Promoting High School Students’

College and Career Readiness

Through the Illinois Career Cluster Model

Donald G. Hackmann, Professor

University of Illinois

IPA ConferenceOctober 2013

The Need for Rigorous Preparation for

All High School Students• 80% of Illinois jobs require some postsecondary training (Advance Illinois, 2012).

• Illinois students meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in 2012: English, 65%; Reading, 47%; Math, 44%; Science, 30%. 25% met CRBs in all subjects; 31% met no CRBs (ACT, 2012).

• 71% of Illinois freshmen graduate from high school; 55% of graduates enroll in some form of postsecondary education (Advance Illinois, 2012).

• 21% of Illinois community college students require remedial coursework. African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students are more likely to require remediation (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2012).

• Only 59% of students entering Illinois community college or public colleges complete their degrees (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2012).

• Only 23% of Illinois entering high school freshmen will graduate from community colleges or colleges/universities.

Finding the best way for students to learn and achieve success is of utmost importance to not only our state, but to the nation as a whole:• College and career readiness is critical to the nation’s

economy• College completion is an integral objective and is being

identified as a national priority• Illinois is working to improve programs in order to help

learners succeed• Programs of Study is positioned to help all students –

from those attending traditional K-12 to adults entering and re-entering the educational system

Vision for Programs of Study

Incorporating Career andTechnical Education

• The choice is not college or careers, with lesser expectations for students who may not opt for a college preparatory course sequence. There should be rigorous expectations for both college and careers, with appropriate supports so that every student can be successful in attaining the school’s expectations for a quality learning experience.

• Career clusters can help educators determine the necessary curriculum (and its adequacy) in each cluster area.

• Districts can consider developing courses that satisfy both academic and Career and Technical Education (CTE) requirements.

Then …..and …..now

Vocational Education

Career and Technical Education

For fewer students For all students

For fewer “jobs” For all careers

6 to 7 program areas 16 Clusters – 79 Pathways

In lieu of academicsAligns and supports

academics

High school focused High school and college partnership

Illinois Programs of Study Guiding Principles

• Leadership, organization, and support

• Access, equity, and opportunity

• Alignment and transition

• Enhanced curriculum and instruction

• Professional preparation and development

• Program improvement and accountability

For a full description of Illinois’ Framework for Programs of Study, including the six guiding principles and design elements,

see http://occrl.illinois.edu/projects/pos/principles

Career Clusters are groups of occupations and industries that have a common set of foundational knowledge and skills.

• Organizer of knowledge and skills needed by a broad industry.

• There are 16 nationally recognized clusters, within which are multiple pathways.

What are Career Clusters?

The 16 Career Clusters

• Increase secondary and postsecondary alignment

• Increase collaboration• Decrease remediation• Decrease dropouts• Decrease curricular duplication• Align knowledge and skills to state learning

standards and other relevant standards

Goals of Career Cluster Model

• Do not take away from current programs

• Do not take away from occupational areas

• Do not trap learners/students in a single job

NOT the Goals of Career Clusters

Career Pathways are multi-year programs of academic and technical study that prepare students for a full range of postsecondary options within each of the 16 career clusters.

• Organizer of knowledge and skill statements by professions.

• Currently, there are 79 nationally recognized pathways, each with specific pathway knowledge and skills.

Clusters Pathways

What are Career Pathways?

Programs of Study are sequences of courses that incorporate a non-duplicative progression of secondary and postsecondary elements which include both academic and career and technical education content, and lead to the attainment of an industry recognized credential, certificate, or degree.

What are Programs of Study?

Clusters Pathways Programs of Study

Overview: Pathways to College and Career Readiness

• Career and Technical Education Areas (5)

• Career Clusters (16)

• Career Pathways (79 pathways)

• Programs of Study

For more information, see http://www.careerclusters.org

Illinois’ Career Cluster Framework

Updated December 14, 2010

Career Cluster: Health Science

Updated December 14, 2010

Career Cluster:

Architecture and

Construction

Updated December 14, 2010

Career Cluster:

Agriculture, Food, and Natural

Resources

Updated December 14, 2010

Comparison with Race to the Top ClustersIllinois Career Clusters RttT STEM Cluster Areas

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources*Architecture & Construction Architecture & ConstructionFinance Finance*Health Science Health Science*Information Technology Information Technology*Manufacturing Manufacturing*Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

Research and Development*

Transportation, Distribution & Logistics Transportation, Distribution & Logistics*Energy*

Arts, Audio/Video Technology & CommunicationsBusiness Management & Administration

Education & Training

Government and Public Administration

Hospitality & Tourism

Human Services

Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security

Marketing

*STEM Learning Exchange

Care

er

Clu

ster

Exa

mp

le

Sam

ple

for

Care

er

Path

way

Sample Programs of Study

• National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium: Career Clusters and Pathways

• Badger High School, Lake Geneva, WI

• Southwestern Illinois College: POS Templates

Example: Recommended Clusters (Career Cruising)

Example from:

Centennial High School (Champaign, IL)

Example: Students Select Their Cluster Areas

Centennial High School (Champaign, IL)

Recommended vs. Student-Selected Clusters: The Importance of Faculty

Guidance

Agricultu

re, Food &

Natural Reso

urces

Archite

cture &

Constructi

on

Arts, A

/V Tech

nology & Communica

tions

Business

Management & Administ

ration

Education &

Training

Finance

Government &

Public Administ

ration

Health Scie

nce

Hospita

lity &

Tourism

Human Services

Information Tech

nology

Law, P

ublic Safety, C

orrecti

ons & Secu

rity

Manufacturin

g

Marketing

Science

, Tech

nology, Engineerin

g & M

ath

Transporta

tion, Dist

ribution &

Logisti

cs0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Recommended ClusterSelected Cluster

Cent

enni

al H

igh

Scho

ol

(Cha

mpa

ign,

IL)

Thinking Within Each Cluster…• Who should we involve in this process? Business and industry partners?

STEM Learning Exchanges? Community colleges, colleges/universities? What data can postsecondary partners provide to us about the performance of our graduates, and how can we use that information for school improvement?

• Examine all classes for relevance within the cluster: core classes, recommended classes for the cluster, CTE courses. If your school offers several courses within a discipline, which ones are most appropriate for essential knowledge and skills within the cluster?

• What courses (outside the four core disciplines) should be required to prepare students within this career cluster? Do you have these courses in your curriculum? Do they need to be developed? Do you have resources and projected enrollments to create them? What about dual-credit and dual-enrollment?

• Align courses to support a sequenced, seamless transition into postsecondary.

• What other work-based experiences could be developed?• What student organizations could be sponsored?

“High Interest” ClustersIf large numbers of students identify a particular cluster, this indicates a need for an expanded curriculum. Programs of Study within the cluster should be developed, based upon student interest as well as a labor market analysis for your region and the state. Some resources that are available: • Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity:

http://commerce.state.il.us/dceo/• Illinois Pathways:

http://www.illinoisworknet.com/vos_portal/STEM/en/Home/• STEM Learning Exchanges (also linked through Illinois Pathways)

can be a helpful resource for curriculum and work-based experiences• Your community college partner: Which programs of study do they

recommend that we work together to develop?• Consult your Education for Employment system director for

CTE course possibilities

Career Planning GuidesCareer Planning Guides should replace the Course Description Handbooks. These guides should contain:

• Minimum graduation requirements• High school course requirements for admission to Illinois

public universities• Listing of occupations within each of the 16 career clusters and

recommended courses• Listing of any Programs of Study developed within the clusters• Individualized Learning Plan template for students to

tentatively develop their high school courses (aligned to occupational goals and postsecondary courses)

• Listing/description of courses (including dual-credit options)

Example of Individualized Learning Plan

Another ILP

Example

The Advisory Process and Other Considerations…

• Curriculum leadership is a key responsibility within the school/district: Led by the administrative staff but with significant involvement of teacher leaders.

• Align curriculum revision processes with other initiatives: Project Lead The Way, AP, IB

• Develop a process within your school that assists students and parents with career exploration and selection.

• College/career guidance and exploration should involve the entire faculty—administrators, counselors, teachers.

• Teachers should integrate career information into course activities, to ensure curricular relevance.

• Work with sending middle schools and community colleges to ensure that the curriculum is aligned.

ILPs and School Improvement• ILPs can help students see that postsecondary education is attainable and

can assist each student with developing a realistic plan to prepare them for college readiness and success. Students can work with their advisor to revise their ILP if their interests change.

• Schools can use ILP data to identify curricular gaps relative to each of the 16 career pathways, to assist with the identification of obsolete and new courses, and to increase the rigor and relevance of their courses.

• Schools using career clusters report significant increases in enrollments in Advanced Placement and honors courses.

• The administration can compile the students’ tentative course selections for the next three years, identifying projected course needs and changing student interests. Determine projected course demands, anticipated staffing patterns,

and hiring needs Target cluster areas in which Programs of Study can be developed Identify equity gaps: areas in which underrepresented students

are not expressing interests or are not selecting rigorous courses

Providing Support• High school educators may need resource support (time and

materials) to develop curriculum, as well as targeted professional development to strengthen their content knowledge and teaching/learning practices in core areas that have additional context expectations.

• Faculty conversations are necessary to talk about incorporating English and mathematics throughout the curriculum, and also to ensure that college/career conversations are incorporated into learning activities.

• Carefully examine course prerequisites. Are they necessary? How do you ensure equitable access for every student?

• Additional resource supports must be in place to assist students who may need additional learning opportunities to meet more rigorous expectations.

• Provides ongoing information to interested stakeholders regarding Illinois CTE Programs of Study and the broader career cluster framework: www.ilprogramsofstudy.org

• Online searchable directory of programs (degree and certificate) offered by Illinois’ 48 community colleges: http://iccbdbsrv.iccb.org/dop/home.cfm

• Searchable by college or program type

• CTE programs are organized according to the 16 Career Clusters

Illinois Programs of Study Website

• Provides an understanding of Illinois’ framework for implementation and evaluation

• Makes connections to federal, state, and local level activities.

• Introduction of guiding principles and design elements

Illinois Programs of Study Guide

http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/perkins/POSguide.pdf

Additional Resources

www.pathways.illinois.edu

University of IllinoisAdditional Resources

• Office of Community College Research and Leadership: occrl.illinois.edu

• Pathways Resource Center: www.pathways.illinois.edu

Donald G. Hackmann, Professordghack@illinois.edu; 217-333-0230

Seeking Illinois High Schools…

If you are aware of an Illinois high school (either your school or another) that is doing an exemplary job implementing career clusters, programs of study, and/or teacher/advisory programs, please contact:

Don Hackmann, University of Illinois

dghack@illinois.edu

We would like to develop a database of schools that could serve as models and resource supports for others.