A New Look at Career and Technical Education (CTE) Standards

1. A New Look at Career and Technical Education (CTE) Standards CTE Standards Reform (Phase II) Dr. Danielle Mezera Casey Haugner Wrenn

2. A New Look at CTE Standards Objectives: Understand the need for reform of current career and technical education (CTE) course standards to align to secondary, postsecondary and career opportunities Articulate process used to determine revisions Become familiar with objectives and results of new standards

3. CTE Standards Reform: Why now? Tennessee’s CTE: Robust, Aligned Academic/Career 7th-16th Learning Pathway Illustration by RSA Animate (2010)

4. CTE Standards Reform: Why now? Our thoughts and actions drive student outcomes What we believe influences what we produce What we produce influences what teachers do in the classroom What teachers do in the classroom influences student success

5. CTE Standards Reform: Why now? We need to redefine student learning to meet the needs of today’s economy in Tennessee

6. CTE Standards Reform: Multi-Phased Approach 2015-16 2013-14 2014-15

7. CTE Standards Reform: Phase I “I would like to drop POS that are not leading to employment/training in area after graduation and add other POS that may lead to post-sec training/ employment.” “There are too many options under many areas...POS overlap and duplicate each other…Please reduce the amount of POS and allow for flexibility for districts.” 2012 CTE Director Survey: 77% response rate from LEAs

8. CTE Standards Reform: Phase I “POS needs to be aligned with 16 Career Clusters. Courses are the same in multiple pathways and do not reflect today's competitive business environment. Standards and competencies are too broad, vague, and often overlap… do not reflect professional organizations in business and industry.” 2012 CTE Director Survey: 77% response rate from LEAs

9. CTE Standards Reform: Phase I Results Four Specific Objectives: • Eliminate redundancy and misalignment of Programs of Study • Reduced POS by 67% from 207 to 69 for 2013-14 SY • Align remaining POS, and accompanying courses, with postsecondary offerings and industry needs • Inserted General Education courses • Removed more than 50 non-aligned or redundant courses • Provide more flexibility in the selection and sequencing of courses, particularly helpful for smaller, more rural School Districts • Added Work-Based Learning, provided options for capstone courses • Simplify the annual POS selection process (Spring Open Enrollment)

10. Choose Your Pathway to Success Tennessee’s 16 Career Clusters Advanced Manufacturing Finance STEM & STEM Across Industries Business Management Arts, A/V Tech & Communications Education & Training Architecture & Construction Transportation Distribution & Logistics Human Services Law & Public Safety Government & Public Admin Information Technology Hospitality & Tourism Marketing Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Health Science

11. CTE Standards Reform: Multi-Phased Approach 2015-16 2013-14 2014-15

12. CTE Standards Reform: Phase II 2013 CTE Teacher Survey: Over 540 responses Typical feedback included: Standards are too general and redundant from course to course Programs of study need to be better aligned to needs of industry Increase work-based learning opportunities Identification of gap areas needed by employers not covered in current course standards

13. CTE Standards Reform: Phase II Objectives Four Specific Objectives: • In-depth revision of Programs of Study (POS) • Addition of new POS in identified gap areas • Greater cross integration between Career Clusters and General Education and EPSO Courses • Strong attention to and infusion of relevant Work-Based Learning • Full revision of standards in three Career Clusters • Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources; Education & Training; and Human Services • Full revision of course standards in identified weak courses across multiple career clusters • Development of new courses to fill identified gap areas

14. Career &Technical Education General Education DC/DE Academic Learning Math Courses STEM Career Cluster Programs of Study Project Based Learning ELA Courses Technical Skill Attainment Common Core State Standards Social Studies Courses Writing Prompts Complex Texts Industry Certifications Science Courses Sequential Courses Work- Based Learning Critical Thinking Problem Solving CTSO Activities Creativity Communication Skills SAE Standards / Instruction Assessments PD / Training Learning Environment Citizenship Technology Fluency Tennessee’s CTE: Robust, Aligned Academic/Career 7th-16th Learning Pathway Work Ethic Team Work / Collaboration 21st Century Skills Phase II

15. Phase II Standards Integration Turn and Talk: What resonates with you about this graphic? What steps could you take to promote this type of integrated learning in your building/system?

16. CTE Standards Reform: Process Overview Collaborative process with external experts Project Management Data Gathering and Research: Determine needs and opportunities of state and the strengths of existing CTE course offerings. Skills Identification and Alignment: Determine specific knowledge/skills needed for students to be successful in identified courses and pathways. Writing and Reviewing: Craft revised course standards and vet recommendations with key stakeholders.

17. CTE Standards Reform: External Support Initiated a collaborative and facilitative process that engaged external experts to supplement internal staff capacity and to build internal staff expertise

18. CTE Standards ReformFirst Step: Data Gathering & Research CTE Consultants researched and collected data from multiple measures and stakeholders: Regional, State, National labor and economic development data (lagging and real-time) Statewide CTE teacher survey on existing courses and standards (540+ teacher respondents) Industry Advisory Councils Curriculum scans from other states, endorsed professional organizations, and accrediting bodies

19. CTE Standards ReformFirst Step: Data Gathering & Research Example: Agriculture • Workforce Data: • Job postings and state supply/demand trends showed increases in veterinary science, agriculture engineering, and food production and processing • Statewide CTE teacher survey 540 + responses, of which 50 were Agriculture teachers • Industry Advisory Councils: Agriculture Council, “Team Ag Ed,” TN Farm Bureau Federation

20. CTE Standards ReformFirst Step: Data Gathering & Research Example: Agriculture Curriculum Scans: • Special Course Requests submitted by TN school districts • Other State Agriculture Offerings: Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, California • Postsecondary Agriculture Offerings: Reviewed 26 postsecondary agriculture programs, including top 10 national programs (i.e. Purdue University, Texas A&M, Cornell University) and all Tennessee offerings • National Agriculture Content Standards published by the National Council for Agricultural Education

21. CTE Standards Reform:Second Step: Skills Identification & Alignment CTE Consultants culled and synthesized data into the following actions: Identified Programs of Study (POS) with weak postsecondary and industry alignments Identified academic and skills (hard/soft) gaps in existing courses Identified duplicate standards across existing courses Created “groupings” of knowledge and skills needed for each stage of a pathway/POS – building progressively and sequentially by course

22. CTE Standards Reform:Second Step: Skills Identification & Alignment Example: Agriculture Created sequences of courses (Programs of Study/Pathways) to align with labor and economic data and postsecondary offerings: Sampling • Developed new program of study/pathway in Food Science • Recommended changes to Agriculture Engineering to address new opportunities • Outlined necessary skills (hard/soft) in “key content areas,” building progressively through courses/programs of study • Identified and aligned successful work-based learning and dual credit/dual enrollment opportunities

23. CTE Standards Reform:Third Step: Writing & Reviewing CTE Consultants revised course standards: • Infused revised standards from other existing CTE courses • Embedded stronger technical skills • Aligned developed and revised course standards with Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Technical Subjects (and Math where applicable) • Aligned and referenced general education standards (e.g. Biology), where applicable Stakeholders reviewed draft standards and provided critical feedback: • 78 CTE Tennessee teachers across multiple subjects • Average of 13.5 years of experience • Representing: East (34%), Middle (41%), and West (25%) • Professional CTE Teacher Associations • Other TDOE divisions • Industry Advisory Councils and Individual Companies • 22 Postsecondary Faculty and Teacher Prep Faculty

24. CTE Standards Reform:Third Step: Writing & Reviewing Example: Agriculture Stakeholders reviewed draft standards and provided critical feedback: • Engaged 29 secondary and 6 postsecondary Agriculture teachers • Tennessee Association of Agriculture Educators (TAAE), Ag teacher preparation representatives, and Agriculture Advisory Council • Curriculum & Instruction Division reviewed science content alignment • Tennessee Department of Agriculture • Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation

25. CTE Standards Reform:Third Step: Writing & Reviewing Example: Agriculture

26. CTE Standards Reform:Course Standard Comparison Career Cluster: Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources New: Plant and Soil Science Current: Plant and Soil Science 5.0 Analyze the chemical elements essential to plant nutrition and the importance and benefits of proper soil fertility. 5.1  Specify and explain terms related to soil chemistry and plant nutrition. 5.7  Measure soil pH and its effects on nutrient availability. 5.8  Assess the nutrient deficiency symptoms in plants. 9. Assess the importance of the sixteen nutrients essential to plant growth and development. Identify nutritional deficiencies and disorders, distinguish among signs of nutrient deficiency in plants, make recommendations for appropriate treatments, and prescribe preventative control measures for major agricultural crops, including corn, soybean, cotton, tobacco, hay, pasture, and forest. (TN CCSS Reading 2, 5; TN CCSS Writing 2, 4, 9; TN Biology II 7)

27. CTE Standards Reform Course Standard Comparison Take 5 minutes to read through the excerpt standards on your handout. Then turn and talk to your neighbor to answer the following questions: What are the differences in the two sets of standards? What are the benefits of the revised course standards? What are implications of the changes for teachers and administrators at the local level?

28. CTE Standards Reform:What does a pathway look like?

29. CTE Standards Reform:Revised, New, Retired Courses Example: Agriculture *This List is not exhaustive, rather it is to show example of how former courses influenced revisions. Green = New course; Blue = Retired course; Black = Revised course

30. CTE Standards Reform: Next Steps Meetings & Training • Fall CTE Director Meeting: Sept. • State Board of Education Meeting: Oct. • Public commentary on course standards • LEAD Conference: Oct. • Town Hall meetings: Nov.-May • Webinars: Nov.-May • State Board of Education Meeting: Jan. • Public commentary on course standards • Regional visits and Workshops: Nov.-Ongoing • Teacher Professional Development: Nov.-Ongoing • Winter CTE Director Meeting: Feb. • School Counselors Conference: Feb. • Spring CTE Director Meeting: April • CTE Summer Institute: July Communications Teacher Associations: Ongoing Subject Area Teachers: Ongoing School Counselors: Oct. & Feb. Postsecondary teacher prep programs: Oct. Superintendents Study Councils: Oct.-Jan. & Ongoing CTE Directors: Ongoing Principals: Ongoing

31. A New Look at CTE Standards Objectives: Understand the need for reform of current career and technical education (CTE) course standards to align to secondary, postsecondary and career opportunities Articulate process used to determine revisions Become familiar with objectives and results of new standards

32. A New Look at CTE Standards For questions: Dr. Danielle Mezera Casey Haugner Wrenn Danielle.Mezera@tn.govCasey.Haugner@tn.gov Course input and feedback: CTE.Questions@tn.gov http://www.state.tn.us/education/cte/