Coalition Calls for Transformation of

Career and Technical Education

By Catherine Gewertz on May 10, 2016 4:20 PM | No comments

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Eight organizations issued a joint call Tuesday for a "transformation" of career
and technical education, so that K-12, higher education and the business world
are deeply engaged in providing meaningful career-related study for students.
"Putting Learner Success First: A Shared Vision for the Future of
CTE" arose from a three-day summit in Orlando in October 2015, that brought
together national, state and local players in the field to reimagine the path
forward for the fast-growing world of career and technical education.
The last major vision statement issued collectively by the CTE field, "Reflect,
Transform, Lead,"was six years ago. It focused heavily on the need to develop
learning frameworks and policies to support career and tech ed. The new vision
statement zeroes in on the students themselves, and outlines what policymakers,
educators and industry must do to deliver quality programs for them.
It's organized around five principles, with action steps outlined for each one. Here
are a few highlights; see the paper for a fuller discussion.

All CTE programs are held to the highest standards of

excellence. Despite good progress improving the quality of CTE
programming, poor-quality programs persist in too many places, the groups
say. To "eradicate the negative stereotypes and realities" of CTE programs,
those shaping the programs must have "an unwavering commitment" to high
standards of quality. Rigorous review processes, and funding linked to
program quality, are key steps to achieving this goal, according to the paper.
New systems must also be developed to enable employers to help shape
and validatethe programs.

All learners are empowered to choose a meaningful education and

career. Here the groups don't mince words about the need for a strong,
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thorough career-advising system for students (something that is often a

weak link in middle and high schools). It must start in elementary school and
extend through high school, and let all studentsnot just those in CTE
programsexplore a wide range of goals and interests, the statement says.
That system must also provide real-world work/learning experiences for
those students, it said.

All learning is personalized and flexible. The paper envisions a fusion

of academics with CTE that takes place in classrooms and outside them.
Creating competency-based systems to take a CTE student from high
school into higher educationrather than stumbling over the accumulation
of Carnegie unitsis important to accomplishing this, the paper says.

All learning is facilitated by knowledgeable experts. The eight groups

call for deep changes in thinking about who should teach career-tech
courses, something that's bound to challenge parts of the education
community. Teacher certification must be updated to include requirements
that teachers can integrate academic and career skills, and to facilitate
certification of instructors from industry, the paper says.

All systems work together to put learner success first. K-12 and
higher education must be able to work well with workforce development and
industry to ensure quality, seamless programs, the paper says. That kind of
coordination isn't common; but the paper calls for states to outline ways to
change policy and practice so this can happen. The eight groups urge states
to adopt career-readiness indicators in their accountability systems.

The eight organizations that collaborated to produce the vision paper are
Advance CTE, the Association for Career and Technical Education, the Council
of Chief State School Officers, the National Association of State Boards of
Education, the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges, the
National Governors Association, the National Skills Coalition, and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

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