Medium

Academic and college/career planning provides all students with the opportunity to identify strengths, areas in need of improvement and areas of interest early on so students and their families can set goals and make informed choices to support students in reaching their full potential and their desired outcomes.

Medium

NDCC 15.1-21-18.1 states, "A school district shall administer to students, once during their enrollment in grade seven or eight and once during their enrollment in grade nine or ten, a career interest inventory recommended by the Department of Career and Technical Education and approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Following is a list of approved career interest inventories:

This information will be reported on the STARS Individual Student Level Enrollment Report, which is due June 30 of each school year.

If you have questions regarding Career Interest Inventories, please contact the NDDPI at (701) 328-2244.

To earn a high school diploma in North Dakota, 22 units of credit are required in the following subjects:

  • 4 units of English Language Arts from a sequence that includes literature, composition, and speech
  • 3 units of Math
  • 3 units of Science from the options below
    • 1 unit Physical Science
    • 1 unit Biology
    • 1 unit of any other Science
      OR
    • 1 unit Biology
    • 1 unit Chemistry
    • 1 unit Physics
  • 3 units of Social Studies from the options below
    • 1 unit US History
    • 1/2 unit US Government and 1/2 unit Economics OR 1 unit Problems of Democracy                                                                                                                                              OR
    • 1 unit (or 2 half units) of any other Social Studies
  • 1 unit of Physical Education OR 1/2 unit of Physical Education and 1/2 unit of Health
  • 3 units in any combination of CTE, Foreign Languages, Native American Languages, or Fine Arts
  • 5 elective credits
  • 1 full credit of Computer Science or Cybersecurity. (This requirement may be waived if the student has completed a computer science or cybersecurity integration plan approved by the school board).

To obtain a PDF or Microsoft Word fillable worksheet or checklist containing this information, contact the Office of School Approval & Opportunity at (701) 328-2244.

All stakeholders will be involved in the career development process

  1. Parents will:
    • Actively engage with their children to discuss career options
    • Volunteer for school sponsored career exploration activities
  2. Teachers will:
    • Incorporate career integration across the K-12 curriculum
    • Supervise, support, and encourage students to participate in workplace experiences
    • Implement career ready practices (K-12)
  3. Community leaders will:
    • Provide opportunities for students to participate in workplace experiences
    • Participate in career fairs/school visits/industry tours enhancing exploration for students
  4. Students will:
    • Develop employment readiness skills
      • Career ready practices from CTE website (K-12)
      • Explore potential career opportunities (K-6)
      • Incorporate experiential career exploration (K-12)
      • Learning the process of making occupational choices and weighing options (5-8)
      • Ability to make occupational choices and weigh job options (9-12)
      • Process of obtaining a job (9-12)
        • Job search
        • Resume/job application skills
        • Job interview skills
      • Consider participating in workplace experiences (10-12)
      • Actively engage in career fairs/school visits/industry tours to enhance exploration (7-12)

1. ACT or WorkKeys Results

  • ND University System Admissions Placement Scores: Students with ACT English subtest scores of 14-17 or approved equivalents may take ENGL 110 if co-enrolled in a developmental English course with a co-enrollment option is made availably by the student's home campus, or after they have passed a developmental writing course with a passing grade equivalent of "C" or higher. Students with an English subtest score less than 14 must complete a developmental course prior to taking ENGL 110.

2. Career Planning

  • Post high school options for training and/or education
  • Patterns or trends from grades 7-8 and 9-12 interest inventories
  • Occupation research and planning, including:
    • Extended learning outside of school
    • Work experience
    • Interviews with people working in the career of interest
    • Volunteerism
    • Job shadowing
  • The importance of parallel planning, or having multiple high school education/career plans, when the student changes their mind:
    • Number of years postsecondary needed
    • Similar career opportunities with different or transferable coursework requirements
    • Learning style(s)
    • Career planning services available on campus (usually at no charge)
      • Student Support Office for assistance in career information and planning
      • Educational help when students are struggling with certain courses

3. Financial Aid

  • Completion of the FAFSA
  • ND Academic Scholarship
  • Local scholarship opportunities
  • Student loans or grants