Common Planner
K–12 Standards

Career Advising and Planning

Other Tennessee CTE sets

Academic Planning

  • 1

    Understand and identify your academic strengths. Compare and contrast those strengths to the knowledge and skills necessary for success in an interest-aligned career.  1

  • 2

    Identify education requirements for success in an interest aligned career. Determine appropriate coursework, up through high school graduation, that would lead to postsecondary success. Participate in a preview day for incoming freshman high school students if available in your district. Explore opportunities for earning early postsecondary credit such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, statewide dual credit, and dual enrollment. 2

  • 3

    Understand the admissions processes for four-year colleges and universities, two-year community colleges, and technical schools. Research specific academic requirements for admission (standardized test scores, GPA, written essays, etc.) for a postsecondary institution aligned to your desired career. 3

  • 4

    Meet your academic counselor. Understand how your counselor supports you in your academic career. Identify all the resources available to you as you explore and plan for your future career goals. 4

  • 5

    Create a five- to six-year academic plan based on your desired career path in accordance with State Board Middle School Policy 2.102. The five- to six-year plan should include major academic milestones, such as testing requirements and high school graduation, and what postsecondary plans are required for success in their chosen field. Include opportunities for CTE classes, industry credentials, or work-based learning. 5

Career Planning

  • 6

    Discuss the impact of effective college and career planning. Create a personal career profile and make an oral presentation describing an ideal career, minimum education requirements, and identify any entrepreneurial opportunities within a field of personal interest. 6

  • 7

    Explore the alignment between your individual skills, desired career, and personality. Describe how your strengths benefit your chosen career.  7

  • 8

    Identify specific experiences that will foster success in your desired career. Research how you could participate in these kinds of activities in the future. 8

  • 9

    Investigate labor market information in a sector aligned to your career interests. Analyze national, state, regional, and local labor markets and classify evidence of high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations. Analyze the effects of changing employment trends, societal needs, and economic conditions on career planning. 9

  • 10

    Conduct a research project, citing multiple sources, to analyze and describe how skills learned in school (including academic, technical, and "soft skills") benefit an individual in postsecondary training, career, and society. Articulate importance of specific skills that will be emphasized in future education, including literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, and problem-solving. 10

Career Financial Planning

  • 11

    Based on your desired career, calculate education costs. Include early postsecondary opportunity (EPSO) credits if applicable. Create a financial savings plan to achieve goal. 11

  • 12

    Research and understand the differences between financial aid options (scholarships, grants, student loans, etc.) and the misconceptions surrounding the cost of postsecondary education. Explain how financial aid can make postsecondary education more affordable, and how different types of financial aid impact that cost. Research both external and in-state financial aid options for Tennessee students. 12

  • 13

    Analyze the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and discuss the information needed in completing and submitting it to the U.S. Department of Education. 13

  • 14

    Research salaries based on desired career path using reputable, accurate, and current sources. 14

  • 15

    Understand that each job has a salary range. Research multiple job salary ranges, including low- and high-end salaries along with the education level required. Compare and contrast what factors influence salary range. Evaluate steps needed to financially plan for work and life goals. 15

Experiential Learning

  • 16

    Using personal profile and career plan goals, prepare customized career preparation materials or exercises for a specific occupation or industry, such as:  16

    1. a

      Resume16.a

    2. b

      Cover letter(s) 16.b

    3. c

      Thank-you notes (after interviews) for potential employers16.c

    4. d

      List of transferable skills 16.d

    5. e

      Job application(s)  16.e

    6. f

      Mock interview or role-play exercise  16.f

  • 17

    Participate in, and document, a service project that will be presented to the school and/or the community. Investigate a need in the community, conduct interviews, ask clarifying questions to determine specifics, create an innovative way to address the need, document research and proposed solution, and present proposal using effective oral and written communication skills. 17

  • 18

    Using the need identified in Standard 17, create a business plan. Describe the key components of the entrepreneurial startup process (the entrepreneur, the environment, the opportunity, startup resources, and the new venture organization) and how it seeks to solve the need or problem. 18

  • 19

    Read a case-study about an ethical dilemma in a workplace (such as plagiarism) and craft an argument that develops and supports a claim about a potential solution to the challenge posed by applying communications and literacy skills.  19

  • 20

    Identify which Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) most closely aligns to your career interests. Research how to join and/or apply. If no CTSO at your middle or high school exists, consider and research steps to start one in the future. 20

  • 21

    Conduct five informational interviews with professionals in a career aligned to your interest. Compare responses to previously completed research expectation.

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?
Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8
Where can I read the official document?
Career Exploration Courses with Career Cluster Notes

Keep exploring

Keep exploring CTE standards

Sibling grade bands, other subjects in this jurisdiction, and the same subject across other states.

More Tennessee CTE sets

CTE