1. Program Quality
  2. Program Quality

Program Quality

Resources on topics such as program approval, accreditation, standards, programs of study, evaluation, personalized learning and academic-technical integration

The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of State CTE Standards

  • Research/ Report
October 2013 —

This report from Advance CTE provides a national view on how states adopt, organize and implement CTE standards at both the secondary and postsecondary levels, comparing all state standards to a common benchmark, the Common Career Technical Core.

Raising the Bar: State Strategies for Developing and Approving High-quality Career Pathways

  • Case Study
April 2017 —

This report from Advance CTE examines successes in Tennessee, New Jersey and Delaware to demonstrate how states can use the career pathways approval process to raise the level of quality across the board. The report examines common approaches and unpacks key policy levers available to states.

Policy Benchmark Tool: CTE Program of Study Approval

  • Guide/Tool
September 2017 —

This tool from Advance CTE lays out the non-negotiable elements of an effective policy for approving and evaluating CTE programs of study and offers an assessment rubric that state leaders can use to identify gaps in their current state policy and prioritize areas for improvement.

Driving Quality in Postsecondary CTE: Approval and Evaluation Policies

  • Case Study
  • Research/ Report
August 2018 —

This report from Advance CTE explores how states can leverage program approval and program evaluation policies and processes to ensure postsecondary CTE program quality. The report examines state examples from California, Florida and Wisconsin.

Ensuring Career Pathway Quality: A Guide to Pathway Intervention

  • Guide/Tool
July 2018 —

This report from Advance CTE outlines the steps that state leaders can take when making decisions to transform or phase out pathways that do not have market relevance.

Building a Strong Relationship Between Competency-Based Pathways and Career Technical Education

  • Case Study
  • Guide/Tool
August 2015 —

This report by Achieve and Advance CTE lays out the leverage points between Career Technical Education (CTE) and Competency-Based Pathways (CBP) and provides guiding questions to help state and local leaders consider how CTE is, can and should be a part of their CBP strategies.

The Path Least Taken III: Rigor and Focus in High School Pays Dividends in the Future

  • Research/ Report
June 2016 —

This report from CPE, the third installment in the "Path Least Taken" series, explores the social and economic benefits of a rigorous high school education.

No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State

  • Case Study
  • Guide/Tool
August 2016 —

This paper draws on lessons learned from a study of international education systems and identifies strategies that state legislators and education leaders can take to turn around education in their own states.

The Learning that Works Resource Center was developed through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and the Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co