-coectio.org/ctefcatcoectio.htm 9 For more iformatio see http://educatio.ky.gov/kde/istructioal+resources/career+ad+techical+educatio/iterdiscipliary+courses/ 10 For more iformatio, see research data at http://www.geometryicostructio.org/ 11 The Uiversity of Califoria has established the A-G Curriculum as the core high school courses that must appear o a studet s high school trascript for the studet to be eligible for uiversity admissio. This A-G Curriculum, while ot required for all Califoria high school studets, i large part drives the course-takig decisios of studets who aspire to uiversity participatio. 12 For more iformatio see http://www.valleytech.k12.ma.us/ ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 10
Usig Programs of Study to Ecourage Studet Preparatio for College ad Career Readiess The Perkis Act (Sectio 134) does iclude a provisio i which school districts must describe how they will ecourage career ad techical educatio studets at the secodary level to eroll i rigorous ad challegig courses i core academic subjects (as defied i sectio 9101 of the Elemetary ad Secodary Educatio Act of 1965). Perkis also requires that the school district or college describe how career guidace ad academic couselig will be provided to career ad techical educatio studets, icludig likages to future educatio ad traiig opportuities (Sec 134(b)(11)). Implicatios The provisio to ecourage erollmet i rigorous ad challegig courses is compatible with the ADP policy pillar of requirig all high school graduates to take challegig courses that prepare them for life after high school. The difficulty is that there are really o teeth to the Perkis provisio. First, schools are required oly to ecourage such course-takig. There is o related reportig requiremet or is there a clear or cosistet defiitio of rigorous ad challegig. Yet, i paragraph 11 of the local pla requiremet, the district must esure that it will provide itegrated career ad academic couselig to CTE studets to help studets uderstad future educatio ad career opportuities. States have the resposibility to develop frameworks for Programs of Study. It is logical for states to iclude a recommeded core curriculum i the Programs of Study documetatio, so that studets will see the preferred academic courses that accompay preparatio for their area of career iterest. It would also be feasible to require that, i each itroductory CTE course or i earlier grades, CTE studets are itroduced to all the Programs of Study ad are made to uderstad the value of takig a core or preferred curriculum. Just as it is importat for states to build CTE ito their core curriculum requiremets, states also should itegrate the core academic courses ito the CTE Programs of Study. Additioally, the issue of academic course-takig is oe of the most commo ad cotetious sources of frictio betwee leaders who are pushig for icreased graduatio requiremets ad some CTE advocates. May CTE teachers ad leaders are cocered about the squeeze-out factor. They perceive that icreased academic course requiremets for graduatio will make it challegig for studets to fit CTE courses ito their schedules, leadig to a overall decrease i CTE participatio. For studets who are behid academically, they may be required to take a double-block of academic courses, further crowdig electives out of their schedules. The other cocer is that with icreased math ad sciece requiremets i the 11th ad 12th grades, schedulig becomes more costraied, ad studets may ot be able to take CTE courses because of coflicts. These schedulig coflicts are exacerbated whe studets take their CTE courses at a regioal CTE ceter, havig to travel some distace to ad from the ceter from their home school, takig away istructioal time. I schools that utilize a block schedule, there are additioal credits ad courses available to studets that fill their requiremets, ad geerally there are eough available elective credits to accommodate a full sequece of CTE courses. Still, i may small or rural schools that have limited availability of higher level academic courses, perhaps oly offered durig oe period per day, it is feasible that real schedulig coflicts may arise betwee academic courses ad CTE courses. There are a variety of strategies states ca adopt to address this issue, icludig the developmet of iterdiscipliary courses, distace learig opportuities or icorporatig remediatio ito applied ad/or elective courses. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 11
Noteworthy State Practices The Marylad Departmet of Educatio has bee gatherig ad reportig data o the percetage of CTE studets with three or more CTE credits who also obtai the ecessary credits for admissio to the Uiversity of Marylad system. Over the five years the state has bee gatherig ad reportig this data, the percetage of dual completers has rise from about 14 percet to over 50 percet. 13 I recet years, Texas, Arkasas ad Idiaa have implemeted default college- ad career-ready graduatio course requiremets, i which studets are pre-erolled i a challegig set of academic courses uless they choose to opt dow ito a set of lower-level academic classes, with paretal coset. All three states also require a miimal level of CTE course participatio or alterative courses as part of the core required curriculum. 14 Texas has implemeted the AchieveTexas program that coects career awareess with the default core curriculum ad college plaig. Resources iclude studet-friedly guides to each of the 16 career clusters ad templates for creatig a persoalized pla. 15 New York offers a CTE edorsemet to its Regets diploma for a studet who completes a approved CTE program that meets certai quality criteria set by the state ad takes ad passes a approved techical assessmet for the program. 16 Florida has implemeted a Major Area of Iterest (MAI) system i which every 8th grader will create a persoal graduatio pla based aroud core academic courses ad a MAI. Studets ca choose a MAI from over 400 plas that were developed by districts throughout the state ad meet the criteria set by the Florida Departmet of Educatio. Florida also offers a extesive web resource called FACTS.org that allows studets to determie their career objectives, evaluate their high school progress, see their high school course summary ad grades, lear about higher educatio opportuities i Florida, apply to college olie, access their college trascripts ad grades ad track their idividual progress towards college graduatio. 17 Idiaa has created a Techical Hoors edorsemet for the high school diploma for studets eterig high school i 2007. To ear the Core 40 with Techical Hoors diploma, studets must: complete all requiremets for Core 40, a college- ad-career set of graduatio requiremets; complete a career-techical program (8 or more semesters of related credit); ear a grade of C or better i courses that will cout toward the diploma; ad have a overall grade poit average of a B or better. 18 Delaware has cross-discipliary teams of teachers workig together to esure the Recommeded Curriculum for academic ad CTE courses are well-aliged ad plas to develop at least oe iterdiscipliary course i the ext year. 13 The 2007 Marylad Report Card idicates that 15,040 studets who eared a high school diploma met the state s CTE program requiremets. Of this umber, 7,666 met both Uiversity ad CTE requiremets. For more iformatio see http://mdreportcard.org/demographics.aspx?k=99aaaa&wdata=state 14 For a full descriptio of states with college- ad career-ready graduatio requiremets, see http://www.achieve.org/ode/980 15 For more iformatio, see http://www.achievetexas.org/ 16 For more iformatio, see http://collegeow.cuy.edu/extstop/fiish_hs/creditreq/ 17 For more iformatio, see http://www.fldoe.org/ews/2007/2007_01_12.asp 18 For more iformatio o Idiaa s Core 40 graduatio requiremet optios, see http://www.doe.state.i.us/core40/diploma_requiremets.html ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 12
Delaware also has shifted its approach i how it delivers more equipmet-itesive CTE programs. Delaware formerly had shared-time regioal techical ceters. Studets would split their time betwee their comprehesive high school ad the regioal techical ceter. This approach led to a umber of schedulig, admiistrative ad trasportatio challeges that cotributed to fallig erollmet at the techical ceters ad CTE programs, as well as low achievemet ad low expectatios for the studets that did participate i the techical ceter programs. I the early 1990s, the state trasformed the techical ceters ito full day regioal techical high schools, where studets could take academic ad career tech courses uder oe roof. Expectatios for academic achievemet rose sigificatly for studets i the techical high schools, academic ad CTE cotet was itegrated withi CTE classrooms, ad collaboratio amog core academic ad CTE teachers icreased, leadig to sigificat icreases i studet participatio i both CTE ad academic courses. 19 Measurig Techical Skill Attaimet to Determie Work Readiess The Perkis Act requires states to create ew meas for assessig studet attaimet of techical (occupatioal) skills. Sectio 113 (b)(2)(a) specifies that the core idicators of performace should be valid ad reliable, ad should measure studet attaimet of career ad techical skill proficiecies, icludig studet achievemet o techical assessmets, that are aliged with idustry-recogized stadards, if available ad appropriate. Implicatios This ew provisio complemets the ADP ageda because it ca brig CTE courses at the high school ad postsecodary levels ito aligmet with the skills that are eeded for success i the workplace. States are grapplig with how to re-cofigure their assessmet of techical skills i a way that is realistic, affordable ad cotributes to improved teacher practices. Teachers eed to have access to assessmet data that will allow them to reflect upo the data ad respod to the data, but this is ot ofte the case, particularly for states relyig o idustry-based certificatios to assess their studets techical skills. A major challege is how educators ca gather data from these idustry-based certificatios that are provided by a third-party vedor off site. Legally, the scores from some of these assessmets belog to the studet ad are ot shared directly with the school system or college. Aother cocer is that some certificatios are too expesive for may studets to afford to take ad require the studet to be at least 18 years old. Also, ad perhaps most importatly, ot all idustry-based certificatios have the same level of rigor, are well-aliged to a studet s coursework ad are utilized by employers. All of these issues, as well as issues that arise aroud state-developed career tech educatio assessmets, eed to be addressed so that valid ad reliable data o studet performace ca be iput ito the Perkis accoutability system ad used to esure all studets leave high school with the academic ad techical skills they eed for success. 19 America Youth Policy Forum. FORUM BRIEF: Exemplary Career ad Techical Educatio Districts ad Programs, September 21, 2007. 2007. http://www.aypf.org/forumbriefs/2007/fb092107.htm ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 13
Noteworthy State Practices Virgiia s Path to Idustry Certificatio: High School Idustry Credetialig iitiative ecourages studets to work toward a selected idustry credetial or state licese while pursuig a high school diploma. Studets who ear a credetial by passig a certificatio or licesure examiatio may ear up to two studet-selected verified credits to meet graduatio requiremets. A credetial is defied as: A complete idustry certificatio program, e.g. Certified Nursig Assistat (CNA); A pathway examiatio that leads to a completed idustry certificatio, e.g. automotive techicia examiatios from the Natioal Istitute for Automotive Service Excellece (ASE); A state-issued professioal licese, e.g. Cosmetology; or A occupatioal competecy examiatio, e.g. skill assessmets from the Natioal Occupatioal Competecy Istitute (NOCTI). 20 Georgia is workig to develop ed-of-program techical skills assessmets to measure studet learig. The Georgia Departmet of Educatio ad Departmet of Techical ad Adult Educatio, which oversees the state s techical colleges, are cosiderig a system whereby a certai level of performace o the high school ed-of-program assessmet would be recogized by the techical college system as meetig program etrace requiremets or coutig for college-level credit. Florida has implemeted a ew program that does ot fall directly uder the rubric of the Perkis Act but is meat to measure work readiess. Ready to Work is a ew workforce educatio ad ecoomic developmet program ad its ceterpiece is the Florida Ready to Work credetial, a career readiess certificate that is siged by Goveror Charlie Crist ad certifies that a Florida studet/jobseeker has fudametal job ad employability skills. The assessmet istrumet is three compoets of the ACT WorkKeys assessmet: Applied Mathematics, Readig for Iformatio ad Locatig Iformatio. The assessmets are paid by the state ad free to the user. High school studets are eligible to take the assessmet at approved assessmet sites, ad high schools will be eligible to become assessmet sites. A umber of other states have adopted similar readiess certificates based o the WorkKeys assessmet ad have joied the Career Readiess Certificate Cosortium. 21 Stregtheig Accoutability for Local Results Several performace idicators i the Perkis Act itersect with other school improvemet idicators. For istace, the Perkis Act requires the state to report studet graduatio rates for CTE studets, as measured by the state uder the No Child Left Behid Act. Perkis also requires schools to report o the percetage of studet[s] place[d] i postsecodary educatio or advaced traiig, i military service or i employmet. For states that choose to keep Tech Prep as a separate fudig stream ad program, they will eed to develop a umber of data reportig fuctios that are ew to the Perkis Act. Importat data elemets iclude: 20 For more iformatio, see http://www.doe.virgiia.gov/vdoe/istructio/cte/certificatio/ 21 For more iformatio, see http://www.crccosortium.org/ ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 14
Remediatio at the postsecodary level for studets who participated i a high school Tech Prep program; High school Tech Prep studets who ear dual/cocurret erollmet credits while i high school; The percet of high school Tech Prep studets who eroll i postsecodary educatio; ad The percet of high school Tech Prep studets who eroll i the same field or major i postsecodary educatio that they were erolled i at the secodary level. Implicatios I 2005, all 50 goverors pledged to implemet the NGA Graduatio Rate Compact formula, a ew graduatio rate methodology that would provide more accurate ad meaigful data o the percetage of studets who graduate from high school over a period of time. Progress i implemetig this ew defiitio has bee slow. However, eve usig the cohort style graduatio rate called for by the goverors, measurig graduatio rates amog CTE studets will be difficult. I most state accoutability systems, states oly will idetify studets for Perkis accoutability if they reach cocetrator status, meaig they have take three or more CTE courses. I most places, studets do ot reach cocetrator status util their juior or seior year of high school. Thus, the graduatio rate of CTE cocetrators is likely to be higher tha the cohort graduatio rate that tracks all ith graders through graduatio. The Perkis requiremet for high school trasitios or placemet ito postsecodary educatio, military service ad employmet also has shortcomigs. Oe major challege is collectig accurate data o what studets actually do oce they leave high school. I may states, applicatio of the Federal Educatio ad Privacy Rights Act (FERPA) creates a barrier to the sharig of data, ad may state data systems do ot lik a studet s social security umber (eeded for employmet ad postsecodary educatio) with a studet s educatio record. Because of these challeges, school districts geerally are required to use survey methodology, which requires trackig dow the studet about six moths after they leave high school ad covicig a sufficiet umber of them to respod to the survey. I additio to the quality of the survey data, the costructio of the Perkis data elemet itself is also a challege. School districts aggregate studet iformatio o college ad traiig participatio, military elistmet ad employmet ito oe data elemet. For a umber of years, the average performace o this idicator has bee i the 90-95 percet rage, sice almost all studets do oe of these three activities. The oly other optio is to be uemployed. If the data were disaggregated at the state level, states could have a more uaced picture of what CTE studets are doig after high school. For states that are keepig their Tech Prep systems separate, there is a importat opportuity to develop shared data elemets ad reportig processes to create stroger likages betwee secodary ad postsecodary educatio systems. At this poit, states are i the early stages of developig these accoutability elemets ad it is too early to describe how states will carry out these ew requiremets. As of early 2008, the followig 22 states ad oe territory have idicated itetios to merge (i full or partially) their Tech Prep systems with the Basic State Grat systems: Alabama, Arkasas, Colorado, Coecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kasas, Ketucky, Louisiaa, Maie, Marylad, Miesota, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Islad, South Carolia, Teessee, Utah, Vermot, Wyomig ad Puerto Rico. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 15
Noteworthy State Practices Nevada has decided to use a defiitio of CTE cocetrators to report its graduatio rate for CTE studets that is slightly differet from what was origially recommeded by the U.S. Departmet of Educatio. The Departmet of Educatio s proposed defiitio of CTE cocetrators requires studet erollmet i several CTE courses, so the majority of studets cosidered cocetrators typically would be juiors ad seiors i high school. Accordig to this defiitio, cocetrators would be those CTE studets who geerally had ot dropped out of school before their juior years. Coversely, the commo defiitio of a cohort graduatio rate is the o-time graduatio rate of a cohort of studets idetified as they eter ith grade. This rate tracks which studets drop out ad which successfully progress to graduatio. Nevada believes that the U.S. Departmet of Educatio s proposed defiitio of CTE cocetrators would lead to the calculatio of a iappropriately high graduatio rate for CTE studets compared to the geeral cohort graduatio rate. By usig a more iclusive defiitio of CTE cocetrators, Nevada aims to provide a graduatio rate for CTE that is more comparable to the state s geeral graduatio rate ad would demostrate a more accurate impact of CTE ivolvemet across the etire high school experiece. 22 Louisiaa established the TOPS-Tech Early Start Award as part of the Louisiaa Tuitio Opportuity Program for Studets (TOPS) for eligible 11th- ad 12th-grade studets attedig Louisiaa public high schools. A TOPS-Tech Early Start Award may be used at ay Louisiaa public postsecodary educatio istitutio for the purpose of pursuig a idustry-based occupatioal or vocatioal educatio credetial. Additioally, uder Louisiaa s ew graduatio idex, a school s accoutability score will icrease as more studets ear a CTE Edorsemet i high school. 23 Florida s logitudial data system ofte is cosidered the most sophisticated i the coutry. The P-20 Educatio Data Warehouse collects data from the K-12 educatio system, all public ad private uiversities i the state, as well as data from all of the state s private o-profit higher educatio istitutios, career ad techical postsecodary programs, programs offered though school district techical ceters, GED participatio ad adult educatio programs. The data system eve captures data o studets erolled i vocatioal ad traiig programs that may ot award ay credits, but are for job-related, cotiuig educatio. These existig data systems could accommodate ad allow for the reportig of ew Tech Prep data elemets, eve though Florida has decided to merge Tech Prep with its Perkis Basic Grat. Accordig to Florida s Perkis Pla for 2007-2008, the data gathered through the Florida educatioal data system are reported usig a uiform, coordiated statewide system of data elemets ad formats. Florida s Data Warehouse also houses may types of data o outcomes, icludig uemploymet rates ad wages, allowig the state to provide regularly updated reports o the relatioship betwee Florida s educatio system, such as participatio i CTE, ad employmet treds. 22 Nevada Perkis State Trasitio Pla, April 2007, Nevada Departmet of Educatio 23 Louisiaa Office of Studet Fiacial Assistace. For more iformatio, see http://www.osfa.state.la.us/ 24 Florida Perkis State Trasitio Pla, April 2007, Florida Departmet of Educatio. http://www.flboe.org/workforce/perkis/pdf/trasitio_pla1.pdf ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 16
POLICY OPTIONS TO LINK PERKINS IMPLEMENTATION WITH THE ADP AGENDA There are importat opportuities to lik implemetatio of the Perkis Act with the America Diploma Project ageda. I particular, state ADP teams ca support the developmet of Programs of Study ad support policies so that all high school studets, ot just CTE participats, are give the opportuity to create persoalized plas of study that icludes a rigorous academic core paired with courses focusig o idetified career iterests. States ca also closely coordiate the developmet of CTE assessmets ad accoutability mechaisms ad pay particular attetio to graduatio data ad data that track the trasitio of studets from secodary to ad through postsecodary educatio. As demostrated i the previous sectio, may states have begu to pursue strategies that explicitly lik the ADP ad CTE policy agedas. The followig is a list of strategies from a comprehesive stadpoit that state ADP teams ad Perkis leaders ca cosider workig o together: Coordiate Perkis Plaig with School Improvemet Plaig Esure that the state plaig group for High School Redesig/America Diploma Project thoroughly reviews the Perkis Pla with the State Director of CTE ad idetifies activities that lik the two processes. Require local pla submissio for the Perkis Act ad the geeral School Improvemet/High School Redesig to create a joit addedum to both plas explaiig how the efforts will be coordiated ad itegrated at the school district ad district levels. Create a regioal plaig requiremet i which local school districts ad commuity/techical colleges must submit a joit operatios pla for implemetatio of their CTE Programs of Study ad related professioal developmet ad school reform. Coordiate Developmet of CTE Programs of Study Create state policy so that every 8th grade studet creates a persoalized pla for high school graduatio ad beyod, idetifyig the rigorous academic courses ad a cocetratio of iterest-based courses ecessary for success after high school. The studet plas should be reviewed ad updated aually to esure the studet is o track to meet graduatio requiremets ad to modify career ad iterest-based courses as the studet s plas chage. Require the state s public colleges ad uiversities to collaborate actively with the K-12 ad commuity college systems to develop ad implemet CTE Programs of Study that exted from high school directly to associate degree ad/or baccalaureate programs. Legislative or regulatory policy may be eeded to require the collaboratio, but much of the work will eed to be doe by cosultatio amog high school teachers ad college faculty withi specific program areas. Require high schools ad commuity/techical colleges to establish joit Employer Advisory Boards to provide iput o Programs of Study ad other CTE programs withi related disciplies. Facilitate Academic Itegratio Establish icetive fuds to support schools ad districts i developig academic itegratio tools ad processes. Each approved CTE course ad program should idetify the state academic stadards that will ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 17
be taught ad reiforced i the CTE course. Stadards that are measured o the state academic assessmets should be prioritized for teachig i CTE courses. Itegrated teams of CTE ad academic teachers should develop ad pilot itegrated academic lesso plas. Whe the plas have bee piloted ad revised appropriately, they should be shared with other teachers ad schools through professioal developmet opportuities ad web-based dissemiatio. Establish a Real-Life Applicatios iitiative to brig career-based real-world applicatios ito the core academic classes of Eglish Laguage Arts, Mathematics ad Sciece. The state should establish a goal that a certai percetage of academic stadards will be taught i the cotext of a real-world applicatio or careerthemed approach, so studets ca uderstad the applicatio of academic cocepts. CTE teachers ad core academic teachers should be coveed to review academic stadards ad idetify examples of career applicatios for this cotet. Career-themed lesso plas ad problems should be developed aroud the academic stadards ad piloted by the academic teachers. Oce piloted ad revised as ecessary, these resources should be shared with other teachers ad schools. I each district s school improvemet pla, create a ew plaig requiremet to describe how academic teachers are collaboratig with CTE teachers to itegrate academic cotet ito CTE courses ad to isert cotextualized lesso plas ito academic courses. Build recommeded sequeces of academic core courses ito CTE Programs of Study. Require each Program of Study to iclude a plaig requiremet for how studets ca recover missed academic credit so they ca graduate o time ad a list of special services that will be offered to help studets succeed i completig the recommeded academic core. Establish AP-style criteria by which studets achievig at a certai level of CTE assessmets ca ear college-level credit. Esure that these credits are immediately trascripted, rather tha held i escrow ad made available oly if the studet erolls i the commuity college immediately after high school graduatio. Explore the potetial for credits eared through demostratios of proficiecy, rather tha traditioal seat time. Allowig studets to ear credit for academic ad CTE courses through demostratios of proficiecy, through such istrumets as assessmets, portfolios, presetatios ad other projects, ca facilitate iterdiscipliary teachig ad learig, as studets may be able to demostrate mastery of state academic ad CTE stadards at the same time i o-traditioal ways. States eed to develop processes ad criteria for districts ad schools to develop credit by proficiecy models to esure all studets have mastered the cotet ad skills required by the state, while providig local educatio agecies with flexibility to desig ad implemet the curricula ad courses as they choose. A umber of states that are just begiig to put the ADP policy framework i place are icorporatig this importat approach at the begiig of the process, opeig the door to sigificat collaboratio ad aligmet i assurig that every pathway to high school graduatio icorporates the same level of high expectatio. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 18
Build Shared Logitudial Data Systems Betwee Secodary ad Postsecodary Systems ADP leaders ad Perkis leaders eed to work together o developmet of P-20 logitudial data systems. The Perkis Act accoutability system eeds stroger ad more comprehesive data o studet participatio i postsecodary educatio, ad the Tech Prep accoutability requiremets call for iformatio o studet remediatio at the postsecodary level ad studet program erollmet. Logitudial data systems that track idividual studet s progress from high school through postsecodary educatio (ad beyod) are of tremedous value. With such capacity, states will be able to trace a studet s postsecodary success (or failure) back to his or her high school experiece ad use that iformatio to stregthe the experiece for the ext class of studets. Assure Portability of CTE Dual Erollmet Credits Create a data trackig mechaism where postsecodary programs aually report the umber ad percetage of upperclassme i the feeder high schools that have eared dual erollmet credits ad what percetage of these credits are trascripted by a local commuity college. Create state policy to esure that college credits eared through dual erollmet are iserted immediately o a college trascript for the studet ad that these credits are portable ad accepted by all other public postsecodary istitutios withi the state. Create state policy that commuity college credits eared through dual erollmet must be hoored as credits i the CTE program area by other commuity colleges withi the state. At colleges ad uiversities, the CTE dual erollmet credits must at least be hoored as fulfillig elective credit requiremets. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 19
CONCLUSION The Perkis Act complemets the college ad career readiess ageda of the America Diploma Project. By defiitio, the stadards ad expectatios of CTE programs are aliged closely to the expectatios that the state ad districts set for their studets. If those expectatios are low, the CTE expectatios are similarly low. If expectatios are high, CTE expectatios will be high, ad iovative CTE strategies ca be employed to help meet those expectatios. ADP ca raise rigor of CTE, just as CTE ca improve the relevace of ADP. To maximize the syergy betwee CTE ad the college ad career readiess ageda, CTE teachers, admiistrators, ad state leaders eed to be ivited as full parters i pursuig the college ad career-readiess ageda. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Has Meeder is Presidet of the Meeder Cosultig Group, LLC, based i Columbia, Marylad, a firm that provides policy aalysis ad strategic cosultig services to atioal educatio orgaizatios, state educatio agecies, school districts ad postsecodary istitutios. Mr. Meeder was formerly the Deputy Assistat Secretary for Vocatioal ad Adult Educatio at the U.S. Departmet of Educatio, ad has held policy positios i the U.S. Cogress ad federal agecies. More iformatio ca be foud at www.meedercosultig.com. For additioal questios about this paper or the America Diploma Project, please cotact Sady Boyd or Kate Blosvere at (202) 419-1540 or visit www.achieve.org. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 20
appendix A: Perkis Act Performace Idicators TYPE OF INDICATOR SECONDARY [Sectio 113(b)(2)(A)] POSTSECONDARY [Sectio 113(b)(2)(B)] TECH PREP, SECONDARY STUDENTS [Sectio 203(b)(1)(B)] TECH PREP, POSTSECONDARY [Sectio 203(b)(1)(C)] ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Academic achievemet for Eglish Laguage Arts ad Math, as measured by assessmets adopted uder NCLB. The umber ad percet of secodary educatio Tech Prep studets erolled i remedial math, writig, or readig courses at the postsecodary level. TECHNICAL SKILL ACHIEVE- MENT Career ad Techical Skill attaimet, icludig techical assessmets, aliged with idustry-recogized stadards, if available ad appropriate. Career ad Techical Skill attaimet, icludig techical assessmets, aliged with idustry-recogized stadards, if available ad appropriate. PROGRAM COMPLETION Attaimet of (1) Secodary school diploma, GED, credetials or other state-recogized equivalet; ad (2) a proficiecy credetial, or degree. Studet high school graduatio rates, usig the state s methodology adopted uder NCLB. Attaimet of idustry-recogized credetial, a certificate, or a degree. The umber ad percet of high school Tech Prep studets who (1) complete a state- or idustry-recogized certificatio or licesure; (2) successfully complete, as a high school studet, courses that award postsecodary credit at the secodary level; ad (3) eroll i remedial mathematics, writig, or readig courses upo eterig postsecodary educatio. The umber ad percet of Postsecodary Tech Prep studets who (1) complete a state- or idustry-recogized certificatio or licesure; (2) complete a 2-year degree or certificate program withi the ormal time for completio of such program; ad (3) complete a baccalaureate degree program withi the ormal time for completio of such program. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 21
TYPE OF INDICATOR SECONDARY [Sectio 113(b)(2)(A)] POSTSECONDARY [Sectio 113(b)(2)(B)] TECH PREP, SECONDARY STUDENTS [Sectio 203(b)(1)(B)] TECH PREP, POSTSECONDARY [Sectio 203(b)(1)(C)] Oe from the followig idicators: STUDENT TRAN- SITIONS ad EM- PLOYMENT Placemet ito postsecodary educatio or advaced traiig, military service, or employmet. (1) Studet retetio i postsecodary educatio; (2) trasfer to a baccalaureate degree program; (3) placemet i military service or appreticeship programs; or (4) placemet or retetio i employmet, icludig high- skill, high-wage, or high-demad occupatios. High school tech prep studets who (1) eroll i postsecodary educatio; ad (2) eroll i postsecodary educatio i the same field or major as erolled i high school Postsecodary educatio Tech Prep studets who are placed i a related field of employmet withi oe year of graduatio NON-TRADITION- AL PARTICIPA- TION ad COM- PLETION Participatio i, ad completio of, CTE programs that lead to o-traditioal fields. Participatio i, ad completio of, CTE programs that lead to o-traditioal fields. ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 22
APPENDIX B: Sample Program of Study Health Sciece: Health Iformatics ACHIEVE POLICY BRIEF: The Perkis Act of 2006 23
Achieve Board of Directors Co-Chairs Goveror Michael F. Easley State of North Carolia Board Members Craig R. Barrett Chairma of the Board Jerry Jurgese CEO Natiowide Presidet Michael Cohe Achieve, Ic. Arthur F. Rya Chairma Prudetial Fiacial, Ic. Itel Corporatio Goveror Doald L. Carcieri State of Rhode Islad Goveror Edward G. Redell Commowealth of Pesylvaia Treasurer Peter Sayre Cotroller Vice Co-Chairs Kerry Killiger Chairma & CEO Goveror Jeifer Graholm State of Michiga Edward B. Rust, Jr. Chairma & CEO State Farm Isurace Prudetial Fiacial, Ic. Washigto Mutual Chairma Emeritus Goveror Tim Pawlety Louis V. Gerster, Jr. State of Miesota Former Chairma & CEO IBM Corporatio ABOUT ACHIEVE Created by the atio s goverors ad busiess leaders, Achieve, Ic., is a bipartisa, o-profit orgaizatio that helps states raise academic stadards, improve assessmets ad stregthe accoutability to prepare all youg people for postsecodary educatio, work ad citizeship. Achieve has helped more tha half the states bechmark their academic stadards, tests ad accoutability systems agaist the best examples i the Uited States ad aroud the world. Achieve also serves as a sigificat atioal voice for quality i stadards-based educatio reform ad regularly covees goverors, CEOs ad other ifluetial leaders at Natioal Educatio Summits to sustai support for higher stadards ad achievemet for all of America s schoolchildre. I 2005, Achieve co-sposored the Natioal Educatio Summit o High Schools. Forty-five goverors atteded the Summit alog with corporate CEOs ad K 12 ad postsecodary leaders. The Summit was successful i makig the case to the goverors ad busiess ad educatio leaders that our schools are ot adequately preparig studets for college ad 21st-cetury jobs ad that aggressive actio will be eeded to address the preparatio gap. As a result of the Summit, 32 states joied with Achieve to form the America Diploma Project Network a coalitio of states committed to aligig high school stadards, assessmets, graduatio requiremets ad accoutability systems with the demads of college ad the workplace. For more iformatio, visit Achieve s website at www. achieve.org. Copyright 2008 Achieve, Ic. All rights reserved. No part of this publicatio may be reproduced or trasmitted i ay form or by ay meas, electroic or mechaical, icludig photocopy, recordig, or ay iformatio or storage retrieval system, without permissio from Achieve, Ic. 1775 Eye Street NW Suite 410 Washigto, DC 20006 Phoe (202) 419-1540 www.achieve.org