"Stackable credential programs" are designed to make it easier for students to earn multiple postsecondary certificates or degrees in a field as they advance in their careers. To examine the stacking of credentials in Ohio and inform ongoing efforts to scale stackable credential programs, the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the…

Data modernization and security practices allow educational leaders to provide accurate, secure, and timely data that can be securely exchanged, shared, and connected in order to provide instant understanding of school performance, student attendance, academic performance, or funding from multiple sources. This matters because: (1) Data…

There are nearly 1 million credentials in the United States that students and workers can take advantage of, but how information about these credentials is collected and communicated is oftentimes inconsistent and hard to access. In February, we invited a group of postsecondary and workforce development experts to consider how policymakers can…

Background: Billions of dollars are spent annually on grant-funded STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programs. These programs help students stay on track toward STEM careers when standard educational practices do not adequately prepare them for these careers. It is important to know that reliable and accurate…

This appendix supplements the report "Stackable Credential Pipelines in Ohio: Evidence on Programs and Earnings Outcomes" (ED613593). In the appendix, the authors provide more details about the data and empirical approach, additional information about the samples, and some alternative results from analyses related to those that appear in…

This report is the support document accompanying "An analysis of 'micro-credentials' in VET," which examines subject-bundle enrolments in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system in 2019. This support document is a technical discussion of how the raw data were extracted and transformed for analytical purposes and it…

Career and technical education (CTE) programs (programs that teach students specific workplace skills aligned with the labor market) may track data for lots of different reasons: to comply with funding requirements, to manage their services and continually improve, to measure their progress toward their goals, and to evaluate whether they are…

"The State of Career Technical Education: Credentials of Value" report draws on a 2024 national scan of state practices, a 50-state survey, and interviews with state leaders to gather insights and strategies for improving the identification, validation, incentivization, and data collection related to credentials that support learners'…

This is the third in a series of annual reports about teacher shortages in Michigan that the state legislature requested in December 2020 (2020 PA 316). Although the state data on this topic is limited, these analyses still help to paint a picture of teacher shortages across Michigan, assist policymakers to target policies and programs in ways…

The current climate of career and technical administration requirements in all 50 states was detailed and explored. An increasing number of states are not requiring specific career-technical administration certification/licensure in order to oversee secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs, with more states moving towards a general…

States should graduate students from high school prepared for the challenges they will face in college and their careers. Many states are working toward this goal by improving the quality of career and technical education (CTE) programs, and have looked to industry-recognized credentials as one component of this improvement. However, there is…

This report is an update to "Credentials Matter. Report 1: A National Landscape of High School Student Credential Attainment Compared to Workforce Demand" (ED612414). It explores the credentials earned by both K-12 and postsecondary students. The report examines whether those credentials are, or are not, aligned with employers' demand.…

In a climate of increasing regulation within early childhood education and care services, and the greater re-positioning of professionals within public sectors, this article seeks to extend the literature surrounding risk and regulation in early childhood. In efforts to "push back" against the "regulatory gaze" in the early…

Learners of all types must be able to represent their achievements to prospective employers and education institutions to prove that they have the requisite knowledge and skills for success. The most recognized means by which students represent themselves is the credential. As in many other industries that engage with customers, partners, and…

The overall design and framework of the GED Program is centered around providing measurements and tools documenting and promoting student achievement. More information about the test itself and the underlying documentation and validity framework may be found in the GED test Technical Manual on the GED Testing Service website. The philosophy…