District of Columbia GOALS Project

GOALS is part of the state plan for CTE in the District of Columbia. Modeled on suggestions from the report Tough Choices or Tough Times by the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE)‚ GOALS entailed restructuring the secondary school system in D.C. to allow students to take a general competency exam as early as 10th grade to determine mastery of core skills needed for postsecondary education. After passing the exam‚ a student could choose to pursue a traditional college preparatory program oriented toward Advanced Placement or the International Baccalaureate in his/her high school or immediately enter a dual-enrollment career-technical education program of study at UDC‚ leading to an AAS degree in addition to a high school diploma‚ and possible industry certification in the chosen career field. After receiving an AAS degree‚ the student would then have the opportunity to matriculate in a UDC baccalaureate program at the junior year level. The feasibility study involved interviews and focus groups with stakeholders at UDC‚ OSSE‚ DC Public Schools (DCPS)‚ community organizations‚ and business and industry leaders in DC.