FCS Credentialing Center Pre-PAC Booklet

G Pre-Professionals Demonstrate Competencies.

Earn Recognition.

Improve Employability.

G FCS Programs Document Effectiveness.

Target Program Improvement.

Facilitate Accountability and Articulation.

G Employers Validate Competencies.

Acknowledge Quality Employees.

Enhance Staff Development.

Family and Consumer Sciences Credentialing Center Pre-Professional Assessment and Certification (Pre-PAC) www.aafcs.org

“Pre-PAC assessments are the right choice! Not only do the assessments align with the National FCS Standards, they yield reliable data that can help position individuals and programs for success. The corresponding pre-professional certification adds great value to portfolios and ensures that individuals are prepared to succeed in today’s competitive environment.”

– Peggy Wild, PhD, CFCS, State FCS Specialist (Indiana) “The value of having a national assessment is the assessment reflects the National FCS Standards. Actually, it is one step ahead of many academic areas in that they do not have specific assessments aligned to national standards.”

– Cynthia K. Arendt Director, Family Consumer Sciences and Human Services (Missouri) “The assessments will help prepare students for today’s workforce.

The results could assist students with a seamless transition from high school to post-secondary levels of study and employment placement and could provide guidance to teachers to improve instruction.”

– Wendy Ambrose Executive Director, Minnesota FCCLA

Standards-Based and IndustryDriven FCS Pre-Professional Assessments and Certifications The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS), a well-respected leader in the FCS field, is proud to offer the Pre-Professional Assessment and Certification (Pre-PAC) Program, creating the premier family and consumer sciences pre-professional assessment and certification system in the nation. AAFCS has engaged the assistance of a broad range of esteemed industry professionals, content specialists, and educators from across the country and from diverse practice settings to assist in identifying relevant industry standards and to develop quality assessments and industry-recognized certifications for pre-professionals in family and consumer sciences careers.

Pre-PAC offers pre-professional assessment and certification products that are…

• Relevant • Reliable • Results-oriented

• Rigorous • Recognized

Read this brochure and learn how the AAFCS Pre-PAC Program products can help you, your program, or your organization grow and accomplish more!

Pre-Professional Assessments and Certifications Who Can Use Pre-PAC Products?

Pre-PAC assessments are designed for use with: • Secondary FCS students and programs.

• Post-secondary FCS students and programs.

• Pre-professionals working in community-based programs.

• Pre-professionals working in early employment positions.

• Employers making hiring decisions and conducting staff development for pre-professionals.

The assessments have application in a broad range of education, community development, staff development, and human resource settings where there is a need to document or validate competency achievement.

How Are Pre-PAC Products Used?

The assessments and certifications can be used to: • Document exit-level achievement in rigorous secondary and community college programs.

• Promote data-driven program and/or staff improvement, professional development, and instructional resource acquisition.

• Meet federal mandates required by Perkins IV legislation.

• Facilitate seamless articulation, placement, and credit-by exam for lower-division courses within post-secondary institutions.

• Validate competencies required for employment at the pre-professional and/or paraprofessional level.

• Provide an industry-recognized pre-professional certification.

What Pre-PAC Products Are Available?

The Pre-PAC Program provides pre-professional assessments and industry-recognized certifications for areas of family and consumer sciences where needs have been identified. The Pre-PAC competency assessments are rigorous, psychometrically sound, and consistent with gold-standard online testing quality requirements.

AAFCS offers the following pre-professional assessments and certifications: • Fashion, Textiles, and Apparel • Broad Field Family and Consumer Sciences • Food Science Fundamentals • Culinary Arts • Housing and Furnishings • Early Childhood Education • Interior Design Fundamentals • Education Fundamentals • Nutrition, Food, and Wellness • Family and Community Services • Personal and Family Finance

Are the Products Consistent with National Content and Industry Standards?

Many states and FCS secondary educators develop curricula based on the National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences Education. In addition to drawing heavily on business and industry input, the Pre-PAC assessments correlate to the National Standards, other relevant national standards in the specific content area, and the National Career Clusters Initiative.

Pre-Professional Assessments and Certifications How Do the Products Benefit You, Your Program, or Your Organization?

Individuals benefit by receiving: • Immediate, individualized feedback upon completion of the assessment.

• Competency validation to document their knowledge and skills and to improve employability.

• Recognition and value through industry-recognized pre-professional certifications.

• An advantage in obtaining articulated credit or credit-by-exam at post-secondary institutions.

Family and Consumer Sciences Programs benefit by having a reliable tool to: • Measure the effectiveness of preparing individuals to meet rigorous content standards.

• Provide data to meet federal accountability requirements, including Perkins IV mandates.

• Recognize the achievement of their students.

• Target instructional adjustments that are based on performance results for overall program improvement.

Employers and Community-Based Programs benefit by gaining the ability to: • Validate competencies required for employment at the pre-professional level.

• Recognize the achievement of their employees or clients.

• Enhance efforts to provide targeted staff development based on performance results.

States benefit by choosing to use the pre-professional assessments and certifications to: • Meet federal accountability mandates.

• Make data-driven decisions regarding curriculum, professional development, and resource acquisition.

• Recognize the pre-professional certification in graduation requirements.

How Are Pre-PAC Products Administered?

All aspects of the Pre-PAC Program are accessed and completed online through the Pre-PAC Management System.

To administer Pre-PAC products, an entity must:

What Competencies Are Addressed in Each Assessment?

Visit the Pre-PAC website to learn more about the specific products available in its assessment portfolio. Information about each assessment, along with the list of corresponding competencies, can be downloaded. It is important for individuals, programs, and employers to review the competency list for each assessment to ensure that the competencies serve the purposes of the assessment’s intended use.

1. Complete a Test Site Approval Agreement and submit it to AAFCS. Upon approval, the entity will receive information needed to use the Pre-PAC Management System.

2. Purchase assessments online using a check, credit card, or purchase order. Academic and non-academic pricing structures are available.

3. Register test candidates and assign purchased assessments to the test candidates.

4. Administer the assessments in a proctored environment.

Test candidates receive immediate feedback and earn pre-professional certification, if cut score is achieved.

5. Access the data results and utilize the results to recognize individuals and enhance program improvement or staff development.

About the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Credentialing Center Through the Family and Consumer Sciences Credentialing Center, AAFCS accredits FCS baccalaureate programs, administers FCS competency exams, and certifies professionals and preprofessionals in family and consumer sciences.

The purpose of the AAFCS Accreditation Program is to strengthen family and consumer sciences education at the college and university levels. AAFCS accreditation is a status granted to family and consumer sciences units within colleges and universities that meet or exceed quality standards established by the Council for Accreditation.

With oversight from the AAFCS Council for Certification, the AAFCS Professional and Pre-Professional Assessment and Certification (Pre-PAC) Programs measure competencies of FCS professionals and pre-professionals using high-quality, rigorous assessments.

These programs also award standards-based and industryrecognized FCS pre-professional certifications and nationally recognized professional certifications.

About AAFCS Based in the Washington, D.C. area, AAFCS is the only professional association for FCS students and professionals from both multiple practice settings and content areas. For more than 100 years, AAFCS has focused our mission on providing leadership and support for professionals whose work assists individuals, families, and communities in making more informed decisions about their well-being, relationships, and resources to achieve optimal quality of life. Our members provide research-based knowledge about the topics of everyday life, including human development, personal and family finance, housing and interior design, food science, nutrition and wellness, textiles and apparel, and consumer issues. They are early childhood, elementary, secondary, university/college, and Extension educators, educational administrators, human service and business professionals, researchers, consultants, and community volunteers who create integrated solutions to complex social and economic challenges.

To learn more or join, contact AAFCS today!

Find Out More About Pre-PAC! Visit www.aafcs.org/prepac or contact the FCS Credentialing Center staff at pre-pac@aafcs.org or 1-800-424-8080.

American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences 400 North Columbus Street, Suite 202, Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703.706.4600/800.424.8080 Fax: 703.706.4663 Email: staff@aafcs.org

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family & Consumer Sciences

400 North Columbus Street, Suite 202 Alexandria, VA 22314 NATIONAL