COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS HEADLINES: 
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently prioritized a number of efforts to undertake as part of Race to the Top (RTTT) and other state reform strategies. As a result, the Department created a new office - the Office of College and Career Readiness - and developed a strategy to increase College and Career Readiness among Massachusetts students.
This overall strategy continues to promote the current high school graduation requirements (i.e., earning a Competency Determination and meeting local requirements), while providing additional opportunities for students to participate in: quality, upper level high school coursework; approaches to assist them with the completion of high school; and supports to assist with the transition to higher education and the workforce.
- Massachusetts Definition of College and Career Readiness
- Being College and Career Ready means that an individual has the knowledge and skills necessary for success in postsecondary education and economically viable career pathways in a 21st century economy.
State 2014 Targets
There are two main parts to the initial College and Career Readiness Target:
- Increase the Graduation Rate - Increase the number of students who graduate from high school within five years (five year cohort rate).
- Increase the MassCore Completion Rate - Increase the number of students completing the rigorous MassCore program of study.
Seven Key Priority Projects are illustrated in the Department's Delivery Plan
Academic Support Academic Support provides academic support and remediation services to secondary school students scoring in warning/failing and needs improvement on the mathematics, English language arts and science/technology and engineering MCAS.
EWIS and Early Warning IndicatorsThe Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) is a data-driven system to identify students K-12 that are potentially "off-track" for grade-level or developmental age, including those students that are off-track for high school graduation (potential dropouts.
The Massachusetts High School Graduation Initiative (MassGrad)Mass Grad is a new federal project that will support several new and expanded programs to decrease Massachusetts' statewide dropout rate. The 133 high schools that exceeded our statewide dropout rate average in 2008-09 are the target for the project. These high schools are eligible to participate in new networking, technical assistance, training, and competitive grant opportunities.
MassCoreMassCore is the Board of Education's recommended program of high school studies. Core courses and electives should total a minimum of 22 credits.
  MassCore One-Page Summary (as approved by the Mass. Board of Education November 2007)
Connecting ActivitiesConnecting Activities provides quality work-based learning experiences that are connected to classroom teaching and learning for high school students participating in school-to-career initiatives across the Commonwealth. The primary goal of Connecting Activities is to design and implement brokered "work and learning" experiences both during the school year and summer to support career development and academic achievement.
The Massachusetts Model for School Counseling (MassModel)The Mass Model is a collaborative leadership model whereby guidance departments are charged with spearheading systemic school change to help raise student achievement in the academic/technical, workplace readiness and personal/social domains. An implementation guide is available on the Massachusetts School Counselors Association (MASCA) website.
Additional College and Career Readiness Supports and Initiatives include STEM Early College and Early College Designs, YourPlanforCollege, MCAS, Educational Proficiency Plan and the Competency Determination, On-Line Courses and Modules, Alternative Education Pathways, Pre-AP, CVTE, Dropout Reduction/Prevention
last updated: September 24, 2010
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