Content Standards

CCRS State Map Additions Highlight Career and Technical Education (CTE) Initiatives

Today, we announced the addition of eight new territories to the map: American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Guam, Palau, Puerto Rico, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Visitors to the interactive map can now review, compare, and contrast college and career readiness policies and programs for all 50 states, D.C., and now the eight territories.

Progress: Teachers, Leaders, and Students Transforming Education

The U.S. Department of Education has released a blog, Progress: Teachers, Leaders and Students Transforming Education, which highlights promising practices, lessons learned, and resources related to implementing K-12 reforms. The blog was developed to provide educators, parents, leaders, and stakeholders with information on how state and local K-12 leaders across the country are implementing education reforms.

The State of Career Technical Education: (Different) Standards for All

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) recently undertook a large-scale research project to address the not-so-simple question of: how do states approach Career Technical Education (CTE) standards? With the increased attention given to CTE as a necessary strategy for engaging students, preparing our future workforce, and remaining competitive in a global economy, NASDCTEc believes it is important that stakeholders have a solid understanding of the system they are supporting.

How State Educational Leaders are Advancing Competency Education

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and CompetencyWorks hosted a webinar titled “How State Educational Leaders are Advancing Competency Education” on May 17, 2013. The webinar focused on how state educational leaders in Iowa and Maine are advancing competency-based education (CBE) practices and policies.

NCLB Waivers and States’ Definitions of College and Career Ready

Under Principle 1: College and Career Ready Expectations of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Waiver Applications, states were required to include their definition of CCR in their applications. We reviewed the 10 approved waiver applications seeking clarity about states’ definitions of CCR expectations.

What We Are Reading: Teacher Certifications, the Common Core, & Student Data

Looking for new high school-related resources?  Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:* Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized Public High School-Level Teachers of Core Subjects (National Center for Education Statistics, May 2011)