CTE and competency-based education, while a natural fit, are in danger of being siloed if states and districts do not take care to integrate them in approaches to college and career readiness.
A new paper from Achieve and National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium identifies several strategies that can help states and districts better integrate CTE and competency-based pathways (CBP), which the publication defines as incorporating demonstrated mastery; explicit, measurable and transferable learning objectives; meaningful assessment; and rapid and individualized student support.
Building a Strong Relationship Between Competency-based Pathways and Career Technical Education outlines several “leverage points” where CTE and CBP meet:
- contextualized learning
- self-directed pathways based in student interests that encompass college and career readiness knowledge and skills
- opportunities to apply learning to real-world situations, such as work-based learning and career technical student organization activities
- project-based learning
- assessments that measure competencies
To better integrate CTE and competency-based education, the report recommends that states and districts:
- incorporate CTE into competency-based strategies at the outset
- ensure equity in student access to high-quality CBP across CTE fields of study
- build district and school capacity for CBP
- work to address data and reporting challenges for capturing student competencies
- recognize that CTE programs may still be dependent on time-based elements
- craft a communications plan and secure support from key stakeholders
Vermont’s Flexible Pathways legislation, Rhode Island’s performance-based assessment graduation requirement and Clackamas Community College’s Smart Internship program that awards dual credit for work-based learning are among the examples provided of how CTE and competency-based education can work together.
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