College and Career Readiness Support Center

                                         Source: Educational Policy Improvement Center

While most schools share agreement about the importance of college and career readiness, most do not share an accurate understanding of what makes a student successful in postsecondary experiences. Despite noteworthy distinctions, college readiness and career readiness are similar. Analysis of college courses reveal that the learning skills and foundational knowledge associated with college success overlap considerably with skills necessary for success in training programs that lead to careers. Most agree that college readiness is defined as a student's ability to pursue postsecondary credit-bearing  courses without the need for developmental coursework. However, career readiness adds two additional skill sets that may not be required for college readiness. Twenty-first century skills, often referred to as soft skills, are a perquisite to success in employment. Interestinglly enough, successful ability to demonstrate Twenty-first century knowledge and skills facilitates higher levels of academic achievement. In addition, technical skills tied to student interest are another component to career readiness. Educators have often stated students who can apply their knowledge to real world applications outperform their peers. Given this overlap, it serves no useful purpose to separate students into two groups, one bound for college, the other for work. All students aspire to enter the workforce, and, to do so, all will need a comparable set of foundational skills and learning abilities if they are to succeed.
