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The Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) is
entering into a partnership with MajorClarity, a new company
that has developed a system allowing students to “test drive”
careers and majors and utilizing algorithms to help students
discover more about how their interests and abilities mesh
before making final decisions embarking on college or
career paths.
It’s a new type of college-and-career readiness tool that
IASA Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark says “embodies
tremendous potential.”
“This approach harnesses intellectual capacity to benefit
students, parents and schools,” Clark said. “This can serve
as an additional tool that can be a wonderful guide for kids
and their parents to be able to bring clarity to what lies
beyond the high school doors. It has the potential to save
hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding having students
pursuing a college major or a career that likely would not be a
good match for their interests and capabilities.”
Atticus Francken, one of the co-founders of MajorClarity,
said that the technology platform was developed to offer
students “unparalleled exposure to careers through our video
responses to real student questions and one-of-a-kind career
simulation activities.”
The plan starts students in the program when they are in junior
high and follows them all the way through high school to help
identify post-secondary options ranging from the selection of
colleges to technical schools or labor/trade careers.
“We match students with colleges based on their academics and
the careers they have actually explored and we connect them
with colleges that are interested in recruiting them,” Francken
explained. “We do the same for students interested in technical
schools, apprenticeship programs, and internship opportunities.”
The program also assists school counselors by tracking
students’ strengths, interests and college/career pursuits
and organizing that information in an easy to use dashboard.
It automates the creation of academic and career plans for
students and simplifies sending them to parents for approvals/
signatures, something schools are legally obligated to do in
many states. The system provides state-of-the-art privacy and
security at every step of the process.
The platform also creates customizable plans of study for high
school students to follow and allows schools to seamlessly track
students’ progress, flagging students at risk of falling behind.
MajorClarity successfully piloted the program in New York City
schools during the 2015-16 school year. A statement from the
NYC Department of Education said: “MajorClarity brought the
most tangible value to our students’ futures. It’s a wonderful
addition to our school curriculum.”
By Michael Chamness
IASA Director of Communications
NewIASApartnershipseeks to
bring clarity to complexprocess
of college/career choices
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