Abstract: Issues directly and indirectly related to the economy will drive 2009 legislative sessions. These 10 challenges will confront state leaders across the nation this year. #1. Ensure job opportunities and a work-force with the right skills. Mikey's mother expects to lose her job; his dad, who is no longer married to his mother, is in the same boat. Grandma and Grandpa can't help because their retirement accounts have plummeted. Mikey's mom and dad need job opportunities, particularly those that offer a living wage and opportunity. For example, advances in nanotechnology will contribute to a new generation of lighter, smaller, and more efficient computers. Companies willing to get in on the ground floor of this new technology will need high-tech facilities, skilled technicians, and project managers. Mikey's mom would benefit from state-initiated public/private partnerships that support such opportunities in her region. Mikey's mom will need to improve her math skills to be certified as a lab technician. If she lived in Ohio, she could use the Ohio Skills Bank Data Tool to identify critical occupational needs in the state's 12 economic development regions--including data on employment, wages, licensing, projections, plant closings, layoffs, training, and education. She could find out which areas are hiring, what types of positions are in demand, and possible providers of training. Ohio has 92 Career-Technical Planning Districts that include, in part, career centers and joint vocational schools--skill development and career preparation centers that offer a comprehensive mix of vocational and technical training. Such schools could assess Mikey's mom's skills, provide career counseling and planning, provide new skill or trade training, and help her enter or re-enter the job market. If Mikey's mom had gone to high school in Virginia, she might have already received a Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). These certificates serve as the framework for aligning curriculum, graduation requirements, and job readiness. The CRC is a portable skills credential that confirms to employers that an individual possesses the basic workplace skills required for 21st-century jobs. #2. Reduce the number of dropouts. States will consider how to implement early warning indicators and will more strongly monitor attendance. They will consider such options as earning graduation credits by demonstrating proficiency. They'll be trying to figure out what measures to use to predict if Mikey is at risk of not completing school. #3. Ensure course quality and learning. If Mikey were old enough to attend high school, he would join a growing number of students required to pass end-of-course (EOC) exams. These tests assess a student's mastery of certain academic content and skills. In recent years, some states have made EOCs mandatory for all students or are using EOCs instead of minimum-competency exit exams or subject-area tests. A growing number of states this year will join the other 10 states that require passage of these tests in order to graduate high school (Colasanti 2008). #4. Seek world-class status. Most end-of-course tests are aligned to state standards, but there is growing interest in ensuring that state standards stack up against those in the highest-performing countries. Citizens want assurance that our high school graduates are comparable to any graduates in the world. #5. Align information-rich systems from P-20. More states need accessible data on the quality of high school graduates by their success in college, their need to take remedial courses upon enrolling, or their ability to get and hold onto good jobs. To get more sophisticated information, state policy makers will be grappling with how to align and improve K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data systems. In Information Won't Be Used If No One Can See It, Dougherty (2008) lists five categories of longitudinal statistics that states might produce: 1. …
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 2
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