Connecticut

College and Career Ready Definitions

The state has endorsed the Association for Career and Technical Education and National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium definition of college and career readiness, which states that readiness “involves three major skill areas: core academic skills and the ability to apply those skills to concrete situations to function in the workplace and in routine daily activities; employability skills (such as critical thinking and responsibility) that are essential in any career area; and technical, job-specific skills related to a specific career pathway. These skills have been emphasized across numerous pieces of research and allow students to enter true career pathways that offer family-sustaining wages and opportunities for advancement.”

Source:

Connecticut State Department of Education. (2015). ESEA flexibility request. Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/ctren...

Accountability Metrics
  • Student achievement status on state tests
  • Student growth on state tests
  • Student absenteeism
  • Student on tract to graduate
  • Four-year graduation rate
  • Additional graduation rates (five or more years)
  • Participation in advanced course work, including AP or IB classes or dual enrollment
  • Performance in advanced course work, including AP or IB exams and dual enrollment course grades
  • Performance on college entry exams such as SAT, ACT, ACCUPLACER, or COMPASS
  • Career preparedness participation, including completing career and technical education classes or WorkKeys assessments and participating in job training
  • Postsecondary enrollment
  • Percentage of students meeting or exceeding physical fitness standards
  • Participation in visual and performing arts classes

Source: Center for American Progress. (2016). Explore the Data for ‘Making the Grade’. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/news/2016/05/19/137455...

College and Career Ready Reporting Metrics
State School Report Card1
Connecticut Education Data and Research (CEDAR)2
High School Reports on College Enrollment, Persistence, and Graduation3
CTE Core Indicator Performance Level4
 
SAT scores and students meeting SAT college and career readiness benchmarks)2
PSAT scores and participation rate3
CTE completers4
     o Students reaching targeted level of skill attainment
     o Students graduating
     o Students entering postsecondary education or advanced training, military service, or employment within two quarters following graduation4
Chronic absenteeism rate2
Discipline rate2
Graduates by postsecondary activity (attending two-year colleges/four-year colleges)2
Postsecondary persistence into second year3
Percentage completing degree within six years3
Time to graduation (associate’s, bachelor’s, and higher)3
Postsecondary progress (new to college, retained, returned after stop-out, no longer enrolled and not graduated, graduated, not in National Student Clearinghouse to date)3
 
 
Sources: 
1. Connecticut State Department of Education. (2014). District and school performance reports. Retrieved from http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/performancereports/reports.asp
2. Connecticut State Department of Education. (2016). Connecticut education data and research. Retrieved from http://sdeportal.ct.gov/Cedar/WEB/ct_report/CedarHome.aspx
3. Connecticut State Department of Education. (2015). High school reports on college enrollment, persistence, and graduation. Retrieved from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2758&Q=335288
4. Connecticut State Department of Education. (2017). Career and technical education programs. Retrieved from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2678&q=320802
 
Dual Enrollment and Early College High School

Dual Enrollment and Articulation
Connecticut allows students to earn secondary credit in academic and/or CTE courses through postsecondary coursework. Career technical students enrolled in the Connecticut Department of Labor apprenticeship program may earn college credit, but not secondary credit. Credit for online courses is accepted on a regional basis. Public postsecondary institutions are not required to accept these credits (Education Commission of the States, 2015).

Early College High School

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation partnered with several institutions of higher education to provide one early college high school as part of the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI). More information about schools participating in ECHSI is available at the ECHSI website (Jobs for the Future, n.d.).

Citations:

Jobs for the Future. (n.d.). Schools. Retrieved from http://www.jff.org/initiatives/early-college-designs/schoolsUniversity of Connecticut, Office of Early College Programs. (n.d.). UConn Early College Experience. Retrieved from http://www.ece.uconn.edu/

Education Commission of the States. (2015). Dual enrollment – all state profiles. Retrieved from http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbprofallRT?Rep=DE14A

Career Pathways

Connecticut implements programs of study across all 16 Career Clusters.

Citations:

National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc). (n.d.). Connecticut [Interactive map of state CTE profiles].

Career Exploration and Career Plans

In 2012, Connecticut mandated that all students in Grades 6–12 have a Student Success Plan (SSP) (U.S. Department of Labor, 2013).

SSP and supporting activities are electronic and portable and should include goal setting for academic, career, social, emotional, and physical development; student portfolios; experiences outside the classroom; and dual concurrent credit (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2012).

Citations:

U.S. Department of Labor. (2013). Individualized learning plans across the U.S. Retrieved from

http://www.dol.gov/odep/ilp/map/

Connecticut State Department of Education. (2012). Student Success Plan mission and overview. Retrieved from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/ssreform/studentsuccessplan_mission_skills.pdf

Alignment Between High School Graduation and State College Admission Requirements

High School and College Alignment

Subject

High School Graduation Requirements

College Admission Requirements

English Credits:

4.0

4.0

Mathematics Credits:

4.0 (including Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II or statistics and probability)

3.0 (Algebra I, Algebra II, and geometry)

Social Studies Credits:

3.0 (United States history [1.0], international/world studies [1.0], civics [0.5], and social studies elective [0.5])

2.0 (including United States history)

Science Credits:

3.0 (including biological/life science; chemistry/physical science)

2.0 (each with laboratory experience)

Foreign Language Credits:

2.0

2.0

Arts Credits:

1.0 (from among art, music, theatre, dance)

None specified (N/S)

Additional Credits:

5.5 (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] elective [1.0], comprehensive health education [0.5], physical education [1.0], career and life skills electives [2.0], and a capstone experience [1.0])

3.0

Total Credits:

25.0

16.0

Tests:

N/S

Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or ACT®

Source:

Connecticut State Department of Education

UCONN

Notes:

 

 

 

Early Warning Systems
Connecticut may have a state-specific Early Warning System, but the system is not publicly available.