REL Southwest is partnering with staff at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as well as with education service centers and school districts in Texas to strengthen systems of support for high-quality advising and counseling so that all middle and high school students are prepared for success in college and careers. To achieve this goal, the Texas Education Agency Tri-Agency Workforce Priorities (TTWP) partnership will develop a rubric that districts can use to evaluate the alignment of materials with the Effective Advising Framework (EAF) goals, align college and career readiness indicators with existing evidence-based frameworks of readiness, provide coaching to TEA staff on collecting data to monitor fidelity of implementation of the EAF, conduct an applied research study on district use of career and academic plans with students, and create resources to promote understanding of the EAF and support districts in implementing the programmatic levers in the framework.
Partner organization: Texas Education Agency
Current projects
REL Southwest is providing coaching to assist the Texas Education Agency in creating a rubric that schools and districts can use to inform the selection or development of high-quality materials, tools, and resources that support students’ awareness, exploration, planning, and preparation of college, career, and military opportunities. This coaching project builds on a related Ask An Expert presentation that summarized resources that support effective or promising student advising practices.
Completed projects
REL Southwest provided a series of coaching sessions to build the capacity of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Tri-Agency Workforce Priorities partnership to develop a logic model and data inventory for the Effective Advising Framework (EAF). The EAF is designed to support Texas middle and high school students in planning for college and career success by providing strong counseling programs and individual career and academic planning. The logic model illustrates the structure, processes, and goals of the EAF. The inventory is helping TEA better understand what data elements are available to monitor the fidelity of the implementation of the EAF and study its effects.
REL Southwest facilitated an Ask An Expert presentation by Dr. Scott Solberg, a professor with the Boston University Center for Future Readiness, to support the statewide rollout of the Effective Advising Framework in Texas. Dr. Solberg discussed personal career and academic plans, also known as personalized learning plans, including key features and practices, the evidence base, a sample curriculum, related state initiatives, and lessons learned.