College and Career Readiness: 

Course Overview, Student Objectives, and Assessment Criteria

Description of the Course

• Overview: College & Career Readiness is a 10th grade course that offers a student-centered curriculum where students apply approaches-to-learning skills geared toward their own interests and future career paths. Overall, students will prepare and begin implementing goals towards their long-term college and career plans with a teacher acting as a mentor and a facilitator. The course emphasizes self-awareness, career and college readiness, goal setting and planning using an inquiry- based process through real life applications and scenarios. 

• Guiding Questions: Students will explore and answer questions such as: What careers interest me? What are my career goals? What do I want to do in college? What are some effective habits for success?  What do I need to do to prepare effectively for college?

• Career Interests: Students will explore personality and interests in a career exploration learning about advantages and disadvantages of potential careers. Students will also explore colleges based on their interests and learn the fundamentals of the college application process and the overall steps for preparation. 

• 21st Century Skills: Students will gain some 21st Century Skills with technology, presentations, and learning to budget. 

• Entrance Exams: Students will be exposed to two college entrance exams: the PSAT in the fall and the ACT in the spring as a mock exam. 

• MYP Personal Project: Students will also be guided through the steps for planning and developing their MYP Personal Project, an independent exploration where students develop a line of inquiry and research and develop their own product and paper. The personal project formally assesses students' Approaches to Learning (ATL skills) for self-management, research, communication, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration.  

Approaches to Learning (ATL) Skills

• Students will apply approaches to learning as it relates to career & college explorations, budgeting and saving, and 21st Century skills as well the MYP Personal Project. 

• They will be expected to develop questions for inquiry, engage in the research process, locate sources, and synthesize information for a knowledgeable product. ATL skills, specifically informational and media literacy, provide a solid foundation for learning independently and with others, demonstrating learning, and reflecting on the process of learning. 

• They help students to become more autonomous, strategic and self-motivated and ultimately prepare students for college and career readiness.  Students will show their ability to synthesize media through their analysis skills, giving a thorough justification of opinions and ideas with a range of examples, using accurate terminology.     

Guiding Principles of Standards Based Grading

1. Grades and reports will be based on clearly specified objectives and assessment criteria

2. Grading and feedback practices contribute to growth in student learning

3. Academic grades reflect growth and achievement not behavior

4. Grades accurately reflect students' current levels of achievement

Student Assessment in College and Career Readiness

RUBRICS

• Criterion A: Knowing and Understanding

• Criterion B: Developing and Synthesizing Ideas

• Criterion C: Communicating

• Criterion D: Reflecting 

• ONE PAGE RUBRIC --ALL FOUR CRITERIA

Tentative List Grades Broken Down By Criteria

MYP Personal Project Assessment (IB Task)

Students will also be formally assessed by their Personal Project Supervisor as well which uses the IB rubric. 

Assessment Criteria

24 marks

• Criterion A:  Planning,  8 marks

• Criterion B: Applying Skills, 8 marks

• Criterion C: Reflecting, 8 marks

• One page rubric of personal project (assessed by supervisor)

Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS)

In addition to the College and Career Readiness Standards, the class will incorporate the TEKS for the College Readiness and Study Skills course. 

College Readiness and Study Skills (One-Half Credit)

a) Introduction.

  (1) High school students that require or request additional honing of the study skills, especially as the students prepare for the demands of college, may enroll in the one semester course College Readiness and Study Skills. In this course, students acquire techniques for learning from texts, including studying word meanings, identifying and relating key ideas, drawing and supporting inferences, and reviewing study strategies. In all cases, interpretations and understandings will be presented through varying forms, including through use of available technology. Students accomplish many of the objectives through wide reading as well as use of content texts in preparation for post-secondary schooling.

  (2) For high school students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition and language learning.

  (3) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

  (4) The essential knowledge and skills as well as the student expectations for College Readiness and Study Skills, an elective course, are described in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

  (1) The student reads widely for a variety of purposes from numerous sources and cultures. The student is expected to:

    (A) read self-selected and assigned texts from varied sources such as literature, literary non-fiction, expository, electronic texts, and other media; and

    (B) read for various purposes such as to be entertained, to appreciate a writer's craft, to be informed, to take action, and to discover models for writing.

  (2) The student builds an extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study. The student is expected to:

    (A) expand vocabulary through wide reading, viewing, listening, and discussion;

    (B) apply knowledge of affixes and roots to comprehend;

    (C) investigate word origins to understand meanings, derivations, and spellings;

    (D) distinguish between the connotative and denotative meanings and interpret the connotative power of words;

    (E) use reference material to determine precise meaning and usage such as glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, and available technology; and

    (F) use context to determine meanings of words and phrases such as figurative language, idiomatic expressions, homonyms, and technical vocabulary.

  (3) The student comprehends texts using a variety of strategies. The student is expected to:

    (A) use self-monitoring reading strategies to make modifications when understanding breaks down;

    (B) activate and draw upon prior knowledge and experience;

    (C) establish purposes for reading such as to discover, to understand, to interpret, to enjoy, and to solve problems;

    (D) construct images based on text descriptions; and

    (E) create graphic organizers to represent textual information.

  (4) The student reads critically to evaluate texts and the authority of sources. The student is expected to:

    (A) analyze audience, purpose, and message of text;

    (B) evaluate the credibility and relevance of information sources;

    (C) evaluate the author's motivation, stance, or position and its effect on the validity of the text;

    (D) analyze aspects of texts such as organizational patterns, diction, format, and tone for their effect on audiences;

    (E) identify explicit and implicit textual information in text;

    (F) support complex inferences with text evidence and experience; and

    (G) recognize persuasive techniques in texts such as bandwagon, glittering generalities, and testimonials.

  (5) The student uses study strategies to learn from a variety of texts. The student is expected to:

    (A) use effective reading strategies to recall material from text such as previewing, skimming, scanning, rereading, and asking relevant questions;

    (B) summarize information from text such as outlines, study guides, annotating, and two-columned note taking;

    (C) use text features and graphics such as headings, tables, sidebars, photographs, and captions to form an overview of informational texts and to determine where to locate information; and

    (D) use effective test-taking strategies for different types of tests.

  (6) The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts. The student is expected to:

    (A) respond to literary and informational texts through various modes of communication such as discussions, further reading, presentations, journals, written responses, or visual arts;

    (B) formulate and defend a position with support synthesized from multiple texts; and

    (C) evaluate personal responses to reading for evidence of growth.