n 2004 State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell stated the
Ifollowing:
he job of K–12 education in California must be to ensure that all our stu-
dents graduate with the ability to fulfill their potential—whether that takes
them to higher education or directly to their careers. Unfortunately, . . . too
many of our students are not adequately prepared for either. By raising our
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expectations for our students, we can and will begin to change that.
he California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards, Grades
Seven hrough Twelve, adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) in 2005,
was designed to help achieve that goal by providing educators with rigorous,
balanced standards reflecting both the essential knowledge needed to achieve
a seamless transition to careers or postsecondary education or training and the
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specific skills required for each of the state’s 58 career pathways.
his publication, the Career Technical Education Framework for California Pub-
lic Schools, Grades Seven hrough Twelve, is the blueprint for educators to use in
implementing the career technical education (CTE) model curriculum standards
adopted by the SBE. It provides a context for the content laid out by the stan-
dards, discusses best practices, and explores important issues in the implementa-
tion of those standards.