Regional Data Training

1. Regional Data Training Alan Tucker and NancyeGaj Fall 2013

2. “You can’t get to the future by doing better what you have done in the past” Robert G. Templin Jr. President of Northern Virginia CC

3. “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” - Lao Tzu

4. Everything comes down to the students. This is very important! We will discuss a lot of data components, but you as a local program will have to devise strategies to get the best possible outcomes while making it all about the students!

5. Goal of this Training To help everyone understand how they can work together to improve their program’s quality and outcomes. To help teachers understand what they can do in class to lead to better outcomes and help their students succeed. To help administrators, coordinators, and LEIS specialists understand what they can do through organization and data analysis to improve their program.

6. A successful program is not a balancing act FTE Graduates EFL Gains Posttesting Successful Program Hope ● Opportunity ● Jobs

7. It is a system with a variety of moving parts with… Teachers Directors Working together towards a common goal. LEIS Specialists Coordinators

8. The New Normal • Significantly Better Outcomes • Serving More Students • Less Money

9. Funding Drops • State Funding dropped 5.34% due to a drop in FTE. • This equated to a Loss of 4.38 Million Dollars total basic skills funding. $82,096,675 2012-2013 $77,711,583 2013-2014

10. What Happened? • Drop in FTE • Change from 3 year rolling avg. to 2 year • Slight drop in FTE Value

11. Federal Cuts • Loss of 5.7% from the federal allocation which the system office absorbed this year. • Anticipated 18.9% cut next year unless congress comes to an agreement. • The system office can absorb some, but not all of the cumulative 23.5% cut that would be experienced if no deal is reached in congress.

12. Put it in Perspective • $4.385 million cut in State Budget this year. • $3.76 million cumulative cut possible for the federal budget. • That equates to a $8.15 million cut if nothing changes. • There is hope that congress will come to an agreement. • There is hope that the state budget will include extra money next year for state performance measures.

13. What does all of this mean? • Significantly Better Outcomes • Serving More Students • Less Money The old culture is gone. This is now what normalcy is. And everyone plays a part.

14. Teachers

15. What do you feel that your role in your program is? • Just to teach? • To help students reach their goals? • To help progress the program? • To be part of something bigger?

16. Which is more important? They are both essential! You can’t get credit for the great things you do in the classroom if you are not keeping up with the accountability components.

17. Progressing A Cycle of success for the classroom • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning

18. Progressing Assessing Students • Assessing • Engaging • What processes do you have in place for post-testing? • Who should be post-tested? • What is your process for assessing AHS students? • How do you know when someone is ready to posttest? • Do you use informal assessments? • Attending • Learning

19. TABE • CASAS • Wonderlic GAIN • Best Plus • Best Literacy • TABE Clas-E • Workkeys • All NRS Approved Tests • Progressing • ABE Content Standards • CASAS Standards • TABE Prescription Lists • Informal Reading Inventory • Book pretests and posttests • Self-made assessments 2 types of assessment • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning

21. Placement and Progress 12 10 2012 TABE Math 442 D9 ABE Intermediate Low

22. Progressing • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning

23. Progressing Basic rules for formal assessment • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

24. Progressing Assessment Scenarios • Assessing • Engaging • Student A- Takes the pretest and has 50 minutes to test then for the posttest they have an hour and 10 minutes to test. • How is this impacting test validity? • Student B- Is not ready to test, but is insistent upon taking his posttest so that he can move into the next class. He takes it and does not improve. Now he is stuck waiting another 60-70 hours in order to take the test again. • What do you now do with this student? • How can you keep them engaged and attending? • Attending • Learning

25. Progressing EFL Gains Questions • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning

26. Progressing How can I ensure I get credit for EFL Gains? • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning

27. Progressing New Student • Assessing • Engaging What is your first step when this student comes into your class? What if they are returning after 90 days? How do you know if they have not been in someone else’s class? What subject should they be working in? • Attending • Learning Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

28. Progressing LEIS Testing and Progress Example 1 • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning EFL Gain TABE-M, improved from 498 > 519 ABE Intermediate Low > ABE Intermediate High Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

29. Progressing LEIS Testing and Progress Example 2 • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning No EFL Gain Lowest Test not used Initial placement was based on TABE-M Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

30. Progressing LEIS Testing and Progress Example 3 • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning No EFL Gain Wrong Test form Used Each student must be retested using a different test form Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

31. Progressing LEIS Testing and Progress Example 4 • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning EFL Gain Achieved The highest Math score of the year shows a jump from ABE Intermediate Low to ABE Intermediate High. The lower posttests are now ignored. Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

32. Progressing LEIS Testing and Progress Example 5 • Assessing • Engaging • Attending • Learning EFL Gain Achieved All the system cares about is a rise in Scale Score and EFL level. Changing from M level to D level test means that a different form of the test was given, and the resulting score put the student at a higher EFL. Hope ●Opportunity ● Jobs

33. Note on Assessment • Make sure all tests are turned in and recorded. • There is no longer a penalty for a test being lower than a previous test. • Having no score entered will hurt the post-testing rate.

34. Progressing Engaging Students Assessing Engaging • What should we be doing to engage our students? • Contextualize instruction • Develop social network • Ensure active learning • Provide varied application opportunities Attending Learning

35. Progressing Engaged Learner Scenarios Assessing Engaging • Students need to find the main idea in a text. What should you do? • Students need to be able to write persuasively. What should you do ? • Students need to work independently. What should you do? Attending Learning

36. Progressing Student Attendance Assessing Engaging • How do we ensure students attend? • Keep them engaged • Enforce attendance policies • Know who they are • Set short term goals Attending Learning

37. Progressing Student Attendance Scenarios Assessing Engaging • Nightmare #1 • Nightmare #2 • Nightmare #3 Attending Learning

38. Progressing Successful Learning Assessing Engaging • Instruction is clear, explicit, standards-based and progressive • Students know why they are learning, not just what they are learning • Students are required to elaborate, justify and “go deeper” • Students evaluate and reflect on their own learning Attending Learning

39. Progressing Learning Scenarios Assessing Engaging • Nightmare #1 • Nightmare #2 • Nightmare #3 Attending Learning

40. What are the things that teachers must worry about? • GED/AHS Graduates • Post-testing • EFL Gains- Bringing up the lowest subject area • The best interest of the students- ALWAYS • Preparing students for more than just the test

41. Questions about Classroom Practices?

42. Administrators

43. What do Administrators have to worry about? • FTE • Funding • State Performance Measures • NRS Measures • Marketing • Retention • GED/AHS Graduates • EFL Gains • Post-testing • Employment training/ opportunities • Advancement to postsecondary education • And More!!

44. State PerformanceBasic Skills Student Progress Percentage of students who progress an educational functioning level. Basic skills students attempting 60 or more contact hours during program year, who complete the program year at a higher educational functioning level. Excludes ASEH initial placements. Basic skills students attempting 60 or more contact hours during program year. Excludes ASEH initial placements. Colleges are also given credit for students who test at Adult Secondary Education Low, are an Adult High School student, and meet the federal and state assessment policy guidelines for moving up an educational functioning level to Adult Secondary Education High.

45. Impact on programsState Basic Skills Student Progress • This means that once a student achieves 60 hours of instruction during the program year you are responsible for them to make a level gain. • This makes it even more important to make sure that the student is ready to take their NRS assessment or you may lose out twice. Once on the NRS measure and once on the state measure. • This measure includes any student without an ASEH placement. Including those without placement!!

46. Difference in NRS and State EFL Measures • NRS EFL Progress Measures • All Students with 12 or more contact hours are included in the measures. • Students who do not have an initial NRS placement are excluded from being counted for or against the total. • Targets for each of the NRS EFL levels are negotiated each year with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). • Currently, no federal funding is applied to this measure. • State Basic Skills Student Progress Measure • All students with 60 or more contact hours are included in the measure. • Student who do not have an initial NRS placement will count against the program since there is no way for them to make a level gain. • The mean is established every 3 years based on the outcomes of the local programs. • Starting this year, this measure will be part of the performance based funding formula for state funding.

47. 3 Basic Rules for EFL Measures Make sure you have a pretest for every student every program year. Even those who were ASEH in the previous PY. Make sure that every student takes a posttest in the subject in which they were placed. Make sure the students are ready to posttest before they take their test.

48. State PerformanceGED Diploma Passing Rate Percentage of students taking at least one GED test during a program year who receive a GED diploma during the program year. GED students with an entering Educational Functioning Level of ASEL or ASEH who take at least one GED test during the program year (July 1 – June 30), and have 12 or more total contact hours, and receive a GED diploma GED students with an entering Educational Functioning Level of ASEL or ASEH who take at least one GED test during the program year (July 1 – June 30) and have 12 or more total contact hours.

49. Difference in NRS and State GED/ Secondary Measures • NRS Complete Secondary Credential • Students with 12 contact hours or more and an initial placement who either: • have taken all 5 GED tests • are in an AHS program with an initial • placement of ASEH • or are enrolled in a transitions • program • And have a separation • Includes all levels of students for GED • Once they take their 5th test they are in • the cohort each year. • Is not tied to any federal funding • State Basic Skills GED Diploma Passing Rate • Students with 12 contact hours or more who: • have an initial placement of ASEL or ASEH • and take any component of the GED test in the current program year • Excludes anyone not at ASEL or ASEH • level • Excludes anyone who does not take a • GED test, but once they take 1 test they • count (AHS only students are excluded) • Funding ties to state performance • funding are still being worked out since • graduates are part of the funding formula

50. Impact on Program PracticeState GED Completion Measure For the State measure students who: • Have an initial placement of ASEL or ASEH • Accrue 12 contact hours or more in the current PY • and Take at least 1 GED test Must pass their GED by the end of the program year to get credit for this measure. How may this impact your current practices with regards to the GED?