TEKS Revision Highlights

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Module Outcomes

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to do the following:

• Describe overall changes to the CTE TEKS, the specific changes to the Health Science Career Cluster, and the expected student outcomes for each health science course
• Explain how health science courses can contribute to completion of the public services endorsement as well as a performance acknowledgement or distinguished level of achievement
• Discover how the revised TEKS can guide students toward a fulfilling, successful career in health science

Introduction

Welcome educators! This module focuses on the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and updates related to the Health Science Career Cluster^®, one of the 16 state and nationally adopted Career Clusters for secondary career and technical education. CTE instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and to succeed in current or emerging professions. You will explore the role of the Health Science field of study in college and career preparation for students, as well as the rationale behind the changes and how they relate to business and industry standards. Get ready to learn how to best prepare your students for a dynamic health science environment and for a 21st century career in health science.

The health science TEKS outlines instruction in planning, managing, and providing therapeutic services, diagnostic services, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development. Through these courses, students may explore careers and develop critical employability skills and, in some areas, prepare and test for job-specific certifications.

The TEKS revisions to the Health Science area courses increase the currency, rigor, and relevance of the course content and support student demonstration of knowledge and skills to meet the opportunities and expectations of careers in the health sciences. In this course, you will learn about the changes to the TEKS and how to best implement practices that will support student mastery of the TEKS.
 

Structure of the TEKS

The TEKS for CTE are organized in a consistent format. Every CTE course includes general requirements and a standard course introduction that includes a description of CTE, a career cluster definition, a course description, sample extended learning opportunities, and clarifying statements.

General Requirements (high school only): Description of course credit, grade levels, prerequisites, and other requirements of the course.

Example of general requirements for Principles of Health Science—

(a) General requirements. This course is recommended for students in Grades 9 and 10. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course.

Introduction: Description of content of course and key information about the standards; often includes general information about the subject area.

Example introduction from Health Science Theory—

(b) Introduction.

(1) Career and technical education instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed in current or emerging professions.

(2) The Health Science Career Cluster focuses on planning, managing, and providing therapeutic services, diagnostic services, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development.

(3) The Health Science Theory course is designed to provide for the development of advanced knowledge and skills related to a wide variety of health careers. Students will employ hands-on experiences for continued knowledge and skill development.

(4) To pursue a career in the health science industry, students should recognize, learn to reason, think critically, make decisions, solve problems, and communicate effectively. Students should recognize that quality health care depends on the ability to work well with others.

(5) The health science industry is comprised of diagnostic, therapeutic, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development systems that function individually and collaboratively to provide comprehensive health care. Students should identify the employment opportunities, technology, and safety requirements of each system. Students are expected to apply 26 the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a health science career through further education and employment.

(6) Professional integrity in the health science industry is dependent on acceptance of ethical and legal responsibilities. Students are expected to employ their ethical and legal responsibilities, recognize limitations, and understand the implications of their actions.

(7) Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations and other leadership or extracurricular organizations.

(8) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

Knowledge and Skill Statements

• Broad statements of what students must know and be able to do
• Generally begin with a learning strand
• End with “the student is expected to”

Student Expectations

• Directly related to the knowledge and skill statement
• More specific about how students demonstrate their learning
• Begin with a verb

Example from Medical Terminology—

(4) The student examines available resources. The student is expected to:
(A) examine medical and dental dictionaries and multimedia resources;
(B) integrate resources to interpret technical materials; and
(C) investigate electronic media with appropriate supervision.

Employability Skills

Professional standards and employability skills identified in the Health Science career cluster TEKS focus on broad knowledge and skills to prepare students for employment in dynamic fields in the 21st century. TEKS review committee members were charged with determining employability skills appropriate for each course. Members referenced a resource from the Texas Workforce Commission, Workplace Basics—Skills for Baseline Job Preparation, for a descriptive list of 30 skills that employers are seeking in employees. You can find a link to this resource in the next section, Extend Your Learning: Tools and Resources.

Health Science students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of appropriate workplace behavior and the ability to work cooperatively as team members. Students are expected to demonstrate effective communication skills, ethical behavior, and time management skills.

Every CTE course begins with a knowledge and skills statement and student expectations that address employability skills.

Example employability skills from Mathematics for Medical Professionals—

(1) The student demonstrates professional standards/employability skills as required by business and industry. The student is expected to:
(A) express ideas in a clear, concise, and effective manner;
(B) exhibit the ability to cooperate, contribute, and collaborate as a member of a team; and
(C) demonstrate adaptability skills such as problem solving and creative thinking.

Students can develop these skills through coursework and work-based learning opportunities, as well as through extended learning opportunities such as career and technical student organizations (CTSOs).

Global Revisions

The review and revision process of the new CTE TEKS began in June 2014. The State Board of Education’s (SBOE) multi-phase adoption launched with the first group of CTE courses it adopted in April 2015 and the last group of CTE courses adopted in September 2015. Implementation of the new CTE TEKS is scheduled for the 2017–18 school year.

Key changes in the newly-adopted TEKS include

• the addition of 77 new courses;
• new lab-based courses to allow students more flexibility to satisfy graduation requirements;
• employability skills included in all CTE courses;
• elimination of ranges of credit;
• course title changes; and
• practicum course changes.

We will review all of these changes in this module.

The overall objective for the TEKS revisions is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to be successful in the modern economy. The revised knowledge and skills reflect current career expectations and include demonstrations of learning.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) website offers an important reference, the TEKS review committees' final draft recommendations for revisions to the CTE TEKS in November 2014 and February 2015, for reviewing the detailed changes to the TEKS as well as the crosswalk showing the correlation between the previous and the revised TEKS. The effective date for the TEKS implementation is August 28, 2017.

The revisions to the Health Science Career Cluster TEKS focus on ensuring students gain the essential knowledge and skills to plan, manage, and perform health science related activities that meet the needs of organizations.

Revisions Synopsis

The SBOE based changes to the Health Science cluster on teacher input and designed the courses to allow for more time in setting a foundation to ensure student success as students move to upper level courses in the coherent sequence. The SBOE eliminated half-credit courses and  modified credit assignments to eliminate credit ranges, with all health science courses assigned at least one full credit.

Pre-assessment

Complete the following pre-assessment questions to reflect on your current knowledge of the TEKS revision in relation to the Health Science Career Cluster.