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What does a student learn in ?

This is the stretch when school work starts pointing toward life after graduation. Students map out a path that fits their goals, whether that means college, a trade, the military, or a job, and they practice the habits employers actually notice: showing up, communicating well, and working with people who think differently. They also start handling real adult skills like budgeting, researching choices, and using new technology without being told how. By spring, students can talk through a plan for what comes next and back it up with concrete steps they have already taken.

  • Career planning
  • Workplace skills
  • Personal finance
  • Teamwork
  • Communication
  • Problem solving
  • Ethics at work
Source: Maryland Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards
Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 9.
Career Ready Practices
  • Plan an education and career path aligned to personal goals, interests

    High School

    Students map out a realistic plan for life after high school, connecting their interests and goals to actual education or career options available to them.

  • Use technology to enhance productivity, communication

    High School

    Students learn to pick the right digital tools for a task and stay useful as those tools keep changing. That means using software or apps to get work done faster, communicate clearly, and solve problems in new ways.

  • Work productively in teams while using cultural and global competence to…

    High School

    Working in a team means listening to people with different backgrounds, adjusting how you communicate, and getting the job done together. Students practice the habits that make them a teammate others want to work with.

  • Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee, taking personal…

    High School

    Students take ownership of their choices at school, at work, and in the community. That means following through on commitments, admitting mistakes, and understanding that their actions affect the people around them.

  • Apply appropriate academic and technical skills learned through career and…

    High School

    Students take skills from their CTE classes, like writing, math, or hands-on technical work, and apply them to actual problems they might face in a job or career.

  • Attend to personal health and financial well-being and make decisions that…

    High School

    Students make choices that affect their health and money now and later in life. That means weighing decisions like what to eat, how to budget a paycheck, and how daily habits build up over time.

  • Communicate clearly, effectively

    High School

    Students practice adjusting how they speak, write, and communicate online based on who they're talking to and why. A message to a boss looks different from a text to a friend, and this standard covers knowing that difference.

  • Consider the environmental, social

    High School

    Before making a plan or design choice, students think through how it might affect the environment, other people, and money. They weigh those tradeoffs before deciding what to do.

  • Demonstrate creativity and innovation by generating new ideas and approaches…

    High School

    Students come up with original ideas and find new ways to use familiar tools, skills, or methods to solve problems they haven't seen before.

  • Employ valid and reliable research strategies to gather, evaluate

    High School

    Students practice finding trustworthy sources, judging whether the information holds up, and pulling key details together into a clear picture. This is the research habit that shows up in every job and every class.

  • Use critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them…

    High School

    When a task gets complicated, students pause to break it into smaller steps and try more than one approach before giving up. That habit shows up in class projects, part-time jobs, and any real problem worth solving.

  • Model integrity, ethical leadership

    High School

    Students practice making honest, responsible decisions at school and at work, then show others what that looks like in action. Being trustworthy and fair matters whether students are in a classroom, on a job, or in the community.