EdSystems seeks to curate best practices and resources to support communities in enhancing their college and career pathway efforts. With generous support from the Walton Family Foundation, EdSystems is releasing the new Quality Criteria for College and Career Pathways Implementation resource, empowering practitioners at all implementation stages to center equity and continuous improvement in their work.
The resource was first developed in partnership with an advisory committee of diverse leaders representing secondary and postsecondary education and the workforce. The committee launched in fall 2023 to explore research into best practices, articulate quality criteria for the component parts of college and career pathway implementation, and elevate innovative local practices from across Illinois. The resulting quality criteria were shared publicly for comment in May 2024. Based on the feedback, additional resources were added and language was clarified for the final version.
Download the Criteria
Access the draft version of the "Quality Criteria for College and Career Pathways Implementation" resource.
The Need for Quality Criteria
Since the 2022 passage of Public Act 102-0917 (HB3296), which established a new expectation for districts serving grades 9-12 to implement the College and Career Pathway Endorsement, practitioners around Illinois have been working to scale their offerings. As a part of these efforts, many communities have utilized innovative practices in pathways and work-based learning that go beyond the baseline authorization requirements. Further, those with an established pathway system are working to enhance and refine their efforts with an eye toward continuous improvement and equity.
At the Illinois State Board of Education Career Connections Conference in June 2024, the EdSystems team led a self-reflection activity in which CTE practitioners assessed their work using the criteria. This experience demonstrated that the quality criteria are robust strategies and practices. We hope practitioners continue to revisit the resource as various framework components relate to their pathways.
Learn More
Read more about the framework components and development and watch the webinar from the public comment release.
