Experience has shown that career planning and decision-making are skills that students will use continuously throughout their lifetimes. Cincinnati Public Schools is committed to helping our students prepare for the future and to providing the resources to help them succeed.
The district currently offers three career development tools to assist students in grades 7-12 with college and career planning. First, the PLAN test is given to all 10th-grade students each December. It is the practice test for the ACT College Entrance exam. The test consists of multiple choice questions: 50 English, 40 math, 25 reading and 30 science. It takes 2 hours to complete. The ACT test is used by colleges as a factor in admissions and is said to predict college success. Taking the PLAN gives each student feedback on areas of academic strength and weakness in time for the student to practice in the areas where they are weakest. As a part of the PLAN, each student will also be asked to complete a career interest inventory. Results will be shown on a "World-of-Work" map where career areas of the student's highest interest will be highlighted.
Students will then use the next tool provided by the CPS district, Ohio Career Information Services (OCIS) to match career results from the PLAN to one of the 16 Kuder career clusters. OCIS is an annually updated, comprehensive career and educational guidance system that provides information and exploration tools for teens and adults. With OCIS it is easy to navigate between occupational information, the related programs of study and training, and the schools that offer the training anywhere in Ohio or the United States. The student can save the career search in his/her IACP online folder in OCIS.
The 3rd tool that the district provides is the Kuder Career Planning System (KCPS) which helps guide parents and students through a successful 8th-grade transition and prepares students for a successful post-high school transition. The district has aligned the results of the 8th-grade Kuder assessments with potential high school programs in the Cincinnati Public Schools which may help students when choosing high schools. Having an education and career plan in place can improve education and career satisfaction and success now and in the future.
The Kuder system is an online career assessment system, providing a comprehensive, research-based approach to career exploration, planning, and development. It is brief, user-friendly, and its results — based on extensive research — are highly reliable. The KCPS relates the results of interests, skills, and work values assessments to occupational information. The system opens the door to continued exploration with direct links to job opportunities, post-secondary options, scholarship and financial aid information, and additional career development resources.
The Internet-based format was selected to support technology-based learning in the schools and enhance student proficiency on the computer. Online technology allows students to review their results immediately and involve parents easily by accessing their career portfolios and assessment results at any time and from anywhere an Internet connection is available. Throughout junior high and high school, students will develop individual career plans, professional resumes, and a career passport. Results travel with students as they transition from junior high to high school.
Teachers have access to collective results to assist with course selection and aid curriculum planning. This information allows schools to monitor educational transitions and prepare students for post-high school education and employment.