PLTW Students to Assess Their Skills

This month, thousands of Project Lead The Way (PLTW) students across the country will put their skills to the test in the PLTW Assessment. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of key STEM principles in computer science, engineering and biomedical science, as well as their mastery of transportable skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration. This is an exciting time for these students and all of us at PLTW as we begin assessing the knowledge and skills that will benefit students into their careers.

For many of these students, this may be the most important assessment of their entire educational career. It’s the first and only assessment capable of measuring students’ transportable skills in a meaningful way, and employers and higher education institutions alike will look to their performance as a measurement of readiness for success in careers and life. PLTW is proud of this assessment, which we developed over years of work in close partnership with secondary educators and administrators, higher education deans, faculty, and admissions directors; as well as engineers, data scientists and hiring managers with one goal in mind: creating an experience that is meaningful to all of these stakeholders and students as they map their futures.

These students are among the first who will take this new PLTW End-of-Course Assessment, and the first cohort of students who will do so in the 2018-19 school year as their first semester concludes. Students will then have the opportunity to communicate their results with future employers and educational institutions in pursuit of admissions, scholarships, dual credit opportunities, campus experiences, internships, apprenticeships, industry certifications and more. Perhaps even more importantly, we hope they will take this opportunity to learn which skills they’ve mastered, as well as those skills they can continue to strengthen through the remainder of this school year and over a lifetime. 

To students participating in our assessment in the coming weeks and months, we wish you all the best as you continue to develop your skills and begin pursuing career opportunities. To our educators, thank for your commitment to making PLTW available to your students. This important work is only possible because of you. And to leaders from higher education and business – take time to consider how you can support and help prepare more students for high-demand, high-opportunity careers in your community, aided by tools like the PLTW Assessment. Together, we can build a future that is brighter and more prosperous than any generation before.