Virginia Career Readiness Alignment | Renzulli Learning

Durable Skills · Profile of a Graduate · Virginia Career Readiness

Virginia Durable Skills & Profile of a Graduate Alignment

Q: What is Virginia's career readiness framework, and how does Renzulli Learning align with it?

Virginia's career readiness framework centers on the Profile of a Virginia Graduate — a statewide attribute framework developed by the Virginia Board of Education under HB 895 / SB 336 (2016) and codified in Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D. The Profile is anchored on the Five C's: critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship. Every Virginia graduate must demonstrate competency across four areas: content knowledge; workplace skills; community engagement and civic responsibility; and career exploration. The Academic and Career Plan (ACP/ACPP) documents student progression starting in 7th grade. High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL), CTE Programs of Study under federal Perkins V, the 16 federal Career Clusters, and Virginia's 8 CTSOs operationalize the Profile. Renzulli Learning measures and develops the durable skills behind every Profile attribute. The Cebeci Test of Creativity (US Patent 12,087,176), Executive Function Assessment, Leadership Assessment, and Profiler in 20+ languages produce evidence; the Personal Success Plan, Project-Based Learning, and 40,000+ Enrichment Database develop the underlying skills.

Q: What is the Profile of a Virginia Graduate, and what are the Five C's?

The Profile of a Virginia Graduate is a statewide attribute framework directing what every Virginia high school graduate should know and be able to do. Developed by the Virginia Board of Education under HB 895 and SB 336 (2016) and codified in Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D, the Profile describes a “life-ready” Virginia graduate. The Five C's at the heart of the Profile are: critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship. The Profile is structured around four competency areas: (1) Content Knowledge — academic and technical knowledge; (2) Workplace Skills — productive workplace skills, qualities, and behaviors; (3) Community Engagement and Civic Responsibility; and (4) Career Exploration. Renzulli Learning's seven durable skills (critical thinking, creativity, executive function, leadership, collaboration, communication, self-direction) map directly to the Five C's and to all four Profile competency areas, producing standardized, exportable durable-skills evidence year by year.

Q: What is the Academic and Career Plan (ACP/ACPP), and how does Renzulli Learning support it?

Virginia's Academic and Career Plan (ACP/ACPP) is the documented vehicle that helps every Virginia student plan a course of study aligned with personal interests and career goals. The ACP begins by 7th grade and continues through high school, documenting talents, interests, postsecondary goals, and evidence of growth across each Profile attribute. Renzulli's Profiler in 20+ languages anchors the interest and strength discovery process behind every ACP cycle; the Personal Success Plan generates exportable summaries that map directly to ACP documentation year by year; the Executive Function Assessment surfaces planning, working memory, and self-regulation needs critical to sustained ACP cycles; and Project-Based Learning produces ACP-aligned artifacts and progression evidence counselors can attach to each student's ACP record.

Q: What is High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL) in Virginia?

High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL) is Virginia's framework for school-coordinated, coherent sequences of on-the-job experiences related to students' career goals and interests, performed in partnership with local businesses, industries, or community organizations. Per HB 516 / SB 112 (2020) and Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D.6, every Virginia student must complete one of three pathways for graduation: (i) an Advanced Placement, honors, IB, or dual enrollment course; (ii) a high-quality work-based learning experience as defined by the Board; or (iii) a CTE credential approved by the Board. HQWBL options include internships, externships, apprenticeships, and service learning. Renzulli's Profiler matches students to HQWBL placements aligned with their interests; the Leadership Assessment supports placement and supervisor feedback; the Cebeci Test of Creativity and Executive Function Assessment produce durable-skills evidence complementing every placement; Project-Based Learning produces HQWBL artifacts; and the Personal Success Plan documents the placement as part of the ACP record.

Q: How does Renzulli Learning support Virginia's CTE Programs of Study?

Virginia serves more than 640,000 students in CTE courses across grades 6-12 — among the largest CTE enrollments in the nation. CTE Programs of Study are approved under federal Perkins V (Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act). VDOE conducts CTE Federal Program Monitoring Reviews on a six-year cyclical schedule. Virginia's seven CTE service areas are: Agricultural Education; Business and Information Technology; Family and Consumer Sciences; Health and Medical Sciences; Marketing; Technology Education; and Trade and Industrial Education. Renzulli's Profiler matches students to CTE pathways aligned with their interests; the Cebeci Test of Creativity (US Patent 12,087,176), Executive Function Assessment, and Leadership Assessment measure the durable skills behind successful CTE concentrator progression and supervisor feedback; Project-Based Learning generates CTE program artifacts; and the Personal Success Plan documents CTE concentrator status — evidence districts can attach to Perkins V reporting and the CTE Federal Program Monitoring cycle.

Q: Which Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) are active in Virginia?

VDOE recognizes eight Career and Technical Student Organizations: DECA; Educators Rising; FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America); FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America); FFA (the National FFA Organization); HOSA — Future Health Professionals; SkillsUSA; and the Technology Student Association (TSA). Per VDOE, CTSOs strengthen and extend Career and Technical Education in the Commonwealth. Virginia's 8-CTSO roster is distinctive: it includes Educators Rising (relatively rare among states) alongside FBLA, and does not include Business Professionals of America (BPA). Leadership, collaboration, and communication — three of the Five C's at the heart of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate — are the durable skills behind every CTSO. Renzulli's Leadership Assessment measures these directly. Project-Based Learning produces competition-aligned artifacts. The Personal Success Plan documents CTSO progression year by year as part of the ACP record.

Q: What are Governor's Academies in Virginia, and how does Renzulli Learning support them?

Virginia's Governor's Academies are partnerships among school divisions, postsecondary institutions, and business and industry that prepare students for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skills careers. Governor's STEM Academies expand options to acquire STEM literacy and career credentials. Governor's Health Sciences Academies prepare students through five health career pathways: Therapeutic Services, Diagnostic Services, Health Informatics, Support Services, and Biotechnology Research and Development. Each academy increases access to dual enrollment, industry credentials, and reduced postsecondary remediation. Renzulli's Profiler matches students to academy pathways aligned with their interests and strengths; the Cebeci Test of Creativity, Executive Function Assessment, and Leadership Assessment measure the durable skills behind academy success; Project-Based Learning produces capstone artifacts; and the Personal Success Plan documents academy progression as part of the ACP record.

Q: How does Virginia's leadership shape career readiness, and how does Renzulli Learning fit in?

Virginia's career readiness work is led by Governor Abigail Spanberger (75th, sworn in January 17, 2026; first female governor of Virginia; former U.S. Representative VA-7 and former CIA officer), Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi (first Muslim woman sworn into statewide office in the United States), Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway (announced January 13, 2026; previously Chief of Early Learning and Specialized Populations at VDOE), and Secretary of Education Jeffery Smith. Spanberger's first-day Executive Order Four prioritized strengthening K-12 education. The Commonwealth Listening Tour kicked off March 2026. Spanberger's 100-day legislative package (April 27, 2026) signed 12 bipartisan bills expanding apprenticeships for high school students, increasing CTE instructor licensure (HB 647), and strengthening school accountability (HB 924, HB 643). Virginia currently has more than 15,000 active apprenticeship applications — a record. Renzulli Learning provides standardized, exportable durable-skills evidence that complements every component of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate, the Academic and Career Plan, HQWBL placements, CTE Programs of Study, and the 8 Virginia CTSOs.

Renzulli Learning measures and develops the seven durable skills — critical thinking, creativity, executive function, leadership, collaboration, communication, and self-direction — that drive every Profile of a Virginia Graduate attribute and every one of the Five C’s at the heart of Virginia’s career readiness framework, including the Academic and Career Plan (ACP/ACPP), High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL), and CTE Programs of Study.

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7 Durable Skills

Critical thinking, creativity, executive function, leadership, collaboration, communication, self-direction

4 Assessments

Profiler, Cebeci Test of Creativity, Executive Function Assessment, Leadership Assessment

40,000+

Curated, standards-aligned enrichment activities

K-12

Single platform from elementary through senior year

Why durable skills

The Seven Durable Skills at the Center of Every Virginia Graduate’s Profile

Every successful Virginia graduate — whether they leave high school for a four-year university, a community college program, an industry credential, an apprenticeship, or direct workforce entry — relies on the same seven durable skills: critical thinking, creativity, executive function, leadership, collaboration, communication, and self-direction. These are the skills employers consistently rank as essential. They are the skills that map directly to the Five C’s at the heart of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate — critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship — and they are the skills that turn the Profile from a statewide vision statement into year-round documented practice.

Durable skills are easy to name. They are harder to measure and develop systematically across grades K-12 — especially at Virginia’s scale, with more than 640,000 students enrolled in Career and Technical Education courses alone, and Profile expectations applying to every public-school graduate.

Renzulli Learning is the only K-12 platform that does both. The Cebeci Test of Creativity measures creativity (US Patent 12,087,176) — the durable skill behind the Five C’s creative-thinking attribute and every original capstone project. The Executive Function Assessment measures planning, working memory, and self-regulation — the durable skills behind every Profile self-directed-learner attribute. The Leadership Assessment measures leadership, collaboration, communication, and work ethic — the durable skills behind every Profile collaborative-communicator attribute and every one of Virginia’s 8 Career and Technical Student Organizations. The Profiler captures interests, learning styles, and expression styles in 20+ languages — the foundation of every Academic and Career Plan a Virginia counselor builds.

Renzulli Learning is the K-12 platform that both measures and develops the seven durable skills behind every Profile of a Virginia Graduate attribute. Project-Based Learning produces evidence of every durable skill in authentic work. The Personal Success Plan generates exportable summaries documenting Profile progression year by year. The Enrichment Database — 40,000+ curated, standards-aligned activities — develops every durable skill across humanities, STEM, financial literacy, and the arts. The result: Virginia districts get measurable durable-skills evidence that supports every component of the state’s career readiness framework — without adding to the compliance burden.

The seven durable skills Renzulli develops

Durable Skills, Defined: What Renzulli Learning Measures and Develops

Each durable skill has a specific Renzulli instrument that measures it and a specific platform feature that develops it. These are the same skills behind every Profile of a Virginia Graduate attribute and every component of Virginia’s career readiness framework — the same skills the Cebeci Test of Creativity, Executive Function Assessment, Leadership Assessment, Profiler, Personal Success Plan, Project-Based Learning tools, and Enrichment Database produce evidence for:

Critical Thinking

Measure: Cebeci Test of Creativity
Develop: Project-Based Learning

Creativity

Measure: Cebeci Test of Creativity (US Patent 12,087,176)
Develop: Enrichment Database + Project-Based Learning

Executive Function

Measure: Executive Function Assessment
Develop: Personal Success Plan cycles + project planning

Leadership

Measure: Leadership Assessment
Develop: CTSO-aligned projects

Collaboration

Measure: Leadership Assessment
Develop: Group Project-Based Learning + peer feedback

Communication

Measure: 21st-century skills rubrics
Develop: Project presentations & portfolios

Self-Direction

Measure: Profiler + Executive Function Assessment
Develop: Personal Success Plan year-round goal cycles

Profile of a Virginia Graduate

The Profile of a Virginia Graduate: The Five C’s & Four Competency Areas

Virginia is one of the few states in the nation with an explicit, statewide Profile of a Virginia Graduate codified in statute. Developed by the Virginia Board of Education under HB 895 / SB 336 (2016) and codified in Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D, the Profile describes what every life-ready Virginia graduate should know and be able to do.

At the heart of the Profile are the Five C’s: critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship. Around the Five C’s, the Profile is structured into four competency areas: content knowledge; workplace skills; community engagement and civic responsibility; and career exploration. Renzulli Learning is the K-12 platform that measures and develops the durable skills behind every cluster:

Five C’s

Critical Thinking & Creative Thinking

Renzulli durable skills: Critical thinking + creativity + executive function
Measure: Cebeci Test of Creativity + Executive Function Assessment + Profiler
Develop: Project-Based Learning + 40,000+ Enrichment Database

Two of the Five C’s at the heart of the Profile: analyze, evaluate, generate novel solutions, and pursue original work across academic, technical, and creative disciplines

Five C’s

Communication, Collaboration & Citizenship

Renzulli durable skills: Communication + collaboration + leadership
Measure: Leadership Assessment + Profiler (expression styles)
Develop: Group Project-Based Learning + presentations & portfolios

Three of the Five C’s: engage respectfully across diverse audiences; work productively in teams; act ethically as a responsible citizen in community and civic contexts

Profile Area 1

Content Knowledge

Renzulli durable skills: Critical thinking + executive function + self-direction
Measure: Profiler + Executive Function Assessment
Develop: 40,000+ Enrichment Database + Project-Based Learning

Achieve and apply appropriate academic and technical knowledge across Virginia’s Standards of Learning, CTE Programs of Study, and pathway course sequences

Profile Area 2

Workplace Skills

Renzulli durable skills: All seven
Measure: All four Renzulli assessments
Develop: Project-Based Learning + Personal Success Plan

Demonstrate productive workplace skills, qualities, and behaviors — the Workplace Readiness Skills Assessment domain Virginia employers rely on

Profile Area 3

Community Engagement & Civic Responsibility

Renzulli durable skills: Citizenship + leadership + collaboration
Measure: Leadership Assessment
Develop: Project-Based Learning + service learning portfolios

Build connections and value interactions with others as a responsible and responsive citizen in community and civic contexts

Profile Area 4

Career Exploration

Renzulli durable skills: Self-direction + critical thinking + leadership
Measure: Profiler in 20+ languages + Leadership Assessment
Develop: Personal Success Plan + Project-Based Learning

Align studies with career aspirations through the Academic and Career Plan (ACP/ACPP), High-Quality Work-Based Learning placements, and CTE pathway selection

Each Five-C cluster and Profile competency area maps to durable skills Renzulli Learning measures and develops. Virginia districts can build Profile-aligned durable-skills evidence today — producing comparable data across grade bands, populations, and pathways. Turning the Profile of a Virginia Graduate from a statewide attribute framework into documented year-round practice.

Virginia’s framework

How the Seven Durable Skills Map to Virginia’s Career Readiness Components

Virginia’s career readiness work is led by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) with Governor Abigail Spanberger (75th, sworn in January 17, 2026; first female governor of Virginia; former U.S. Representative VA-7 and former CIA officer), Lt. Governor Ghazala Hashmi (first Muslim woman sworn into statewide office in the United States), Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway (announced January 13, 2026; previously Chief of Early Learning and Specialized Populations at VDOE), and Secretary of Education Jeffery Smith. The framework gives every Virginia graduate a structured pathway from middle-school planning through senior-year capstone — and the seven durable skills run through every component below.

Each card below pairs a major Virginia career readiness component with the durable-skills cluster behind it, the Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate attributes it reinforces, and the Renzulli instruments and content that measure and develop those durable skills:

All Seven

Profile of a Virginia Graduate (Five C’s)

Profile attributes: All Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate attributes
Durable skills: All seven durable skills
Measure: All four Renzulli assessments
Develop: Project-Based Learning + Personal Success Plan + 40,000+ Enrichment Database

Statewide Profile codified in Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D under HB 895 / SB 336 (2016): the Five C’s — critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, citizenship — across four competency areas

Self-Directed

Academic and Career Plan (ACP/ACPP)

Profile attribute: Self-directed learners & innovators
Durable skills: Self-direction + executive function + leadership
Measure: Profiler in 20+ languages + Executive Function Assessment
Develop: Personal Success Plan + Project-Based Learning

VDOE’s ACP/ACPP begins by 7th grade and continues through high school, documenting student talents, interests, postsecondary goals, and Profile attribute progression

All Seven

Three Statutory Diploma Pathways

Per HB 516 / SB 112 (2020) and Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D.6, every Virginia student must complete (i) AP, honors, IB, or dual enrollment; (ii) a high-quality work-based learning experience; or (iii) a Board-approved CTE credential

All Seven

High-Quality Work-Based Learning (HQWBL)

School-coordinated, coherent on-the-job experiences in partnership with local businesses, industries, and community organizations — one of three statutory pathways for the Standard Diploma

All Seven

CTE Programs of Study + 16 Career Clusters

More than 640,000 students in CTE courses (grades 6-12); Programs of Study under federal Perkins V across seven service areas; 16 federal Career Clusters maintained at the CTE Resource Center (cteresource.org)

All Seven

Governor’s Academies (STEM & Health Sciences)

Governor’s STEM Academies and Governor’s Health Sciences Academies: partnerships among school divisions, postsecondary institutions, and business/industry preparing students for high-demand, high-wage careers

Leadership

Eight Virginia Career & Technical Student Organizations

Profile attribute: Collaborative communicators & engaged citizens
Durable skills: Leadership + collaboration + communication
Measure: Leadership Assessment
Develop: Project-Based Learning + Personal Success Plan

DECA, Educators Rising, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, TSA — co-curricular extensions of CTE programs across the Commonwealth; Perkins V authorized, integrated into CTE programs of study

Real challenges

What Virginia Curriculum Directors & Career Readiness Coordinators Struggle With

These are the durable-skills-and-Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate challenges we consistently hear from Virginia school division leaders, school counselors, and career readiness coordinators — especially as Governor Spanberger’s Executive Order Four, the Commonwealth Listening Tour, and the new bipartisan apprenticeship and CTE legislation (HB 647, HB 924, HB 643) ramp up:

Operationalizing durable-skills development across all of K-12

The seven durable skills — critical thinking, creativity, executive function, leadership, collaboration, communication, and self-direction — underpin every one of the Five C’s at the heart of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate. Counselors and curriculum directors need year-round interest, learning-style, executive function, leadership, and creativity tools that map cleanly to Profile attributes and produce auditable evidence of durable-skills growth across grades K-12 — not just at senior-year capstone or HQWBL placement.

Sustaining the Academic and Career Plan from 7th grade through senior year

Virginia’s ACP/ACPP is the documented vehicle that helps every student plan a course of study aligned with personal interests and career goals. Districts often struggle to keep this from becoming a once-a-year compliance form rather than a year-round, evidence-driven planning tool. Counselors need exportable interest, executive function, and creativity data that maps cleanly to ACP documentation each year and produces a coherent narrative of self-directed-learner growth across the full middle-school-through-senior-year arc.

Documenting durable-skills evidence for the three statutory diploma pathways

Per HB 516 / SB 112 (2020), every Virginia student must complete one of three pathways: an AP/honors/IB/dual enrollment course; a high-quality work-based learning experience; or a Board-approved CTE credential. Districts need stronger student-level durable-skills evidence to support pathway choice and to demonstrate Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate progression as students move through one of the three statutory pathways — standardized, exportable evidence that complements every pathway type.

Connecting students to the eight Virginia student leadership organizations

VDOE recognizes 8 student leadership organizations: DECA, Educators Rising, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, and TSA. Virginia’s 8-organization roster is distinctive — it includes Educators Rising (relatively rare among states) alongside FBLA and excludes Business Professionals of America. Leadership, collaboration, and communication — three of the Five C’s — are the durable skills behind every one of them. Counselors need year-round interest, learning-style, and strength data to guide informed organization selection at scale.

Documenting durable-skills evidence for school-accountability and apprenticeship-expansion cycles

The Spanberger Administration is currently expanding apprenticeship programs (15,000+ active applications — a record for Virginia), strengthening the School Performance and Support Framework accountability system (HB 643), and increasing CTE instructor licensure (HB 647). Districts need standardized, exportable durable-skills evidence to demonstrate equitable Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate progression across student populations — producing comparable evidence across pathways, populations, and grade bands.

The platform

Eight Renzulli Learning Tools That Measure and Develop Virginia’s Durable Skills

Each tool produces evidence aligned to every Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate attribute and every component of Virginia’s career readiness framework — the Five C’s, the four competency areas, the Academic and Career Plan, the three statutory diploma pathways, HQWBL, CTE Programs of Study, the 16 Career Clusters, the Governor’s Academies, and the eight Virginia CTSOs:

Renzulli Profiler: A strength-based student self-assessment in 20+ languages capturing each student’s interests, learning styles, and expression styles. Anchors every Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate self-aware-learner attribute, every Academic and Career Plan cycle, and every High-Quality Work-Based Learning placement conversation.

Cebeci Test of Creativity (CTC): A standardized creativity assessment (US Patent 12,087,176) producing reliable evidence of growth. Critical for the Five C’s creative-thinking attribute and for original capstone artifacts across humanities, STEM, and the arts.

Executive Function Assessment: Measures planning, organization, working memory, and self-regulation. Surfaces students who need scaffolding to persist through ambitious goals — the durable skills behind every Profile self-directed-learner attribute and every sustained ACP cycle.

Leadership Assessment: Measures the durable skills of leadership, collaboration, communication, and work ethic. Aligns directly with three of the Five C’s — communication, collaboration, citizenship — and with each of Virginia’s 8 Career and Technical Student Organizations: DECA, Educators Rising, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, and TSA.

Personal Success Plan (PSP): Goal-setting, reflection, and exportable evidence-of-growth summaries documenting Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate progression year by year. The auditable backbone of Virginia ACP/ACPP records and counseling artifacts — complementing district planning workflows without adding compliance burden.

Project-Based Learning Tools: Structured project frameworks producing artifacts of every durable skill in authentic work. Aligns with the Profile’s creative-thinking and engaged-citizen attributes — and complements senior-year capstones, HQWBL placements, CTE program portfolios, and Virginia CTSO competition entries.

Renzulli Enrichment Database: 40,000+ curated, standards-aligned activities across humanities, STEM, financial literacy, and the arts. Develops every durable skill behind every Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate attribute — and supports coursework across every Virginia Standards of Learning content area.

21st-Century & Durable Skills Framework: Maps the seven durable skills across every Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate attribute, every one of the Five C’s, and every component of Virginia’s career readiness framework. The connective tissue between Profile language and classroom practice.

Alignment, line by line

Durable Skills, Profile Attributes & Virginia Career Readiness Components

For each major Virginia career readiness component, here is the durable-skills cluster behind it, the Profile-of-a-Virginia-Graduate attributes it reinforces, and the specific Renzulli tools that measure and develop those skills:

Profile

Profile of a Virginia Graduate (Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D)

Virginia’s statewide attribute framework, codified in Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.D under HB 895 / SB 336 (2016). Anchored on the Five C’s — critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, citizenship — and structured around four competency areas: content knowledge, workplace skills, community engagement and civic responsibility, and career exploration. Every Virginia public-school graduate must demonstrate Profile attributes.