21st Century Skills Take Off in Nine States

Last week's most-clicked SmartBrief article discussed how 21st century skills are driving curriculum reform in states like Wisconsin, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Iowa. Nine states in total have signed on with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a coalition of business and education leaders advocating for education beyond the scope of academic content, including skills like financial and technological literacy, communication, collaboration, and problem solving within a global context.

Infusing curriculum with 21st century skills poses challenges to teachers and school officials: These so-called "soft skills" are more conceptual in nature, and therefore more difficult to integrate than straightforward "content factoids." It's also difficult to assess whether students can apply 21st century skills in complex and novel situations using standardized assessments.

West Virginia set up Teach 21, a Web site devoted to helping teachers in the state plan and develop curriculum, to curtail some of these concerns.