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

2. Two important changes in the implementation of 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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Developing the Assessment System

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

9. 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.

10. 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.

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

12. The Outcome
Developed core competencies, blueprint, and identified TSAs in 60 career pathways.
Over 600 teachers and faculty 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.

13. 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; ) often parallels other college initiatives (e.g. Higher Learning Commission requirements & Charting the Future goals) at postsecondary.

14. Next Steps – Phase II
Begin the process again. . . teachers & faculty from all career fields
Reviewed Common Career Technical Core
Revised Minnesota’s Foundation Knowledge & Skills that were validated by business/industry partners

15. Next Steps – Phase II
Scheduled meetings in 6 career pathways in 6 career fields:
- Accounting
- Early Childhood & Development Services (delayed)
- Facility & Mobile Equipment Services
- Network Systems
- Plant Systems
- Therapeutic Services

16. Next Steps – Phase II
Begin the process again. . . teachers & faculty from all career fields
Reviewed Common Career Technical Core
Revised Minnesota’s Foundation Knowledge & Skills that were validated by business/industry partners
Recommended changes that will revise center of wheel

17. 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

18. State’s Role in Supporting Implementation
Continue to market TSA initiative focused on building awareness of the benefits of rigorous CTE
Provide targeted professional development to teachers and faculty to use assessment results and other data to plan instructional improvement

19. Creating Collaborative Virtual Workspaces

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

21. State Approved Technical Skill Assessments
by Pathway

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. www.cte.mnscu.edu/programs/mntsa. html
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