Should More States Add One?
States try all kinds of approaches to try to ensure their students’ college and career readiness (CCR). The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has previously featured Illinois’ Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) framework, and some states have statewide GEAR UP programs to try to deliver CCR readiness at scale. Mississippi brings us another approach, which requires a College and Career Readiness course for high school graduation.
The graduation requirement went into effect for the high school class of 2022, but the course curriculum existed and been piloted for about four years. The course was developed to “support the vision and mission of the Mississippi Department of Education that all students who graduate from high school are prepared for college, career, and active citizenship” and “outlines the knowledge secondary students should obtain and the types of skills relevant for a successful transition to postsecondary and the workforce.”