Destination Known

A Robust Vision for College and Career Readiness
A growing body of research confirms that the skills needed for success in college are
consistent with those for jobs that pay well and allow for career advancement. 27 The
Workgroup report does not aim to define college and career readiness for states;
rather, it recognizes the general consensus among practitioners, policy makers, higher
education, business and the public that students need a suite of skills—called academic,
technical and professional 28 skills in this report—to successfully transition to life
beyond high school, regardless of their path.
While state definitions of college and career readiness (CCR) differ, more than half of
the states with CCR definitions include components of all the following categories 29 :
• Academic knowledge
• Critical thinking and/or problem solving
• Social and emotional learning, collaboration or communication
• Grit/resilience/perseverance
While states have clearly set rigorous expectations for what skills
students need to gain for success beyond high school, to date there
has been less clarity regarding how to best measure those skills. The
recommended measures in this report aim to fill that gap—helping all
states get a robust picture of student readiness and success.
FIGURE 3
Measuring College and
Career Readiness for
All Students
Progress Toward Post-High
School Credentials
Co-Curricular
Learning and
Leadership
Experience
All
Students
Assessment
of Readiness
Transitions Beyond
High School
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