Certification of CTE Students: Ensuring a Competent Workforce

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Since 2008, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department in Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) has enthusiastically embraced the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) High Stakes Credentialing Initiative. CTE recognized the importance of such an initiative by responding with the development of a position entitled, CTE Credential Testing Coordinator. In fact, HCPS was the first school division in the Commonwealth to create such a position, which is specifically designed for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a credential testing process and timeline. Since that time, HCPS students have earned approximately 2,113 VDOE approved industry credentials. CTE’s 2010-11 goal is to test 100 percent of all its CTE Completers and Finishers, with a 70 percent pass rate. A CTE Completer is defined as a high school student who has met the requirements for a CTE concentration and all requirements for graduation, or an approved alternative education program, i.e., graduating seniors. A CTE Finisher is defined as a high school student who has met the requirements for a CTE concentration but who has not met the requirement for graduation,, or an approved alternative education program, i.e., non-seniors.