The South Carolina College and Career Readiness Toolkit was designed to foster conversation among leaders from school districts and higher education about what it means to be college and career ready, and to help develop action plans for new and strengthened partnerships. The Center of Excellence for College and Career Readiness (the Center) worked with the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) to develop these materials in support of statewide comprehensive planning efforts. The toolkit has some information specific to South Carolina, but can serve as a model for all states and districts wishing to implement a comprehensive college and career readiness action plan.
The Center is working to improve coordination along the continuum of education from preschool/early childhood into college and career in order to increase educational attainment. Every transition along the continuum from preschool to kindergarten through high school to college and career is crucial for student success—each lays the necessary foundation for the successful next steps in one’s journey. The intention of this toolkit is to focus on the transition at the latter end of the continuum—from high school into postsecondary education and careers.
This toolkit provides information, data, and strategies for educators and communities to help improve the college and career readiness of their students. Specifically, the toolkit is designed to
- raise awareness about key issues influencing college and career readiness;
- encourage data-driven decision making;
- build partnerships among secondary, postsecondary, and workforce professionals; and
- support successful, comprehensive action planning to make measurable improvements in students’ college and career success.
The toolkit includes
- a definition of college and career readiness, based on David Conley’s Four Keys Model
- a mini diagnostic based on the Model that shows where a school falls in terms of postsecondary student preparation
- a discussion of the similarities and differences between college and career readiness
- the Seven Principles of College and Career Readiness, along with examples of those principles in practice
- a detailed explication of how the three steps college and career readiness action planning: analyze, align, partner
Authors: Educational Policy Improvement Center and the Center of Excellence for College and Career Readiness
