National & State Standards

The Purpose of Standards

The national and state standards for grades K-12 in career development are designed to assist school career counselors and specialists in preparing students for career exploration and career planning. Working toward a holistic career picture/journey, which includes combining abilities, knowledge, skills, and values for the students’ postsecondary endeavors, career development professionals may use standards to

• assist in designing curriculum 
• review a program
• implement an evaluation and accountability plan
• select resources for purchase

Sources of standards vary and other terms may be used interchangeably when discussing standards, including initiatives, core competencies, guidelines, or framework.

National Standards

The NCDG serve as national standards for career development. These standards may be connected to other documents, such as the National Career Development Association’s Career Development Policy Statement, which describes and defines the nature of and the need for career development throughout various life stages. The Career and Technical Education (CTE) guidelines may be another related resource. The CTE guidelines include the National Career Clusters Framework. This national framework sorts career pathways into 16 career clusters based on industries and occupations.

State Standards

Different state standards vary based on needs in areas such as workforce, economics, and academics. School career counselors and specialists must be familiar with what is available nationally and statewide in career development. It would be good practice for the professional to refer to standards set forth by their own state’s department or board of education.

For example, the Illinois Board of Education created a career guide to align with the CTE National Career Clusters Framework. The state of Illinois has also created the Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) Framework. The (PaCE) framework is organized around three areas, which include Career Exploration and Development. The PaCE framework is designed to provide school career counselors, specialists, and educators in assisting students in preparing for postsecondary options. The PaCE Framework specifies career development competencies and expected benchmarks at each grade level.

Check out the New Hampshire state standards.

If your state has released standards that can be linked here, please reach out to webeditor@ncda.org