Academic Rigor
Recent legislation in Washington moves the worlds of career and technical education and academia closer. In fact, more people are seeing the compatibility of integrating CTE and traditional subject matter and how it helps all instructors reach and teach a greater number of students.
In 2004,Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) identified the “goal of developing definitions for college readiness in math, science and English as a collaborative activity” in its 2004 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education: Helping Students Make the Transition to College. HECB is part of a cross-sector management team providing direction to college readiness projects and includes the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Council of Presidents.
The oldest of the three college readiness initiatives is the Transition Math Project, which is a public-private partnership between the Washington State Legislature and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2004, it has completed and gained approval for its College Readiness Standards for math, as well as administered funds for local cross-sector partnerships to implement these standards across the state.
The Transition Math Project coordinated through the Center for Learning Connections at Highline Community College, and is managed by SBCTC.
The Center also coordinates similar initiatives for Science and English college readiness and these projects are managed by HECB.
In 2008, the Legislature increased the number of math credits a student must earn to graduate from high school – from two credits to three. They also directed the State Board of Education to determine the content for third year math courses that are equivalent to Algebra II – including an option of a CTE math course that can be transcribed academically.
Also in 2008, major CTE legislation was passed, increasing the value of dual credit programs in Washington and requiring more partnership among the CTE and Academic communities.
OSPI Jan 15 2008 CTE Report to the Legislature
Tech Prep articulations can help teachers examine their courses and determine what math skills already are taught, and what they would need to bridge with their math department peers to create a Math-in-CTE course. In addition, Tech Prep works with the Transition Math Project to connect CTE and Math – to learn more about technical assistance available to you, contact us.