Group items tagged

"A career pathways system is a coordinated system of programs and services supporting students in the transition from school to the workforce, and it can be one part of a comprehensive system to support students' college and career readiness. The College and Career Readiness and Success (CCRS) Center's resource Designing a Career Pathways System: A Framework for State Education Agencies is a four-chapter module intended to help state education agency staff design, implement, and evaluate a career pathways system. Each chapter includes a facilitator's guide, slide presentation, and activity handouts. The four chapters include:"

"This paper presents an overview of New Hampshire's efforts to implement a pilot accountability system designed to support deeper learning for students and powerful organization change for schools and districts. The accountability pilot, referred to as Performance Assessment of Competency Education or PACE, is grounded in a competency- based educational approach designed to ensure that students have meaningful opportunities to achieve critical knowledge and skills. These opportunities are judged by the outcomes students achieve and not by inputs such as seat time. Therefore, students must achieve these competencies before moving on to the next major learning targets and/or graduating from high school. High quality performance assessments play a crucial role in the PACE system because of the need to have assessments that measure the depths of student understanding of these complex learning targets. Performance assessments are used as both summative and interim measures in the PACE system as a way to document student learning of the competencies and to support remediation or extension interventions. The paper describes the system of assessments being implemented as part of the PACE pilot as well as providing a discussion of the technical quality issues the state is working to address as part of this accountability pilot. For example, being able to produce valid and comparable annual determinations for all students each year is a considerable technical challenge as well as documenting the degree to which all students are held to the same threshold expectations (equity). The paper concludes by relating the PACE initiative to the push for deeper and more meaningful learning for students. "

"The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University and the John W. Gardner Center (JGC) at Stanford University have each received three-year grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to work together to select a network of sites and develop models for College Readiness Indicator Systems (CRIS). As part of this collaborative effort, AISR and JGC develop, test, and disseminate effective tools and resources that provide early diagnostic indications of what students need to become college ready. The two organizations serve complementary, but distinct roles. JGC develops and studies the implementation of a tri-level (individual, setting, and system) early warning system using a flexible, "design-build" approach with the partner districts. AISR focuses on cross-site learning; brokering expertise and supports for partner districts; understanding issues related to district, municipal, state, and federal contexts; and process documentation. The CRIS sites are Dallas, New Visions for Public Schools (New York City), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Jose, California."

"WestEd's National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) helps states transform their systems to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. NCSI provides states with technical assistance to support their school districts and local early intervention service programs in improving education results and functional outcomes for children with disabilities."

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) has released three new publications, including "By Youth, for Youth: Employment," "Transition Truths: An Overview of Transition Systems," and "Supporting Families of Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education: Learning from the Voices of Families." NCWD/Youth assists state and local workforce development systems to better serve all youth, including youth with disabilities and other disconnected youth, and is composed of partners with expertise in education, youth development, disability, employment, workforce development, and family issues.

"The education model used in many classrooms across our country can find its roots in the 20th century-in which students, organized by age, move at the same time and pace through their learning experience. Yet after decades of research and experiences in the K-12 classroom, coupled with a world where technologies have transformed the opportunities available to us, this system no longer makes much sense. Competency-based education transforms this traditional model. It shifts the focus of learning from time to mastery, from purely summative assessments to formative experiences and most important, creates personalized pathways for each student to move at their own pace and ability to meet their learning needs"

"Many students still struggle to graduate on time within traditional school systems, particularly racial and ethnic minority students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. States and schools are shifting their focus to ensure college and career readiness is a realistic and attainable goal for all students. This brief provides an overview of competency-based education (CBE), one model to support college and career readiness for all"

Transition as a K-12 concept and the taxonomy.

"Finding and encouraging learner-centered pioneers who are already at work in communities, school systems, policy arenas, and the education profession, so as to grow the number of active champions of learner-centered education."

"Our mission is to support educators to integrate social, emotional and academic learning and create relationship-based classrooms that are inclusive, meaningful and engaged. Our vision is of an education system in which all young people are supported to develop compassion, character, academic excellence, and a sense of deep connection to themselves and the world around them."

This website was created by the Center for Independent Futures, a non-profit organization in Illinois. This organization aims to help "adults with disabilities and their families plan, support and sustain new ways of living in their community." The website and organization provides information about having a disability, as well as services and accommodations that they can provide for adults with disabilities. Because the Center for Independent Futures is a non-profit organization, they host a variety of fund raising events each year. These events, as well as other ways to donate to the organization can be found on the website. If I were a special educator working on transition and career development, I would use this website for students who are looking at attending school in Illinois. The site would provide very useful information for the student because it would tell them what kind of supports they can receive in the state and where they can get those supports. Illinois has a variety of colleges and universities, and the Center for Independent Futures would be a very positive support system for new students in the state.

"FCTD Fact Sheets: Assistive Technology Solutions Assistive Technology Solutions Assistive technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment or product that can be used to help someone with a disability successfully function at home, in school, at work, and in the community. AT can be anything from a simple, low-tech device such as a magnifying glass, to a complex, high-tech device such as a computerized communication system. It can be big - an automated van lift for a wheelchair - or small - a Velcro grip attached to a book for easier page turning. Assistive technology can strengthen a person's abilities where needed or substitute for them entirely - such as a picture board with sound output that helps a child who cannot communicate with her voice."

In So What Do They Really Know? Cris Tovani explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students' thinking and performance with fairness and fidelity. Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates.

When Ramona Pierson was 22, she was hit by a drunk driver and spent 18 months in a coma. In this talk, she tells the remarkable story of her recovery -- drawing on the collective skills and wisdom of a senior citizens' home. (Filmed at TEDxDU.) Ramona Pierson develops tools to revolutionize learning management and assessment systems -- her fourth career after aviation, neuropsychology and software development. Full bio »

"‌The Survey of Adult Skills is an international survey conducted in 33 countries as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). It measures the key cognitive and workplace skills needed for individuals to participate in society and for economies to prosper. The first results from the Survey were released on 8th October 2013. The evidence from this Survey will help countries better understand how education and training systems can nurture these skills. Educators, policy makers and labour economists will use this information to develop economic, education and social policies that will continue to enhance the skills of adults.‌"

"Today, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its world report of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), comparing the skill levels of adult workers across 24 developed countries. The report reveals that the U.S. is lagging behind other nations and must do more to strengthen skills development systems and boost economic opportunity for America's workers."

"The NASET national standards and quality indicators are research-based benchmarks that articulate quality secondary education and transition services for all youth. These standards and indicators can guide state and local administrators and practitioners responsible for planning and implementing comprehensive transition systems for youth, ultimately becoming a catalyst for constructive change in transition practices and policies nationwide."

The IES College Readiness Data Catalog Tool and User Guide enables states, districts and other educational entities to assess the presence of college readiness indicators and identify gaps in developing future indicator systems. The College Readiness Data Catalog is a flexible Excel workbook that provides a shell for organizing and tracking student data relevant for measuring college readiness.

"This site has been put together by the Indiana Northeast Cadre of Transition Leaders and the Indiana Secondary Transition Resource Center. This is a �living� site that will be monitored and improved on a regular basis. New transition assessments may be added and additional sorting will take place in the future. If you have suggestions for the site or find links that need corrections, please click on the button below and share your thoughts with us. The goal is to continually improve upon the access and usability of the system."