Understanding the NRS Rosemary Matt NYS Director of Accountability

NRS? National Reporting System

From where did it come? 1998 Federal Legislation Workforce Investment Act Title II = Adult Education Implemented in 1999 NYS began in 2001 First NRS Report in 2003

Accountability All states must report on common reporting measures All states must use US DOE approved standardized (normed) assessments –GAIN has not yet been approved for NYS All states must report performance annually

New York State Decision All funding sources, in addition to WIA, both state and Federal will be reported under the same guidelines as the NRS EPE – Employment Preparation Education WEP – Welfare Education Program ALE – Adult Literacy Education

Educational Gain Students must meet THRESHOLD CRITERIA –Have a valid pre assessment –12 Contact Hours

Measuring Educational Gain Students are assessed in BOTH Reading and Math Their LOWER skill level determines their placement in NRS Educational Gain is measured and counted ONLY in the LOWER skill level

NRS LevelNational Reporting System (NRS) Levels Grade Level Equivalents 1 Beginning ABE Literacy 0 – Beginning Basic Education 2 – Low Intermediate Basic Education4 – High Intermediate Basic Education6 – Low Adult Secondary Education9 – High Adult Secondary Education 11 – 12.9

Program Evaluation Report Enrollment includes students meeting the NRS threshold criteria: 12 Hours of contact time + Key Demographics Valid Pre Test

NYS Policy under NRS All 5 key demographics must be complete –Name, birth date, ethnicity, gender, employment status Student has a VALID pre test Must match Instructional Code –TABE = BE, GE, or Ma –BEST Plus/BEST Literacy = ES (Spanish GED) Student is enrolled in a BE, GE, Ma or ES Instructional Activity in current fiscal year Student must have at minimum of 12 contact hours (this includes any INTAKE hours)

What is a valid pre-test? Must be within the scoring range on the NYS Validity Tables Must match the Instructional Offering Code –ESL Code = BEST + or BEST + and BEST Literacy –BE or GE Code = TABE Must have a valid date range. A pre test in FY11/12 must be dated between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012

NYS Validity Tables (sample)

Invalid Tests

Educational Gain Number Making Gain includes students who have a valid pre test and valid post test showing improvement of at least one Educational Functioning Level.

What’s a valid post test? Must be within the scoring range on the NYS Validity Table If using the TABE, must be the opposite form (Pre on a 9, then Post on a 10) Must always move levels contiguously (Pre on one level, then post on the same level or one higher, never backward) Must have a valid date range. A post test in FY11/12 must be dated between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012

Educational Gain Post Test Rate represents the number of students who have a valid post test score divided by the number of students enrolled at each Educational Functioning Level. The Post Test must meet all the requirements of a valid test but it does not necessarily need to show gain to be counted in the post test rate. 65%

Educational Gain Average Contact Hours is a simple average of all cumulative contact hours in a fiscal year divided by the number of students enrolled at each Educational Functioning Level.

Primary Goals: 1. Improve Basic Literacy Skills 2. Improve English Literacy Skills 3. Obtain a job 4. Retain current job 5. Improve current job 6. Earn GED Certificate 7. Earn a Secondary School Diploma 8 Enter Post Secondary Education 9. Enter Training

Secondary Goals: 10. Obtain Citizenship Skills 11. Reduce Public Assistance 12. Get involved in Community Activities 13. Get involved in Children’s Education 14. Get involved in Children’s Literacy Activities 15. Vote or Register to vote

Follow Up Outcomes Number of Exiters with Goal: For Enter Employment this column will include those students having the goal of “Obtain Employment” and exited in Quarters 2, 3, and 4 of FY10/11 AND students exiting in Quarter 1 of FY11/12. For Retain Employment this column will include those students having the goal of “Retain Employment” and exited in Quarter 4 of FY09/10 AND students exiting in Quarters 1, 2, and 3 of FY10/11. For Enter Postsecondary Education or Training AND Obtain GED, this column includes students with these goals who have exited in any Quarter of FY11/12.

Follow Up Outcomes Percentage Achieving Outcome: This column represents those students who have responded in a positive way to the required program Survey

Follow Up Outcomes NYS FY11/12 Averages: This is the Benchmark for Follow Up Outcomes in NYS. To arrive at this number, all students achieving the outcome from any of the 4 Goal areas are combined and divided by the sum of all students enrolled with goals who have exited.

Goal Setting Goal Setting: Special attention should be given to the determination of a students Employment Status Unemployed and Available for Work Unemployed and Not Available for Work

Goal Setting Goal Setting: NYS Target must be met to earn any points in the category

Goal Setting Goal Setting: NYS Target must be met to earn any points in the category

Survey Response Rate Survey Response Rate: Includes students from: Enter Employment Retain Employment GED Goal Postsecondary Education Remember: Even a Negative Response is counted as a Response!

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 27 NRS Changes

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 28 Change Effective July 1, 2012 OVAE has accepted major change to NRS Guidelines OVAE has accepted major change to NRS Guidelines All proposed changes begin July 1, 2012 All proposed changes begin July 1, 2012 ASISTS will make changes in data system to begin July 1, 2012 ASISTS will make changes in data system to begin July 1, 2012

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 29 1 st Major Change

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 30 Let’s compare Current System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Is student employed __yes __no Is student available for work? __yes __no If YES, then assign the goal of “Obtain Employment” (70% Target) If NO – then student status is coded as “Not in the workforce” Changes to System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Is student employed __yes __no Is student available for work? __yes __no If YES, then ASISTS will automatically assign the goal of “Obtain a Job” to all students in this cohort If NO – then student status is coded as “Not in the workforce ”

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 31 Current System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Is student employed __yes __no If YES – is student enrolled in literacy to Retain his/her employment? If YES – code student with goal of “Retain Employment” Changes to System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Is student employed __yes __no If YES, then ASISTS will automatically assign the goal of “Retain Employment” to all students in this cohort. Program must conduct Follow Up Survey on each student 3 Quarters after student exits the program. Let’s compare

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 32 2 nd Major Change

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 33 Current System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Does student have the goal of attaining a High School Equivalency Diploma __yes __no If YES, then assign the goal of “Obtain GED” Changes to System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Programs must report the total number of enrolled students who take all the GED tests during the year and the number who pass them to calculate a pass rate. All GED test data will now be recorded in ASISTS and a pass rate will be calculated for each program. Let’s compare

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 34

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 35 3 rd Major Change

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 36 Current System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: Does student have the goal of attaining a High School Equivalency Diploma __yes __no If YES, then assign the goal of “Obtain GED” Second Question – Does the student also have the goal of entering Postsecondary Education or Training? If YES, assign goal (50% target) Changes to System: Students are assessed at Intake Determination is made: All learners who have a GED, a secondary credential, or are enrolled in a class specifically designed for transitioning to postsecondary education (e.g., bridge program, college readiness), as the cohort for which “Entry into Postsecondary Education” must be tracked. Students included in the cohort are those who passed the GED tests or earned a secondary credential while enrolled in adult education, enter with these credentials, or are enrolled in a class specifically designed for transitioning to postsecondary education. Let’s compare

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 37 Additional Change Entry into Postsecondary Education or Training can occur any time from the time of exit until the end of the following program year.

R. Matt/NYS Director of Accountability 38 2 Minor Changes Students’ Highest Educational Level or Degree Attained & Teacher Experience and Certification.

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