National Standards for Business Education Cross-Referenced With PA Academic Standards
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 4 Pennsylvania State Board of Education regulations require that standards be developed and presented to the State Board of Education in the content areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening; mathematics; economics; geography; civics and government; science and technology; environment and ecology; arts and humanities; health, safety, and physical education; family and consumer science; history; career education and work; and world languages. In all of these areas, the standards define what each student should know and be able to do. In addition, the standards are to be rigorous, measurable, applicable to the world in which we live, and clearly written.
Chapter 4 also specifies that business education, including courses to assist students in developing business and information technology skills, shall be made available to every student in the high school program. Since there are no known plans to develop separate academic standards in the area of business education, many business, computer, and information technology programs use national standards as a guide. The national standards detail what students should know and be able to do in business. The effort to develop these standards was coordinated by the National Business Education Association (NBEA) and included representatives of secondary and postsecondary education, state departments of education, and business and industry. The national business education standards cover the areas of accounting, business law, career development, communication, computation, economics and personal finance, entrepreneurship, information technology, international business, management, and marketing.
As educators have worked with the Pennsylvania academic standards and the national business education standards, they noted that there are areas where relationships exist between the two sets of standards. In some cases, Pennsylvania standards could be met while also meeting business education standards. For this reason, representatives from the field of business, computer, and information technology worked to cross reference the Pennsylvania academic standards for reading, writing, speaking, and listening; mathematics, science and technology; economics; civics and government; and career education and work with national standards for business education. As resources permit, the other standard areas may also be cross-referenced with the business education standards.
The following documents contain the cross-referencing work that was completed. The goal of the project was to provide teachers and schools with a resource that would assist them as they worked to revise and update their business, computer, and information technology programs and to become more accountable for the knowledge and skills being taught. In order to fully understand the material and the references that are made in these documents, it may be necessary to obtain a copy of both sets of standards. The Pennsylvania academic standards can be found on the Department of Education's website at www.education.state.pa.us. Information on obtaining the national business education standards can be found on the NBEA website at www.nbea.org.
It is important to note that this is a snap shot of each set of standards at a particular time in a student's education. The work that was done is not an overall comparison of either set of standards. There may be other academic standards that are addressed by business, computer, and information technology at other grade levels. However, those relationships were not examined in this project. In addition, each school may need to adjust the information provided in order for it to better correspond to the academic standards addressed in that school's own business, computer, and information technology curriculum.
In the materials that follow, only the Pennsylvania academic standards at the highest secondary grade level were used. These standards were compared to the level 3 (high school) national business education standards. The national standards for business education are used as a base and these standards appear in bold print. Where appropriate, the Pennsylvania academic standards that are addressed in business, computer, and information technology education appear under the business education standards. In some cases where no academic standard is listed, the standard may still be addressed by business, computer, and information technology education just at a different grade level.
Special thanks are extended to Donna Cellante, Robert Morris University; Donna Gavitt, Selinsgrove Area School District; Ann Kieser, Southern Tioga School District; and Marianne Switaj, Elizabethtown School District for the work they did to complete this project.
Pennsylvania Business, Computer, and Information Technology
Mission Statement: Pennsylvania business, computer, and information technology, in cooperation with the business community, will provide evolving educational opportunities to empower all students to effectively participate in advanced education and as highly skilled members of our dynamic global society.
Business, computer, and information technology students are given opportunities to:
- Demonstrate interpersonal, teamwork, problem solving, and leadership skills
- Communicate effectively as writers, listeners, and speakers
- Develop career awareness, make career choices, and become employable in a variety of careers
- Analyze data to make wise management and economic decisions
- Select and apply tools of technology
- Prepare to become entrepreneurs
- Function as economically literate and financially responsible citizens
- Apply the principals of law in personal and business settings
- Recognize the interrelationships of different areas of business
- Use accounting procedures
- Apply knowledge and skills to simulations and/or work experience
- Integrate academic knowledge with technical competencies
- Prepare for further education and lifelong learning
The business, computer, and information technology curriculum includes instruction for and about business in the following areas:
- Accounting: To prepare to manage companies’ financial resources in a competent manner
- Business Law: To understand the laws affecting businesses, families, and individual consumers
- Career Development: To gain a developmental understanding of skill strengths and weaknesses, the ever-evolving requirements of the workplace, and the relationship of lifelong learning to career success
- Communication: To master the oral and written communication skills essential to interacting effectively with people in the workplace and society
- Computation: To develop the skills needed to solve mathematical problems, analyze, and interpret data and apply sound decision-making skills in business
- Economics and Personal Finance: To use knowledge about the economy and about theories and management of economic systems to understand and manage roles in these systems
- Entrepreneurship: To develop an appreciation for the importance of recognizing and acting on new business opportunities
- Information Technology: To develop the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate situations at home, school, or work and then to apply technology to solve problems and complete tasks efficiently and effectively
- International Business: To understand the interrelatedness of one country’s political policies and economic practices on another’s
- Management: To utilize human resources, including personal resources, effectively and efficiently in the global marketplace
- Marketing: To realize the processes and functions involved in transferring business products or services to consumers, as well as to gain a clearer picture of how key business functions are directly related to marketing activities
Cross References Of Pennsylvania Academic Standards With National Business Education Standards:
