Competency Pathway Update

An updated look at the co-joined movement to unite Career Tech Education, CTE, the adult arm of ‘Common Core State Standards’ (CCSS) to CCR (College and Career Readiness) via the Competency Pathways (CP). If you haven’t heard of the CPs, you will know it after reading this.

 

First, A Look Back:

I first shared the news about CPs back in August 2015. A (then) just released study by Achieve, Inc (a very prominent CCSS Machine member) and their partner for the study, NASDCTEc (National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium). The subject of the study? ‘progress between Career and Technical Education and Competency Based Pathways’. To see the original article: https://www.commoncorediva.com/2015/08/06/tech-thursday-career-pathways-meet-competency-based-pathways/

Second, Why Now?

Why update this now? Because each of the 50 states has both a CTE program AND a CBP (Competency Based Pathway) program! With the recent passage of the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) and the extension of the HEA (Higher Education Act), funding for CTE is definitely included. Competency based education is certainly included as well. As, we, those opposed to the CCSS Machine’s overreach into education, know where the legislation is, so the funding will be close behind.

So, where are we, as a nation, now with CPs? Great question! Let’s see what is new. We will also see where in the ESSA we can find this career competency pathway laid out.

 

The Competency Models Clearinghouse, http://www.careeronestop.org/competencymodel/
This website is 100% devoted to ANYTHING competency education based. From their website, “What is the Competency Model Clearinghouse? The Competency Model Clearinghouse (CMC) is a Web site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The goal of the clearinghouse is to inform the public workforce system about the value, development, and uses of competency models.” 

Notice in the above screen shot, I highlighted the hidden in plain sight, American Job Center. Why would I say ‘hidden’?

Consider the following excerpt, “Notice that both the ‘What’s My Next Move?’ and the O*Net are partners with the American Job Center Network. Who runs the AJCN (American Job Center Network)? The U.S. Dept. of Labor!  “The American Job Center Network is a unifying name and brand that identifies online and in-person workforce development services as part of a single network.” This quote is from the AJC’s website.
When you visit it to see for yourselves what else is there, be sure to notice the section of the website which points you from the federal level to the state level for Workforce Development. An example from NC (as of 2010) is featured below for Workforce Development. This particular image is what funding NC received from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” (See the entire article: https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/01/07/the-great-education-experiment/ )

Notice, the screen shot below. Industry driven education NOT academic based. Back in November 2015, I found the same image (from the same site) where the States could build models for their aligned education. To get a better grasp on how extensive the CCSS Machine’s overreach is for careers aligned for workforce needs:
https://www.commoncorediva.com/2015/11/12/tech-thursday-update-on-ccsscte-for-adults/

So, what IS the pro CCSS/CTE/CCR definition of ‘competency’? According to the CP Clearinghouse:

“What is a competency model? A competency model is a collection of multiple competencies that together define successful performance in a defined work setting. A model provides a clear description of what a person needs to know and be able to do – the knowledge, skills, and abilities – to perform well in a specific job, occupation, or industry.”

What is a dictionary definition for ‘competency’? See below.

Did you notice the supply? Tangible items! How we learn is NOT tangible! The CP Clearinghouse has a FAQ page where they describe ‘learning’ as a ‘soft skill’. What is one of the soft skills? ‘Personal effectiveness’! (see Question 13). Access the page: http://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel/faq.aspx#q3

You will also need to note that Career Clusters are also in the competency modeling. So are Job Development grants, Workforce Development, All these are state run with federal funds! To see how NC has honed this for our workers/learners:
https://www.commoncorediva.com/2015/03/25/wybi-job-development-grants-and-ccss/

What if you don’t live in NC? You can use the U.S. Dept of Labor’s links to find how involved your state is.

How does Common Core tie to Career Clusters?  See page 7 of the 2016 CAPS Vision document. caps_visioning_for_web_site

How do Career Pathways tie back to the WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act)? See: http://preventcommoncore.com/?p=1187

How does WIOA tie back the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act)? From my article titled “ESSA Ties to WIOA 2014”, the screen shot below. To access the entire article,
https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/01/05/essa-ties-to-wioa-2014-and-new-citizens/

How does the ESSA tie to the Extended HEA (Higher Education Act)? An excerpt from my recently published article detailing the extension. “For quite sometime I have been helping raise awareness about the HEA and have given you plenty of evidence which easily connects the HEA to the CCSS Machine (Common Core State Standards Machine). The main connection?! Career Tech Education (CTE)! How this connect to the picture you see above? Perkins Funding!”
To access the complete article (where you can learn much more: 
https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/02/02/ftf-an-extension-for-higher-ed-act/ )

Are Perkins Funds for CTE mentioned in the ESSA? Yes, 8 times in appearance in the ESSA’s Final Conference Report. Pages 38, 123, 132, 516, 677, 939, 993, and 1026.
Is ‘higher education’ embedded in ESSA? Yes, 64 times!
‘Careers’? Yes, 63 times.
‘Workforce’? Yes, 33 times. WIOA will be found on Page 33.

Closing: 

As you can see, quite a large amount of effort has gone into the interconnecting all the education alignment via the CCSS Machine, legislation, and funding. The more we continue to expose this wrong direction for our nation, the more we can stand together and fight it! Our students, no matter what age, are NOT chunkable/stackable/ pieces of industry based models to be molded; they ARE people who deserve a TRUE education of excellence NOT workforce needs.