Spring 2024 Newsletter
Greetings and happy spring! As many of us find this time of year filled with warming temperatures and signs of renewal, educational settings are juggling end-of-year planning, culminating learning events, jammed-packed calendars, and moments of celebration and recognition! It is such a rewarding time to witness students, teachers, parents, and friends celebrating learners as they cross finish lines and prepare for their next steps. As your workforce development and assessment partner, we are excited to support your students’ learning and credential earning and I always appreciate methods and approaches that invite students (and teachers) to shine! Our slate of performance assessments is no exception! With industry-driven, authentic performance tests available for nearly every Job Ready title, NOCTI is positioned to help schools and programs across a multitude of technical sectors add this powerful approach to their skills verification toolbox.
CTE Creates Power Through Performance
How does our performance assessment contribute differently to preparing the next workforce? I had the opportunity recently to observe a dynamic team from an electrical group develop an apprenticeship experience for electrical helpers. They were adamant that part of the certification experience was a performance aspect, whereby participants would demonstrate their understanding of different wiring techniques, safety practices, testing protocols, and interpreting schematics by performing real-world jobs that were evaluated by trained journeymen. Providing this opportunity to showcase learner skills is naturally more motivating than knowledge testing alone. The results of performance testing provide teachers a much richer understanding of whether students can meet job expectations and offers opportunities to observe other skills at work, such as decision making and neatness. The apprentices were excited to demonstrate their competence and proud of their achievements…they were able to “show what they know!”
Bring Your Voice To The Table
Our NOCTI/NBS team is committed to creating more value for CTE learners through assessment opportunities, including performance approaches that reflect workforce expectations. We are gearing up to launch a national task force dedicated to exploring performance assessment and our objective is to create a platform for various voices to study, improve, and innovate this approach. If you or a colleague is interested in shaping the conversation, we invite you to join us. Our efforts will kick off in the Fall of 2024.
Congratulations to all CTE students and teachers who are celebrating milestones this spring! We know how much goes into successful preparation for work and we are honored to support your accomplishments!
Kathleen McNally