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https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/checklists/12th-grade

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Students need to "share" their Xello Profiles with parents.

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Students To Do: Meet with your school counselor or mentor to discuss colleges and their requirements. Consider taking a practice Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), or check out the ACT Aspire exam "sandbox."

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Students To Do: Take challenging classes in core academic subjects. Most colleges require four years of English, at least three years of social studies (history, civics, geography, economics, etc.), three years of mathematics, and three years of science, and many require two years of a foreign language.

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College Resources for Parents

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Another similar resource is available on the CollegeBoard's site The Big Future. This service from the College Board provides tools for planning the future, including a college search that allows students to filter by location, major, selectivity, and almost any other important feature. It also offers help for students who aren't quite sure where to start by offering some questions to help them begin to frame their thinking.

5. Use a College List Generator

One of the most critical parts of the entire college application process is the college list. This is the list of colleges to which your student will ultimately apply, so it needs to be curated carefully with an eye towards specific priorities such as areas of specialty and size, and an eye for selectivity that represents a good balance between reach, target, and safety schools for your student.

To learn more about the college list, check out these posts:
Seven Tips for Creating Your College List Five Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your College List 10 Considerations For Making Your College List
For more help, consider our comprehensive College Applications Guidance program . Here, we use a customized and innovative Chancing Engine and School List Generator , backed by an algorithm backed by over 100,000 data points to develop a school list based on your student's real admissions chances and preferences.

6. Get Familiar With the Common Application

7. Be Realistic About Financial Needs

If you're like most families, finances are a consideration in the college search. From the beginning, you'll need to be honest with your teen about your financial situation and ensure that he or she understands the ramifications of this on college choices.

It's even more helpful if you can help your teen fill out the financial aid forms required for federal funding. These required information that your teen probably does not normally have access to, such as taxes. Having this information handy eases the burden for your teen and provides a realistic overview for both you and your child when estimating your out-of-pocket expenses for college tuition.

The college application process can be stressful for both students and parents alike, but getting started early and capitalizing on the resources available will ease the burden for both of you. Use these online tools to help your teen as he or she navigates the college application process.

For more information about helping your teen through the college application process, see these CollegeVine posts:
Parents, How Involved Should You be in the Application Process? Parent Perspective: What You Need to Know About Today's College Applications How Can I Help My Child Prepare for College Applications? What Parents Need to Know About SAT and ACT Studying Prep

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how parents can help with college applications

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7 Online College Planning Resources for Parents

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At CollegeVine we make it our job to know exactly how parents can support their kids through high school, the college application process, and beyond. To learn more about some resources that you can use to support your teen as he or she applies to college, check out our top tips below.

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College Admissions Prep in 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Grade

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College Admissions Prep in 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Grade

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College Admissions Prep in 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Grade

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College Admissions Prep in 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Grade

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https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/

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act.org,actprofile.org,act.org,actstudent.org,act.alertline.com,services.actstudent.org,career4.successfactors.com,engage.act.org,discoveractaspire.org,qc.vantage.com,myworkkeys.act.org,twitter.com,facebook.com,youtube.com,plus.google.com,linkedin.com,preview.act.org,workreadycommunities.org,pearson.com,instagram.com,actaspire.org,run2.careerready101.com,run2.keytrain.com,leadershipblog.act.org

Back to School!

ACT knows you're giving all you can to your students, presenting them with an education that's all about equity in learning. We want to be your GPS to success in giving every student an equal opportunity to fully understand what they need for future success AND jump-start their momentum down the path to making their goals a reality.
As you prepare for going back to school, access FREE events and materials to learn how to do just that!

My Journey College and Career Planning Virtual Event
September 24, 2022
This event provides valuable information to help students and parents confidently navigate the college admissions process.

ACT College and Career Readiness Workshops

Attend a College and Career Readiness Workshop to learn more about the programs and services that ACT offers to help you ensure your students are on the right path.

Back to School Materials for Counselors

Access materials with information to help students register for the National ACT test, learn about test prep options, and much more, including expanded resources for Spanish-speaking students and their parents!

PreACT Secure: Designed for Grade 10 - Delivered Online!

Assessment scores indicate whether students are on-track to college and career readiness and can inform high school course selection, college and career planning, and test preparation activities. Due to its secure nature, the assessment gives schools, districts or states the ability to use for high-stakes or accountability purposes. PreACT Secure is now available to enroll for spring 2023.

The ACT Mission: Helping People Achieve Education and Workplace Success

Each year, ACT serves millions of students, job seekers, schools, government agencies, and employers in the US and around the world with learning resources, assessments, research, and credentials designed to help them succeed from elementary school through career.

"I want to thank ACT and everyone involved with the scholarship for this opportunity and to tell children who look like me, or have a background like me, that it is possible to become who you want to be."

Sage Rodriguez, ACT Scholar and Kirkwood Community College Student

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ACT | College and Career Readiness Solutions

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No matter how you prep for the ACT-whether you have a tutor, take a class, or study by yourself- you must get access to official ACT tests. These tests are released by ACT, Inc. and contain real questions given to actual students on previous test dates. These questions have been removed from circulation (so you won't ever see them on a real test), but their quality is second to none when it comes to ACT realism.

In this post, I'll tell you how to find all currently available official ACT practice tests. Most are free and offer a good way to get your feet wet with ACT prep. We'll also discuss how to use these tests to improve your ACT score.

A Quick Intro to ACT Practice Tests

The ACT format hasn't changed much in the past decade ( except for the essay), so tests released in 2008 are almost as good as tests released in 2018. We'll give you the tests in the following section, and then teach you how to best make use of them.

All Free, Full-Length ACT Practice Tests

The following ACT practice tests are totally free. We've gathered all of them together in one place for your convenience.

Currently, there are six PDF tests that you can print out and take on paper:

Notice a few years missing? That's because ACT, Inc. duplicates the same test in different years. For example, the 2015-16 test is identical to the 2016-17 and 2017-18 tests. We've included the form ID with each test so that you can confirm for yourself what's the same and what's not (you can find this code at the bottom-left of each page on the tests).

There is also one ACT free online sample test. Although the test format is a little clunky, it's overall a convenient digital resource. To use it, click through each section to answer questions in short batches.

Once you receive your scores for a question set, you'll move on to the next batch of questions. Unfortunately, these features make it impossible to take this ACT test under realistic timing conditions, but at least you can get some helpful practice with it.

2 Official ACT Practice Test Resources You Can Buy

So far, we've given you all free, official ACT practice tests. But what about paid practice tests? For even more high-quality practice, consider buying the following official ACT practice tests.

Price: About $25

This official prep book is definitely the best resource for realistic ACT practice questions. Don't bother using Kaplan or The Princeton Review for practice tests, as their quality is far inferior to the tests created by ACT, Inc.

The 2018-19 edition includes (which has four full-length ACT practice tests with essay prompts. While one of these tests is completely new, the other three are the same tests as those in the 2018 and 2016-17 editions and also have a lot of overlap with the free PDFs above. Therefore, you might want to consider buying a copy of the third edition instead of or in addition to the 2018-19 edition. five totally unique practice tests)

Price: $39.95

This official online program includes one extra full-length ACT practice test and many authentic practice questions that reflect the most recent changes to the ACT. The online prep material isn't all that great, so you're really only buying it for the tests.

How to Use Official ACT Tests: 4 Tips

Because each ACT practice test takes about four hours to complete, it's important for you to get the most out of every one you take. Below, we go over some important tips to keep in mind when taking these official ACT practice tests:

But before we get to our tips, it's worth reiterating that practice tests can't be used to address all possible ACT problems. If you're struggling to understand certain concepts, for example, you'll need to make sure you're brushing up on your content review and learning difficult topics from scratch. So while ACT practice tests are an excellent way to track your progress, they certainly aren't the only resources out there!

Now, we'll show you how you can use ACT practice tests to your advantage.

#1: Take Each Test in One Sitting

The ACT is a marathon that forces you to sit and concentrate for four hours on an early Saturday morning. You need to build up your test-taking stamina so that you don't make careless mistakes at the end of the exam.

By taking each ACT practice test in one sitting, you'll increase your endurance for the real test. If you don't have time in your schedule for a four-hour session, splitting it up over multiple days is OK-as long as you heed our next tip.

#2: Use Official Time Limits

It is critical that you recreate the time limits on the ACT as you take practice tests. Each section requires you to answer one or more questions in about a minute, which causes most students to end up with less time than they need, especially on the Math section.

But don't be tempted to give yourself even two extra minutes, as this could unfairly let you finish more questions, thereby improving your score substantially. Remember that ACT practice tests should be reliable indicators of your real ACT score. If you give yourself more time than what's allowed on the test, you won't be able to see where you're actually scoring.

#3: Review Your Answers

At the end of every test, be sure to review every mistake you made as well as every question you got correct. If you bypass this step, you're not going to learn from your mistakes, and you'll continue making the same ones over and over again.

A rule of thumb is to spend at least two hours reviewing every full ACT practice test you take. Though this is time consuming, it's important that you emphasize quality of learning over quantity of learning. In the end, it's better to take three tests with detailed review than it is to take six tests with no review.

#4: No Improvement? Supplement Your Practice Tests

While some students can learn from their mistakes, others need guidance to point out where their weaknesses are and assignments to help them directly improve upon their weak points.

A good prep program can supercharge your ACT prep so that you're always focusing on the best material. We've designed it to cover Check out our industry-leading online ACT prep program. all the advantages of ACT books and tutors-and more-at an affordable price. Featuring in-depth strategy lessons and thousands of practice questions, our program uses the best content from the leading prep books.

It also guides you step by step through what you should be working on at every moment to best improve your ACT score. This works by customizing to your strengths and weaknesses, and then giving you focused practice to help you learn the patterns on the test. Finally, it motivates you to study so that you put in enough time.

There's a 4-point guarantee, too-meaning thatif you don't improve your score by 4 points or more, you'll get all of your money back!

For other ACT prep resources, take a look at our guides to the best ACT prep books, the best ACT websites, and how to find an ACT tutor.

What's Next?

Want more ACT practice? Check out our massive collection of official and unofficial ACT practice tests. And if you're hoping to hone your math skills specifically, we've compiled the best ACT Math practice tests in a separate guide.

Taken the ACT already but unhappy with your score? Use our guide to decide whether you should retake the ACT.

Not sure when to take the ACT? Get a complete study plan for the ACT to figure out the best date for you.

Check out our industry leading ACT prep program. We have a 4 point improvement guarantee - improve your ACT composite score by 4 points, or get every dollar of your money back. We're that confident in our program.

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Complete Official ACT Practice Tests, Free Links

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No matter how you prep for the ACT-whether you have a tutor, take a class, or study by yourself- you must get access to official ACT tests. These tests are released by ACT, Inc. and contain real questions given to actual students on previous test dates.

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18 ACT Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Score

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Need quick ACT tips and tricks to improve your score? Get our tips in ACT Math, Science, English, and Reading to boost your ACT score quickly.

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https://ggia.berkeley.edu

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New to
Xello

Introducing Xello for Higher Education:

Enabling colleges to create authentic connections with prospective students.

14x

more engaging than the average education software program

20%

of student logins happen outside of school hours

1M +

hours spent using Xello each academic year

Engage Your Students, Empower Your Educators

Accessible, Secure, and Trustworthy

Built to meet the needs of today's schools and students, Xello is FERPA compliant, EdFi-certified, meets WCAG 2.0 (Level AA) standards, and is part of the Student Privacy Pledge.

Trusted by Districts and State Departments From Coast to Coast

Book a Demo with Our Experts

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College & Career Readiness Software that Inspires Students | Xello

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Xello is engaging college and career readiness software that unlocks every student's potential by opening their eyes to future possibilities and equipping them with the self-knowledge, skills and confidence to build actionable plans for future success.

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Important: Do your research on these!

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Though there are two major sources of student loans - federal and private - the federal side dominates the action, both in amount of money available and loan repayment programs.

There were 21 million students enrolled in colleges and universities in the fall of 2016 and eight million of them received federal loans from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The students took in $136.3 billion in loans, or about $17,040 per student.

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program includes Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans and Direct Consolidation Loans. Those four loan programs account for 80% of the federal loans made for college students.

For many people, a college education is impossible to obtain without borrowing money to pay for it. The average student loan debt for 2016 college graduates who borrowed for college, was $37,172 and 70% of the graduates left school owing money.

Private student loans are available, but every expert, even those who work for banks and credit unions, advise students to exhaust all avenues for federal aid first. Private student loans have some conditions and terms - very good credit or a co-signer needed - that make them difficult. The interest rates usually are higher than those on federal loans and there are some involved that aren't part of federal loans.

Student loans come in many shapes and sizes, and the regulations for them can be different as well. There are several types for which you may be eligible.

Stafford and Perkins loans are federal loans given directly to the student. This type of loan, which is funded with government money, comes with low interest rates and favorable repayment options. It also requires no credit check or collateral. They can be consolidated upon graduation, which is an important factor when it comes time for repayment.

PLUS loans, originally called Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students, were created so parents could help fund their children's educations. Now, parents may take out Parent PLUS loans and graduate students may use Grad PLUS loans.

Some students may also be eligible for private loans or health professional loans, depending on their credit standing and area of study, respectively.

If the combination of paying off credit card debt, auto loans and student loans becomes overwhelming, a debt consolidation plan could ease your financial difficulties.

Stafford Loans

Stafford Loans are more common than Perkins Loans, the other type of federal student loans. Money for these loans comes directly from the federal government in a program called the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP).

There are two types of Stafford Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. The type helps determine your interest rate and maximum loan amount.

Subsidized Stafford Loans

If your loan is subsidized, you won't be responsible for making any payments until after you graduate. Your interest rate typically should be 3.76% in 2017-2018 school year. The government pays your interest for you while you're in school.

Subsidized loans are reserved for students who can demonstrate a financial hardship. Most go to students whose families' annual income is less than $50,000.

If you're an undergraduate, the maximum annual amount of a subsidized loan depends on your year in school. Freshmen can borrow up to $3,500; sophomores $4,500; and third-year students and beyond can borrow up to $5,500 in subsidized loans. You cannot accrue more than $23,000 in subsidized Stafford Loans throughout your undergraduate studies.

Unsubsidized Stafford Loans

If you have an unsubsidized loan, you're responsible for paying off all the interest. In 2017, interest rates were fixed at 3.76% while you're in school, but payments are typically deferred - or postponed - until after you graduate. All students are eligible for this type of loan.

Your annual Stafford Loan limit for unsubsidized loans ranges from $5,500 to $12,500, depending on your year in school and whether you are claimed as a dependent on someone's tax return. You are eligible for a larger loan if you are financially independent. If you're financially dependent but your parents are ineligible for Parent PLUS loans, you're permitted the same maximum loans as if you were independent.

If you're a graduate student, you have a higher annual limit of $20,500. In total, your undergraduate and graduate Stafford Loans cannot exceed $138,500.

If you're a medical student, you have the highest limits. You may borrow up to $40,500 annually and $224,000 in total.

Direct Consolidation Loans

Most students receive loans from a different borrower every year, if not every semester, so it is commonplace to have 8-10 student loan payments due every month when you finally graduate.

You can simplify the repayment process by applying for a Direct Consolidation Loan, which can best be defined as: one payment to one servicer, once a month.

The Direct Consolidation loan is a fixed-interest loan with flexible options, based on your ability to repay. There is no fee to consolidate, though you can only do it once. It could lower your monthly payments, but also could extend the amount of time needed to pay off the loan.

Direct Consolidation Loans cut down on the torture of having to remember multiple due dates for various amounts to a lot of lenders. It also should help reduce (or eliminate) late fees when you miss a payment.

The downside is that, depending on which Direct Consolidation Loan program you choose, you could end up stretching payments over a longer period and paying more in interest on the debt. Also, you could lose some of the benefits offered by the original loan such as eligibility for loan forgiveness programs and interest rate discounts.

Private student loans are not eligible for the Direct Consolidation Loan program.

Perkins Loans

The Perkins Loan program was extremely popular with need-based college students, but recent legislations will bring it to an abrupt end on Sept. 30, 2017.

The Perkins Loan Program effectively shuts down that day, unless a student already has received a Perkins disbursement for the 2017-2018 academic year. In that case, the student would continue to receive disbursements for the remainder of the 2017-2018 academic year, but not beyond that.

Perkins Loans were more desirable than Stafford Loans because they were subsidized (government paid the interest while you were in school) and had a fixed interest rate of 5%. Other advantages of the Perkins loan included a longer grace period (nine months) before repayment began and special loan forgiveness provisions.

Because of their favorable terms, Perkins Loans were reserved for students who show exceptional financial need. The loans were granted by a college and not all schools participated.

PLUS Loans

PLUS loans are available for both parents and graduate students. Parent PLUS loans are for parents of dependent undergraduate students, and Grad PLUS loans are for graduate students themselves.

As with other education loans, PLUS loans are funded directly by the federal government. But unlike traditional student loans, they have no maximum amounts and can be used to cover any education costs not covered by other financial aid. They have a fixed interest rate of 6.31% for loans made in 2017.

Private Education Loans

Private education loans, also called alternative education loans, are an option for students and parents who still can't meet financial obligations for attending college, even with money available through federal loans.

The volume of private student loans peaked at $18.1 billion in 2008 but has dropped to $7.8 billion in 2015. A disproportionate number of private student loans are used at for-profit colleges.

Private education loans more closely resemble personal loans than student and parent loans. Your eligibility and interest rate depend on your credit history. Your interest rate could be fixed or variable and is typically higher than with federally guaranteed education loans but lower than with other debts like credit card debt.

Other drawbacks on private loans are that they are note subsidized; some require payments while you're still in school; and deferment and forbearance options are very limited.

Health Professions Student Loans

Specialized student loans exist for students studying specific areas of medicine such as nursing, sports medicine or veterinary medicine. Each loan has its own requirements about accepted areas of study and financial need.

Learn more about medical education loans from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Despite your financial standing or field of study, you can find an education loan that suits your needs. It can help you and your family to fund your higher education and reduce the financial burden of school.

Comparing Federal Loans vs. Private Loans

The majority of student loans are made through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, but when students need more help to complete their college education, they turn to private lenders, such as banks or credit unions.

The major difference between federal student loans and private student loans is the cost and the use of credit scores in determining eligibility.

Undergraduate students applying for federal loans will not have to go through a credit check. Graduate students seeking federal loans must go through a credit check and could be denied loans if there is adverse information in their credit history.

Credit checks are the norm for public loans. A credit score of 640 or better is required and, depending on the terms and conditions, you may need a score much higher than that to be approved.

Other differences between public and private student loans include:

Interest rates on federal loans are fixed. The interest rates on private student loans can be variable or fixed and are usually higher.

Undergraduate borrowers who can demonstrate financial need could receive a federal subsidized loan, meaning the government pays the interest until you graduate. Private loans are never subsidized. You pay all the interest.

Federal loans offer flexible repayment options and loan forgiveness programs. Private loans have few repayment options and no loan forgiveness programs.

Federal loans don't have to be repaid until you graduate or drop below half-time status as a student. Many private loans ask for repayment while you're still in school.

Student Loan Debt?

You can consolidate your loans or get your loans forgiven.

More From This Author

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Types of Student Loans: Federal & Private Loan Options

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Though there are two major sources of student loans - federal and private - the federal side dominates the action, both in amount of money available and loan repayment programs. There were 21 million students enrolled in colleges and universities in the fall of 2016 and eight million of them received federal loans from the William D.

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21st Century skills are 12 abilities that today's students need to succeed in their careers during the Information Age.
The twelve 21st Century skills are:

1. Critical thinking

2. Creativity

3. Collaboration

4. Communication

5. Information literacy

6. Media literacy

7. Technology literacy

8. Flexibility

9. Leadership

10. Initiative

11. Productivity

12. Social skills

These skills are intended to help students keep up with the lightning-pace of today's modern markets. Each skill is unique in how it helps students, but they all have one quality in common.

They're essential in the age of the Internet.
On this page, we'll take a look at what's included in 21st Century skills, how they help students, and why they're so important.
You'll also be able to download a free guide on how you can teach 21st Century skills in middle or high school courses.

To start, let's dive into the three categories that 21st Century skills fall into.

The Three 21st Century Skill Categories

Each 21st Century skill is broken into one of three categories:

1. Learning skills

2. Literacy skills

3. Life skills

Learning skills (the four C's) teaches students about the mental processes required to adapt and improve upon a modern work environment.

Literacy skills (IMT) focuses on how students can discern facts, publishing outlets, and the technology behind them. There's a strong focus on determining trustworthy sources and factual information to separate it from the misinformation that floods the Internet.

Life skills (FLIPS) take a look at intangible elements of a student's everyday life. These intangibles focus on both personal and professional qualities.

Altogether, these categories cover all 12 21st Century skills that contribute to a student's future career.

This is not an exhaustive checklist of career readiness skills - but they're the career readiness skills that overlap with 21st Century skills!

Let's take a closer look at each category.

Category 1. Learning Skills (The Four C's)

The four C'sare by far the most popular 21st Century skills. These skills are also called learning skills.

More educators know about these skills because they're universal needs for any career. They also vary in terms of importance, depending on an individual's career aspirations.
The 4 C's of 21st Century Skills are:

Critical thinking: Findingsolutions to problems

Creativity: Thinking outside the box

Collaboration: Working with others

Communication: Talking to others

Arguably, critical thinking is the most important quality for someone to have in health sciences.
In business settings, critical thinking is essential to improvement. It's the mechanism that weeds out problems and replaces them with fruitful endeavors.

It's what helps students figure stuff out for themselves when they don't have a teacher at their disposal.
Related Resources:
Bonus Resource: Free Critical Thinking Lesson Download
Creativity is equally important as a means of adaptation. This skill empowers students to see concepts in a different light, which leads to innovation.
In any field, innovation is key to the adaptability and overall success of a company.

Learning creativity as a skill requires someone to understand that "the way things have always been done" may have been best 10 years ago - but someday, that has to change.
Collaboration means getting students to work together, achieve compromises, and get the best possible results from solving a problem.
Collaboration may be the most difficult concept in the four C's. But once it's mastered, it can bring companies back from the brink of bankruptcy.

The key element of collaboration is willingness. All participants have to be willing to sacrifice parts of their own ideas and adopt others to get results for the company.

That means understanding the idea of a "greater good," which in this case tends to be company-wide success.
Related Resources: Finally, communication is the glue that brings all of these educational qualities together.
Communication is a requirement for any company to maintain profitability. It's crucial for students to learn how to effectively convey ideas among different personality types.

That has the potential to eliminate confusion in a workplace, which makes your students valuable parts of their teams, departments, and companies.

Effective communication is also one of the most underrated soft skills in the United States. For many, it's viewed as a "given," and some companies may even take good communication for granted.

But when employees communicate poorly, whole projects fall apart. No one can clearly see the objectives they want to achieve. No one can take responsibility because nobody's claimed it.

Without understanding proper communication, students in the 21st Century will lack a pivotal skill to progress their careers.
Related Resources:
But the four C's are only the beginning. 21st Century skills also require students to understand the information that's around them.

Category 2. Literacy Skills (IMT)
Literacy skills are the next category of 21st Century skills.
They're sometimes called IMT skills, and they're each concerned with a different element in digital comprehension.
The three 21st Century literacy skills are:

Information literacy: Understanding facts, figures, statistics, and data

Media literacy: Understanding the methods and outlets in which information is published

Technology literacy: Understanding the machines that make the Information Age possible

Information literacy is the foundational skill. It helps students understand facts, especially data points, that they'll encounter online.
More importantly, it teaches them how to separate fact from fiction.

In an age of chronic misinformation, finding truth online has become a job all on its own. It's crucial that students can identify honesty on their own.
Related Resources: Media literacy is the practice of identifying publishing methods, outlets, and sources while distinguishing between the ones that are credible and the ones that aren't.
Otherwise, they can fall prey to myths, misconceptions, and outright lies.

Just like the previous skill, media literacy is helpful for finding truth in a world that's saturated with information.

This is how students find trustworthy sources of information in their lives. Without it, anything that lookscredible becomes credible.

But with it, they can learn which media outlets or formats to ignore. They also learn which ones to embrace, which is equally important.

Last, technology literacy goes another step further to teach students about the machines involved in the Information Age.

As computers, cloud programming, and mobile devices become more important to the world, the world needs more people to understand those concepts.

Technology literacy gives students the basic information they need to understand what gadgets perform what tasks and why.

This understanding removes the intimidating feeling that technology tends to have. After all, if you don't understand how technology works, it might as well be magic.

But technology literacy unmasks the high-powered tools that run today's world.

As a result, students can adapt to the world more effectively. They can play an important role in its evolution.

They might even guide its future.

But to truly round out a student's 21st Century skills, they need to learn from a third category.

Category 3. Life Skills (FLIPS)
The five 21st Century life skills are:
Life skills is the final category. Also called FLIPS, these skills all pertain to someone's personal life, but they also bleed into professional settings.
Flexibility is the expression of someone's ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Flexibility: Deviating from plans as needed

Leadership: Motivating a team to accomplish a goal

Initiative: Starting projects, strategies, and plans on one's own

Productivity: Maintaining efficiency in an age of distractions

Social skills: Meeting and networking with others for mutual benefit

This is one of the most challenging qualities to learn for students because it's based on two uncomfortable ideas:

1. Your way isn't always the best way

2. You have to know and admit when you're wrong

That's a struggle for a lot of students, especially in an age when you can know any bit of information at the drop of a hat.

Flexibility requires them to show humility and accept that they'll always have a lot to learn - even when they're experienced.
Leadership is someone's penchant for setting goals, walking a team through the steps required, and achieving those goals collaboratively.
Still, flexibility is crucial to a student's long-term success in a career. Knowing when to change, how to change, and how to react to change is a skill that'll pay dividends for someone's entire life.

It also plays a big role in the next skill in this category.

Whether someone's a seasoned entrepreneur or a fresh hire just starting their careers, leadership applies to career.

Entry-level workers need leadership skills for several reasons. The most important is that it helps them understand the decisions that managers and business leaders make.
Related Resources: True success also requires initiative, requiring students to be self-starters.
Then, those entry-level employees canapply their leadership skills when they're promoted to middle management (or the equivalent). This is where 21st Century skill learners can apply the previous skills they've learned.

It's also where they get the real-world experience they need to lead entire companies.

As they lead individual departments, they can learn the ins and outs of their specific careers. That gives ambitious students the expertise they need to grow professionally and lead whole corporations.

Initiative only comes naturally to a handful of people. As a result, students need to learn it to fully succeed.

This is one of the hardest skills to learn and practice. Initiative often means working on projects outside of regular working hours.

The rewards for students with extreme initiative vary from person to person. Sometimes they're good grades. Other times they're new business ventures.
Along with initiative, 21st Century skills require students to learn about productivity. That's a student's ability to complete work in an appropriate amount of time.
Sometimes, it's spending an extra 30 minutes at their jobs wrapping something up before the weekend.

Regardless, initiative is an attribute that earns rewards. It's especially indicative of someone's character in terms of work ethic and professional progress.

That goes double when initiative is practiced with qualities like flexibility and leadership.

In business terms, it's called "efficiency."

The common goal of any professional - from entry-level employee to CEO - is to get more done in less time.

By understanding productivity strategies at every level, students discover the ways in which they work best while gaining an appreciation for how others work as well.

That equips them with the practical means to carry out the ideas they determine through flexibility, leadership, and initiative.

Still, there's one last skill that ties all other 21st Century skills together.

Social skills are crucial to the ongoing success of a professional. Business is frequently done through the connections one person makes with others around them.

This concept of networking is more active in some industries than others, but proper social skills are excellent tools for forging long-lasting relationships.

While these may have been implied in past generations, the rise of social media and instant communications have changed the nature of human interaction.

As a result, today's students possess a wide range of social skills. Some are more socially adept than others. Some are far behind their peers. And some lucky few may be far ahead, as socializing comes naturally to them.

But most students need a crash course in social skills at least. Etiquette, manners, politeness, and small talk still play major roles in today's world.

That means some students need to learn them in an educational setting instead of a social setting.

For them, it's another skill to add to their lives.

Now that we've established what 21st Century skills are, let's answer the next big question.

Do employers actually want people with 21st Century skills?

What's the Demand for 21st Century Skills?

While 21st Century skills have always been important, they've become essential in a worldwide market that moves faster by the day.

These skills all double back to one key focus.

Someone's ability to enact and / or adapt to change.

This is because any industry is capable of changing at a moment's notice. Industries are now regularly disrupted with new ideas and methodologies.

Those industries that haven't been disrupted aren't immune though. They just haven't been disruptedyet.

With that in mind, the world has entered an era where nothing is guaranteed.

As a result, students need to learn to guide the change that'll inundate their lives. At the very least, they need to learn how to react to it.

Otherwise, they'll be left behind.

This is especially true as customer demand accelerates in all industries along with expectations for newer features, higher-level capabilities, and lower prices.

In today's marketplace, falling behind means becoming obsolete.

That's a familiar concept to all of today's students as tomorrow's advancements make today's miracles quaint or unimpressive.

Today, the only consistency from year to year is change.

That's why many teachers like you are incorporating the 21st Century Skills Assessment into their career readiness courses.

With 21st Century skills, your students will have the adaptive qualities they need to keep up with a business environment that's constantly evolving.

How Do You Teach 21st Century Skills?
While these skills can be taught at any grade level, we find it's most important to teach 21st Century skills in middle or early high school.
Now you know what 21st Century skills are and why employers want new hires to have them.

So how do you teach them in your daily classes?

Before getting into the details, it's important to identify who should teach 21st Century skills.

This is the time when your students need to hone their career readiness skills before they enter the workforce!

So how can middle and high school teachers teach 21st Century skills effectively?

Click below to download the Ultimate Guide to Teaching 21st Century Skills in Secondary Schools and find out!

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21st Century skills are 12 abilities that today's students need to succeed in their careers during the Information Age. The twelve 21st Century skills are: Critical thinking Creativity Collaboration Communication Information literacy Media literacy Technology literacy Flexibility Leadership Initiative Productivity Social skills These skills are intended to help students keep up with the lightning-pace of today's modern markets.

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Great career research site!

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Detailed descriptions of the world-of-work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, developers, researchers, and more. Individuals can find, search, or browse across 900+ occupations based on their goals and needs. Comprehensive reports include occupation requirements, worker characteristics, and available training, education, and job opportunities.

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Learn about high demand, high wage occupations near you, as well as opening forecasts, wages and more.

Find high school and college courses plus other opportunities to gain knowledge and experience in high demand occupations.

DISCLAIMER, TERMS OF USE AND OTHER LEGAL INFORMATION:
By using or accessing this web site, I agree to its Terms of Use and all other Policies. The Terms of Use and all other Policies are incorporated by reference. I acknowledge and agree that all links to external sources are provided purely as a courtesy to me as a web site user or visitor. Neither the State of Kansas, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Kansas Board of Regents, the Kansas Department of Labor, nor the Kansas Department of Education are responsible for or endorse in any way any materials, information, goods, or services available through such linked sites, any privacy policies, or any other practices of such sites. I acknowledge and agree that the Terms of Use and all other legal information are available to me, by clicking the link above. This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded by the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The solution was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the US Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This solution is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use, by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes, is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

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Learn about high demand, high wage occupations near you, as well as opening forecasts, wages and more. Find high school and college courses plus other opportunities to gain knowledge and experience in high demand occupations. DISCLAIMER, TERMS OF USE AND OTHER LEGAL INFORMATION: By using or accessing this web site, I agree to its Terms of Use and all other Policies.

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Figure out how much a degree will cost. (These are estimates, take them with a grain of salt.)
https://ksdegreestats.org/program_search.jsp

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Check out trends in the labor market.

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The Occupational Outlook Handbook is the government's premier source of career guidance featuring hundreds of occupations-such as carpenters, teachers, and veterinarians. Revised annually, the latest version contains employment projections for the 2022-32 decade.

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Great resource for career exploration, training, and jobs.

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Notice: This site contains certain statistical and financial data relating to activities of the Department of Administration of the State of Kansas and has not been prepared or maintained as a source of investor information and should not be relied upon for investment purposes. Investor information regarding State bonds is available at www.emma.msrb.org.

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I send links for scholarships out to students via email and upload them to the spreadsheet below. If there are questions or items that need my assistance, I am happy to help!

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Create a new spreadsheet and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Sheets to edit Excel files. Free from Google.

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Create a new spreadsheet and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Sheets to edit Excel files. Free from Google.

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Check out the scholarship page at emporia.edu. This is a great example of the multitude of scholarships that are available within the institution you are interested in.

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Emporia State University offers a host of scholarships and tuition discount programs.

Our tuition discount programs include Corky Plus and MSEP and NEARR. Students who live in certain counties in Missouri are eligible for Corky Plus. The Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Our Sunflower Scholarship is a renewable $5,000 scholarship for students who do not qualify for in-state, Corky Plus or NEARR discounts.

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Emporia State University offers a host of scholarships and tuition discount programs. Our tuition discount programs include Corky Plus and MSEP and NEARR. Students who live in certain counties in Missouri are eligible for Corky Plus. The Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Ohio.

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Great scholarship website!

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Find Scholarships for College for FREE | Fastweb

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Fastweb offers students an easy and secure way to find and apply for scholarships. Quickly browse thousands of scholarships by a variety of themes, college major, trade school program, or interest, unique situations and more.

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An overview of the Individual Plan of Study for Parents.

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College & Career Readiness Software that Inspires Students | Xello

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Xello is engaging college and career readiness software that unlocks every student's potential by opening their eyes to future possibilities and equipping them with the self-knowledge, skills and confidence to build actionable plans for future success.