Chapter 4. Theme 1: Effective career readiness: Providing high-quality career development activities in Virginia
This chapter assesses the effectiveness dimension of the career readiness system in Virginia, the United States. It presents Virginia’s strengths and explores its challenges, concluding with a set of policy recommendations to more effectively provide high-quality career development activities. The chapter integrates and builds upon data analysis from Chapter 3, which presents the results of the OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults (aged 19-26) and Teenagers (aged 15-16). It focuses on the gaps in provision of career development activities in Virginia and provides examples of practices from other jurisdictions that can help address those gaps.
Career readiness is a key policy agenda for Virginia, and the state has made visible efforts in many policy fields to support and strengthen the career readiness of students. In line with this, the OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults in Virginia shows that most former students have a positive perception of their career readiness experiences in high schools. Virginia is already equipped with valuable instruments and strategies that can enable the state to strengthen career readiness of young people.
Revisiting career readiness instruments
Recommendation 1: Virginia should consider systematising and monitoring the implementation of career readiness instruments to strengthen effective provision.
While each one of the current career readiness instruments has value and potential, they are not consistently used across schools and school districts. For example, Virginia should ensure that every student actually has an Academic and Career Plan (ACP) as mandated by the state (currently 75% of Grade 10/11 students), define how each mandated provision such as Career Investigation Course is offered, assessed, and reported on, and measure outcomes of each mandated provision in relation to the K-12 learning framework. The data collected in this process can be used to further assess engagement of students in forms of career development which are associated in empirical studies with the greatest effectiveness of the provision. It can also be used to plan future offerings in relation to local labour market needs and challenges in delivery, with an aim of building a consistent, systematic and institutional procedure to use, track, update and transfer ACPs between educational institutions and stages to facilitate the overall career readiness process. Opportunity exists to further manage the ACP online within a single or better-co-ordinated system that records student decision making and makes available resources useful in that decision making (for example, myBlueprint which is used extensively across Canada). Such online portfolios help students to record experiences of value to later transitions while providing management information for analysis. In Virginia, two primary systems are used – Wizard and Naviance – and consideration can be given to broadening and systematising the use of a single tool.
Updating career readiness standards and frameworks
Recommendation 2: Virginia should consider revising its K-12 framework for career readiness.
Where school districts and schools exert a high level of autonomy, as in Virginia, variation in delivery is to be expected. Career readiness systems can better function when being underpinned by a well-designed and commonly agreed set of standards and frameworks, including the articulation of expected outcomes, that can be measured and monitored.
In this context, there are strong rationales for a more updated and comprehensive career readiness framework for the K-12 system in Virginia. This is timely because of the character of educational and labour market participation has changed considerably over the last generation, increasing the need for more informed decision making by young people as options, opportunities and risks of poor integration into the labour market proliferate. Data on the effectiveness of specific guidance inventions, evidenced in longitudinal data (including from the United States (Covacevich et al., 2021[1])), also demands consideration in determining framework content.
Virginia should therefore develop a new, or at least update its existing K-12 career guidance framework. In recognition of school district autonomy, this new or updated framework need not be overly prescriptive in determining every aspect of career development, but should articulate a core collection of activities and experiences that students should be able to expect of their schooling. At the heart of such expectations are those career development activities and experiences which can be most confidently associated with better employment outcomes. By Grade 11 for example, the state should ensure that all students have had the opportunity to participate in career talks and job fairs, workplace visits and job shadowing, application and interview skills workshops alongside direct experience of the world of work through internships, volunteering or part-time employment linked to areas of career interest. Integrating such provision into an online ACP would allow for monitoring of provision in order to ensure that all Virginian school students receive a minimum level of provision based on international standards.
This new or updated framework can allow for the variance of the ACP instruments and career development activities used to achieve the career guidance framework outcomes, but with clearer monitoring mechanisms. It is possible to systematise how the framework outcomes are tracked, evaluated and fed back to stakeholders to improve career readiness provision. For example, New Brunswick (Canada) has recently developed a new K-12 career education framework that takes account of new research on how guidance provision can most confidently be expected to enhance adult outcomes.
Supporting the career readiness workforce
Recommendation 3: Virginia should consider further increasing the quantity of relevant staff in part by easing regulations in recruitment to strengthen career readiness efforts.
While teachers and counsellors play a crucial role in student career readiness, they often lack time and resources to put additional effort into further strengthening the career readiness of students given existing workloads and responsibilities. On average, ratios of counsellors to students in Virginia public schools are low compared to the US average but are generally still high in comparison to standards recommended by the American School Counsellor Association. Virginia also spends less than the US average on per-pupil student support, including career guidance although many schools in Virginia now also benefit from career coaches (see Box 2.7, Chapter 2.) who provide an important additional resource in the career development of students.
Virginia can benefit from further increasing the quantity of relevant staff. One option to consider is the easing of regulations in recruitment to strengthen career readiness efforts. Compared to the US average and other states, Virginia relies heavily on traditional teacher preparation programmes in comparison to alternative programmes (e.g., recruiting professionals with prior work experience but seeking to switch careers). Virginia can diversify recruitment and training routes for teaching professions to ease teacher shortages and attract talent with industry experience to the profession. Such an approach would be particularly relevant to developing the workforce involved in provision of CTE programmes. For a recent review of how VET systems are adopting more flexible approaches in the recruitment of professionals with industry experience, see Teachers and Leaders in Vocational Education and Training.
At the same time, it is essential that counsellors and teachers receive appropriate, high-quality training. In this regard, schools and responsible institutions should look to enhance in-service training and other resources that can inform teachers and counsellors about appropriate methods and approaches for career counselling, including up-to-date entry requirements for tertiary education, labour market dynamics and key new research findings.
This chapter on effectiveness reviews the extent to which students in Virginia are engaging in career development activities that can most confidently be associated with better employment outcome.
International and national data, including from the United States, show statistically significant relationships between participation in specific career development activities (CDA) and better employment outcomes for young people (Mann, Denis and Percy, 2020[2]; Covacevich et al., 2021[1]; Covacevich et al., 2021[3]). In addition, the analysis of the OECD Career Readiness Survey of Teenage Students shows that students who participated in a career experiencing activity tend to be more certain and ambitious about their future careers, be less misaligned in terms of education and career expectation, and more likely to value schooling as a process of their career preparation. The analysis of the OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults also clearly shows strong, positive relationships between participation in CDA and better transition outcomes, including economic benefits, positive perceptions and greater confidence in career readiness and transition.
Career readiness is a key policy agenda for Virginia
As discussed in Chapter 2, career readiness is a key policy agenda for Virginia, not only in the education system but also in the context of the commonwealth’s broader economic and social agenda. There is an expectation that every student in the state will engage in the career and education planning process through the development of an Academic and Career Plan (ACP), an individual learning plan, and fulfil career readiness-oriented requirements for high school graduation. These graduation profiles include: (i) completion of an Advanced Placement, honours, or International Baccalaureate, or dual enrolment course; (ii) completion a high-quality work-based learning (WBL) experience; or (iii) earning of a Career Technical Education (CTE) credential that has been approved by the Board of Education (which include a state licensure examination, a national occupational competency assessment, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or the Virginia workplace readiness skills assessment). Virginia is trying to expand WBL opportunities (defined in the state as job shadowing, service learning, mentorship, externship, school-based enterprise, internship, entrepreneurship, clinical experience, co-operative education, youth registered apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship, and supervised agricultural experience) to make these opportunities available to all students (VDOE, 2022[4]).
Virginia has made other visible efforts to support and strengthen the career readiness of students, while introducing innovative initiatives and replicating known successes for example, creating and building strong pathways and special-purpose schools. Virginia has also reinforced its data and evidence base, for example through VLDS and VOEE, and is currently streamlining its state-level education, career readiness and workforce development systems. Virginia is keen to encourage young people to have more “exposure, experience and expertise” outside school, through a holistic approach that seeks to transform K-12, higher education including colleges, and workforce development systems. In parallel, Virginia has broadened partnerships with employer communities by incentivising and supporting employers to offer more WBL and collaborate with the school system. Virginia has also increased the quantity of school counsellors, from a ratio of 385 students per counsellor to 307 between 2015 and 2022, moving closer to the recommended ratio of 250 (Figure 4.2).
Virginia offers multiple pathways and means to allow students to explore and prepare their future careers
Virginia offers multiple pathways and choices to allow students to explore and prepare for their future careers. In middle school, students have opportunities to explore different pathways either through CTE, other elective courses, or external activities and events as part of mandatory Career Investigation Courses. Students can then concentrate on themes of personal interest.
In high school, students are given opportunities to prepare and deepen knowledge and skills relevant to their interests within the pathways that they choose. Importantly, this is undertaken without completely closing off other options. When schools do not offer pathways of interest to students, students have options to attend other schools part-time, if not change school entirely, depending on school and transportation availability. For example, a comprehensive high school model offers different pathways in the same school (or close by); when a student’s home high school does not have available pathways they are interested in, they can attend other types of schools that offer those options such as Governor’s schools (which often offer learning opportunities for high-performing students), Magnet schools (public schools that focus on performing arts, science and technology or other particular areas of study but also offer regular school subjects) or Technical Centers (which offer technical and vocational opportunities for students who are more suited for hands-on experience and learning), without needing to fully move away from their home school that offers basic and core academic instruction (typically on a 50% basis).
Virginia has a strong and solid provision of Career Technical Education, starting from middle school
Starting from grade 6 to 12, Career Technical Education (CTE) offers a safe space for vocationally focused exploration, exposure, and experience through offering elective courses and specialised programmes without closing off future options. CTE often includes 12 types of rich work-based learning (WBL) including job shadowing, service learning, mentorship, co-operative education (Box 4.1), and internship. These opportunities encourage student development of social emotional/global competencies as they are faced with learning challenges that require critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving as well as technical skills. This provision is co-ordinated with other instruments that motivate student engagement, such as through Career and Technical Student Organizations (Box 4.2) and the Career Success Stars Initiative that celebrates career success of former CTE students in their 20s and 30s (see Student Profiles).
During the OECD review process, the Secretary of Education expressed a vision to transform CTE from what has been seen as an occupationally-focused tracking programme to a universal career-oriented experience that concern all K-12 students. This approach also aims to remove the stigma that CTE often has as provision suited best for lower achievers (Kidwai, 2011[5]). Instead of requiring CTE students to obtain a specific credential, Virginia now requires all high school students to graduate with an associate degree or a CTE credential which might include the successful completion of an industry-recognised certification, a state licensure examination, a national occupational competency assessment or the Virginia workplace readiness assessment.
In 2020-21, there were 405 430 participants in CTE in Virginia. Although gender balance differs across CTE clusters, 55% of secondary CTE participants were male, and 45% were female (among those students who reported gender as male or female), similar to the K-12 population distribution (U.S. Department of Education, 2022[6]). Data shows that about half of all CTE programme completers went on to attend 4-year college (VDOE, 2022[7]).
Virginia offers and recognises 12 forms of High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL), which are comprised of school-co-ordinated workplace experiences related to career interests of students (typically Grade 6-12), connected to a CTE course, and take place in partnership with local employers or organisations (VDOE, 2022[8]): job shadowing, service learning, mentorship, externship, school-based enterprise, internship, entrepreneurship, clinical experience, co-operative education, youth registered apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship, and supervised agricultural experience. HQWBL enables students to apply classroom instruction in a real-world work environment. HQWBL promotes career awareness, exploration and preparation. They are available year-round, including the summer months (VDOE, 2022[8]). Table 4.1 provides information on Virginia regulations and guidelines for the administration of HQWBL which school divisions are expected to use in their local implementation of HQWBL offerings.
The 12 types of HQWBL are grouped into two categories:
Career exploration experiences encourage students to develop personal career interests, a better understanding of pathways to a chosen career, and the workplace readiness skills needed to make informed decisions regarding secondary and postsecondary education and training. These experiences are typically of shorter duration. Students may be assigned supplementary work connected with the activity and may be graded on their performance in a way that contributes to the final grade in a CTE class.
Career preparation experiences deepen student knowledge and develop skills necessary for success in employment and postsecondary education. These experiences are recommended for students who have a clear goal of entering the workforce directly after high school or of enrolling in a closely related postsecondary training programme. These experiences are structured primarily to give students extensive practice in applying fundamental technical and practical knowledge and skills in their chosen careers. Career preparation experiences take place over a longer timeframe and involve more responsibilities.
In addition, Career awareness activities prepare students for HQWBL experiences. These activities are designed to increase student awareness of personal interests and talents along with the education and training needed to pursue a career goal. Through career awareness activities, students gain an initial understanding of work, various industries, and different career pathways. Career awareness activities ideally lead to HQWBL experiences where students can deepen their knowledge of career pathways and begin applying skills learned in the classroom. Examples are guest speakers, career days or college and career fairs, field trips and workplace tours, videos or presentations about various professions, and opportunities to conduct informational interviews.
Accompanying each HQWBL experience is a training agreement, a written statement of commitment made by the student, parent/guardian, WBL coordinator, and employer. It contains mutually agreed-upon expectations for all parties involved, spells out each party’s role, and addresses considerations such as employment terms, schedule, duration of work, compensation, and termination. It is the most important tool providing protection to the WBL co-ordinator and school officials against accusations of negligence and liability claims. It is important that each student placed in a HQWBL workplace has a completed training agreement on file. A training agreement must be used for the corresponding HQWBL experience.
A HQWBL training plan is a document identifying the classroom instruction and workplace training that will contribute to the employability and ongoing development of a student. Training plans are required for co-operative education, internship, entrepreneurship, and supervised agricultural experiences (Immersion - SAE for All), while apprenticeships and clinical experiences have corresponding documents governed by regulations in their respective areas. The WBL co-ordinator, employer, and student must jointly prepare the training plan. The plan serves as a record of the student’s progress throughout the experience and provides documentation for evaluation (VDOE, 2022[8]).
Cooperative education (co-op) is a method of education for students who receive instruction by alternation of study in school with paid employment in any occupation field. It is planned and supervised by the school and employer so that each contributes to the education, employability, and career objective of the individual. It may include an arrangement in which work periods and school attendance may be on alternate half days, full days, weeks, or other periods of time in fulfilling the cooperative programme. Co-op combines classroom learning with practical work experience. Students earn academic credit for structured job experience, which is planned, supervised, and documented by the coordinating teacher in partnership with local businesses (Administrative Code, 2023[9]; Bedford County Public Schools, 2023[10]).
According with Virginia’s Administrative Code (2023[11]), CTE programmes using the co-operative education method of instruction should:
develop and follow a training plan and training agreement for each student receiving training through cooperative education;
require parties to the training agreement include the student, parent or guardian, instructor, employer, and a school administrator; and
specify provisions for instructor travel for on-the-job coordination.
The Virginia Cooperative Council (VCC) sponsors two educational conferences annually aimed at educating and improving the skills of students in the cooperative business model. The Cooperative Education Conference is attended by 70 students aged 16-19, while the Virginia Institute on Cooperative Education (VICE) is attended by up to 64 Virginia high school students with the aim of enhancing their business, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills (Virginia Cooperative Council, 2023[12]).
CTSOs extend Career and Technical Education in Virginia through networks of programmes, business and community partnerships and leadership experiences at the school, state and national levels. Virginia students enrolled in CTE courses are members of the local CTSO related to their courses and area of interest. CTSOs provide Virginia students with opportunities to apply academic, technical and employability knowledge and skills relevant to employment as well as a hand-on approach to learning in their chosen career pathways. CTSOs promote awareness of new career opportunities and help students to refine career objectives through realistic experiences and personal development.
Virginia CTE students are served through eight organisations, all of which have a national organisation.
Virginia DECA Organization: prepares high school and college students in the field of marketing, finance, hospitality and management.
Educators Rising Virginia provides high school students with opportunities to explore the nature of education and the role of the teacher.
Virginia Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) prepares students in the field of business through business-related education and entrepreneurial skill development, community service and partnerships with the professional sector.
Virginia Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) provides opportunities for students to prepare for multiple roles of family member, wage earner, and community leader as they develop skills for life through Family and Consumer Sciences Education.
Virginia Future Farmers of America (FFA) aims to develop students’ potentials and career success through agricultural education in the food, fibre, and natural resources industries.
Virginia Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) promotes career opportunities in the health care industry to enhance the delivery of quality health care.
SkillsUSA Virginia is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure Virginia and America have a skilled workforce.
Virginia Technology Student Association (TSA) provides the application and integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts through co-curricular instruction, leadership development, competitive events and related programs.
Source: VDOE (2022[13]), Career and Technical Student Organisations (CTSO), https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/virginia-career-and-technical-student-organizations-ctso
The majority of Virginian students have a positive perception of their career exploration and experiencing in schools
The OECD Career Readiness Survey of Teenage Students shows that most students in Virginia have a positive perception of their career readiness experiences in high schools. As seen in the results presented in Chapter 3., most of the surveyed students in grade 10-11 in Virginia agreed that trying hard at school will help them get a good job (87%) and get into a good college or university (95%). Moreover, 70% agreed that school had taught them things which could be useful in a job. 51% agreed that school had helped to give them the confidence to make decisions. However, almost 60% agreed that school had done little to prepare them for adult life after leaving school and 29% agreed that school had been a waste of time.
All surveyed students in Virginia from the sample reported that they took part at least one type of career exploring activity and 78% participated in at least one career experiencing activity.
The OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults also shows that most former students in Virginia have a positive perception of their career readiness experiences in high schools. As seen in the results presented in Chapter 3., most of the surveyed young adults who attended high school in Virginia agreed that high schools had helped them prepare for their career transition. Two-thirds (65%) agreed that high school had helped them decide on the right qualifications to follow the career they were interested in. About 60% agreed that high school had helped them verify whether their career ambition was realistic and had helped them visualise and plan how to reach their career ambition (Figure 3.24). In line with this result, 60% said that high school had prepared them for working life somewhat well (42%) or very well (17%).
Also, most young adults took part in a range of career development activities while in high school. Most of the surveyed young adults who attended high school in Virginia participated in at least one type of career development activity while in high school. Almost all (99%) participated in at least one career exploration activity such as learning how to search for a job or write a resume (see Chapter 3). 91% participated in at least one career experiencing activity while in high school; three quarters (74%) participated in at least one such activity on a regular basis and 26% occasionally (see Chapter 3). 90% had access to career coaches or counsellors (Figure 3.25, Panel A).
The results of how these career development activities in high school clearly pave the way to the largely positive transition outcomes of young adults in Virginia which are presented in Chapter 3.
Revisiting career readiness instruments
Challenge: Career readiness instruments are not yet reaching their potential in Virginia
Virginia is equipped with all the instruments and strategies it needs to for strengthen the career readiness of young people, from legal instruments at the state level to practical instruments at individual schools. As seen in Chapter 2., Virginia has a wide range of such career readiness instruments, including graduate profiles, academic and career plans (ACP), career investigation courses, career and technical education (CTE), work-based learning (WBL), and career navigation platforms.
While each one of these instruments has value and potential, they are not consistently used. How these tools are used also varies across schools and school districts. The effect of both career exploration and experiencing activities on labour market outcomes is significant. For example, based on the OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults, school divisions that have higher participation rates in CDA show lower NEET rates. However, variations across school divisions are also significant. For example, participation in exploration activities ranges from 17% to 94% and in experiencing activities from 41% to 97% (Figure 4.1). The question for Virginia is how to ensure that all schools offer effective provision to students.
Note: School divisions whose NEET and CDA participation rates are outliers are omitted. Sample size below 10 students per school division are also omitted.
Source: OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults in Virginia 2023
While no data are available on what specific career readiness instruments are available in each school division and how each school division uses those instruments, common instruments are available for all school divisions to use and follow. All school divisions should meet state graduate profiles, use academic and career plans (ACP) and career navigation platforms, and offer career investigation courses (CIC), career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning (WBL). VDOE provides guidance materials for school divisions: for example, Delivering Career Investigations Guidance Document for School Personnel (2018), which explains the goals of CIC and examples of delivery.
For example, while an ACP is or could be an essential component of student success in transitions between grades, levels, and on to post-secondary life, the results of the OECD review process suggested that ACP is not being fully utilised. A personal ACP can be developed as early as elementary school (ACP profile) and is typically used from grade 7 (around age 12). It is reviewed and updated annually until grade 12. It is signed by the student, student's parent or guardian, and school official or officials designated by the principal (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2019[14]) (VDOE, 2022[7]). (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2019[14]). The ACP for middle and high school students must include a programme of study for high school graduation and a postsecondary career pathway based on the student's academic and career interests. Beginning in middle school years (grades 5-8), students can be counselled on opportunities for postsecondary education or vocational credentials in a CTE field prior to high school graduation (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2019[14]).
Although the ACP is, in principle, designed to be used from Grade 7, its use is not always guaranteed. Currently, each Superintendent certifies that the ACP has been completed at an end-of-year middle-school level certification process, but there is no reporting or review on quality or quantity. There is no state depository of ACPs so there is no data available to determine how many students completed an ACP in what fields, or how they are progressing.
This lack of direction and accountability in having each student to produce an ACP is a lost opportunity. Based on the OECD review team’s visit to Virginia schools and the interviews with stakeholders, the use, tracking, and updating of the ACP is inconsistent across districts and schools, and even less consistent is the transfer of ACP information from middle to high schools, or from home high schools to other programmes/schools (e.g., Governor’s schools or Tech centers). This is done only by the students themselves and without institutional arrangements and is therefore at risk of not happening. In addition, there is currently no collection of data on how ACP is implemented whether at the school level, at the school division level, or at the state level. ACP data (e.g., on the occupational expectations of students and their educational plans) are not systematically gathered or used, making it much more difficult to plan future career readiness provision or to assess needs for programme and financial support.
Similarly, while all middle school students (typically Grade 6-8) must undertake a programme of Career Investigation within an associated curriculum, there are no standards in the offerings, no defined outcomes, nor any obligation to report on the offerings and outcomes. Depending on the availability and school resources, some middle schools offer a class or other format, offer them through CTE or other elective courses (such as languages, arts or information and technology system), or offer them in collaboration with external bodies such as colleges, universities, employers, or intermediary bodies. Due to this variety, and without outcomes being measured, it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of this provision, as schools have not clearly identified how these outcomes are measured and reported. The Career Investigations outcomes are assumed to be covered across various curricular areas, but a method for assessing and evaluating the student’s development in this area is unclear, if it exists at all. In such decentralised education systems, where prescription in teaching and learning is limited, the value of clearly defined outcomes and means of measuring them becomes particularly important.
While CTE and WBL provide great opportunities to engage in different potential career pathways and experiential learning, more commonly at the high school level, limitations exist in the integration integrate of WBL programmes and initiatives into the core curriculum and in the transformation of occasional but innovative initiatives into more systemic and sustainable programmes. For example, co-operative education programmes that allow students to combine paid work experience and relevant studies while being in high school are currently limited to business, economics, and finance programmes of study. This is mainly due to an issue with teacher licences and endorsements: business, economics, and finance teachers can only supervise students who take their classes but not, for example, students who take engineering or science classes.
In addition, there is no state-level data collection or overview on what types of WBL are available across schools/districts, who is participating, and what are the outcomes of such participation. In addition, as shown in Chapter 3, CTE participation and concentration remains relatively low – 24% of students in Virginia participated in CTE in 2020-21 compared to 36% in North Carolina and 30% in Georgia. Among CTE participants in Virginia, only 14% were CTE concentrators (i.e., students who opt for two or more consecutive CTE courses) compared to 43% in Tennessee, 25% in Maryland, and 24% in Georgia. While the interpretation of 2020-21 data does require caution due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this data still suggests weaknesses of Virginian provision in comparison to other states.
A variety of online career navigation platforms and tools are available for students, parents, teachers, and counsellors in Virginia. Each school chooses its own platform, depending on available resources or preferred functions, which may raise a question at the state level on the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity in terms of accessing the platform, transferring information, and exploiting data. An analysis of career navigation platforms conducted by the VDOE1 suggests an extensive spectrum of available services for students, parents, adults, and jobseekers to explore future readiness, career assessments, career readiness, secondary and postsecondary academic planning, college research and application, and work-based learning opportunities (Table 4.2).
Virginia can take greater advantage of these platforms to collect data more systematically. For example, data on what types of work-based learning are available across schools/districts, how they are integrated with the core school curriculum, which students are participating in what activities, and what are the outcomes of such participation. Such data collection could strengthen evaluation of, and feedback into, current approaches and programmes. For instance, the data can serve to review and reshape the school curriculum to make it more conducive to career readiness. It may not be necessary to designate one online platform, but it is important that standards and provision are tracked and assessed by accessing data that could easily be tracked through a digital platform. Moreover, the student interest survey that is required as part of VDOE approval of new CTE programmes and/or courses could be conducted through these platforms. For instance, Naviance (a College & Career Readiness Technology Solution provider at the national level) produced a Student Survey Report in 2022 for Grades 6-12 students in the US to learn about their career plans, their college application trends, and their strategies for achieving future success (Naviance, 2023[15]).
It appears that Virginia is moving in the right direction. The VDOE Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education has established a contract with the Virginia Education Wizard to provide an automated Academic Career Plan (ACP) that will record a student’s courses, assessments, and other career requirements free of charge to all Virginia public school students. In addition to the ACP, there are other tools that assist students to plan for developing career exploration, experience and thinking. Career Assessments through the Virginia Education Wizard allow students to look at how careers fit into their personal strengths and attributes (VDOE, 2022[7]). Many countries have adopted comprehensive digital portals to support student learning. Students in Canada, for example, make use of myBlueprint to manage their engagement in career development and such models are of relevance to Virginia.
Recommendation: Systematise and monitor the implementation of career readiness instruments to strengthen effective provision
Career readiness instruments should be integrated into the continuum of learning. For example, given that the use of the ACP is not followed systematically, the potentially valuable connection between the ACP and the K-12 learning framework is not guaranteed. Also, the forms and content of Career Investigation Courses (CIC) are not set in relation to the K-12 learning framework and there is no mechanism to ensure or monitor how effective these courses are implemented.
Virginia can benefit from investigating and collecting evidence on how these useful instruments are being implemented, monitored, and evaluated. The commonwealth would then be better positioned to systematise the implementation of career readiness instruments across the state and monitor the process of how ACPs are developed, updated, and utilised and how CIC and other career development activities are designed, operated, and evaluated and further engage students and employers. There is currently no mandatory mechanism of tracking and evaluating how ACPs and career development activities are implemented, therefore no data are collected. If such data were collected and analysed, enabling factors and environments could be identified, enabling the updating of standards, and if necessary, the revamping of support system and tools, and the promotion of peer-learning across schools and school divisions. In this monitoring and evaluation process, structural factors beyond the programme or activity level must be accounted for: for example, many high schools, mainly in resource-rich divisions, already have a Career Academy or CTE academy (e.g., Coding Academy) where students can deepen their knowledge and experience.
In the process of ACP from Grade 7 to 12, and especially around Grade 8, students make the important choice of a college and career pathway. This decision is too critical to be made in haste but should rather be the result of a gradual process of career awareness, exploration, experiencing and thinking. Students need to be better prepared earlier, ideally beginning in elementary school, where international studies show early attitudes about the suitability of possible future employment (OECD, 2021[17]) post-secondary education (UCAS, 2021[18]) are formed. In principle, the process of academic and career planning can begin that early, however the OECD review team did not see any evidence of systematic efforts at this level. Virginia can benefit from strengthening the implementation of career readiness instruments from elementary school, for example through more explicit and systematic exploration of career cluster areas and development of an academic and career plan portfolio, as set out in the standards. Given that it is difficult for students at ages 6-11 to initiate career conversations, Virginia may consider revisiting the phrase “the ACPP is student led” to make it more of a conversation or process that a teacher or counsellor should lead while more intentionally linking it to curriculum and subject areas.
ACP, Career Investigation Course and other career development activities should:
Define or at least gather information on how each mandated provision (e.g., Career Investigation Course) is offered (e.g., place, duration, organiser, method, linkage to curriculum), assessed, and reported on. The ACP can serve as formative assessment from Grades 6/7-12, indicating the student’s engagement in this process.
Measure outcomes of each mandated provision (e.g., Career Investigation Course) in the process between Grade 6/7 to 12.
Collect relevant data at the state level and possibly link or integrate the data related to career development activities to Virginia’s longitudinal data system (VLDS) and use the data to assess the effectiveness of the provision and plan future offerings in relation to local labour market needs and the need of financial support. Data collection can be particularly effective in looking at patterns in student aspirations and how these patterns reflect labour market opportunities.
Develop a consistent, systematic, and institutional procedure to use, track, update and transfer ACP at certain relevant points in a student’s school progression.
Update the 2004 ‘Standards for school counselling programmes for career development’ to specify the use of ACP in line with College and career readiness; career exposure, exploration, and planning; and opportunities for postsecondary credit and instructional program in middle/high schools. The standards can be further refined and expanded upon the best practices from other US states or countries (see Box 4.4, e.g., Canada’s MyBlueprint as a model of practice including portfolio, and the following section 1.3.2 on standards).
To engage students successfully in actively developing their ACP/ILPs, career development opportunities are assumed to be necessary, and therefore, ACPs can be considered as: (i) portfolio documents that are created and updated annually and (ii) a process that helps students engage in processes of self-exploration of their career interests, skills and values, career exploration to identify career aspirations, career planning, and development of career management skills as they identify postsecondary education and training opportunities and develop employment seeking skills (Solberg et al., 2011[19]).
Teachers indicated that engaging in ILPs enabled them to mentor students, resulting in the (i) development and documentation of career goals, (ii) awareness of the relevance of specific high school courses to those career goals, (iii) selection of more rigorous high school courses, (iv) identification of postsecondary tertiary and training programs needed to enter those careers, and (v) career planning and management activities related to securing employment. If successful, students who engage in ILPs should begin engaging in self-initiated learning by managing and selecting courses and other educational and learning opportunities that support their ability to successfully realise their future aspirations (Solberg et al., 2011[19]).
As ILP/ACPs are transitioning to or already in an electronic format, existing cumbersome issues are being addressed. For example, such documents become more accessible to students, their and school staff and provide a substantially more efficient means of monitoring and evaluating provision. In addition, online career information systems or career navigation platforms also allow access to electronic ACPs as an integrated feature together with career information and guidance and often work-based learning opportunities, while storing the results of self-exploration, career exploration, and career planning and management activities (Solberg et al., 2011[19]).
When supporting educational and career pathways, it is crucial to understand gaps in the college and career preparation process. Career readiness systems can maximise the use of student information on what courses or activities they are taking in order to provide better advice on career pathways. Virginia provides data-driven support for students on the path to college, by investigating the relationship between high school curriculum and tertiary enrolment. The association between high school course taking and postsecondary institution enrolment can be quantified and shared with guidance counsellors, students, and parents to provide outcomes-based benchmarks for curricular planning. An analysis using data from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System investigated how course taking during the junior and senior years of high school relates to college enrolments (VLDS, 2015[20]). The research findings include that: most college-bound students in Virginia attain an Advanced Studies Diploma (ASD); courses taken at high school are a strong differentiator of post-secondary enrolment; and examining combinations and sequences of course taking can provide a more holistic picture of the pathway through high school to college (VLDS, 2015[20]). In this way, Virginia can analyse the ACP.
Virginia can benefit from monitoring career readiness provision through enhanced use of online navigation tools and by automating the development and process of ACP. In order to strengthen the provision of effective career development activities, Virginia should collect data on what types of WBL and other career readiness provision are available across schools/districts, how that provision is linked to CTE, who is participating, what are the outcomes of such participation and other useful aspects. This can be collected and tracked through close reporting and updating through the ACP, using online platforms. Simplifying terminology and course classifications can help facilitate monitoring and evaluation, research, and feedback.
Such monitoring processes help identify weak and strong points. For example, as seen in Chapter 3. the OECD Career Readiness Survey of Young Adults revealed that many students in Virginia do not engage in worksite visits, job shadowing, vocationally-focused programmes (exploration) and internships (experiencing) despite the fact that they can all be expected to link with better employment outcomes in the early labour market (Covacevich et al., 2021[1]). While Virginia has made considerable progress increasing internships, it is mostly for students in higher education. In order to increase the offers of and participation in these CDA, it would be helpful to simplify the intern hiring process for employers and may also be helpful to provide matching grants to small businesses (which V-TOP is playing a role to some extent). Most importantly, it is important to make it easy and accessible for schools and employers to connect and interact, whether through online systems (such as the REACH+ programme in Ireland) or traditional brokerage models (as in New South Wales, Australia). As noted, one survey of Virginian employers found a high demand for relevant workplace experience among young recruits, but found this was very often lacking (Agee and Treacy, 2023[21]).
Also as seen in Chapter 3., more than half of surveyed young adults reported needs for career guidance in terms of the transition to higher education. Regular surveying can help identify the status of access to high-quality career guidance information and advice about education, training and work and access to career guidance and career development activities.
Finland and Norway
In Finland and Norway, student guidance is formally scheduled into student time at schools. In Norway, guidance is an individual right for all pupils, regulated by the Education Act. During lower secondary education, for example, students at Grade 8-10 have a mandatory subject called “education choices (utdanningsvalg)” devoted to student guidance and support (Directorate of Education of Norway, n.d.[22]). The course’s main goal is to help students make informed educational and career choices. It commonly includes work placements of one week’s duration as well as classroom-based activities. The course provides students with knowledge about opportunities and requirements in the education system and how they can influence future possibilities when it comes to their working life. By following this subject, students are expected to develop the competences needed to succeed in transition periods and the knowledge needed to make informed decisions (Directorate of Education of Norway, n.d.[22]).
In Finland, students are required to follow compulsory career education. They also have access to school guidance counsellors who are specifically responsible for following up and ensuring that students who complete lower secondary apply to upper secondary general or vocational education (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2022[23]). In this process, counsellors are required to provide students with information about the different programmes available, their content and future job and educational opportunities.
Canada – New Brunswick and Ontario
In Canada, career preparation in many provinces is part of compulsory education. myBlueprint, an online platform for developing and tracking career portfolio, is used extensively across Canada. Such online portfolios help students to record experiences of value to later transitions while providing management information for analysis.
In New Brunswick, the Universal Design for Learning principles have been applied to the design and delivery of Career Connected Learning (CCL) K-12. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that gives all individuals equal opportunities to learn. It is an educational approach with three primary principles: multiple means of representation, expression and engagement to accommodate diverse learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds (Johnson, 2016[24]). UDL is a key component of New Brunswick's inclusive education policy, which emphasises the provision of diverse and flexible learning opportunities to meet the needs of all learners.
The approach focuses on multiple means of representation, flexible learning environments, personalised approaches to learning, collaboration and professional development, assessment and evaluation, and ongoing research and evaluation. New Brunswick encourages teachers to adopt personalised approaches to instruction, allowing students to choose pathways that align with their learning styles and goals. The province also supports collaborative efforts among educators, administrators, and specialists to effectively implement UDL.
In Ontario, during secondary education, students need to follow guidance and career education from Grade 9 (last grade of lower secondary education) until Grade 12 (last grade of upper secondary education) (Queen’s Printer for Ontario, n.d.[25]). Similar to guidance when entering into programmes, counsellors need to be trained and prepared to avoid biases and judgements when helping students make decisions on subject and specialisations options. At this transition stage, student guidance plays an even stronger role in supporting students to make informed decisions, because there is usually very limited information on procedures regarding how choices or allocations into options or specialisations are made. In this scenario, students can find themselves in options which affect their eligibility for further education or job options. In England, for example, the choice of A-Level subjects is complex, with universities prioritising a combination of subjects depending on the student’s choice of education field (Rodeiro, 2019[26]). However, such information is not always straightforward, and less advantaged students, for example, may not always receive the same level of advice as their better-off peers (Périco e Santos and Kitchen, 2023 forthcoming[27]). Unsurprisingly, many students find that as they reach the end of upper secondary education, they are unable to pursue post-secondary programmes of interest because at an earlier age they failed to engage with a specific programme of study (UCAS, 2021[28]).
Source: Lødding, B. and S. Holen (2012), Utdanningsvalg som fag og utfordring på ungdomstrinnet. NIFU report 28/2012, Oslo; Christensen, D., A. Homme and T. Midtbø (2010), Kartlegging av forsøk med arbeidslivsdag 2009-2010, Rokkan Center, report 5 2010, Bergen.
Updating career readiness standards and frameworks
Challenge: Current career readiness standards result in varying outcomes in Virginia
Career readiness instruments can have varying outcomes especially when standards and frameworks do not define what those instruments are and how these instruments should be implemented and improved to achieve desirable outcomes. This can also be the case when school districts and schools exert a high level of autonomy, as in Virginia. Career readiness systems can only function optimally when underpinned by a set of well-designed, commonly agreed, and concrete standards and frameworks that include outcomes as well as how they are measured, achieved and monitored. For example, career readiness standards could include a school-industry-state agreed set of knowledge, skills and behaviours that are identified as being necessary for students to be career ready. A career readiness framework can be a structure that provides relevant institutions with guidance on the features and components associated with career readiness. It can provide a list and structure of both mandatory and optional programmes and activities for student career development, and the design, delivery and assessment of those programmes and activities.
Standards that are created in this way can allow the creation of clear pathways across different clusters within CTE as well as the creation of clear combinations of career development activities that are expected to lead to stronger career readiness. To review the current approach of Virginia, Administrative codes that are relevant to the OECD Career Readiness Indicators and ‘Standards for school counseling programs (2004)’ were analysed (see Table 4.3).
Although each type of career exploration activity such as “career talks”, “job fairs”, “workplace visits”, “job shadowing”, “job application and interview skills development activities”, “career conversations”, “occupationally-focused short courses”, “part-time work”, “volunteering” are not mentioned verbatim, 8VAC20-131-140 (College and career readiness) broadly require schools to provide:
“a program with a range of educational and academic experiences related to college and career readiness in and outside the classroom...”
However, the code does not refer to any specific type of career development activity, which could provide guidance to school districts and schools. For example, while the ACP can be a good instrument for career conversation, 8VAC20-131-140 (College and career readiness) does not strongly suggest an engagement in meaningful career conversations. In addition, the code does not require monitoring and evaluation of the process related to ACPs and career development activities nor the collecting of data for improvement of provision. Virginia has opportunity further exploit Virginia Longitudinal Data System which allows to track career pathways of young people and to link those pathways to their employment outcomes.
While 8VAC20-131-140 (College and career readiness) emphasises academic ambition quite substantially, there is little emphasis on career ambition and alignment that the process of ACP could integrate.
While 8VAC20-131-90 (Instructional program in middle schools) and 8VAC20-131-100 (Instructional program in secondary schools) emphasises career investigation courses, work-based learning experience respectively and CTE, opportunities exist to integrate these into (or as) regular/mandatory courses.
8VAC20-620-10 (School guidance and counseling services) ensures that each school make career guidance available for each student while regulating conditions for opting-in and opting-out of personal/social counselling.
8VAC20-120 (Regulations Governing CTE) defines terms, technicalities of financial assistance, organisations, and reporting/programme requirements. Opportunities exist to make more concrete connections to career readiness, for example by highlighting career development activities that can be most confidently associated with better employment outcomes (for example, the OECD Career Readiness Indicators).
The 2004 Standards for school counselling programmes (see Table 2.3, Chapter 2) provide a relatively narrow framework for articulating expectation in comparison to more recent college and career readiness approaches. While these standards are still useful and defined by grade level, they do not refer, connect or lead to certain outcomes, measurements or set of activities (e.g., HQWBL), which could be useful for each school, counsellor and teacher to take concrete action. In other words, the standards define when (grade) and what (knowledge, attitude, skill) but not why (goals and outcomes) and how (activities and measurements).
The VLDS tracks the journeys of young Virginians through education and into adulthood. It provides authorised researchers with access to data records that are merged across multiple agency datasets.
VLDS is organised around addressing questions that are pivotal to Virginia citizens and policymakers, including:
Impact of health, social service, education, and workforce pipeline on Virginia’s economy;
Return on investment of health, social service, education, and workforce opportunities and programmes;
Alignment of health, social service, education and workforce programmes to known and projected employers’ needs;
Collective, long-term impact of health, social service, education, and workforce programmes on people served;
Pathways to the workforce, patterns of employment, and factors or conditions that predict success; and
Factors or conditions that have the greatest impact on educational achievement and later productivity.
By making data available and collaborating across agencies and research institutions, VLDS can answer equity-centred research questions about programme access, pathways, and impacts, and identify conditions that have the greatest effect on individuals’ ability to thrive.
Through the VLDS, analysts and policy makers have been able to track the wage outcomes of graduate cohorts from as far back as the 1990s. Because data on post-secondary degrees and certificates are matched to Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage records from the Virginia Employment Commission, the data include only information on graduates who joined the workforce in Virginia after graduation and thus do not include graduates from Virginia’s higher education system who moved out of state. However, it is estimated that about 82% of Virginia bachelor degree graduates and 88% of associate degree graduates remained in the state after graduation in 2019. It appears that a student’s chosen field of study is one of the strongest predictors of future earnings. Among Virginia graduates, there is substantial earnings dispersion both within and between fields of study. STEM field graduates had the highest median earnings five years post-completion (USD 38 346) and enjoyed the steepest earnings trajectory over time compared to other fields of study. The difference in median earnings between the highest earning field (STEM) and the lowest earning field (liberal arts) was USD 44 924 (OECD, 2020[29]).
Source: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/data-policy-funding/data-reports/virginia-longitudinal-data-system-vlds.
Recommendation: Set concrete standards and frameworks, quality assurance and evaluation mechanisms
There are strong rationales for a more concrete, updated and comprehensive career readiness standards and framework for K-12 system in Virginia. Rationales for change include acknowledgement of the changing character of educational and labour market participation which increase the need for more informed decision making by young people. Data on the effectiveness of specific guidance inventions, evidenced in longitudinal data (including from the United States), with better employment outcomes also requires consideration in articulating a core framework for guidance provision in secondary education.
Virginia should therefore develop a new, or at least update, K-12 career guidance standards and framework. In recognition of school district autonomy, this new or updated standards and framework do not need to be overly prescriptive in determining every aspect of career development. Indeed, excessively granular frameworks can work against their intended purpose (Hooley, 2013[30]), but should articulate a core collection of experiences that students should be able to expect of their schooling.
At the heart of such expectations are those career development activities and experiences which can be most confidently associated with better employment outcomes. Integrating such provision into an online ACP would allow for monitoring and evaluation of provision in order to ensure that all Virginian school students receive a minimum level of provision based on international standards. For example, the province of New Brunswick (Canada) has recently developed a new Career Education Framework in collaboration with the OECD (Box 4.6). The document articulates expectations of career development from K-12 and draws closely on the most robust quantitative evidence available of the forms of career development that can most be expected to enhance the employment outcomes of young people. It includes the expectation that all students will leave secondary education with a Career Life Plan. Other models are also available, such as the Gatsby Framework (UK) which articulates eight broad benchmarks (that articulate well, if not completely, against insights from subsequent longitudinal data analysis) against which secondary schools are expected report progress. While less comprehensive than the New Brunswick approach and currently under review, the Gatsby benchmarks benefit from simplicity in design within an educational system where school autonomy is relatively high. Moreover, statistically significant relationships have been identified between the extent to which school’s have adopted the benchmarks and the employment outcomes of their former students (Percy, 2021[31]).
1. Ensure that all students are helped from an early age to think about their potential futures and how they might achieve their ambitions.
2. Help students to understand and prepare for not only the opportunities presented by the labour market, but also its challenges.
3. Ensure that students understand the role that qualifications and experiences can play in helping to mitigate risks of poor outcomes.
4. Respond to the fact that transitions frequently are a cause of stress and anxiety and can be expected to be more difficult for students with underlying mental health problems.
5. Ensure that all students receive a solid foundation of career preparation while putting in place effective mechanisms to identify and support those students who require additional, more personalised support.
6. Ensure that students understand the changing character of demand for skills.
7. Ensure that students understand the changing character of employment, its benefits and drawbacks, and how less desirable transitions can be mitigated.
8. Develop the framework as a living document that respond to important contextual changes and new information related to the more effective transitions of young people through education and into work.
9. Draw on existing practice in framework design while privileging available longitudinal data to focus on those aspects of career education that can be most confidently connected with better outcomes for young people.
10. Draw on best available longitudinal evidence in relation to the specific teenage ways in which students explore, experience, and think about potential futures in work have been linked with better employment outcomes.
11. Ensure that career education is enriched for young people through multiple and diverse opportunities to engage with employers and people in work from a young age.
12. Ensure that young people are well prepared to take full advantage of digital innovations in career education.
13. Encourage and enable children from elementary school to build understanding of the relationships between education and employment, and broaden understanding of contemporary careers, including skilled employment, while challenging forms of stereotypical thinking that are linked to gender and other personal and social characteristics.
14. Ensure that all students develop a strong understanding of all postsecondary pathways open to them, including direct entry to employment, self-employment, education and training.
15. Ensure that students gain first-hand experiences of work through internships, volunteering, and/or part-time working; encouraging and enabling students to reflect on their experiences in light of career development while discouraging excessive hours.
16. Ensure that all young people are helped to actively manage their transitions out of secondary education.
Source: New Brunswick (Canada) Career Education Framework in collaboration with the OECD.
Supporting the career readiness workforce
Challenge: Teachers and counsellors lack the time and resources needed to put additional effort into strengthening the career readiness of students
School teachers and counsellors play a crucial role in student career readiness by providing a wide range of support including providing career guidance at school, and being a direct link with students, parents, employers, and school/CTE administrators. The role of school counsellors is to provide the leadership necessary to manage the school counselling programme and ensure effective strategies to implement counselling standards (Virginia Department of Education, 2004[32]). School counsellors employed by a school board in a public school are required to spend at least 80% of their time during normal school hours in the direct (one-to-one) counselling of students (Virginia Law, 2023[33]). The responsibilities of counsellors also include support for the academic success and social and emotional well-being of studies as well as their preparation for post-secondary employment and continuing education.
Given existing workloads and responsibilities, teachers and counsellors often lack the time, training, and resources needed to put additional effort into further strengthening the career readiness of students (or at least this varies across schools and school districts). They are often busy with delivering core instruction, meeting graduation requirements, and dealing with other administrative and educational matters; this leaves less time to focus on academic and career counselling as other urgent issues also require attention, including mental and behavioural health.
Counsellors in Virginia tend to be well trained and have access to considerable support. However, on average, although Virginia has put effort in increasing the quantity of school counsellors, the ratio of counsellors to students in Virginia is high compared to the US average and it is still low by the recommended standards and varies across regions and schools. On average across US states, one school counsellor is available for 388 students,2 or 1.2 counsellors are available per school. In Virginia, one school counsellor is available for 307 students (9th best ratio among US states), or 1.9 counsellors per school (2nd best ratio among US states). Virginia has made real progress from the peak of 385 students in 2015-16, especially by hiring more counsellors in secondary schools (Figure 4.2). The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 but only Vermont (186) and New Hampshire (208) are below this ratio in the US.
Note: The data include all school level including elementary and secondary schools.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics - https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi.
Note: Constant USD based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state. For more information about adjusting for differences in the cost of living from state to state, see the American Community Survey Comparable Wage Index for Teachers (ACS-CWIFT) at https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Docs/EDGE_ACS_CWIFT2015_FILEDOC.pdf.
Source: NCES (2021), Table 211.60. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_211.60.asp?current=yes
Career readiness workforce shortages including teachers and counsellors, is becoming more severe. According to the 2021 Annual Report on the Condition of Needs of Public Schools in Virginia by the Virginia Board of Education, there were 1 063 unfilled teaching positions in the 2019-20 school year. As of April 2023, the Staffing and Vacancy Report tool shows 3 573 teacher vacancies for the 2022-23 school year.
In order to address such shortages, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) investigated its programmes and initiatives related to recruitment and retention and articulated plans. In January of 2022, the Department of Teacher Education and Licensure formed the Recruitment and Retention Advisory Committee. The committee reviewed existing efforts, such as more flexible licensure policies, offered hiring and retention funding for school divisions, awarded grants to help cover the cost of assessments and scholarships to tertiary students completing their student-teaching experience. As successes are scattered across the Commonwealth, the Advisory Committee developed a strategic plan for 2023-26. Numerous grants have been developed and offered, though on an ad-hoc basis, to incentivise school divisions to develop teacher apprenticeship programmes, to support hiring bonuses and continuing education for teachers. Several policies have been established to provide greater flexibility to educators, including 2022 General Assembly House Bill 829, which expanded the types of licenses issued by the Department of Public Health that may be eligible for provisional licensure with a school counsellor endorsement and 2021 House Bill 1776, which establishes a two-year extension of the renewable license for public school teachers with licenses set to expire in 2021 (VDOE, 2023[34]).
HB 829 School counselors; staffing ratios, flexibility (2022).
Permits school boards to fulfil the staffing ratio requirements for school counselors by (i) employing, under a provisional license issued by the Department of Education for three school years with an allowance for an additional two-year extension with the approval of the division superintendent, any professional counselor licensed by the Board of Counseling, clinical social worker licensed by the Board of Social Work, psychologist licensed by the Board of Psychology, or other licensed counseling professional with appropriate experience and training, provided that any such individual makes progress toward completing the requirements for full licensure as a school counselor during such period of employment or (ii) in the event that the school board does not receive any application from a licensed school counselor, professional counselor, clinical social worker, or psychologist or another licensed counseling professional with appropriate experience and training to fill a school counselor vacancy in the school division, entering into an annual contract with another entity for the provision of school counseling services by a licensed professional counselor, clinical social worker, or psychologist or another licensed counseling professional with appropriate experience and training.
Career coaches are community college employees who are based in local high schools to help high school students define their career aspirations and to recognise community college and other postsecondary programmes, including apprenticeships and workforce training, that can help students achieve their educational, financial and career goals. CTE career coaches introduce students to CTE occupations, careers, and opportunities including CTE training, certification programmes and WBL. They may advise students at different levels including secondary and post-secondary students. When students transition from HS to community colleges (CC), their relationship with career coaches is maintained – this is a good model for easing the transition.
Career coaches typically require a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in education, counselling, business, human services, or a related field from a regionally accredited institution, with some experience working in education, recruitment, workforce, or career coaching.
To support the retention and completion of at-risk students (first-generation families, low-income, or identify as a minority) at the community college level, some Virginia Community College System (VCCS) since 2012 some colleges have implemented, student success coaching under the Chancellor’s College Success Coach Initiative. This entails not only assisting students with academic coaching, but also with career, financial, and personal matters that may affect their academic success (Lawhorne, 2020[35]). Success coaches work with an assigned caseload of 100 to 150 students per coach and assist students from college application to graduation (Lawhorne, 2020[35]). An analysis using propensity score matching studied 1 749 treatment participants and the same number of control participants found that students with coaching had 1.8 times higher retention rate but no impact on completion, controlling for gender, age, race/ethnicity and type of enrolment (Lawhorne, 2020[35]).
VCCS offers a course to obtain Virginia Career Coach Certification (VCCC). This course is only open to employees of the Virginia Community College System and its partners. Based on the 12 competency areas outlined in the National Career Development Association (NCDA) Career Development Facilitator curriculum, the Virginia Career Coach Certification (VCCC) programme provides coaches at Virginia’s community colleges with the frameworks and tools needed for effective career coaching. VCCC requires 40 hours of training consisting of 10 hours of face-to-face training, split into two 5-hour parts, and 30 hours of online training modules. Hours earned through VCCC count toward the requirements of the Facilitating Career Development (FCD) course and the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) certification offered by VCCS. To complete VCCC, participants must complete the required 10 hours of face-to-face training in addition to the 30-hour online modules (VCCS, 2020[36]).
Recommendation: Clarify roles and increase the quantity and quality of the workforce
Virginia can benefit from further increasing the quantity of teachers and counsellors and diversifying recruitment channels to strengthen career readiness efforts. Building the workforce, through WBL specialists, career coaches, and career specialists can also strengthen career readiness efforts. One way to increase the quantity of teachers and support staff, including counsellors, up to the needed number is to make their pay competitive so that Virginia can attract, recruit, and retain them in the profession. It may be possible through, for example, fully funding the state’s share of the cost of providing a high-quality education (i.e., fully funding the Board or Education-prescribed Standards of Quality), lifting the cap on state funding for support staff, and investing in teacher and staff salaries (Goren and Kenneth, 2023[37]). There are several other ways to achieve this goal: through diversifying recruitment channels, providing teachers and counsellors with relevant training, automation of administrative tasks and maximising the use of career readiness system to bring young people to the profession.
Diversifying recruitment channels
School counsellors in Virginia are required to obtain a license from the Virginia Department of Education. The initial license is valid for three years, after which the counsellor must renew their license every five years by completing continuing education requirements. School counsellors are required to have a master's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in a state-approved school counsellor preparation programme. Such a programme should include at least 100 hours of internship and practical experiences in the preK-6 setting, 100 hours of internship and practical experiences in the Grades 7-12 setting, and two years of full-time teaching experience or two years of full-time experience in school counselling in a public or an accredited non-public school (Virginia Law, 2023[38]). Qualified counsellors should also complete training in the recognition of mental health disorder and behavioural distress, including depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide, and substance abuse (VDOE, 2023[39]).
There are training courses available for school counsellors. For example, Virginia Tech School of Education provides degree programmes for prospective teachers, educational leaders, school counsellors and other related professionals (Virginia Tech School of Education, 2023[40]). Its Counselor Education programme offers two master's degree tracks (School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling) and a doctoral programme (Counseling Education and Supervision), which prepares skilled counsellors to conduct impactful research, practice, supervise, and teach (Virginia Tech School of Education, 2023[41]). To renew a license, counsellors are required to attend the VDOE-preapproved webinars, complete training in five categories (depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide, or substance abuse), and complete a knowledge check. Upon completing of the knowledge check, participants receive a certificate and a results summary report.
However, evidence shows that enrolment in teacher preparation programmes in Virginia has decreased sharply in the past decade as student enrolment has increased (Figure 4.4). Compared to the level of 2012-13 (100%), enrolment in teaching programmes in Virginia decreased to 62% in 2018-19. This decrease was larger than Georgia (92%), North Carolina (98%) and Tennessee (63%) and the US average (81%). This suggests that current model of teacher preparation requires change and innovation.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (2022[42]), Preparing and Credentialing the Nation’s Teachers: The Secretary’s Report on the Teacher Workforce, https://title2.ed.gov/Public/OPE%20Annual%20Report.pdf; https://title2.ed.gov/Public/Home.aspx
One approach of particular relevance to the career development of students relates to the diversification of recruitment and training routes into teaching. Compared to the US average and other states, Virginia relies heavily on traditional teacher preparation programmes compared to alternative programmes (Figure 4.5). Traditional teacher preparation programmes refer to undergraduate programmes and often attract individuals who enter college with the goal of becoming a teacher. Alternative programmes often attract candidates who already hold a bachelor’s degree in a specific content area and may have prior work experience but are seeking to switch careers to the teaching profession. These programmes may be offered by higher education institutions but also by states, districts and various organisations and partnerships (NCES, 2022[43]). Virginia can diversify training and recruitment routes for teaching professions to ease the teacher shortages and attract talent to the profession.
Note: Traditional teacher preparation providers typically offer undergraduate programs and often attract individuals who enter college with the goal of becoming a teacher.
Alternative teacher preparation providers often serve candidates who are the teacher of record in a classroom while participating in the program, frequently attracting candidates who already hold a bachelor’s degree in a specific content area and may have prior work experience but are seeking to switch careers. Alternative routes to a teaching credential are defined as such by the state and vary by state. IHE refers to institutions of higher education. Alternative, not IHE-based, programs are offered by a variety of organisations, including states, nonprofits, for-profit entities, districts, and various partnerships.
Source: NCES (2022), Table 209.05. Number and percentage distribution of persons who were enrolled in and who completed a teacher preparation program, by program type and state or jurisdiction: Academic year 2019-20, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_209.05.asp
Virginia spends relatively high per-pupil amounts for instructional staff (curriculum development, staff training, libraries, and media: 6th among states) and transportation cost (17th among states) while relatively low amounts for student support including guidance, health, attendance, and speech pathology services (33rd among states). Vermont and New Hampshire, the only two states that meet the recommended a counsellors-student ratio, spend more than twice as much as Virginia on per-pupil student support (Figure 4.6).
Note: Data includes elementary and secondary schools and does not include all items of current expenditures per-pupil.
Student support includes expenditures for guidance, health, attendance, and speech pathology services. Instructional staff includes expenditures for curriculum development, staff training, libraries, and media and computer centers. Other support services include business support services concerned with paying, transporting, exchanging, and maintaining goods and services for local education agencies; central support services, including planning, research, evaluation, information, staff, and data processing services; and other support services.
Source: NCES (2022), Table 236.75. Total and current expenditures per-pupil in fall enrolment in public elementary and secondary schools, by function and state or jurisdiction: School year 2019-20
Providing teachers and counsellors with relevant training
In addition to increasing the number of teachers and counsellors, it is essential that they receive relevant, high-quality training – in particular to change the perception of, and to understand the important role of career guidance within education. In this regard, schools and responsible institutions should provide in-service training and other resources that can inform teachers and counsellors about appropriate methods and approaches for counselling, up-to-date entry requirements for tertiary education and labour market dynamics. This mechanism can help teachers and counsellors to keep abreast of how college and career pathways are evolving. However, more importantly, schools should support all school staff to play a role in career guidance and make career guidance happen in every learning aspect.
For example, Experience Works is the CTE professional development conference for all stakeholders associated with or interested in HQWBL. CTE HQWBL stakeholders include administrators, WBL co-ordinators/points-of-contact, teachers, counsellors, career coaches, and business and community partners. Such opportunities can be encouraged and promoted as part of teacher and counsellor professional development.
In addition, it is important to understand how student socio-economic background, ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, and others can play a role in student pathways and transition outcomes (see Theme 3, Chapter 6.). This effort is needed to avoid certain groups of students being systematically guided towards certain pathways that are sometimes perceived as less prestigious based on stereotypes (Jeon et al., 2023 forthcoming[44]). Theme 2, Chapter 5. of this report argues that students in Virginia receive limited exposure to the breadth of labour market demand of their region. This can be addressed through effort of teachers and counsellors so that students can broaden the career perspectives and aspirations outside their usual boundaries. This is in line with US National Career Development Association (NCDA) recommendations: “reducing bias and stereotyping in career awareness. NCDA policy is to encourage career development facilitators and all other educators, beginning at the K-6 level, to help pupils become aware of occupations in ways that demonstrate the potential of occupations being open for choice without restrictions based on sex, race, ethnic heritage, age, sexual orientation, creed, or disability. The emphasis should be on the possibility of openness, not on the likelihood of bias and stereotyping.” (NCDA, 2011[45])
Automation of administrative tasks
Automation of tasks can assist teachers and counsellors to gain more time for student-focused career related provision (OECD, 2021[46]). There are many administrative tasks that can be automated to save the time of CTE administrators/teachers, counsellors, and teachers. For example, applications for new CTE programme/courses can be automated, instead of submitting a document through fax or email to reduce transactional costs and keep abreast with the rapidly changing labour market. Scope also exists to digitalise the ACP, helping to reduce paperwork and enhancing the availability of management information. Increasingly, digital technology can support and provide career development activities that can ease the workload of school counselling practitioners (e.g., AI-based career decision-support systems designed to cope with the job). CiCi for example is a career chatbot that automates a wide range of career related reflection and information seeking activities providing guidance counsellors with considerable background information about students prior to face-to-face meetings.
Maximise the use of career readiness system to bring young people into the teaching and counselling profession and diversify the workforce
Addressing teacher shortages is an education policy goal in Virginia, and as discussed above Virginia has put significant effort into achieving this goal. While Virginia could diversify recruitment channels and reduce the workload of teachers and counsellors by automating certain tasks, there are also other ways to promote the teaching and counselling profession by expanding the base talent pool.
As many other employers try to reach younger students to attract them to their fields, the teaching profession can also attract students to explore and experience teaching and the education sector. For example, the OECD review team learned that schools can offer internships at school to promote teaching career pathways in Virginia. This can be particularly helpful for non-White students and for STEM teaching careers; although more than half of students are non-White, only 26% of prospective teachers are non-White. To address this issue, Virginia can build up on the example from other parts of the United States: Pathways2Teaching is a programme run by the University of Colorado Denver designed to give upper secondary school students, and particularly those from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to explore teaching as a potential career choice while reflecting on issues related to educational equity. As part of the programme, students participate in weekly field experiences in primary schools, learn skills to assist them in applying to higher education programmes, engage with current student teachers, and learn about how teaching can challenge existing inequities and advance social justice. Approximately 50% of upper secondary students who participate in the programme go on to study teaching (Barber, 2018[47]).
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