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Postsecondary and Workforce Connections
New Skills for Youth states aligned their career pathways work with statewide initiatives promoting dual credit attainment and workforce training programs.
State Leadership
Supported Early Postsecondary Credit Opportunities
All 10 states include dual credit in their state accountability systems, and most also increased funding to cover the costs of dual credit before or during New Skills for Youth. Pathway models in three states introduced tutoring and other support to improve students’ college readiness and to limit remedial coursework, which some districts found to be a barrier to student participation in dual credit programs.
Promoted Pathway-Aligned Dual Credit Opportunities
Seven states developed state model pathways incorporating pathway-aligned early postsecondary credit opportunities through 2-year colleges. Fewer state teams reported statewide articulation agreements, which states found more challenging to implement than local agreements. In seven states, local articulation agreements extended to 4-year colleges.
Developed Workforce System Partnerships
Eight states launched or expanded programs to connect high school pathways to registered apprenticeship programs. Some states partnered with the workforce system to connect students with employers for work-based learning and to provide services to at-risk students and students with disabilities. Three states have aligned regional workforce and education service areas to promote future collaboration.
State Highlight: Dual Credit Attainment in Ohio
In the four states with the capacity to report data over time (Delaware, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee), the percentage of students earning dual credit increased from 2015-16 to 2017-18, and then began to level off. In Ohio, for example, dual credit attainment increased by approximately 6 percent. Staff from the Ohio Department of Education attributed the increase to Ohio’s College Credit Plus program offering no-cost dual credit to students in grades 7-12. During New Skills for Youth, the state team worked to expand the program’s original focus on academic coursework to include pathway-aligned technical courses.
18.8%
22.7%
25.7%
25.2%
Baseline:
2015-16
2015-16
Year 1:
2016-17
2016-17
Year 2:
2017-18
2017-18
Year 3:
2018-19
2018-19
See data sources for additional information.
Local Innovations
Jackson-Madison County School System, Tennessee
In their senior year, Jackson-Madison students can apply for the Local Options and Opportunities Program (LOOP) pathways programs in culinary arts or advanced manufacturing. The manufacturing program combines paid work experience with local firms, including Toyota and Stanley Black and Decker, and coursework developed by the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT)-Jackson.
Secondary/Postsecondary Pathway Alignment
TCAT-Jackson developed the advanced manufacturing curriculum to prepare high school students for the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council Certified Production Technician certificate. The curriculum content is drawn from the first semester of the college’s machining tool and die program and is taught at the high school by a TCAT instructor.
Early College Credit Opportunities
LOOP graduates have the option to enroll in advanced manufacturing and related programs at TCAT-Jackson (or other TCATs) with advanced standing or are eligible for up to 12 credits at an area community college for the four components of the Certified Production Technician certificate. LOOP students need to be college ready when they begin the LOOP program or participate in the program’s concurrent remediation support.