1. The Minnesota CTE
Assessment Project Building a CTE Assessment System for Student Results and Program Improvement 1 1 1 1

2. Assessment Project Overview Key Topics
Minnesota CTE
Assessment Project Overview Key Topics
Review of Project Goals
Review of Overall Project Plan
Status of Working Group Meetings
Questions
The purpose of today’s briefing is to inform you about how Minnesota is proceeding to develop a system for assessment of student attainment of technical skills within its Career and Technical Education programs.
We will review the project goals, review the project plan, review the working groups, and address any questions or concerns you raise. 2 2 2 2

3. Minnesota CTE Assessment Project Goals
Establish shared expectations as to what students should know and be able to do in Minnesota’s CTE programs
Develop process for identifying and/or developing assessments for CTE programs
Ensure the system provides useful, timely and accurate feedback to teachers, administrators, students and employers
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MNSCU),
In collaboration with the Minnesota Department of
Education (MNDE), is taking a lead role in implementing the
Perkins technical skill assessment requirements via the
Minnesota CTE Assessment Project.
Minnesota intends to use this opportunity to build an assessment
system for its programs at the secondary and postsecondary
Levels that contributes to student success and
continuous program improvement. 3 3 3 3

4. Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
Each state established a performance accountability system with multiple measures of student learning, program completion, and transitions to further education, employment and the military
Perkins III allowed wide flexibility in how to measure “technical skill attainment”
Perkins IV requires a more focused assessment approach for technical skill attainment
Across the United States, state agencies responsible for administration of
the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act funds are working
with teachers, school leaders, business representative, as well as youths and
parents, to strengthen Career and Technical Education programs.
The Perkins Act, reauthorized by Congress in 2006, developed new
requirements for the definition of technical skill attainment, so that
CTE programs assess students using methods and instruments that are
valid and reliable, and are based upon industry-recognized standards,
where they are available. Contrary to some perceptions, states are not
required to only use industry-based credentials, but can also use other
assessment instruments and/or processes that meet established quality
criteria for validity and reliability. 4 4 4 4

5. Technical Skill Attainment -- Secondary
Sec 113 (b)(2)(A)
…”core indicators of performance…that are valid and reliable… measures of each of the following:”
“Student attainment of career and technical skill proficiencies, including student achievement on technical assessments, that are aligned with industry-recognized standards, if available and appropriate.”
Notes that all measures that are adopted must be “valid and reliable.”
The government hasn’t created a regulation to define these terms, but in
general use there are accepted uses of the terms in the testing community.
In layman’s terms, “valid” means that the measure actually measures what
it is purported to measure. This means that there has been validation of the
measurement approach so we know it is actually measuring the specific
knowledge or skill that has been identified.
“reliable” means that the measurement item provides consistent results from
one administration of the measure to the next.
Next, the measurement should focus on “student attainment of career and technical skill proficiencies.” The measure can include, but is not limited to, performance on assessments. And the measure must be aligned
Industry-recognized standards.
Since there are no federal regulations on this issue, each state has flexibility in how it interprets and
Applies the requirements. There is definitely no federal mandate that we have to use industry-certifications.
There are several approaches to consider -- identifying existing tests to use for different pathways, building
Assessments with teacher working groups, and some mix of the two approaches. 5 5 5 5

6. Technical Skill Attainment -- Postsecondary
Sec 113 (b)(2)(B)
…”core indicators of performance…that are valid and reliable…measures of each of the following:”
“Student attainment of career and technical skill proficiencies, including student achievement on technical assessments, that are aligned with industry-recognized standards, if available and appropriate.”
“Student attainment of an industry-recognized credential, a certificate, or a degree.”
The postsecondary definition of the measurement requirement in the Perkins Act is the same as
The secondary (high school) measure.
But we don’t have to use the exact same measurement approach for both high school and postsecondary.
In fact, many of the postsecondary programs are much more career/occupationally specific than the
High school programs, so using the same assessment might not make sense.
Each of the Career Pathway working groups is thinking about these issues and how it applies in
That particular pathway. 6 6 6 6

7. Options to fulfill Perkins IV are:
Use Industry-Based Certifications
Use other developed standardized- assessments (NOCTI, Skills/USA, etc.)
Develop valid and reliable assessments or assessment processes through a statewide collaborative process 7 7 7 7

8. Putting First Things First
FIRST, decide WHAT to assess
THEN decide
HOW to assess
The CTE Assessment Project will NOT promote a one-size fits all
Approach for each of the career pathways.
The project will provide as much flexibility as possible for each school district
And college, while meeting the essential goals of measuring student
Achievement of CTE skills in a way that is valid and reliable.
So, first we are carefully considering what competencies need to be
Assessed in each of the pathways, and determining a common set of
Expectations between high school and postecondary.
Then, we will focus on determining the best methodology for measuring
student knowledge and skills in each Career Cluster or Pathway.
We will take into account the unique perspectives, needs, and
regulatory environments that affect both secondary and
postsecondary education. 8 8 8 8

9. Skill Layers in Career Development
The new Perkins Act requires each state to collect information on
the “attainment of technical skills,” meaning content knowledge
and skills that are specific to an occupation or cluster of
occupations. While technical knowledge is part of student and
employee success, so-called employability skills (timeliness,
work-ethic, personal responsibility, team work, customer-service)
are equally relevant to student and employee success.
Just because the new Perkins law and system will need to include
assessment of career-specific skills and competencies, this does
not preclude assessment of general employability skills. We
recognize the critical value of employability skills and the fact
that many programs, especially at the secondary level, emphasize
the teaching of general employability skills which transcend any
particular program area. Therefore, we anticipate that the new
CTE assessment system may also include some aspect of measuring employability skills.
Courtesy of Steve Klein & MPR Associates 9 9 9 9

10. Initial Programs of Study for Review and Development
Business, Financial Management and Accounting
Health Therapeutics
Law Enforcement
Network Systems (IT)
Plant Systems
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and the
Minnesota Department of Education have identified the following
career pathways for development of assessments under this project.
The following first four Career Pathway Work Groups were convened
in April 2009, with follow-up meetings in May and June:
Business, Financial Management and Accounting
in the Business, Management and Administration Cluster)
Health Therapeutic Services (part of the Health Science Cluster)
Law Enforcement (part of the Law & Public Safety Cluster)
Network Systems (part of the Information Technology Cluster)
Plant Systems (part of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Cluster) 10 10 10 10

11. The Pilot Phase
Convene subject matter expert groups of teachers and college faculty to identify core competencies in each of 5 designated career pathways/programs of study.
Develop an “Assessment Blueprint” for each of 5 selected career pathways
Provide recommendations on how the State should proceed in developing an assessment system.
Convene Pathway-specific teams of teachers, key CTE leaders, and
other content experts to recommend:
For each identified Career Pathway, what limited number of key
competencies should be assessed?
For each Pathway, are there existing assessments that are appropriate
and affordable, or should other assessments or assessment methods be
developed?
Develop an “Assessment Blueprint” for each of the four initial career
pathways that are selected.
Provide recommendations on how the State should proceed in
developing an assessment system. 11 11 11 11

12. The Pilot Phase
Conduct online survey to document current methods of skill assessment.
Consult with leaders from other states.
Confer with assessment and support organizations (NOCTI, VTECS, SkillsUSA)
Create assessment inventory
In addition to the working groups, we have:
Convened an Oversight Coordinating Group from the two respective state
agencies to advise the entire process and provide an ongoing liaison to
local teachers and administrators.
Offered an on-line survey in April and May by which we have identified many of the assessments
and assessment approaches currently used for technical
skills assessment among secondary and postsecondary CTE programs.
Next, the consultant team will:
Identify options for reporting on technical skill attainment in the
short-term and long-term. This could include an approach of:
Identifying assessments on the market that match up to pathways, and
Developing some new assessments with teacher/faculty working groups.
We also will be working to engage business and industry representatives to
provide input and feedback as appropriate for each of the relevant Career Clusters. 12 12 12 12

13. Pilot Phase, Next Steps
Post draft competencies for review by teachers and faculty (URLs listed at end of presentation)
Engage business partners to review draft outcomes
Review existing assessments for alignment to blueprints, quality and usability
Identify assessments approved for use in five pilot pathways AND/OR
Identify pathways that need custom-developed assessments
Create and test assessment development process
In addition to the working groups, we have:
Convened an Oversight Coordinating Group from the two respective state
agencies to advise the entire process and provide an ongoing liaison to
local teachers and administrators.
Offered an on-line survey in April and May by which we have identified many of the assessments
and assessment approaches currently used for technical
skills assessment among secondary and postsecondary CTE programs.
Next, the consultant team will:
Identify options for reporting on technical skill attainment in the
short-term and long-term. This could include an approach of:
Identifying assessments on the market that match up to pathways, and
Developing some new assessments with teacher/faculty working groups.
We also will be working to engage business and industry representatives to
provide input and feedback as appropriate for each of the relevant Career Clusters. 13 13 13 13

14. Roll-out Phase 2,
Convene additional career pathway workgroups
Solicit volunteers needed for other pathways
Provide training to teams to identify outcomes and assessment blueprints
Complete assessment identification & development process for new pathways
, replicate as necessary until all programs are covered 14

15. URL Links to Draft Core Common Competencies for Review
PLANT SYSTEMS PATHWAY:
People who work in the Plant Systems pathway study plants and their growth.
LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES PATHWAY:
Law enforcement officers have duties that range from controlling traffic to preventing and investigating crimes. 15

16. URL Links to Draft Core Common Competencies for Review
THERAPEUTIC SERVICES PATHWAY:
Health professionals in this pathway work directly with patients; they may provide care, treatment, counseling and health education information.
BUSINESS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING PATHWAY:
Accounting encompasses careers that record, classify, summarize, analyze, and communicate a business's financial information/business transactions for use in management decision-making.
NETWORK SYSTEMS PATHWAY:
Careers in Network Systems involve network analysis, planning and implementation, including design, installation, maintenance and management of network systems. 16

17. You may be wondering…
What about existing state- and industry- certification tests?
What about very small or alternative high schools?
Are the same assessments appropriate for high schools and college programs?
Can high school assessments be used for college credit?

18. For more information, contact:
JoAnn Simser, CTE Director, MNSCU
Dan Smith, MN Department of Education 18 18 18 18