National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1090

For Immediate Release

Stanley Rabinowitz, Director, Assessment and Standards Development Services 
program at WestEd; Mary Shumway, State Director, Applied Technology 
Education Services; and John Foster, Vice President, National Association 
for the State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium, will 
present "Next Steps in Technical Skills Assessment" during a live webcast 
from the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education, 
The Ohio State University, on Tuesday, November 30, at 3 p.m. EST.

You can view the webcast from any computer with Internet access at:
http://www.nccte.org/webcasts/description.asp?wc=140. If you cannot view 
the webcast live, you can view the archived webcast on the National 
Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education Web site at 
www.nccte.org.

The National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) report has been 
available for several months, and one of the identified needs of the study 
is to focus on technical skill attainment. When that need is compounded 
with the increasing interest in career clusters, industry clusters, and 
industry skill certification, the result is a nationwide mandate for 
technical skill assessment. Learn how states are responding to these 
interests and how career and technical education can provide technical 
training and technical assessment to the benefit of participating students, 
employer, and the economy.

Stanley Rabinowitz is the director of the Assessment and Standards 
Development Services program at WestEd. His expertise includes the 
development and implementation of large-scale standards, assessment, and 
accountability systems to support school reform He has authored a number of 
published papers on issues related to the use of integrated standards and 
assessment systems in high-stakes state programs and worker training 
initiatives. His background includes extensive experience in program 
management and evaluation, and in applied statistics and psychometrics. 
Rabinowitz is also director of WestEd's U.S. Department of 
Education-designated National Assessment and Accountability Specialty 
Laboratory program whose primary responsibility is assisting states in 
implementing the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, in 
particular as they relate to exceptional student population (students with 
disabilities and English-learners).

Rabinowitz has worked on developing and administering several statewide 
standards, assessment, and accountability systems including California, 
Kentucky, Arizona, Nevada, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Utah, 
Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. Prior to coming to 
WestEd, Rabinowitz served as the director of statewide assessment for the 
New Jersey Department of Education. He received his Ph.D. in Educational 
Psychology and Statistics from the State University of New York at Albany.

Shumway is the State Director for Career and Technical Education (CTE) at 
the Utah State Office of Education. As director, Shumway is responsible for 
leadership of secondary CTE programs in the state, and oversees the various 
responsibilities of CTE curriculum development, skill certification, 
work-based learning, and staff development. She has developed strong 
partnerships with the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah Department of 
Workforce Services, business and industry partners, and policy makers.

Shumway received her bachelor's degree from Utah State University in family 
and consumer science education, and her master's from Utah State University 
in education. She received her administrative credential from Brigham Young 
University. She taught high school in Idaho and worked as the government 
relations coordinator for a professional association in Washington, DC, 
before returning to Utah. She has been at the Utah State Office of 
Education for the past 17 years in various roles, providing leadership in 
skill certification, family and consumer sciences, Tech Prep, 
School-to-Careers, Post-Secondary Accreditation, and curriculum development 
and implementation. She served on the national board for Family Career and 
Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) and was the Outstanding Vocational 
Educator, American Vocational Association, 1997.

Foster is a dedicated leader and advocate for students in career and 
technical education. He currently serves as Vice President of the National 
Association for the State Directors of Career and Technical Education 
Consortium, and has also served as the organization's legislative Chair and 
Treasurer. Foster recently left his post as Director of Career and 
Technical Education in the Pennsylvania Department of Education, a state 
that early-on recognized the importance of industry credentials and 
championed the use of mandatory technical assessment.

Foster has over 30 years of varied experience in career and technical 
education, workforce training, and tailored industrial training program 
development. He has served as a teacher educator for The Pennsylvania State 
University, a member on the Governor's Strategic Planning Committee for 
Workforce Development, and has been involved in the Pennsylvania Economic 
Development Association, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association 
(Executive Board), the Employer Advisory Council, and various career-link 
advisory boards. In addition, he has had varied work experience in the 
construction and computer networking fields. Foster has an associate's 
degree in secondary education from Bucks County Community College, a 
bachelor's degree in vocational education, a master's degree in vocational 
technical and adult education, and a doctorate in workforce development 
with an emphasis in organization development from The Pennsylvania State 
University.

Viewers of the webcast may ask questions by signing up (no charge) for a 
WebBoard Account at www.nccte.org. The chatroom allows you to submit 
questions during the presentation. Please allow ample time as your account 
must be validated by an email confirmation. Questions can be pre-submitted 
by linking to 
http://www.nccte.org/webcasts/description.asp?wc=140#viewWebcast.

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this e-mail list, please visit this web 
page: http://www.nccte.org/ctemail/subscription.asp or send an e-mail to 
nagy.8 at osu.edu or contact Barbara Reardon below.

The work reported herein was supported under the National Dissemination for 
Career and Technical Education, PR/Award (No.V051A990004) and/or under the 
National Research Center PR/Award (No.V51A990006) as administered by the 
Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U. S. Department of Education. 
However the contents do not necessarily represent the positions or policies 
of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education or the U.S. Department of 
Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. 
The National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education and 
the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education are funded 
by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U. S. Department of Education.

For Additional Information Contact:

Barbara Reardon
The Ohio State University
Director of Communications
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1090
Phone: 614-292-2894
Fax: 614-688-3258
Email: reardon.30 at osu.edu
Web site: www.nccte.org