Integrating Career Ready 101 in the Classroom Steve Anderson – ACT Client Relations

ACT Elementary — Career Continuum Use this slide as a call back to the Continuum of products and a transition introduction into the next product you want to discuss. Point out how they relate to one another as an individual moves through the different phases of Elementary – Career. All the product names on the slide are clickable while in slideshow mode and will take you directly to the product’s ACT.org web page to enable a deeper discussion if needed. Talking points: ACT has developed Elementary through Career solutions to assist individuals as they transition through their educational experience. These systems can also be used by states, schools and districts to develop programs and services, as well as monitor individual progress, to assist individuals in this transition. The solutions include: Summative assessments – ACT Aspire - The ACT – Compass - WorkKeys – to measure the development of academic skills necessary to becoming college and career ready Non-summative assessments (3-12) as part of the ACT Aspire and ACT QualityCore programs – to measure the development of academic skills and assist classroom teachers in the planning of instruction Non-cognitive assessments – ACT Engage at the 6-9, 10-12, and college levels - to provide information to schools on student motivation, social engagement, and self-regulation and allows schools to develop programs, support, and interventions to assist students growth and development Interest Inventory and student demographics – ACT Profile and Career Interest Inventory – to provide information so school personnel can assist students in their college and career planning

ACT Career Curriculum Suites Contain skill-building curricula for all ACT WorkKeys skills Consists of relevant workplace behavioral-based skills: Customer Service, Interpersonal Communications, Problem Solving, Working in Teams & Work Discipline KeyTrain/Soft Skills plus life skills courses: Financial Awareness, Creating Career Goals, Job Search, Interest and Employability Tools: Interest Inventory, Job Profiles, Resume Builder Comprehensiveness

CR101 in the Classroom - Program Resources Baldwin High School – Milledgeville, GA Rapides Parish School District – Louisiana Marlette Jr / Sr High School – Michigan San Diego-Imperial Counties CC Regional Consortium KeyTrain High School Implementation Guide – Alaska Arkansas Department of Career Education Massachusetts DOE: Adult & Community Learning Nevada State High School: Jr / Sr Charter School Claremore High School - Oklahoma Comprehensiveness

Career Ready 101 Integration Considerations Sufficient computer / mobile device access Technical specifications Alignment with state performance standards Correlation of state curriculum and Career Ready 101 course objectives School District / State DOE buy-in & permissions Development of local support network: Parents Employers Economic Development How does the new WorkKeys Graphic Literacy assessment better meet the needs of today’s workplace?   Assessment content was developed based on input and feedback from external career and workforce professionals New score scale to provide additional score level and more accurate interpretations Improved online presentation Revised graphic content better reflects today’s workplace graphs Assesses cognitive skills that better reflect the needs of today’s workplace Assesses not only test takers’ ability to comprehend information presented in graphics, but also assess their ability to recognize accurate and effective graphic presentation

Career Ready 101 Features Users can create and edit on-line and/or in-class agendas using courses from the CR101 repository and/or other curriculum material of choice Instructor Lesson Plans / Calendars / Lecture Guides / Answer Keys to pre / post-tests Create student accounts, assign lessons, view/print individual and group reports. Manage class schedules using the Calendar function Instructor-led PDFs / PowerPoints Multiple Reporting Options Comprehensiveness

Monitoring & Reporting Provides detailed information about individual student performance… Or analysis of class performance in every course, and more

Career Development Courses Stand Alone Incorporate Career Development as part of student EDPs Ongoing process: Grades 8 – 12 / Credit bearing courses Career Clusters, Career Exploration, Job Search Strategies, Job Applications, Interviewing Skills, Resume Builder, Supplement Career Ready 101 coursework with relevant career exploration and interest tools Has been shown to improve graduation test scores in several states: Math, English, Science, Social Studies & Writing Primary Benefit: Useful learning experience to help students make well-informed decisions concerning post-secondary plans

Supplemental Career Development Resources O*NET USDOL Competency Models NCDA (ncda.org): Internet sites for Career Planning Employment information Self-assessment Occupational Information Employment Trends Salary Information Educational / Financial Aid Job Search / Job Banks Apprenticeships

Financial Literacy Courses For those states/districts with financial awareness standards or life skills classes Banking, Credit Cards & Loans, Insurance, Budgeting, Financial Planning & Investing Online instruction combined with other resources: Powerpoints / webinars Financial periodical information Professional guest speakers Applications for integrated curriculum or stand alone courses Subject matter applicable to all students (Focus on assessments and credential.) Others include: Multiple-choice Proctored, time-bound, fixed-length

Additional CR101 Applications Credit recovery programs Independent study before/after school programs At Risk Students: alternative instruction methods Targeted training for students with math/reading deficiencies Curriculum for study skills / test prep classes Individualized prescriptive lessons: Open enrollment / self-paced, self-learning usage Adult Education programs: GED / NCRC Prep How does the revised Applied Math assessment better meet the needs of today’s workplace?   Assessment content was developed based on input and feedback from external career and workforce professionals Revised content better reflects how mathematics is used in today’s workplace; these changes result from changes in the application of mathematical skills stemming from workers use of computer technology to assist in problem solving Revised content emphasizes mathematical computations, mathematical reasoning, setting up mathematical equations, and finding errors in mathematical work

Integrating CR101 into Classroom Curriculum Supplement scope & sequence of traditional high school classes Reading for Information – English/Language Arts classes Applied Mathematics – Math classes Locating Information – Science and Social Studies classes Applied Technology –Technology, physical science, & physics Business Writing – Business and English classes Listening, Observation, Teamwork – CTE classes Career Skills and Finding Your Career – CTE classes Measure and certify broadly relevant foundational career skills:

What is the point of all of this! Why Should

Benefits of Integration Programs Documented cases show that graduation rates improve with KeyTrain / CR101 embedded programs Provides teachers with a valuable resource to supplement traditional coursework Improves at-risk and other exceptional student group results via delivery of alternative learning methods NCRC preparation: Maximize results / WRC contribution Delivery of careers information and financial awareness applicable to all students Helps students make well-informed decisions concerning post-secondary plans

act.org – Keyword: Career Curriculum

QUESTIONS - DISCUSSION Integrating Career Ready 101 in the Classroom Steve Anderson – ACT Client Relations QUESTIONS - DISCUSSION

The current versions of the assessments are no less valid in their assessment of the skills they measure—i.e., the skill constructs as defined in the current blueprints. Similarly, the current versions of the certificates are no less valid in their certification of the skills measured by these versions. (In technical terms, this means there is no impact on the content validity of the current versions.) As such, they continue to provide valuable information about an examinee’s skills Over time, we expect the updated versions of the assessments credential will become the preferred version of the credential. This does not mean that the current versions will immediately be devalued. By necessity they will remain the standard until a critical threshold of updated assessments are administered and updated certificates are issued. Customers and stakeholders will continue to derive value from them at the same time that the new versions become more common on the market.