The state Department of Education and Mississippi State University are using a new assessment to help determine the work readiness of students completing vocational educational courses.
The Mississippi Career Planning and Assessment System (CPAS) being launched this month is coordinated through the Research and Curriculum Unit, a Starkville-based joint program of the state department and Mississippi State's College of Education.
CPAS is one component of comprehensive educational assessments the state education department is implementing, said RCU professional development specialist Ronda Cummings. The program will be phased in over the next four years.
Key players in launching the program are Therrell Myers, associate state superintendent for vocational and technical education, and Gerald Hasselman, associate state superintendent for academic education.
"The goal of CPAS is to meet Mississippi's future needs by assuring that vocational education courses produce graduates ready for work," Cummings said.
Developed with assistance from state teachers, CPAS measures general competencies as well as specific job-related skills for those completing high school and community college vocational programs. The assessments are tailored to meet the state's needs.
Designed and scored by American College Testing (ACT), the national tests measure reading for information, applied mathematics and locating information. Test questions in each area are based on actual workplace demands, from interpreting memos to understanding graphs.
CPAS also will measure competencies for specific occupations tied to Mississippi's vocational curriculum, Cummings said. "Over the next four years, we will develop more than 40 tests each for secondary and post-secondary evaluations," she said.
Beginning this month, Mississippi State's RCU will train test administrators for pilot tests being administered April 28-May 2.