Aiming to put students on a stronger path toward college and careers, state education officials on Monday released a broad blueprint outlining basic skills pupils need to succeed after high school.
“Educators know that the world is changing and so our schools have to change, too,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a statement. “Students today need very different skills and knowledge than they did a generation ago.”
The document does not address ongoing efforts to incorporate measures of career and college readiness into the Academic Performance Index, the state’s primary measure of school effectiveness. Rather, the guidelines, called the Standards for Career Ready Practice, identify 12 general skills students need and outlines them in broad terms: Students should be able to communicate effectively, solve problems through critical thinking and work in teams, for instance, and should be able to make sound financial and personal health decisions and have a sense of civic responsibility.
The document is designed to help guide teachers in preparing students for life after high school – whether in college or the workplace.
” … We are recommitting to California’s longstanding goal of college and career readiness for every student,” Torlakson said, noting the new Common Core State Standards and other changes. “Beyond academic knowledge lies a whole host of other skills students need to succeed outside the classroom, things like: whether they’re financially literate, whether they can communicate their ideas effectively, and whether they can use technology safely and sensibly.”
Torlakson announced the new guidelines at the Educating for Careers Conference in Sacramento.
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Paul Muench 10 years ago10 years ago
“Career-ready individuals communicate thoughts, ideas, and action plans with clarity, using written, verbal, electronic, and/or visual methods.” I understand written, verbal, and visual as methods. What does electronic mean as a method? Does that mean tweeting, blogging, posting on Facebook, and/or morse code?