HQ CTE Framework Proficiency
Status: Active
Awarded: 04/01/2026
Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)
HQ103High-Quality CTE: Student Assessment
CTE curriculum lends itself to authentic, relevant and creative forms of assessment. Instruments, when skillfully designed, selected and implemented, can be defining aspects of the CTE experience. A robust assessment system, built on valid and reliable assessments, provides students discrete feedback on industry-aligned knowledge, skills and abilities. For this reason, Student Assessment is one of ACTE's 12 elements of high-quality CTE within the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework®.
This course covers general and CTE-specific strategies for multiple forms of formative and summative performance-based assessments across cognitive, psychomotor and affective learning domains, including how technical, academic and employability skills are assessed. An outcome of this course is for CTE educators to understand how to align assessment across the entire career pathway, from secondary to postsecondary to industry. Students then have opportunities across the pathway to develop a body of learning evidence that directly correlates to earning valued industry credentials.
HQ110High-Quality CTE: Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs)
Career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) are an integral part of a student's instructional program and CTE experience. They provide opportunities for skill and leadership development and career exploration. For this reason, CTSOs are one of ACTE's 12 elements of high-quality CTE within the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework®.
This element includes eight criteria addressing how CTSOs fit within CTE programs, their alignment to relevant standards, opportunities offered by CTSOs, and the CTSO advisor role. This course will describe successes to emulate, failures to avoid, and resources to help practitioners implement and support CTSOs.
HQ111High-Quality CTE: Work-Based Learning
Work-Based Learning is one of ACTE's 12 elements of high-quality CTE within the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework®. The work-based learning element addresses the delivery of a continuum of sustained, meaningful interactions with industry or community professionals that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required in a given career field. Experiences may be delivered in workplaces, in the community, at educational institutions and/or virtually, as appropriate, and include a range of activities such as workplace tours, job shadowing, school-based enterprises, internships and apprenticeships.
HQ112High-Quality CTE: Data and Program Improvement
High-quality CTE programs of study strategically use a variety of data to support program improvement. This course addresses the Data and Program Improvement element of the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework®. Topics include data processes and supports, data sharing, privacy and security protections, types of data, aggregate and disaggregated data, equity gaps, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement.
