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.)
- 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.
Career Preparation I
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
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) |