NAFTrack Certification, designed by education and business leaders, is an employability credential that serves as NAF’s seal of college and career readiness. NAF assesses student performance through the completion of career-focused courses, internship assessments, and high school graduation. For more information and to learn about the changes to NAFTrack, click here for FAQs.
Employers:
NAF’s premier system for measuring college and career readiness uses a multimethod approach that requires academy students to complete:
Four-semesters of NAFTrack approved career-cluster courses and a required performance-based assessment.
A paid, compensated, or volunteer experience of 80+ hours (or two 40-hour sessions) under the direct supervision of an accountable adult who completes an internship assessment.
Students must complete all school and district requirements for high school graduation.
NAF’s Program of Study provides multiple career pathways and curricular options for students to achieve NAFTrack Certification. In addition to NAF’s five career pathways, the NAF Program of Study embraces the US Department of Education’s 16 career clusters.
Complete at least four (4) semesters of NAFTrack Certification approved courses with a designated NAF career pathway or other approved career cluster. Students must achieve a passing course grade of C or better for NAFTrack Certification credit.
Any combination of NAF semester courses and NAFTrack Certification approved career-cluster course equivalents with a required performance-based assessment.
NAF offers curricula for programs of study in five career pathways, including Engineering, Finance, Health Sciences, Hospitality & Tourism, and Information Technology. Academies design career pathways by combining NAF’s one-semester courses in a variety of ways with other course selections within a career cluster. Curricular materials contain lesson plans with the teacher and student resources, including PowerPoint presentations and assessments.
NAF approves third-party curricula that meet NAF’s curricular and performance-based assessment standards. Current NAFTrack approved curriculum providers include: Cisco, Intelitek, Odysseyware, Paxton-Patterson, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and STEM 101
NAF accepts selected courses that align with designated career-cluster content from Cambridge, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Academies create programs of study by combining these NAFTrack approved courses with other curricula to meet the four-semester course requirement for NAFTrack Certification.
NAF academies apply for NAFTrack Certification approval of dual enrollment/early college and state-approved, career-cluster courses to meet the NAFTrack Certification requirement of four-semester courses. Dual enrollment/early college courses may be offered directly by the college and its faculty or by high school teachers approved by the college.
NAF’s Corporate Partners are top American companies that invest in their future workforce by providing career development opportunities to NAF alumni.
NAF, through collaboration with corporate partners, crafted NAFTrack Certification to demonstrate that academy students completed all of NAF’s college and career readiness requirements. This rigorous and comprehensive assessment system evaluates students on academic proficiency, project execution, and internship performance.
NAF’s Corporate Partners offer NAF alumni career-development opportunities as a way to strengthen their future workforce and support academy graduates. With millions of unfilled jobs in the US, particularly in STEM fields, this partnership between education and business is crucial to closing the skills gap and improving the preparation and training of America’s workforce.
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