Narrative: a.

Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education launched “Show-Me Success”, a transformational effort with a vision of improving lives through education and a mission of providing access to opportunity. One of the four priority areas of “Show-Me Success” is “Success-Ready Students & Workforce Development”. Missouri’s K-12 Learning Standards define the knowledge and skills students need in each grade level and course for success in college, other post-secondary training, careers, and citizenship. Standards ensure that students learn basic and higher-order skills including problem solving and critical thinking. These standards are relevant to the real world and reflect the knowledge and skills students need to achieve their goals. 

The basis for Missouri’s Adult Education Standards are DESE’s College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) which align closely with the K-12 Standards. The Missouri Adult Education Standards provide a framework within which programs develop the curriculum needed to prepare students for achieving their goals which often include obtaining employment, enrollment in post-secondary options, and/or developing the language and life skills needed to be a part of the culture of the United States. All DESE certified AEL teachers must attend professional development workshops detailing CCRS with practical classroom application. In addition, professional development is offered to all teachers using CCRS in areas including applied math, reading comprehension, communication (verbal, written, and listening), critical thinking and problem solving, technology and gathering/evaluating information. Moreover, support is given to increase students’ work readiness skills such as career development and planning, professional behavior, accountability, interpersonal skills, and self-management.