CTE Courses Changes for 2017-2018
July 14, 2017
SUBJECT: CTE Courses Changes for 2017-2018
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
In 2015, the State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for career and technical education (CTE). The revised CTE TEKS will be implemented beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. Among the changes to the CTE TEKS is the addition of TEKS for new laboratory courses that will be available as corequisites and combined with corresponding content-specific courses. Additionally, TEKS for new extended practicum courses that may be combined with corresponding practicum courses have been added.
The current CTE TEKS allow a range of credit (for example, 1 to 2 credits) at the discretion of a local district or charter school. The revised CTE TEKS eliminate the range of credit and establish a consistent amount of credit for each course. The SBOE adopted a number of one-credit laboratory and extended practicum courses that, when paired with a content-specific course, will allow a district to offer an additional credit for certain CTE courses. For example, a one-credit Interior Design I course may be combined with the one-credit Interior Design I Lab course for a total of two credits.
Districts and charter schools may choose to offer the content-specific course alone or the content-specific course combined with the lab or extended practicum. For example, one district may choose to offer Health Science Theory for one credit while another district may choose to offer Health Science Theory combined with Health Science Clinical for a total of two credits. SBOE rules require that the lab or extended practicum course must be taken concurrently with the corresponding content-specific course and prohibit a lab or extended practicum from being offered as a stand-alone course.
As a reminder, a student must demonstrate proficiency in the TEKS for both the content-specific course and the corresponding lab or extended practicum in order to be awarded credit for both courses. Please note that, unless otherwise permitted in the TEKS, a student may only earn credit for a specific course once. A student may not earn credit for both a content-specific course and the same content-specific course combined with the corresponding lab. This would exceed the allowable credit for the content-specific course.
The Texas Student Data System (TSDS) course Service IDs for 2017-2018 have been adjusted to reflect the revisions to the CTE TEKS. New TSDS course Service IDs in code table C022- Service ID have been established to allow for the reporting of either the content-specific course alone or the content-specific course combined with the lab. For example, separate codes exist for Computer Maintenance (13027300), one credit, and Computer Maintenance/Computer Maintenance Lab (13027310), two credits.
New TSDS course Service IDs have also been established for each practicum course, with options for the stand-alone practicum or the practicum combined with the extended practicum. For example, separate codes exist for Practicum in Marketing (13034800), two credits, and Practicum in Marketing/Extended Practicum in Marketing (13034805), three credits. The revised TEKS permit students to repeat a practicum for credit one time, provided that the student is experiencing different aspects of the industry and demonstrating proficiency in additional and more advanced knowledge and skills. Separate TSDS Service IDs have been established for the first time a student takes a practicum course (or practicum/extended practicum combination) and the second time a student takes a practicum (or practicum/extended practicum combination).
Attached to this communication is the reference document, Enrollment and Reporting Scenarios for CTE Courses Changes in 2017-2018. This resource provides several examples for correctly reporting practicum courses and content-specific courses that may be combined with either an extended practicum or.
Questions regarding the revised CTE TEKS or new CTE course TSDS Service IDs may be directed to Debbie Wieland, CTE and Technology Applications Coordinator, by phone at (512) 463-9581 or by email at debbie.wieland@tea.texas.gov.
Sincerely,
Monica Martinez
Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services
Additional Resources
The new CTE TEKS and course crosswalks that demonstrate the correlation between the 2010-adopted TEKS and the revised CTE TEKS adopted in 2015 are currently posted on the Texas Education Agency website at http://tea.texas.gov/cte.
· After the CTE TEKS become effective on August 28, 2017, they will be added to
19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development, and Chapter 130, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career and Technical Education, with “Adopted 2015” in their title. The TEKS will be available at the following links: 19 TAC Chapter 127 and 19 TAC Chapter 130.
· The 2017-2018 TSDS Code Table C022-Service ID is available at http://www.texasstudentdatasystem.org/TSDS/TEDS/1718F/TSDS_PEIMS_Data_Standards. Click on Section 4: C022 Excerpt.
Attachment:
Enrollment and Reporting Scenarios for CTE Courses Changes in 2017-2018