Tech Prep Glossary for Terms & Acronyms in Career & Technical Education:

Accountability—Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III) emphasizes accountability and the need for a statewide system of accountability based on reliable and valid program performance data. The performance of Career and Technical Education in Arizona is annually assessed to ensure that systems are working and identify opportunities for improvement. Arizona’s CTE Assessment model includes Systems Thinking, Data-Driven Decision Making, and Continuous Improvement. More on Accountability…

Accountability—Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III) emphasizes accountability and the need for a statewide system of accountability based on reliable and valid program performance data. The performance of Career and Technical Education in Arizona is annually assessed to ensure that systems are working and identify opportunities for improvement. Arizona’s CTE Assessment model includes Systems Thinking, Data-Driven Decision Making, and Continuous Improvement. More on Accountability…

AIMS—The acronym for Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards.

Applied Academics—An instructional teaching method that presents academic concepts in the context of their real-world applications. This method works with a variety of learning styles and answers the question “Why do we have to learn this,” as students see first-hand how the skills they learn in school are used to solve work-place problems. Also, see “Contextual Learning.” More on applied academics…

Arizona State Academic Standards—Standards include those skills that all Arizona students are expected to know and be able to do in eight specific content areas by the time they reach designated grade levels. Areas include Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, the Arts, Comprehensive Health/PE, Technology, Foreign and Native Language, and Workplace Skills. All curriculum taught in Arizona high schools is aligned to these standards, in both academic and career/technical courses. More on Arizona State Standards…

Articulation—The way in which different parts are joined together. Articulation generally refers to the process used by secondary and post-secondary educators to articulate their programs, i.e., aligning curriculum, eliminating duplication of coursework to create a seamless transition from secondary to post-secondary, and often providing college credit to high school students who complete the secondary requirements.

Articulation Agreement—The written, signed agreement between the secondary and post-secondary institutions that defines the process and requirements for seamless movement of students between secondary and postsecondary curricular programs.

Articulated Program—An approved career and technical education program (i.e., a coherent sequence of courses that provide instruction in Level I-III competencies) at the high school level that is aligned with a corresponding program at the post-secondary level through a signed articulation agreement. College credit is often available to high school students enrolled in such a program. Tech Prep programs are made up of articulated career and technical programs combined with the required supporting academic courses.

Articulated Course—An advanced-level course offered in high school that is part of an articulated program. Generally an articulated course may be one that offers college credit to high school students who meet the requirements set forth in the articulation agreement.

Career Pathways—The Pathways are a series of six broad categories that encompass the majority of enterprises found in Arizona's economy, including Agricultural Education, Business Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health Careers Education, Industrial Technological Education, and Marketing Education. The Career Pathways System is designed to enhance student ability to reach high academic and career standards. For more on Career Pathways visit http://www.ade.state.az.us/cte/careerpathways/default.asp

Career and Technical Education (CTE)— Organized educational activities delivered in a sequence of courses. The courses provide individuals with academic and technical knowledge and skills. The goal is to prepare individuals for further education and/or for careers in current or emerging employment sectors. All programs include applied competency-based academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupational-specific skills. Formerly called Vocational and Technical Education (VTE).

Career and technical education prepares students for successful entry into a variety of careers through these coherent sequence of courses that feature provide students with practical applications of academic and technical knowledge and skills. CTE programs integrate academics into the occupational curriculum, along with specific skill training and work-based learning. Not only do students learn workplace skills for success in specific occupations, they also apply the math, English, and science skills they are learning in other courses to solve real-life problems and complete industry projects. For more on Career and Technical Education visit http://www.ade.state.az.us/cte/

Career & Technical Service Organization (CTSO)—Student organizations that provide opportunities for students to develop leadership, teamwork, communication and workplace skills in the context of specific careers or industries. CTSOs in Arizona include FFA (Agriculture), DECA (Marketing), FCCLA (Family and Consumer Sciences), FBLA (Business), and SkillsUSA VICA (Industrial Trades).

Carl Perkins III—The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-332) was signed into law on October 31, 1998 and became effective on July 1, 1999. Its purpose is to improve career and technical education programs at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. The primary focus is to develop challenging academic standards and promote the development of activities that integrate academic and career/technical instruction.

Carnegie Unit—One unit of credit awarded in grades 9 – 12 for a minimum of 150 clock hours of instruction during the regular school year, or 120 clock hours of instruction during summer school. (A Carnegie unit is generally equivalent to one regular course taught over two semesters or a block-schedule course taught during one semester, depending on the type of block system used.)

CIP Code—Classification of Instructional Programs. A CIP codes is the six-digit code used by Arizona to classify CTE programs. Program CIP codes are used on the Comprehensive Course and Program Enrollment Reports, Concentrator Reports, Placement Reports, Tech Prep Reporting Forms, and the Basic Grant. Program CIP codes are available from the CTE Resource Handbook.

Coherent Sequence of Courses—A program of courses with curricular flow that builds from the early years of high school with a beginning level of skill to a more advanced skill set in junior and senior years. Every Tech Prep articulated program begins with a coherent sequence of courses in high school that lead students through the process of learning and mastering skills in preparation for college success. For a list of recommended sequence of courses by program, see the CTE Resource Handbook.

Comprehensive Competency-Based Guidance (CCBG)—A model for K-12 school counseling that emphasizes academic, career, and personal/social development and skill acquisition through a targeted guidance curriculum, individual planning with students, responsive services and system supports.

Competency Attainment—Successful, demonstrated, and documented achievement of a competency. Also see “State Competencies.”

Concurrent Enrollment—Generally, concurrent enrollment refers to high school students who are enrolled in courses at a community college during a semester in which they are still attending high school. Students generally attend these courses after high school hours or during release time. Note, however, that some institutions use the term “concurrent enrollment” when referring to the definition for dual enrollment.

Contextual Learning—People often relate better to tangible, concrete examples and experiences than to abstract conceptual models. Teaching abstract principles using practical applications “in context” of the students’ own frame of reference helps these learners to quickly make sense of the principles and understand how they apply to “real life.” Teaching academic concepts in a familiar and meaningful context helps students internalize this learning. More on contextual learning…

Course Sampler—A high school graduate who has completed a Level III CTE course but has not completed a career and technical education program per the district’s planned sequence of courses. The course must be part of an approved CTE program.

CTSD Number—County Type District School (CTSD) numbers are used to identify specific schools within the state of Arizona. CTSD numbers are required in most state reporting and are available from the CTE Resource Handbook.

Dual Enrollment—Generally, dual enrollment refers to high school students who are enrolled in, and earning credit at, both the high school and the community college for a single course, which is usually held during high school hours and taught at the high school. Note, however, that some institutions use the term “dual enrollment” when referring to the definition for concurrent enrollment.

Equity—Tech Prep programs are designed to provide equal access to all students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, level or socioeconomic status, learning ability or language. Tech Prep programs remove barriers for students and take place in safe, supportive, nurturing learning environments free from discrimination and harassment. Also see “Non-traditional Career.”

Integrated Academics—Most people learn best when they are personally involved and participate in hands-on learning activities. Integrating academics into the career and technical classroom is an instructional strategy that helps students see how academic concepts are used in a practical application. The students are able to understand how math, English, and science are used in the workplace to solve problems. Also see “Applied Academics” and “Contextual Learning.”

Levels (I, II, III, IV)—Secondary career and technical programs are divided into three levels (I, II, III), beginning with general exploratory skills and progressing to more advanced skills related to specific occupations. Post-secondary programs are designated as Level IV. (Also see “State Competencies.”)

No Child Left Behind—In 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). This new law changes the federal government's role in kindergarten-through-grade-12 education by asking America's schools to describe their success in terms of what each student accomplishes. The act contains the President's four basic education reform principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work. More on “No Child Left Behind”…

Non-traditional Career—Nontraditional employment is defined by the Department of Labor as an occupation or field of work where a specific gender comprise less than 25% of the total individuals employed. For example, young women, aged 16 to 34, comprise only 1% of automobile mechanics, 4% of airline pilots and navigators and 10% of electronic technicians compared to young men in the same age category. Examples of occupations that are considered non-traditional for men (employing less than 25%) include employment in office administration, nursing, childcare, and several other fields. Often, non-traditional careers for women represent higher pay and better benefits than does traditional employment. For more on non-traditional careers…

Performance Measures/Core Indicators—Measurements of student outcomes and success that are compiled for each program by school/district, as well as at the state level for submission to Carl Perkins III federal regulators. Schools and states must continually make progress toward improving the performance of CTE students each year in order to obtain Carl Perkins funds, as shown by performance levels that are “objective, quantifiable, and measurable.” For a complete listing of Arizona Performance Measures and Core Indicators, please see http://www.ade.az.gov/cte/API/AZPerformanceMeasuresGuide2003.pdf.

Placement—A measure of the number of CTE students who graduated and were placed in postsecondary education or advanced training, employment and/or military service within 9 months. This measure is required for CTE program completers, and optional for program concentrators and course samplers.

Priority Programs—These are career and technical programs identified and ranked by the Arizona Department of Education as priorities in the state of Arizona. Programs are evaluated based on the job market, academic and technical skill level, wages, degree of training required, and other criteria. State funding for these programs is also tied to their rank, which is evaluated each year. For a complete listing of current Priority Programs, see the CTE Resource Handbook.

Program Completer—A student who completes two Carnegie units of a single CTE program and has attained 80% of the state-designated program competencies. One Carnegie unit must be at Level III. Also see “Carnegie Unit” and “State Competencies.”

Program Concentrator—A student who completes two Carnegie units of a single CTE program. One Carnegie unit must be at Level III. Also see “Carnegie Unit” and “State Competencies.”

Reverse Credit—Students who have earned credit at a community college may have the option, at the discretion of their high school administrators, to use the college credit toward their high school graduation requirements. Students who plan to reverse community college credit to their high school should generally have this approved by their high school prior to enrolling in the community college course.

State Competencies—A competency is defined as an educational “construct/concept” or abstraction derived from workplace task, knowledge, skill, or ability requirements. Developed in conjunction with industry and educators, the State Competencies outline specific skills to be taught in each of the Priority Programs at Levels I, II, and III during high school and for Level IV in post-secondary. Every approved CTE program in the state is aligned with these state competencies, and these competencies are also often used to align curriculum when articulating secondary and post-secondary programs. (Also see “Levels.”) For a complete listing of state competencies by program, see http://www.aztechprep.org/Vocational_Programs/Level_III/level_iii.html .

Teacher Certification—At the secondary level, CTE instructors must be certified through the Arizona Department of Education for the specific career area they teach. At the post-secondary level, occupational instructors must be certified by the community college or community college district for which they are employed. At both levels, instructors are required to have a specific combination of education and work experience in the appropriate field in order to be certified as an instructor.

Tech Prep Initiative—Defined as and provides each student with (1) a career pathway with an identified sequence of courses which leads to employment; (2) employability and technological skills; (3) advanced occupational training identified in partnership with business and industry; (4) articulated programs leading to certification and/or degree; and (5) a curriculum integrating academic and occupational learning and application.

Tech Prep Program— A Tech Prep program is an education program of study that combines at least two (2) years of a secondary Approved Career Technical Education Program, two years of postsecondary career education, and contextual academic education at each level in a non-duplicative sequential course of study. An approved Tech Prep program of study will include documentation of articulation between secondary and postsecondary education agencies supervised by the Director of the approved local Consortium.

Technology Standards—Part of the Arizona State Academic Standards, the Technology Standards address the ability to use technology in a variety of situations, such as in problem solving and decision-making, communication, research, and productivity. These standards are integrated into the curriculum of many career and technical programs in Arizona high schools.

Work-Based Learning—Work-based learning includes a number of different activities that can be identified along a continuum from shorter-term introductory types of experiences to longer-term, more intensive ones, including paid work experience and formal training. Examples include cooperative education, apprenticeship programs, career exploration/job shadowing, service learning, career internships, career academies, and school-based enterprises. Although programs vary, common elements of successful work-based learning activities include planned program of job training and experiences, paid work experience, workplace mentoring, instruction in general workplace competencies, and broad instruction in all aspects of industry.
More on work-based learning…

Workplace Skills—Part of the Arizona State Academic Standards, the Workplace Skills are those skills that are needed for successful transition into the workplace, such as analysis, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, teamwork, technological literacy and others. These skills are integrated into the curriculum of career and technical programs in Arizona high schools.