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Adult and Community Learning Services

SMARTT Update, May 2009

1. Program Plan Changes for FY2010
   There are several changes in program planning for FY10. The updated documents now appear on the Program Planning section in the SMARTT section on the ACLS website.

   • New Program Plan Versioning - Programs will have the option of creating several working plans so they can "try out" various class plan and program plan scenarios and have the option of submitting any one of these working plans for approval.

   • Abbreviated Staff Plan - There are two options for completing the FY10 staffing chart. While some find the original, more detailed chart to be a helpful planning tool, an abbreviated staffing chart that combines many similar functions has been developed for those who no longer need the more detailed tool. Either staffing chart is acceptable, at the refunding applicant's discretion.

   • New Required Budget Narrative Format - Programs will be required to use this new format in Excel. Programs must provide the minimum information listed, and may provide additional information if it is useful.

   
   

2. Site Rollover Link (Site rollover requests are due by August 21st)
   The site rollover link is now available so that programs can review the site rollover report to make sure all the FY09 information is updated. This report will help programs update student goal, assessment, and attendance data.

   Use the Site Rollover report to review data entered and determine whether goal, assessment, and attendance data still needs to be updated. Remember that the report always lists only current students at the site. When you exit a student from the site, you verify that all the information has been updated. Data should be reviewed in this sequence:

   • Unenrolled Classes: lists classes with no enrollments this fiscal year
   • Unenrolled Students: lists students who have never been enrolled in any classes or volunteer matches this fiscal year
   • Inactive Student Attendance: lists students who have been enrolled in classes or volunteer matches and no attendance has been entered
   • Inactive Student Assessments: lists names for each assessment area where data has not been updated/reviewed since May 1st
   • Inactive Student Goals: lists names for each goal area where data has not been updated/reviewed since May 1st
   • Inactive Follow-up Goals: lists names for each follow-up goal area where data has not been updated/reviewed since May 1st
   • Active Staff: lists staff names who were active and had salary records
   • Professional Development Activities: lists staff names who participated in trainings/activities offered by providers other than SABES (participation in SABES trainings and activities is entered directly by SABES rather than by the participating program)

   The report has functionality to track the student goal and assessment data that has been reviewed. When you review the list of student assessments and goals and check off the box next to the student name, you can save that list. Click on the button at the top of the report labeled "Save Current Work". The report will then show the list of names that still need to be reviewed.

   The next time you access the report, you will get the "Working" version which is the list of remaining students to review. You should keep reviewing all the student's assessment and goal information until no names appear on this list. If you want to go back to see the original list at anytime, you can click on the "Original" button at the top of the report. You still have the option to click on the "Working" button to list the students that still need to be reviewed to verify that the information is updated and accurate. This new functionality helps programs go through the list of names without having to record the information on paper.

   When you are ready to submit the site rollover request at the end of the fiscal year, no names should appear in the assessment or goals section. Site rollover requests should be submitted by August 21st. If names appear, you will need to check off each box remaining indicating your review of the data before you can submit the request for site rollover. The request indicates that all the information contained within this report is true and accurate and does not need to be updated or corrected. This checkbox is equivalent to the Program Coordinator's Signature.

3. Cognos Updates
   In response to requests by users, the following new Cognos features and reports are now available:

   • User Defined Fields (UDF) Reports - these new reports now appear in the Adhoc Reports section in the homepage in a folder labeled "UDF Reports". There is a general report that lists the number of active projects for FY09 and number of projects that utilize user defined fields (UDFs). There are project, site, and state level reports for each type of user defined field --- staff, class, student, and volunteer. No personal information is listed in the reports.
   • Attendance Cube - this cube was modified to add scheduled hours to the measures for non rate based classes.
   • Adhoc Reports - Most of the Adhoc reports have been modified to include the filters within the report page. (The filters had previously been provided in a separate prompt page.) All reports will be changed to this new, more user-friendly, format.
   • Desk Review - The following views have been created from the goals cube which are part of performance standards goals report so that programs can easily track goal attainment.
     • Average Goals Set and Met
     • Percent Column A and B Goals Met
     • Avearge Column C Goals Met
   
   

4. Report on 5/5/09 GED Data Match and Guidance on GED Goal Setting and Goal Follow-Up
   Each month, the SMARTT Update includes a report on the proportion of GEDs earned by students in ESE-funded ABE/ESOL programs that Massachusetts is and is not able to include in the Federal Report. As you know, we are only allowed to report the achievement of those goals that were set by the students prior to achieving them. ACLS has been monitoring the proportion of GEDs earned that we are and are not able to report, by data matching students enrolled in SMARTT with the GED database maintained by Oklahoma Scoring Service.

   Latest Data Match Results:

   In the latest GED data match, one hundred twelve (112) GED attainment records were matched for students who attended ABE/ESOL classes and were enrolled in SMARTT in FY09. Ninety six (96) of the 112 GED recipients had set "Obtain a GED" as a goal, which is eighty six percent (86%). Sixteen (16) GED recipients or 14% had not set the goal and will not be included in the Federal Report.

   Goal Setting and the GED:

   To ensure that the Massachusetts ABE system gets credit for the goals it helps students to achieve, it is important to identify "Obtain a GED" as a goal for any student who may earn one. 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.

   GED Goal Follow-Up:

   It is not necessary for programs to conduct follow-up for the goal of "Obtain a GED" unless the student takes the GED test at a testing center outside of Massachusetts. Since ACLS is unable to perform data matching with test centers outside of Massachusetts, local programs are responsible for following up with students who tested out-of-state, and for emailing the goal achievement data -- student name, SMARTT ID, and credential date -- to Donna Cornellier at dcornellier@doe.mass.edu. This is the only way to "count" GED goal attainment for students who test out-of-state.

   GED Goal Setting and Program Performance Points:

   Remember that both short and long term GED goals should always be set and entered into the system. For any student who identifies "Obtain a GED" as a goal, the system determines whether it is short-term or long-term based on the pre-test each fiscal year. The goal is considered short-term if the assessment is greater than or equal to a MAPT score of 600 or TABE scale score of 586. Table 5 of the Federal report includes only short term goals which are attainable within a program year.

   The goals performance standards for goals set and met (defined below) include all goals ---both short and long term goals. Note that, since the program's number of "Goals Met" is calculated by dividing the total goals met by the number of students enrolled in the program - rather than by the number of goals set - setting a goal that does not get met has no negative impact on program performance points.

   Performance Standards for Goals Set and Met:

   • Goals Set = The program sets, on average, at least 2 goals per student per year. Definition of Goals Set = Total number of goals set divided by the number of students enrolled in the program.
   • Goals Met = The program meets, on average, at least 1 goal per student per year. Definition of Goals Met = Total number of goals met divided by the number of students enrolled in the program

   If you have questions about the goals performance standards, refer to the Performance Standards document at http://www.doe.mass.edu/acls/pawg/fy08fc340_345_359.html.

5. Federal Reports are Ready for Testing
   The site level Federal Report Tables 1 - 4B in Cognos are now ready to be tested. ACLS is seeking programs that would like to test Table 4: Educational Gains and Attendance by Educational Functioning Level by receiving data files from ACLS to ensure that correct data appears in each column. If you would like to test the report, please e-mail Donna Cornellier, SMARTT Team Leader, and Sriram Rajan, Cognos Developer, at: dcornellier@doe.mass.edu and srajan@doe.mass.edu.

   Table 1:	Participants by Entering Educational Functioning Level, Ethnicity, and Gender
   Table 2:	Participants by Age, Ethnicity, and Gender
   Table 3:	Participants by Program Type and Age
   Table 4:	Educational Gains and Attendance by Educational Functioning Level
   Table 4B:	Educational Gains and Attendance by Educational Functioning Level (includes only students who received pre and post tests)

   
   
6. SMARTT Training Schedule

   • Five SMARTT Updates focusing on "Ending the Fiscal Year" are being held in June. Five Cognos trainings focusing on "Performance Standards" are also being held in June. Check the SABES calendar for dates and times. To register for these and other trainings, please go to http://calendar.sabes.org and click on your region; or, you may contact your SABES regional office directly.

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