Improving Career & Technical Education Through Statewide Use of Technical Skill Assessments

Key Language in the Perkins Act of 2006 A requirement for the establishment of Programs of Study A new approach to assessing CTE skills Academic (Liberal Arts & Sciences) skills Technical skills Workplace skills

Our objective Develop an assessment system focused on technical skill attainment within each of the 79 nationally-recognized career pathways and Foundation Knowledge & Skills

Our goals 1 The technical skill assessment system would: Provide teachers & faculty with accurate and useful information about student skills and allow them to target efforts to improve instruction

2 Our goals Use local program-level and aggregate The technical skill assessment system would: Use local program-level and aggregate results to lead instructional improvement efforts and align resources to support student achievement

Our goals 3 The technical skill assessment system would: Collect, analyze and report state-level aggregate results to inform policy makers and business/industry stakeholders

Developing the Assessment System

The Stakeholders Perkins consortia leaders Local education administrators Teachers and faculty Business and industry leaders State CTE staff

The Process Identify stakeholders to involve by pathway. Identify core competencies and skills by pathway and develop an assessment blueprint. Assemble an inventory of available third- party technical skill assessments that are valid and reliable.

The Process Involve business & industry reps in a process of validating the identified competencies and skills. Reconvene teachers and faculty to review business & industry input and recommended a list of assessments that will be the state-approved technical skill assessments for a pathway.

Pathways Academic Year 2009-2010 2014-2015 2010-2011 2015-2016 Accounting Law Enforcement Services Network Systems Plant Systems Therapeutic Services Foundation Knowledge & Skills 2010-2011 2015-2016 Animal Systems Diagnostic Services Biotechnology Research & Development Early Childhood Development & Services Teaching/Training (Pre K-3) Manufacturing Production Process Development Production Facility & Mobile Equipment Maintenance Sales & Services Marketing Management Merchandising Professional Sales Visual Arts/ Printing Technology 2011-2012 2016-2017 Administrative Support Construction Emergency & Fire Management Environmental Services Systems Engineering Technology Natural Resource Systems Health Informatics Personal Care Services Restaurant& Food / Beverage Services Web & Digital Communications 2012-2013 2017-2018 Agribusiness Systems Agriculture Power, Structural, & Technical Systems Audio/Video Technology & Film Journalism & Broadcasting Family & Consumer Services Counseling & Mental Health Services General Management Human Resource Management Operations Management Manufacturing Maintenance Installation & Repair Information Support & Services Business Information Management Teaching/Training (K-12) Correction Services Security & Protective Services Design/Pre-construction Revenue & Taxation Safety & Environmental Assurance Government & Public Administration Quality Assurance & Health Health Safety & Environmental Management 2013-2014 2018-2019 Banking Services Business Finance Securities & Investment Insurance Consumer Services Construction Maintenance/Operations Food Products & Processing Systems Legal Services Marketing Communications Health Support Services Lodging Travel & Tourism Recreation, Amusement, & Attractions Transportation Operations Logistics Planning & Management Services Warehousing & Distribution Center Operations Transportation Systems/Infrastructure Planning, Programming & Software Development

Outcome (2009-14) Developed core competencies, blueprint, and identified TSAs in 60 career pathways. Over 600 teachers and faculty have participated in the meetings from 2009 to 2014 Over 200 business/industry partners in the 60 pathways validated the work of the teacher/faculty groups.

The Outcome Number of CTE programs assessing at secondary and postsecondary has continually increased. TSA initiative has been affirmed by other state initiatives – 1) common summative or formative assessments at secondary level; 2) often parallels other college initiatives (e.g. Higher Learning Commission requirements & Charting the Future goals) at postsecondary.

Next Steps – Phase II Begin the process again (FY15-19) – Review/ revise core competencies blueprint list of state-approved technical skill assessments in each of 60 career pathways + Foundation Knowledge & Skills

Next Steps – Phase II Focus on data-driven improvement in instruction - review statewide data by pathway. Continue implementing professional learning communities in career pathways. Consider using TSA assessment results as possible option for credit – high school to college OR college to workplace.

State’s Role in Supporting Implementation Set up systems and processes for pathway teams to complete this work Provide direct technical assistance Provide professional development to teachers, faculty, and administrators focused on initial implementation

Creating Collaborative Virtual Workspaces www.cte.mnscu.edu/programs/Technical_Skill_Atta.html

Providing a consistent format to record Common Core Competencies in a Career Pathway

State Approved Technical Skill Assessments by Pathway

Local Implementation – Teachers/Faculty Review the common core competencies established by teacher/faculty group in a pathway. Review the list of state-approved technical skill assessments for each high school and college CTE program. Select technical skill assessment that best fits your program’s outcomes and curriculum.

Local Implementation – Teachers/ Faculty Determine the best time to assess the students in the program based on the approved Program of Study and the common core competencies. Work with Perkins leader to determine fiscal and technology resources needed to assess students within pathway. Once completed, report the selected assessments for programs to Perkins consortia leader.

Local Implementation – Teachers/ Faculty Use standard scores to identify student and program strengths and gaps. If available, check out competency reports for a breakdown of results – task by task. Target gaps to improve curriculum.

www.cte.minnstate.edu/programs/m ntsa.html Resources www.cte.minnstate.edu www.cte.minnstate.edu/programs/m ntsa.html www.mnprogramsofstudy.org