COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS EVALUATION CONSORTIUM ED Affinity Webinar March 20, 2014 Presented by Members and Partners of the College & Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium Chrissy Tillery, Ed.D. Director of Evaluation National Council for Community and Education Partnerships Weiya Liang Director, College Access and Support Washington Student Achievement Council Teena Olszewski Executive Director of Arizona GEAR UP Northern Arizona University

Consortium Partners 15 GEAR UP State Grant Programs U.S. Department of Education National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) ACT, Inc. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center 2

What is GEAR UP? The Program Objectives [Government Performance Results Act / Office of Management and Budget] 1.Increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education of GEAR UP students. 2. Increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education for GEAR UP students. 3.Increase GEAR UP students’ and their families’ knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation and financing. 3

What is GEAR UP? Grant Projects  Award period: 6 or 7 year grants  Eligibility entity: a State or Partnership grant  Cohort approach:  services provided to entire grade level  services begin not later than 7 th grade  schools with at least 50% eligible for FRL  services continue through 12 th grade or year 1 PSE  Required and permissible activities 4

MENTORING TUTORING COLLEGE VISITS EDUCATION & CAREER ACTION PLANS SKILL BUILDING WORKSHOPS CREDIT RECOVERY TRANSITION TO HS ACTIVITIES STEM PROGRAMS FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION PARENT INVOLVEMENT COLLEGE ADMISSION ASSISTANCE CAREER EXPLORATION COLLEGE/CAREER READINESS ASSESSMENT JOB SHADOWING RIGOROUS COURSE WORK SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 5

Consortium Research & Evaluation The mission of the College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium is to enhance the administration of GEAR UP projects, consistent with the federal GPRA and Annual Performance Report guidelines and requirements. Interstate collaboration, entailing adoption of common standards, indicators, data elements, diagnostics, and data collection and reporting methods, will strengthen the formative and summative evaluation and practice of GEAR UP as a whole. GEAR UP College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium A 15-State Collaboration ACT-Led Research ACT Core Research and ACT Supplemental Research Consortium-Led Evaluation Multi-State Data Repository and Longitudinal GEAR UP Evaluation 6

The GEAR UP College & Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium A self-initiated project among 15 State GEAR UP grants representing over 140,000 students. A partnership that includes the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) as the managing partner. A structure that includes: −A Director of Evaluation; −National education partners; −An Executive Committee; −A Research and Evaluation Committee; and −Formal Voting Procedures. 7

The GEAR UP College & Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium States Washington Idaho Nevada Arizona Utah New Mexico Oklahoma Minnesota Wisconsin Tennessee 8

Consortium-led Evaluation Numbers th th23,27427,87813,8497,9997,8593,8242,8391,654 8th2,37725,37728,10813,8078,0227,8922,8281,638 9th3,0304,58226,32429,02214,4108,7257,7951,913 10th3,4264,8974,69127,01728,12513,5337,0185,809 11th2,9404,8424,5884,46927,55528,6109,1315,522 12th2,49912,74912,89012,69612,84235,41631,9559,817 PSE Y113,15317,30023,27223,23623,10023,0297,5828,881 TOTAL51,12298,123114,357118,916122,593121,71969,14835,234 Research questions will be answered on longitudinal cohort data Green=FY11; Yellow=FY12 9

Preparing Data for Research & Evaluation Setting Up the Data Non-Technical Build Relationships LEA Data Sharing Agreements Partner and State Memorandums of Understanding Define Common Data Definitions Define Research QuestionsTrain Staff and Document Technical Build Data RepositoryData Recoding and AutomationLink Tables of Data Data Integrity and Entry Data Loading by Appointed State Personnel State and Project Reporting 10

A Multi-State Data Repository: Inputs and Outputs 11

Consortium Deliverables Common service definitions (Adopted) Common outcome definitions (Most have been Adopted) Common data elements (Adopted) Common Data Sharing in a longitudinal data repository (Adopted) Evaluation Plan to guide our work (Currently being finalized) Comprehensive Review of the GEAR UP Literature to assess the gaps and how we can begin to fill those (currently in progress) 12

Importance of Accountability Connecting the dots. Finding common program indicators through data. Showing “the proof” that an action has resulted in the desired outcome. Bringing it to scale. Coming together. 13

Why this work is so Important Moving beyond anecdote to quality data analyses ■ Does the program work? ■ What is working? ■ What doesn’t work? ■ How do we improve? ■ How do we become more efficient? How do we better serve more students? 14

QUESTIONS