Wisconsin’s Academic and Career Planning (ACP) process, which was authorized by the state legislature in 2013, provides academic and career planning services to students in grades six through 12 in public schools across the state. ACP begins with helping students explore their interests and strengths and then guides them through career exploration and planning, with regular check-ins throughout middle and high school to recalculate plans as needed.
This report from the Wisconsin Center for Research Evaluation provides the findings of the 2015-2016 pilot year evaluation of ACP and the resulting recommendations. The report examines district engagement in ACP activities, how districts prepared stakeholders for initial ACP implementation, ACP implementation successes and challenges, and the supports districts and educators need moving forward.
Some key findings from the report include:
- Success in planning and implementing a comprehensive ACP process is dependent upon having a strong ACP team with wide representation and members who can reach consensus;
- Buy-in among all stakeholders is vital for successful planning and implementation of ACP, but may be more difficult and/or take longer to obtain among some stakeholders; and
- The most effective way to deliver comprehensive, systematic ACP services to all students is to have regularly occurring ACP time dedicated in the school schedule at every grade level.
This is a useful resource for stakeholders looking to learn from Wisconsin’s ACP implementation process and identify strategies to improve academic and career planning services for learners.
