Youth Common Performance Measures for YouthBuild

Background OMB-led Common Performance Measures Across Employment and Training Programs Agreed upon by DOL and other agencies DOL published final policy guidance in TEGL 17-05 in Feb ’06 YouthBuild grantees will be held accountable to the majority of guidelines in TEGL 17-05 (can be found on www.doleta.gov) with a few exceptions tailored to YouthBuild

Job Training Common Measures for Youth Programs 1) Placement in Employment, Education, or Training 2) Attainment of a Degree/Certificate 3) Literacy/Numeracy Gains

Program Enrollment (Participation in TEGL) An enrollee (participant in TEGL) is an individual who is determined eligible to participate in a program and receives a service funded by the program The enrollment date (participation date in TEGL) is the date the first service is received after the individual is determined eligible An individual must be an enrollee in order to count in the performance calculations How would this apply to YouthBuild programs? Where does “mental toughness” fit in?

Program Exit Two exit concepts: 1) Graduation/completion of YouthBuild program This concept of exit is not in TEGL and does not apply to WIA programs, but will apply to YouthBuild programs 2) When a participant does not receive a service (funded by program or partner program) for 90 consecutive days (i.e., those that do not complete the program) The exit date is the date of the last service The exit quarter is the quarter containing the exit date One year follow-up requirement begins at exit date

Placement in Employment or Education Number of participants in employment or the military or enrolled in post-secondary education and/or advanced training/occupational skills training in the quarter after exit Number of exiters Of those who are not in any of the following at date of participation - post-secondary education, employment, or the military:

Placement (cont.) Measure looks at those who are in any placement (employment, post-sec, occ training) in quarter after exit – more of a long term measure Individuals in post-sec, employment, military at date of participation are excluded Status at date of enrollment based on information collected from participant

Degree/Certificate Attainment Of those enrolled in education (which would be all YouthBuild enrollees): Number attaining a diploma, GED or certificate by the end of the 3rd quarter after exit Number of exiters

Attainment of Degree/Certificate (cont.) Diplomas/GEDs/certificates can be obtained while person still receiving services or at any point prior to end of the 3rd quarter after exit Another longer term measure because results are not calculated into three full quarters after an enrollee exits the program

Definition of Certificate Awarded in recognition of an individual’s attainment of measurable technical or occupational skills necessary to gain employment or advance within an occupation. Technical/occupational skills are based on standards developed/endorsed by employers. Certificates awarded by WIBs not included Work Readiness certificates not included

Definition of Certificate (cont.) Awarding Institutions include: A State educational agency Institution of higher education Professional, industry or employer organization or a product manufacturer Registered apprenticeship program Public regulatory agency A program approved by the Dept of Veterans Affairs Office of Job Corps Indian Tribe Higher Education Institution

Certificate Measure How will YouthBuild programs fit into this measure? Do most participants receive a GED/diploma or some type of certificate in the required time period?

Definition of Diploma Diploma, as defined by TEGL 17-05 means any credential that the state education agency accepts as equivalent to a high school diploma. Also includes post-secondary degrees (AA, AS, BA, BS) Therefore, IEP diplomas only count if state education agency accepts them

Literacy and Numeracy Gains Number who completed a year of participation Of those who are basic skills deficient: Number who increase one or more educational functioning levels in lit or num Number who exit before completing a year of participation +

Literacy and Numeracy Gains (cont.) Excludes persons who are not basic skills deficient (BSD) BSD defined as read, write, or perform math below the 9th grade level Excludes all In-school Youth (measure applies only to Out of School Youth) OSY = dropout or H.S. graduate who is BSD/unemployed – essentially all enrollees Includes individuals with learning disabilities TEGL 17-05 includes language on testing youth with disabilities including accommodations and use of alternate assessment tools for youth with severe disabilities

Literacy and Numeracy Gains (cont.) Measurement takes place at earliest of two points: 1) one year from date of enrollment 2) exit date, if enrollee exits prior to one year anniversary date Enrollees are included in the measure at exit regardless of whether they have been post-tested (i.e., if participant drops out prior to post-test automatically a negative in measure)

Literacy and Numeracy Gains (cont.) To be included in the numerator, an individual must advance one or more Adult Basic Education (ABE) or English as a Second Language (ESL) functioning levels Gain can occur in literacy or numeracy – can pre-test at different levels in each category Levels consistent with Adult Basic Ed. National Reporting System (NRS) See TEGL 17-05 Attachment C for updated Educational Functioning Levels for the NRS

Literacy/Numeracy (cont.) Requires the use of the same standardized test for both pre and post assessments (pre-test must occur w/in 60 days of date of enrollment; can use pre-test from up to six months prior to enrollment date) Individuals should be post-tested by the end of one year of participation (at latest – pre-test based on rec. of assessment tool) and compared to pre-test results obtained during the initial assessment If an individual continues to be basic skills deficient after the first 12 months of participation, they should continue to receive training in literacy and/or numeracy skills (most likely not relevant to YouthBuild) Participants should be post-tested and included in the measure at the completion of the 2nd year if they complete two years in the program

Assessment Tool Must use one of NRS cross-walked tests or equate alternate test to NRS scale (by submitting to DOL for DOL/DOE approval) Tests cross-walked with ABE and ESL levels include: Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Instrument (CASAS) Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE) Student Performance Levels for ESL Basic English Skills Test (BEST) for ESL WorkKeys (for the top 3 ABE levels)

Contact Information Evan Rosenberg Phone: 202 693-3593 Email: rosenberg.evan@dol.gov