CAREER READINESS ASSESSMENTS

Encourages the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to provide ACT WorkKeys assessments or a comparable career readiness assessment at no cost to students. Encourages participation in such assessments to be voluntary and for no student to be required to participate. Encourages ISBE and local school districts to annually publish information regarding career readiness assessments and opportunities to earn a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) or similar credential. Encourages the Illinois Community College Board to work with community colleges to develop and implement policies to award academic credit toward associate degree programs in workforce, applied science, or technical fields. Encourages such credit to: (1) align with credit recommendations published by the American Council on Education (ACE) or other recognized credit recommendation frameworks, or (2) apply to technical and workforce-aligned associate degree programs. Affirms that nothing in this Resolution should be construed to require public universities or private institutions of higher education to accept such credit. Encourages ISBE to collect and report to the General Assembly aggregate statewide data on student access to career readiness assessments, participation rates, credential attainment outcomes, and postsecondary enrollment outcomes.