WHAT IS A
TAP
?
A
TAP is a Texas Achievement Plan, and it’s a as your career and postsecondary education goals. Don’t
smart idea to create one to guide your studies worry. You aren’t locked into your choices. You should
through high school and into college or other revisit your TAP at least once a year to update it. You
postsecondary education or training. Your TAP can change clusters, programs of study, and career and
represents your plan to take control of your education postsecondary goals as your interests and ambitions
and career choices. Working with your parents/ change. Having a plan—even if it changes—is smarter
guardians and guidance counselor, you can pick the than having no idea of what you want to do and why you
cluster on which you want to focus your studies as well are attending school. Here’s how to fill out your TAP.
Pick a program of study within the cluster.
There are two programs within the science,
choose a career cluster on which to
LisT basic
Technology, engineering & mathematics
focus your high school and college or
information such as
cluster (see page 12).
postsecondary studies. The idea is to
your name and school.
offer you a seamless route to follow from
high school, through college or other
postsecondary education, and into a career.
choose one or more occupations
Not all Texas schools offer all clusters, so
tex
as
Ac
hie
vem
en
t P
lan
for which you would like to prepare.
ask your guidance counselor which clusters
Nam
e: Ta
ylor
Jone
s
Use resources such as oscar
are available at your school.
Sch
ool:
west
High
sch
ool
(www.ioscar.org/tx) to research your
Clus
ter:
scie
nce,
Tech
nolo
gy, e
ngin
eerin
g & m
athe
mati
cs
options.
Prog
ram
of S
tudy
: eng
inee
ring
and
Tech
nolo
gy
Care
er Go
al: m
echa
nica
l eng
inee
r
12th
Grad
e
Pos
tsec
ond
ary
Goa
l: ba
chel
or’s
degr
ee in
mec
hani
cal e
ngin
eerin
g
11th
Grad
e
10th
Grad
e prec
alculu
s
PLaN for what you want to do after high school. 9
th Gr
ade algebra II
your goal may be to attend a four-year university
geom
etry
engli
sh Iv
algeb
ra I english III
or two-year college, join the military, or enter an
engli
sh II
ap ph
ysics
engli
sh I physics
apprenticeship program. your postsecondary goal
chem
istry govern
ment
/econ
omics
should influence the classes you take in high school;
biolo
gy
us H
istory
Histo
ry
fine
arts
for example, you will need certain course credits to world g
eogra
phy
world

pplica
tions
qualify for admission to a college.
lang
uage
s oth
er com
muni
catio
ns a
lang
uage
s oth
er
Than
engl
ish II
Than
engl
ish I
pe or
equi
valen
t
busin
ess c
omput
er
tion s
ystem
s
rese
arch
desig
n and
deve
lopm
ent
Health
/pe o
r equ
ivalen
t
Inform
a
bio-r
elate
d Tec
hnolo
gy sy
stem
s
or a
rchite
ctura
l con
struc
tion o
r
aphics
or c
omput
er
engin
eerin
g prin
ciples
or
or c
onstru
ction
syst
ems
or e
nergy
,
comm
unica
tion g
r
skeTch
Techn
ology
syst
ems
out your schedule of classes for your
archi
tectu
ral gr
aphics
or
powe
r, and
Tran
sport
ation
syst
ems

multi
medi
a and
anim
ation
or
(mod
ular l
ab-b
ased
)
engin
eerin
g gra
phics
or
or m
anufa
cturin
g sys
tems
or
lang
uage
s oth
er Th
an en
glish
Iv
high school years. most of your time will be
or r
esear
ch an
d
electr
icity/
electr
onics

lang
uage
s oth
er Th
an en
glish
III
Techn
ical w
riting
or
Techn
ology
spent taking your core academic courses. By
comm
unica
tion s
ystem
s
carefully selecting your electives, you can get
Curr
icula
r Exp
erien
ces:
Tech
nolog
y stu
dent
asso
ciatio
n
the education and experience you need to start
Extra
curr
icula
r Exp
erien
ces:
desti
natio
n Ima
ginat
ion, f
IrsT
High
scho
ol ro
botic
s com
petiti
on, In
terna
tiona
l brid
ge bu
ilding
cont
est,
toward the profession of your choice.
Ju
nior e
ngine
ering
Tech
nical
soci
ety, n
ation
al en
ginee
ring d
esign
com
petiti
on, n
ation
al en
ginee
rs we
ek
ces:
care
er pr
epara
tion—
paid
and u
npaid
, Job
shad
owin
g, Int
ernsh
ip
Care
er Le
arnin
g Ex
perie
n
muni
ty se
rvice
volu
nteer
Serv
ice L
earn
ing E
xper
ienc
es: c
om
Pick extended learning activities that complement
a Career Portfolio (see page 15) is a
your classes (see page 14). work on community
good way to organize information about
service projects. Plan for paid and unpaid career
your educational experiences, record
learning experiences, such as job shadowing and
results of career interest and abilities
internships. all these extracurricular activities assessments, and hold examples of your
can give you experience that will help you get into best work. include a TaP in your portfolio.
college or land a job.
Page 5
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