Lesson Introduction

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

Public schools in Texas are required to teach the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The TEKS are the curriculum standards for state-approved courses for elementary and secondary schools. They can be found in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC).

As mentioned earlier, the TEKS state what students should know and be able to do by the completion of each course. TEKS for the courses that include WBL are found in two chapters of the TAC, Title 19, Part 2. (NOTE: Instructions on where and how to look up specific TEKS in the TAC are in Section 2 of this course.)

Thumbnail of a sample TEK
  • Chapter 127 of the TAC, Title 19, Part 2 contains the TEKS for Career Development courses. These are multi-cluster courses that provide students with the decision-making and problem-solving skills to help them identify and navigate their unique career development paths. The Career Development TEKS for high school courses are in Subchapter B.
  • Chapter 130 of the TAC, Title 19, Part 2 contains the TEKS for the state-approved courses for all 16 career clusters. The courses that predominantly use WBL are cluster-specific, and are considered practicum courses, or simply practicums.


Take a few moments to explore the TAC before moving on. Be sure to peruse some of the TEKS in chapters 127 and 130 in Title 19, Part 2.

High School Career Development Courses

While there are three high-school level career development courses listed in Chapter 127 of the TAC, Title 19, Section 2, only two are intended to be taught using WBL. They are:

  • Career Preparation I
  • Career Preparation II

Both courses must include a paid work experience.

Remember that career preparation is the third stage of the career development process. Career preparation courses prepare high school students for college and career success. To do this, the instructional content of the course must be relevant to current and emerging workforce demands as well as support student attainment of academic standards.


Three stages of the career development process: Stage 1 is Career Awareness; Stage 2 is Career Exploration; Stage 3 is Career Preparation

Career Preparation I

Female student mechanic
Career Preparation I is a high school course recommended for Texas students in grades 11 and 12 that uses authentic WBL methodology.

 

 

 

Click each item below to learn more about the course.


Take a few moments to review the TEKS for Career Preparation I before moving on.

Career Preparation II

Two male students on a survey crew
Career Preparation II is a high school course recommended for Texas students in grade 12. The recommended prerequisite is Career Preparation I.

 

 

 

 

 

Click each item below to learn more.


Take a few moments to review the TEKS for Career Preparation II before moving on.

High School CTE Practicum Courses

In addition to the two career preparation courses for high school students found in Chapter 127, there are 21 cluster-specific practicum courses in the TEKS under Chapter 130 that include a WBL component.

A practicum is generally defined as an advanced level course, often in a specialized field of study, where the student has an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills he or she is learning in class to a WBL experience. The work experience can be either paid or unpaid. In Texas public schools, a practicum course is a capstone experience for high school students participating in a coherent sequence of CTE courses.

Each of the 16 career clusters has at least one corresponding practicum course with the exception of the Finance cluster (Subchapter F), which uses the Practicum in Business Management as its practicum.  The Information Technology cluster (Subchapter K) uses Research in Information Technology Solutions as a practicum for students pursuing careers in Information Technology.

The following is a list of all of the practicum courses with links to their TEKS:

Subchapter A - §130.25 Practicum in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (2-3 credits)
Subchapter B - §130.45 Practicum in Interior Design (2-3 credits)
Subchapter B - §130.48 Practicum in Architectural Design (2-3 credits)
Subchapter B - §130.62 Practicum in Construction Management (2-3 credits)
Subchapter C - §130.87 Practicum in Audio/Video Production (2-3 credits)
Subchapter C - §130.90 Practicum in Graphic Design and Illustration (2-3 credits)
Subchapter C - §130.95 Practicum in Fashion Design (2-3 credits)
Subchapter C - §130.98 Practicum in Printing and Imaging Technology (2-3 credits)
Subchapter D - §130.122 Practicum in Business Management (2-3 credits)
Subchapter E - §130.145 Practicum in Education and Training (2-3 credits)
Subchapter F – §130.122 Finance uses Practicum in Business Management (2-3 credits)
Subchapter G - §130.190 Practicum in Local, State, and Federal Government (2-3 credits)
Subchapter H - §130.205 Practicum in Health Science (2-3 credits)
Subchapter I - §130.227 Practicum in Culinary Arts (2-3 credits)
Subchapter I - §130.229 Practicum in Hospitality Services (2-3 credits)
Subchapter J - §130.250 Practicum in Human Services (2-3 credits)
Subchapter K - §130.280 Research in Information Technology Solutions (2-3 credits)
Subchapter L - §130.301 Practicum in Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security (2-3 credits)
Subchapter M - §130.330 Practicum in Manufacturing (2-3 credits)
Subchapter N - §130.348 Practicum in Marketing Dynamics (2-3 credits)
Subchapter O - §130.374 Practicum in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (2-3 credits)
Subchapter P - §130.404 Practicum in Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics (2-3 credits)

 

Quick Check

Lesson Review

Lesson Conclusion