Standards and Indicators for Quality McKinney-Vento Programs: New and Improved National Center for Homeless Education May 2006

National Center for Homeless Education Standards and Indicators for Quality McKinney-Vento Programs Developed in 2000 by representative task force Included in U.S. Department of Education Guidance Pilot tested in Guidebook developed based on pilot test groups experiences Revised in 2005 (

National Center for Homeless Education Revised Standards and Indicators 10 performance standards3 groups: outcomes, school/LEA support, collaboration Reflect 3 years of effective practice in implementing the McKinney-Vento Act Suggested indicators for each standard Include items required for federal data collection Utilize standard and indicator language that focuses on quantifiable outcomes

National Center for Homeless Education Revised Standards (draft) 1.All homeless students, identified and enrolled at the time of the state assessment, take the state assessment required for their grade levels. 2.All homeless students demonstrate academic progress. 3.All children in homeless situations are identified. 4.Within one full day of an attempt to enroll in school, homeless students are in attendance.

National Center for Homeless Education Standards cont. 5.All homeless students experience stability in school. 6.All homeless students receive specialized and comparable services when eligible. 7.All preschool-aged homeless children enroll in and attend preschool programs. 8.All homeless unaccompanied youth enroll and attend school.

National Center for Homeless Education Standards cont. 9. All parents (or persons acting as parents) of homeless children and youth are informed of the educational and related opportunities available to their children and are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in their childrens education. 10. LEAs help with the needs of all homeless students through collaborative efforts both within and beyond the LEA.

National Center for Homeless Education What do performance standards and indicators do? Reinforce an outcome-driven program, rather than an activity-driven program Provide a measure of accountability Provide understandable and valid data Serve as a framework for developing a data collection model Serve as a mechanism to monitor program progress Identify areas for improvement Provide performance information to stakeholders

National Center for Homeless Education What do performance standards and indicators not do? Do not tell why things happen the way they did. Are not a replacement for more rigorous and in depth studies of program processes and outcomes. Data can feed into an evaluation, but in and of themselves, are not an evaluation.

National Center for Homeless Education Raising good questions To what extent does our program align with the Standards for Quality McKinney-Vento programs? Are numbers or percentages increasing or decreasing from year to year? What does that tell us? How does performance compare to the school district average? What strategies or activities support outcomes? Are the strategies and activities appropriate or sufficient? Are current data sources sufficient for informing us about out program? What inferences can we make from the data that should be examined by further research?

National Center for Homeless Education Program coordinators using the Standards and Indicators say: Forced us to think about a lot of important issues Provided us with statistical information to assist with grant writing and program reporting Helped us create a more effective data form Helped us see what we need to be doing comprehensively Used as a tool for communication

National Center for Homeless Education How do I begin collecting MV Standards and Indicators data? Conduct an inventory of data your organization is currently collecting; identify gaps; assess how your program is currently collecting data related to the Standards Select the standards youd like to focus on, or Select the program area youd like to focus on (see how many standards are involved)

National Center for Homeless Education Identify data that is already collected by your system Identify staff and resources available for data collection Review indicators; select those most appropriate and feasible; identify others Develop a data collection plan that is manageable (you can always scale up) Develop a plan for how the data will be reported and shared How do I begin collecting MV Standards and Indicators data?

National Center for Homeless Education How could a logic model assist? Helps to: Strengthen program design Link resources, activities, outputs, and outcomes Identify which standards are being addressed Assess underlying assumptions Identify data collection strategies

National Center for Homeless Education Questions for You What benefits do you see for using the Standards and Indicators for data collection in your program? What challenges do you see? How can the challenges be overcome?

National Center for Homeless Education For More Information Diana Bowman, Director National Center for Homeless Education