A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

An integrated academic and occupational standards-driven system is an information-driven system, even at the most rudimentary level. For a national voluntary system to be nurtured, a substantial amount of attention needs to be given to the development of an information infrastructure that can grow, be easily accessed, and have multiple uses. Using the analogy of the need to build a skeleton, one could think of information services and systems as the backbone.

Systems Issues

We are living in an era when truly exciting new vistas are opening that will provide enormous support for the development of a standards-driven education system. With forethought and cooperation among federal and state government organizations responsible for producing and disseminating data, industry associations, education institutions, and others involved in the development of standards, much can be accomplished that will:

• contribute to a common language;

• reduce time and cost of developing standards;

• promote communication among organizations responsible for education and workforce development systems and programs;

• promote access for consumers (students, teachers, trainers, counselors, employers, job seekers); and,

• improve the chances of being able to judge the efficacy of the system.

There are several significant efforts underway that can provide help to make all of this happen. Most notably the replacement of the out-of-date Dictionary of Occupational Titles -- the backbone of the occupational classification systems. Its replacement, O*NET, is currently under development. O*NET will become a core product and service of the labor market information system for the country. There will no longer be a hard copy, ponderous document but rather an on-line interactive computer-based system.

O*NET will be used in another current initiative to upgrade the labor market information distribution systems throughout the country. The Department of Labor, responsible for O*NET development, has also launched a major upgrade of the labor market information services, called America's Labor Market Information System (ALMIS) and is sponsoring new approaches for individuals to access that information and local education and training resources. This is, in part, being done through the development of One-Stop Centers throughout the nation. The term one-stop may be a misnomer because it is just not a place to go but also takes advantage of new technologies to provide easy access and user friendly information based services to all kinds of clients in a variety of settings. In other words a new information age infrastructure is coming on line. All these efforts are still in the early stages of implementation.

With forethought, and by using technical working teams drawn from a variety of federal organizations and states, much can be done to help in bringing on line information about both academic and occupational skills standards that is accessible to all. Relational data bases can be constructed that could identify common skill requirements across a wide range of economic sector, data bases that correlate academic and occupational standards can become common place. This is possible to do. It can, as well, save taxpayers substantial monies.

The capacity exists; the will to make it happen may not. Common definition issues, discussed in this paper, can be a stumbling block. To make all these glowing projections a reality, "a thousand flowers blooming" approach for describing standards would seriously hamper any such effort. This means that those involved in setting the framework for a skill standards system need to establish some basic operating groundrules regarding what goes into common data bases. It may well mean that O*NET developers will need to change some of their working definitions. States will need to agree to follow some common design rules as systems are established. In other words, collaboration will not come easily unless all the stakeholders understand the value-added purpose. Noble reasons can be made. Such as -- by doing so -- standards have a greater chance of becoming household words and will be discussed at the dinner table and on the news. There is a less noble reason and perhaps more practical. There is not enough money for any of the key stakeholder groups to go it alone, particularly the NSSB; they need to rely on others. This does not mean they cannot influence the work of others.

The statistical agencies will need to be involved in several different fronts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a key agent regarding the labor market classification and information system. The Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics monitors the condition of education in this country. They recognize the many challenges that lay before them to use and impact of standards within the education enterprise (U.S. Dept. of Education, 1996). They have had a lead role in tracking the progress of academic standards and they play a key role in designing national assessment efforts through their oversight responsibilities for the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) and international comparison studies. As the occupational skills standards takes form, they will need to give more attention to documenting the use of them. Also, as the collectors of information regarding all education program offerings in all institutions, some analysis of the utility and use of career clusters will need attention.

Service Issues

A range of issues around information based services abound. However, for the purposes of the focus will be on the particular needs of students, teachers, school and job search counselors, curriculum developers, and others who need support. The challenge is to help ensure a strong career guidance system that includes standards-based information.

Career guidance and job placement counseling services occur in many venues and take many forms, many of which are not based on solid information about choices and opportunities. Professionals in the field of guidance and counseling have long been aware that information data bases are essential tools for their work. They are aware that information technologies must be used to stretch the limited staff resources available for career guidance and job placement services. There are some rich materials that have been developed over the years by guidance and counseling professionals in this area, which have been greatly aided by the NOICC and their state counterpart organizations, but no single individual or organization claims perfection, to the contrary.

All of the aforementioned groups need to have standards-based materials, organized around their state's career clusters that are packaged in such a way it is useful for their own work. National and state skill standards need to be included in the materials. The distinctions in types of standards (e.g., occupational family, industry core and occupation specific) could be used to help enhance the packaging of guidance materials. They can help an elementary teacher understand how to use a field trip as a teaching tool. Career pathway information can help a guidance counselor assist students learn about what it takes for a bank teller to become the Chief Executive Officer of an international bank. Materials, developed in concert with industry representatives can give life to the dry facts. Videos telling the stories of what type of occupations exist within an industry, what it takes to become an entrepreneur, and providing students with applied learning opportunities within the industry are helpful information-based services beyond data.

Clear linkages will need to be established between career guidance and counseling staffs and organizations knowledgeable about skill standard at the national and state levels.
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