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E d Te ch S h o w D a i l y 2 1 Tu e s d a y, J u n e 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 FIVE TIPS TO DEVELOPING CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION (CTE) ASSESSMENTS By Nikki Eatchel, Vice President, Assessment Development and Psychometric Services, Scantron Corporation Assessments for academic subjects such as reading, math and science rightfully form the core of any college-readiness high school program. But the career- ready pathway hasn't garnered the same level of attention, leaving a substantial portion of the student population less pre- pared to successfully enter meaningful and challenging careers. Career and Technical Education (CTE) subjects deserve the same robust, high-quality assessments to guide instruction and sup- port student growth that are administered for other academic subjects. The following tips can help you get more out of your CTE assessments. Start with the end, not the beginning. Typical development processes with core subjects start with standards that drive curriculum, extend to the design of the core course, then subsequently drive the development of formative and summa- tive exams. For exams in which career- readiness is the goal, it is critical to start at the end (the job or certification for which the student wants to be qualified). Strong CTE programs work backward from the job to drive their formative and summative assessments, design courses and curriculum, and then link appropriate standards. Involve all of the right subject-matter expertise. Designing and developing a successful CTE program requires multiple types of subject-matter expertise. This includes CTE education experts, core subject education experts and industry experts. Failing to include all appropriate expertise can result in programs and assessments that fall short of the desired goals. Match the rigor of industry assessments. Evaluate the knowledge and skills of your CTE students in light of industry assessment expectations. Understanding the breadth and depth of content covered on industry certification exams, as well as the diffi- culty of the item and assessments your students will be required to take, is cru- cial. Familiarize yourself with the indus- try certifications and ensure your courses and assessments have similar content and rigor so that students are well-prepared for these critical exams. Follow the leader when setting performance standards. Setting passing scores for industry exams is a structured process driven by assess- ment standards. When preparing assess- ments that are designed to evaluate a stu- dent's readiness for an industry exam, implement a standard-setting process similar to one used for industry certifica- tions. This process will help ensure your exam requirements accurately prepare your students for career require- ments. Track career ready statistics the same way you track college ready statistics. Most schools, districts and states track student performance statistics in some manner. To ensure equitable preparation for your CTE students, your analytics program should include career ready indicators and provide equitable information regarding early warning indicators that highlight potential issues with career readiness. Developing effective CTE programs and assessments is not easy, but you don't have to go it alone. Scantron's team of assessment experts can provide pro- fessional development, consulting and assessment development services for CTE program to help you transform your data-driven instruction and ensure you get the results you want for all of your students. For more information, visit www .scantron.com, call 858.349.9488, email bonni.graham@scantron.com or stop by booth #2900. STUDENTS GAIN REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE USING VIRTUAL REALITY STEAM High school student Anthony Torres did- n't set out to become a virtual reality mentor for his school, but his passion for 3D modeling and anatomy made him the leading expert at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center ("the Met"), a network of six small pub- lic high schools in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island. The Met is the first school district in the state to use zSpace, an immersive, virtual reality technology that allows stu- dents to learn STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) subjects using 3D, virtual-holographic images that they can move and manipu- late. With more than 800 students, 68 percent of whom are economically disad- vantaged, zSpace is helping students explore careers in science, technology, medicine and even art before they even graduate high school. "The learning process here is based on internships and individual learning plans," said Arthur Eduardo Baraf, Principal of the Met's Liberty Building. "We have students who are working in hospitals using zSpace to do anatomical work like dissections, as well as students working at the Rhode Island Computer Museum who are using zSpace to practice what they learned there by making virtual circuit boards." Torres is combining his interest in both 3D virtual sculpture and anatomy to build a virtual nature library at the school. Inspired by a similar col- lection at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), he plans to model the skeletal structures of various animals using zSpace and print them using a 3D printer. With a program on zSpace called Leopoly, Torres can hold up and shape virtual objects in three dimensions, instead of manipulating them on a flat screen. He plans to create a collection of realistic animal models that students around the school can study or sketch. While he is working on his own projects, Torres is also mentoring other stu- dents who are interest- ed in using zSpace to do dive more deeply into other STEAM areas, either in groups or individually. As more students from the school discover what they can do with zSpace, Principal Baraf is looking forward to expanding the use of zSpace. "The word is spreading about zSpace. I'm getting inquiries from other schools in the dis- trict as well as some of our partners," he said. "zSpace is simple, but once people see what they can achieve with it, they can accomplish incredible things." For more information, call 877.977.2231, stop by booth #4114 or visit edu.zspace.com.