Hi Marie:

 

Great point---

 

As I just stated in my last email, our primary focus is how the
information we derive from our data can benefit our students.

 

We recently completed a two year study on learner goals, and completely
revised our goal setting process.  

 

In the beginning of the year, students select at least 3 goals that they
want to work on.  (We use pictures for beginner ESOL students and more
advanced students who can help translate.)  The process is somewhat
driven by the DOE mandates, but we pride ourselves in having an entire
page of "other" goals that students can identify.  While the DOE
requirements provide the basic structure for our goal setting process,
we are not limited by it.  Each month, students answer three questions
in their blue books around the goals they have selected:

 

1.	What they did in the past month towards meeting their goals
2.	What they plan to do in the upcoming month to meet their goals
3.	What we can do to assist them.

 

Instructors collect the goals books each month and review them.  We work
as a team to assist students where we can.  When a student meets a goal,
the instructor notifies the office staff (there is a paper trail) so we
can enter it into the system (or not depending on the goal and student
authorization to release the information).  This allows us to quantify
our learner's progress towards their goals in a data base that yields
useful information.

 

In the beginning of the year, when instructors collect the goals books
for the first time, they review the information around what goals
students have set.  This allows them to integrate goals into the
curriculum and instruction, and provides administrative staff with
information to help planning for the year. For example, many students
this year have selected health-related goals, so we have the Director of
Interpreter Services from our local hospital coming to speak with
students around patient rights and access to health care resources in
the community.  

 

We also have conversation classes that allow us to focus on clusters of
goals.  For example, we might do a series on Citizenship if we have
several students with that goal.  

 

In many ways, helping our students articulate and achieve their goals
relates directly to the retention and attendance issue.  The best way to
retain students is when they see a direct result from their
participation that is relevant to their daily lives.  

 

At the end of the year, we collate all the information around student
goal achievement.  We have an annual year-end student achievement
ceremony, and on each table we place a tent card.  On the outside it
says simply "Did you know that..." and on the inside, we include
information about student goal achievements.  For example, it might say
that 6 students became American citizens, or 5 students bought new
homes, or 12 students got raises.  

 

This helps communicate the impact of our program to our community
partners and funders in a real and meaningful way.  

 

This is a great example of how we are able to serve our funders (by
quantifying data to meet the state accountability standard around
student goal setting) in a way that truly focuses on meeting our
students' needs. 

 

Luanne 

 

________________________________

From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:assessment-bounces at nifl.gov]
On Behalf Of Marie Cora
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 8:46 AM
To: Assessment at nifl.gov
Subject: [Assessment 753] Using Student Goals as Data

 

Hi everyone,

 

Wow, what a super discussion!  So rich and full of great ideas,
interesting comments, excellent questions, and thoughtful challenges.  I
usually contribute more myself but I'm just reading and soaking it in at
this point.  I am cutting and pasting the discussion into a
user-friendly document, which I will make available once our Guest Panel
concludes tomorrow.  

 

We are really covering a lot of ground here!  Just curious (because it
is a focus on mine within the realm of accountability):  a number of
folks have discussed issues of retention and the types of strategies
that they employ in their programming, but I don't think that anyone has
mentioned if they use student-stated goals to track retention, trends in
learning or program offerings, etc.  Perhaps the use of student goals is
more easily applicable at the classroom/teaching level (not sure!), but
I just wanted to know if anyone out there makes programmatic decisions
based in part on the reasons why students come to your programs.  I am
not referring to learning gains (reading, writing, math, ESOL, etc), but
rather to students' ultimate purposes for attending, like getting a
better job, helping kids with homework, buying a home, becoming a
citizen, etc. 

 

Thoughts on this?

 

Thanks!

 

Marie

 

Marie Cora

marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com <mailto:marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com> 

NIFL Assessment Discussion List Moderator

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

Coordinator, LINCS Assessment Special Collection

http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/

 

 

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