The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

For many students and families, especially first-generation college students, interpreting ACT test results may seem like interpreting a foreign language. It is important to help students and families understand what their scores mean and how they can use the scores during the college application process.

College entrance exams such as the SAT represent a significant milestone in the college admission process. To make an informed postsecondary decision, students need to understand how they performed in comparison to their college or university's average admission scores.

Earning a four-year degree is not the only postsecondary path to starting a successful career. In this January 2021 webinar, we covered alternative options available to students. Topics included Texas certification programs, community college programs, technical school offerings, and innovative concepts like coding bootcamps that offer skills in high-need areas.

As educators, we spend much of our careers ensuring that our students are ready. In Texas, they should either be college ready, career ready, and/or military ready by the time they graduate from high school. Let’s talk about efficient options for students who want to go to college but may not yet have demonstrated their readiness for college-level coursework.  

Endorsements have been around for a few years now, but they can still be a challenging concept to explain to students and their families. Fortunately, there are lots of resources on endorsements and academic planning to help you!

More and more school districts are implementing career exploration and postsecondary planning in middle school in a variety of ways. In our November 2020 webinar, we shared tips on how to incorporate college and career planning in middle school classrooms. 

COVID-19 has been an education game-changer.

COVID-19 has rocked our world as educators. Schools have closed, in-person classes and activities have pivoted to virtual or hybrid, and as we struggle to keep up, we worry about our students falling behind. We are committed to serving the dynamic needs of Texas educators, particularly as it relates to college and career readiness. We provide consistently updated information on COVID-19 resources for Texas educators. We recognize that your students are becoming more independent and tech-savvy during the pandemic and are managing their time and education from home in many cases. Keeping them on track for postsecondary success is a top priority.

Thinking about paying for college can seem like a daunting task for high school students and their families. After all, the average college cost has increased more than 25% in the last 10 years. Luckily, students have more financial aid opportunities now than ever before.

It’s important for high school counselors to understand the impacts of rising student debt. They should also note the different avenues available to pay for college and reduce student loans. Applications like the FAFSA, TASFA, and CSS Profile can seem overwhelming, but the benefit for eligible students can be huge.

In this guide, we'll include links to additional articles, webinars, videos, and other resources. And don’t forget to refer to the ultimate source for all postsecondary planning information for professionals: the Texas OnCourse Academy.

Many of your students are likely considering college as part of their postsecondary trajectory. There are a lot of different ways for your students to attend college. They could be interested in any combination of two-year, four-year, public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit institutions in either a residential or commuting experience. This article will walk you through the basics of college planning so that you’re prepared to support any student on any college pathway. We include links to additional articles, webinars, videos, and other resources. And don’t forget to refer to the ultimate source for all postsecondary planning information for professionals: the Texas OnCourse Academy.

When we heard that Texas OnCourse leader fellow alum Holly Moore increased her campus’ FAFSA completion by a whopping 21% in 2017–2018, we had to learn more! We interviewed her about her process and what she did differently than the year before. Holly is now a college counselor at Uplift Grand Preparatory but made this incredible progress while she was at Grand Prairie ISD in 2017. There were approximately 2,400 students at her school, and she worked with approximately 720 seniors each year.