NCDPI Procedure for the Identification of Career and Technical
Education Concentrators for ACT WorkKeys Testing
The purpose of this document is to assist schools in determining students who are Career
and Technical Education (CTE) Concentrators to ensure (1) graduate data is accurate and
(2) schools achieve the required 95% participation rate for ACT WorkKeys testing.
Responsibility for Identifying CTE Concentrators for ACT WorkKeys
The LEA Superintendent/Charter School Director must designate staff member(s)
responsible for identifying students who are CTE concentrators for each ACT WorkKeys
administration. To facilitate this task, the designated staff must be knowledgeable of CTE
concentrators’ course requirements and must have access to the Diploma Analysis Report
(DAR) in PowerSchool.
Criteria for CTE Concentrator
To be a concentrator, a student must earn four (4) credits in CTE courses in a particular
cluster area. Of the four credits, no more than one credit can be from an enhancement
course, and at least one credit must be from a Level 2 CTE course. (Level 2 courses do not
need to have “2” or “II” in their title. Level 2 courses require a prerequisite and are identified
by an asterisk in the Career Clusters documents.) The CTE Division determines the courses
aligned to each cluster and maintains the Career Clusters documents as a resource for
schools and students.
It is important to note that while the clusters remain fairly constant over time, changes are
implemented beginning with a freshmen class. Therefore, it is critical that school staff utilize
the Career Clusters document that matches the year a student entered ninth grade.
Currently, there are two documents available: Requirements for Freshmen Entering Fall
2009-Spring 2012 and Requirements for Freshmen Entering Fall 2012 and Beyond.
Participation for ACT WorkKeys
The North Carolina Testing Program requires all eligible students to participate in an
assessment. A minimum participation rate of 95% is expected, and schools that do not meet
this requirement are identified as not meeting the participation target for the Annual
Measurable Objectives as required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
For the ACT WorkKeys, the target population is graduates who are identified as CTE
concentrators. The participation denominator is the number of graduates who have a CTE
concentration indicated in PowerSchool, and the numerator is the number of those students
who participated in the assessment.
In this process, it is important to review not only students currently in grade 12 membership
who will graduate at the end of the year, but also any students who are on track to graduate
or planning to graduate within the current academic year. For example, mid-year graduates
or students in an Early College may be on a different timeline but will be included in the
end-of-year graduate file.
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The Diploma Analysis Report in PowerSchool
PowerSchool has tools that assist in determining concentration status. The DAR evaluates
a student's credits earned and courses scheduled to determine concentration status.
Courses are evaluated following the Career Cluster documents based on the year the
student entered high school. If a student has achieved a concentration or is expected to
achieve a concentration based on course enrollment for the current academic year, the
report will identify the cluster to be achieved. A plus sign (+) beside the cluster name
indicates that the cluster is not complete but is on track to be completed prior to graduation
based on courses in which the student is currently.
While all state-approved courses are included in the Career Cluster documents and in the
evaluation of concentration status, it is important to note that some courses are not
programmed for this analysis. This includes courses such as Local Course Options for CTE
program areas and Community College courses that were scheduled using generic course
codes. Transfer students may also need to be examined more closely to determine their
concentration status. The Superintendent’s/Director’s designee will need to verify
concentration status for some students and perform overrides if necessary so that they
appear correctly in the DAR. The designee should work closely with CTE staff to ensure
appropriate overrides are made.
Recommended Process for Identifying CTE Concentrators
School staff designated by the Superintendent/Director will run the DAR to review the
concentrator status for potential graduates.
a. Students who have a concentration identified must take the ACT WorkKeys
assessment.
b. Students who are currently in a course (identified by a + symbol) that will result in a
CTE concentration must take the ACT WorkKeys assessment.
c. Students who are identified as “No” CTE concentration must be reviewed to ensure
they are not potential CTE concentrators who need to take the ACT WorkKeys
assessment. As noted above, there are courses that are not programmed into the
PowerSchool analysis; thus, it is necessary to review the students who are tagged
as “No” in PowerSchool.
If the review in (c) above reveals that a student is a concentrator, the Concentration Status
must be updated by using the override function on the Student Academics Screen in
PowerSchool. Overrides are stored, and the student should appear on the DAR in the future
with an asterisk (*) beside the concentration area to indicate an override was made.
Timeline for Identifying CTE Concentrators Process
The above process should occur in November to identify CTE concentrators for testing, and
again in February in case there are additional students who have fulfilled the requirements
to be a CTE concentrator. The following chart has suggested dates for completing the
review, but a district/charter school may determine the timeline for these reviews. Most
important is to continuously monitor changes in students’ statuses so all eligible students
are tested. There may be schedule changes throughout the testing window that change a
student from “No” in the DAR to being in the process of being a CTE concentrator.
Accountability reports are based on final data submitted by June 30 each school year.
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Activity
Superintendent’s/Director’s Designee
Completes School-level Review and
Provides List of Testers to School
Test Coordinator
School Test Coordinator Provides list
of CTE Concentrators to District Test
Coordinator
Beginning of Testing
Window
Mid-Testing Window
November 14
January 27
November 17
February 1
Impact of Changes After the Identification Process is Completed
If students’ schedules are adjusted after February 16, the Superintendent’s/Director’s
designee must be aware of courses that will change a student’s status to CTE
Concentrator. Any schedule change will be reflected the day after the change is made in
PowerSchool, and the Grad Plan will be current at that time. These students must be
tested. If a change occurs after the completion of the February ACT WorkKeys testing
window, the identified student will count against the school’s participation rate.
Students who are CTE Concentrators and do not have an ACT WorkKeys score will not
count against a school if the student enrolled in the district after the February ACT
WorkKeys testing window closed. This applies only to schools who receive a student from
another district. It does not apply to students who move to a new school within a district.
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