College and career readiness is one of the driving principles of the Common Core State Standards. So how well are schools doing in fulfilling this goal? This month we asked readers of SmartBrief on EdTech to tell us what their schools and districts are doing to foster programs for college and career education.
Seventy-two percent of respondents reported that college and career education is a top priority for their school or district. Fifty-eight percent are starting this conversation with their students at the K-5 level while 34% are starting it in middle school. Only 8% are waiting until high school to begin this discussion.
Connecting students to professionals and career fairs and events are among the ways schools are exposing students to workforce options. Interestingly, though, nearly a quarter of respondents — 24% — have no programs in place to do this.
Here are the full results:
Is college and career education a top-level priority for your school or district?
- Yes: 72%
- No: 18%
- Not yet: 11%
How early is your school or district starting the conversation about college and career?
- Grades K-5: 58%
- Middle school: 34%
- High school: 8%
What is your school or district doing to expose students to different career options?
- Connecting students to professionals, either virtually or in person: 37%
- Career fairs and events: 28%
- Internships and training programs with businesses: 11%
- We don’t have programs in place to do this: 24%
What’s working at your school? If you don’t have programs, what’s stalling this move? Drop us a line and let us know.