CTE Concentrations,
Clusters & Credentialing
• Marchelle S. Horner
Career Development Consultant
NC DPI
• Dr. Daniel Smith
Section Chief, Student Certifications &
Credentialing, NC DPI
At the end of this session
you will understand…





Career Clusters
CTE Essential Standards
Concentrators
Credentialing
WorkKeys
Group Discussion #1
Vocational Education vs.
Career and Technical Education
•THEN
•NOW
“THEN”
“NOW”
• For SOME students
• For a FEW jobs
• 6 to 7 “Programs
Areas”
• In Lieu of
Academics
• High School
Focused
• For ALL students
• 16 Clusters-81
Pathways
• Aligns and supports
academics
• Business, Industry &
College
Partnerships
Career Clusters
What are Career Clusters?
Why Career Clusters?
What are the Benefits?
What resources are available?
What are concentrators/completers?
Career Clusters were
Developed by:
• U.S. Department of Education
• National Association of State
Directors of CTE
• Cluster Leaders
–NC was the leader in STEM cluster
What are Career Clusters?
• Career clusters represent broad
grouping of occupations and industries
based on
– Common knowledge and skills
– Pathways
– Programs of Study
– Plan of Study
Career Clusters: Tool
• Career Clusters as a tool for a seamless
educational system:
– Blends rigorous academic/technical prep
– Provides career planning
– Offers options for students to experience all
aspects of an industry
– Facilitates/assists students with transitions
Career Clusters Provides:
• a framework for seamless education
• more career options
• a framework for addressing the entire
world of work
• a picture of how knowledge and skills
transfer vertically and horizontally
• National Career clusters framework
consist of 16 clusters and 81 defined
pathways.
Pathways
81+ career pathways, 1800 Career
Specialties are defined.
Why Career Clusters?
–Career Development
–Future Ready Core
–Carl D. Perkins Act
Group Discussion #2
What are the Benefits of Career
Clusters for….?
• Students
• Parents
• School Counselors
• Colleges/Universities
• Business/Industry
Career Cluster Resources
• Career Cluster Guide
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/cte/publications/car
eer/nc-career-clusters-guide.pdf
• NC Career Clusters
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/cte/publications/car
eer/clusters.pdf
• NC Essential Standards
• Career Clusters http://www.careerclusters.org
• http://www.careertech.org/
CTE Essential Standards
Influenced by Program Area National Standards
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Agricultural Education
Business, Finance, & IT Education
Career Development Education
Family & Consumer Sciences Education
Health Science Education
Marketing Education
Technology Engineering and Design Education
Trade & Industrial Education
Concentrators &
Completers
• A concentrator is a student who had earned
four or more technical credits in a Career
Cluster, at least one which is a completer
course. The student may earn all four
credits from foundation courses or three
from foundation and one from enhancement
courses for the Career Cluster.
CTE Concentrators are
College and Career Ready
• CTE
Graduation
Rate
94.0%
• All other NC
Students
(NCLB)
80.2%
WorkKeys
• CTE Concentrators are
College and Career Ready
Job Qualification of Certificate Holders
16%
67%
For Essential Foundational Skills
Source: ACT JobPro Data 2006-2010
93%
99%
Credentialing in NC CTE
March 26, 2013
Greensboro, NC
“Credentials signal real-world
preparedness to employers and
postsecondary educators.”
2010 Association of Career and Technical Education, National
Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education
Consortium and Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Presentation Objectives
• Overview of credentialing in NC CTE
• Understand the benefits of credentialing
• Analyze the criteria for selecting
credentials
• Examine data for instructional and
promotional purposes
Daniel R. Smith, Ph.D.
Section Chief, North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction
Division of Career and Technical Education
• Richmond, VA Police Officer
8 years
• Norfolk, VA MS Tech Ed Teacher
4 years
• Norfolk, VA HS Elective Dept. Chair
2 years
• Norfolk & VA Beach CTE Administrator
18 years
• NC State DPI – CTE Administrator
2+ years
Credentialing in NC CTE,
Benefits, and Criteria
• Group activity – Most important
information is…?
• Individually read parts of an article
• Discuss within group and share with all
Data for Instructional and
Promotional Purposes
• Data Review – Pair – Share
• Points of Focus – Credentialing data in the
State, Regionally, and in a specific LEA
• Strategies for sharing data/promoting
credentialing
Thank you!
daniel.smith@dpi.nc.gov
Contact Information
Marchelle S. Horner
marchelle.horner@dpi.nc.gov
919.807.3937
Dr. Daniel Smith
Daniel.smith@dpi.nc.gov
919.807.3816