Send Us Your College and Career Readiness Resources
Symposium participants, do you have any college and/or career readiness resources that have been valuable to you in your work that you would like to share with others? Send them to us and we will post them below!College and Career Readiness Symposium
The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research, in collaboration with the American Youth Policy Forum and the Educational Policy Improvement Center, hosted an invitation-only “College and Career Readiness Symposium: The Role of Technical Assistance in Actualizing College and Career Readiness,” in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2012.
The purpose of this one-day symposium centered around the role of technical assistance (TA) in addressing the challenges faced by regions, states, districts and schools in actualizing college and career readiness (CCR) beyond the common core standards. The symposium promoted collaboration and alignment among TA providers and CCR resource organizations through plenary sessions and facilitated breakout discussions.
Participants had access to a range of existing and emerging tools, products, research and resources to support their technical assistance work with state-, district- and school-level stakeholders.
Invited participants included CCR technical assistance and resource providers from among the following groups:
- Regional and Content Comprehensive Centers
- Regional Educational Laboratories
- Selected CCR Technical Assistance Providers from the OSEP TA&D network
- Selected CCR Resource Developers and Community Based Organizations
View a PDF of the complete agenda.
View bios for the College and Career Readiness Symposium presenters.
View videos from the symposium.
College and Career Readiness Symposium Agenda
| 7:30 - 9:30 AM | Registration, Coffee and Light Refreshments |
| 9:30 - 9:45 AM | Introductions and Symposium Overview Introductions Joseph R. Harris, Ph.D. Director National High School Center View presentation slides Greetings / Opening Remarks Elizabeth Grant, Ph.D. Special Assistant U.S. Department of Education |
| 9:45 - 10:30 AM | Keynote Address:
“The Complexity of College and Career Readiness” David T. Conley, PhD Professor, University of Oregon CEO, Educational Policy Improvement Center Dr. Conley, a nationally renowned researcher and expert on college and career readiness, will discuss challenges and strategies for addressing the increasingly complex landscape of college and career readiness. His presentation will be followed by a brief question and answer period. View presentation slides |
| 10:30 - 10:50 AM | Introducing the National High School Center’s College and Career Development Organizer Joseph R. Harris, Ph.D. Director National High School Center The new College and Career Development Organizer tool for mapping key college and career readiness definitions and program areas will be introduced briefly during this session to set the stage for the follow-up breakout discussions. |
| 10:50 - 11:00 AM | Break / Transition to Breakout 1 |
| 11:00 - 12:30 PM | Breakout 1 Discussion:
“Defining and Measuring College and Career Readiness” Resource Experts:
|
| 12:30 - 1:15 PM | Informal Networking Lunch Box lunches will be provided so that participants can network informally during this time. |
| 1:15 - 2:15 PM | Panel Discussion:
“Technical Assistance for College and Career Readiness: A View from the Field” Panelists:
|
| 2:15 - 2:30 PM | Break / Transition to Breakout 2 |
| 2:30 - 3:50 PM | Breakout 2 Discussion:
“The Successes and Challenges of a Regional Approach to Technical Assistance for College and Career Readiness” Participants will join regional follow-up discussions of their own technical assistance efforts to support states, districts, and schools in actualizing college and career readiness and the implications of the panel’s recommendations and lessons learned. Participants will be encouraged to describe and map their own technical assistance activities using the College and Career Development Organizer tool as well as share their own successes and challenges. |
| 3:50 - 4:00 PM | Transition to Closing Plenary |
| 4:00 - 4:30 PM | Closing Plenary Summary of the Breakout 2 Discussions Next Steps / Upcoming Events Closing Remarks Fran Walter, Program Coordinator for the Comprehensive Centers program, U.S. Department of Education |
| 4:30 - 5:30 PM | Reception / Informal Networking Session |
College and Career Readiness Symposium Resources
The following suggested college and career readiness resources were provided by symposium participants to supplement the discussion.*
CollegeCareerReady School Diagnostic
The School Diagnostic gathers feedback from students, teachers, counselors, and administrators to provide a 360-degree overview of a school's college and career readiness. The resulting detailed reports and custom list of resources allows your school to take immediate action to improve student performance.
College-Readiness Performance Assessment System (C-PAS)
This formative assessment system is designed to gauge student development of Key Cognitive Strategies from 6th- through 12th-grade. By having all students complete carefully designed performance tasks that are scored by teachers using common scoring guides, a school gets information on how well students are progressing toward college readiness.
College and Career Readiness: What Do We Mean?
This second draft of ConnectEd's College and Career Framework provides a clear summary and synthesis of over two decades of research into what students should know and be able to do upon graduation for post-secondary success. This Framework is intended for use by teachers, schools and districts, as well as researchers and policymakers, to help inform decisions around assessment, accountability, curriculum, instruction, professional development, program design and resource allocation.
College and Career Ready Standards and Secondary Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities: 101 [PDF]
The purpose of this paper is to provide secondary level educators with an overview of major concepts and national initiatives associated with the concept of College and Career Ready, identify initiatives adopted by states, and discuss implications for students with disabilities. The information can serve as a resource as secondary educators become involved in their state’s efforts to ensure all students are college and career ready.
Common Core State Standards
Schools across the country are preparing to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and other standards for college and career readiness, and school leaders will play an essential role in this effort. NASSP has compiled a number of resources to help school leaders as they work to meet the challenge of implementing these new standards.
Common Core State Standards: Assessments for the Common Core
The IDEA Partnership, in collaboration with national organizations and states, has created a collection of resources and tools for stakeholders to use when holding conversations about the Common Core State Standards. Resources include a glossary, resource lists, a ready-to-use workshop with presenter guides, and more.
The Common Core State Standards for School Leaders – Newsletter
NASSP's Mel Riddile curates a newsletter for school leaders to help all students become college and career ready.
Common Core State Standards – Resources for School Leaders - Newsletter
NASSP's Mel Riddile curates a newsletter that provides resources to assist school leaders in implementing the Common Core State Standards in their schools.
CourseCreate, CourseAlign, and CoursePathways
Many high school courses are difficult to analyze because they typically do not have high-quality syllabi. CourseCreate, CourseAlign and CoursePathways help teachers develop syllabi that contain the elements necessary to conduct alignment analyses and to communicate course expectations clearly to students, parents, and other staff.
Cradle to College and Career Collection
This IDEA Partnership collection combines resources on
the pipeline pathway from pre-school to college/career entry to be used by stakeholders in the field. It provides a comprehensive collection of materials and resources to assist in further understanding the common core, and includes fact sheets, glossaries, resource guides, and information for students with disabilities.
Expanding Career Readiness Through Career and Technical Student Organizations [PDF]
This paper explores how career and technical student organizations enhance students' career readiness through diverse programming that is designed to enhance classroom instruction and four common organizational goals: leadership development; academic and career achievement; professional development; and community service.
Expanding Career Readiness Through Online Learning [PDF]
This paper explores how online learning is being employed to ensure students have access to high-quality CTE programs and the necessary academic, technical and employability skills to be successful in 21st century careers.
From Aspirations to Action: Increasing Postsecondary Readiness for Underrepresented Students [PDF]
This resource toolkit highlights 25 resources created by various organizations that focus on college and career readiness. The tools were selected to support the learning, planning, and implementation of high school programs looking for strategies to increase the numbers of underrepresented students in postsecondary institutions. It was developed for the Smaller Learning Communities Program school and district grantees.
High School Redesign and Secondary Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities: 101 [PDF]
The purpose of this paper is to provide secondary level educators with an overview of major concepts and national initiatives associated with High School Redesign and discuss implications for students with disabilities. The information can serve as a resource as secondary educators become involved in local and state efforts to redesign high schools to serve all students.
Learning Around the Clock: Benefits of Expanded Learning Opportunities for Older Youth
This publication identifies and describes Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOs) that improve academic performance, college and career preparation, social and emotional development, and health and wellness outcomes for underserved youth. The term “expanded learning opportunity” is used to describe the range of programs and activities available to young people that occur beyond regular school hours. ELOs include traditional afterschool activities with an academic focus, but also incorporate activities such as internships with employers, independent study in alternative settings, classes on college campuses for high school students, and wraparound support services. Expanded learning opportunities are an effective use of resources to prepare youth for the complexities that face them as adults. The underlying message drawn from our review of the evaluations is that expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) work. ELOs deserve ongoing and expanded support and to be fully viewed as a major contributor in the preparation of youth for postsecondary education, careers, and civic engagement.
Multiple Pathways to Student Success: Envisioning the New California High School
This report explores the feasibility of expanding the multiple pathways approach in California.
Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond
This publication describes 23 programs that have been proven to help young people successfully complete high school and be prepared for success in postsecondary education and careers. These programs represent a wide range of interventions, including school-wide reform initiatives, community-based afterschool services, work-based learning opportunities, and college access programs. From an analysis of the included programs, the report identifies common programmatic and structural elements that may contribute to their effectiveness and summarizes key outcomes. The publication also sets forth a logic model that illustrates the complexity of the process for youth to develop the foundational knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal resources required for success in careers, lifelong learning, and civic engagement, as well as the various systems and service providers that support youth at each step of the developmental pipeline. The report concludes with policy recommendations on how policymakers can support college- and career-readiness for all students.
Tiered Interventions and Secondary Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities: 101 [PDF]
The purpose of this paper is to provide secondary level educators with an overview of implementing tiered interventions at the high school level and discuss implications for students with disabilities. The information can serve as a resource as secondary educators become involved in local and state efforts to implement tiered interventions in high schools.
What is "Career Ready"? [PDF]
ACTE released this paper to broaden the national discussion around the term "career readiness" and increase the recognition of the broad range of skills students need to succeed in 21st-century careers. The paper outlines three broad sets of skills students need to be career-ready—core academic skills, employability skills and technical skills. The subsequent papers in this series all address how aspects of high-quality CTE programs help to ensure all students are career-ready.
* These resources were provided by symposium participants and have not been vetted by the National High School Center. The contents of the resources do not necessarily reflect the views of the National High School Center or the U.S. Department of Education.
**Presentations, materials and additional information will be posted on this Web page throughout and upon the completion of the symposium.**
