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Adult and Community Learning Services

SMARTT Update, March 2010

1. ABE Program Design Regional Refresher Trainings
   The following dates have been scheduled for the five regional refresher trainings. The refresher trainings will be held from 10:00 - 12:00, and will be followed by open labs scheduled from 1:00 - 3:00 for those who want individualized assistance in preparing program plans for FY2011.

   • The two hour ABE Program Design Refresher is designed for both new and experienced directors. Areas to be discussed include a review of:
     • the ACLS Guidelines that pertain to class design
     • SMARTT program plan module
     • re-funding documents
     • recent changes in the NRS Implementation Guidelines
       • new standards for reporting race and ethnicity
     • other areas of the NRS Guidelines such as follow-up goals, timeframes for follow -up, data matching, etc.
     • all relevant changes for FY2011
     
     

   • The two hour SMARTT Update is designed for Directors and other staff who attend the morning ABE Program Design Refresher training and are interested in working in an open lab format. Donna Cornellier, Program Specialists, and the SABES regional field technologists will be on hand to offer tips and comments on the individual program designs. This time is meant for hands on work to help create the program plan in SMARTT. Ideally, participants will arrive having already reviewed their upcoming program design and will be ready to get tips and answers for obstacles they may have encountered.

   • SABES is handling the registrations for both sessions. The refresher training is provided by an ESE/ACLS staff member, and Donna Cornellier. The SABES regional field technologists will offer the updates that are held in the computer labs. Contact the SABES office to register or you can register by accessing the SABES calendar.

   Program Design Refresher Trainings	10:00 - 12:00
   SMARTT Updates Focusing on Program Planning	1:00 - 3:00

   
   

   Date	Place
   Monday April 26th	Northern Essex Community College, Franklin St. Campus Room L144 (AM) Room L243 (PM)
   Wednesday April 28th	ACLS/ESE Malden Room 137 (AM) Room 327 (PM)
   Thursday April 29th	Mt. Wachusett CC/Devens Learning Center Room 125 (AM & PM)
   Friday April 30th	Bristol Community College Room L-103 (AM & PM)
   Monday May 3rd	Holyoke Community College, Kittredge Business Center Room 203 (AM) Room 224 (PM)

   
   

2. GED Data Matching - Matches Completed For January and February
   The latest GED data match information with Oklahoma Scoring Service is listed below:

   GED Data Matching for January - Match Completed on 03/08/2010

   • Eighty three (83) records were matched for students who attended classes in FY10. Out of these, seventy (70) students set the goal which is 84%, and thirteen (13) students or 16% did not set the goal and will not be included in the Federal Report.

   GED Data Matching for February - Match Completed on 03/09/2010

   • Fifty eight ( 58) records were matched for students who attended classes in FY10. Out of these, fifty seven (57) students set the goal which is 98%, and one (1) student or 2% did not set the goal and will not be included in the Federal Report. This is an improvement over the previous matches!

   Remember that we cannot include in the Federal Report the achievement of any goal, if that goal was not set. It is important to meet with students on a regular basis to make sure goals are set, new goals are identified, and the dates set are entered into the system

3. Quarterly Follow-up Due for NRS Follow-up Goals

   • As stated in the NRS Implementation Guidelines, two methodologies, a follow-up survey or data matching, are offered for collecting the NRS core outcome measures that require follow-up-the employment-related measures (entered or retained employment), receipt of a secondary diploma or GED, and placement in postsecondary education or training. The federal reports and state performance reports include goal attainment for both methodologies. The Follow-up screen in SMARTT lists students for whom follow-up is needed for each goal.

   • Since the entered and retained employment measures are tied to calendar quarters, the simplest time to conduct the survey is quarterly. If quarterly collection is conducted, the survey should begin no sooner than the last month of the quarter and be completed within 3 months (one quarter). Attaining measures for postsecondary credential and entering postsecondary education is not time bound. Although such data can be collected at any time during the reporting period, the easiest option is to collect it by quarter.

   • Please make sure that you survey students when a social security number is not provided and the release form is not signed. The sample survey    adapted for use in Massachusetts is located on the SMARTT System section of our ACLS website.

   • Note that ACLS conducts data matching every quarter with Department of Revenue for students who set the employment-related goals provided an SSN, and signed the release of information form. ACLS conducts the GED data match for all students every month and updates the goal information for students who set that goal.

   
   

4. Cognos Manual
   We are still looking for practitioners who are interested in providing feedback as we develop a new Cognos manual. We recently hired a practitioner to work with us to write a comprehensive Cognos manual and we are interested in your ideas and feedback as we develop this manual. We want to can make this a useful document for everyone. If you are interested in providing written or verbal feedback via conference calls, please e-mail Donna Cornellier at dcornellier@doe.mass.edu, and Helen Jones at hjones@doe.mass.edu.

5. SMARTT Training Schedule
   The updated training schedule is now posted.

   • There are 4 SMARTT New User trainings scheduled between March 29th and May 27th in addition to the DL pilot offered in the Southeast region.
   • There are 5 SMARTT Updates focusing on Program Design offered in each region the last week in April and the first week of May. These trainings are offered immediately following the ABE Program Design Refreshers facilitated by ESE staff.
   • There is 1 Cognos training focusing on Performance Standards offered in Boston in April. Note that the on-line version of the Introduction to Cognos training is open to everyone in all regions.
   • Each region is offering a training in accessing the new MAPT for Math Score reports this spring.
   • Check the SABES calendar for dates and times. To register for these and other trainings, please go http://calendar.sabes.org and click on your region; or, you may contact your regional office directly.
   
   

Questions? Please contact Donna Cornellier at dcornellier@doe.mass.edu