Identifying and fixing incorrect or missing program outcomes data in the Annual Performance Report (APR) process is easier for out-of-school-time (OST) programs and district administrators now, thanks to enhancements in AfterSchool21.
TransACT's AS21 software supports OST programs, funded by 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, at the state and local levels in submitting compliant data for their APR. The AS21 October software development release (effective Oct. 26) flags specific students with missing APR data and users have additional instructions for how to check that data. Previously, admin users had more time-consuming manual steps to conduct these checks and make updates.
Manual data collection for the 21APR is time-consuming because programs need to update their prior methods for data input as part of the new Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) reporting requirements. Programs have to submit additional performance data. However, the United States Department of Education (USDE) gives each state flexibility in how to report and track year-to-year changes in student performance metrics across six categories:
- Math assessment scores
- Reading/language arts assessment scores
- Grade point average
- School attendance
- In-school suspensions
- Student engagement in learning
What is new with AS21 reporting?
In the APR verification failure section, subscribers can identify missing outcome data, so any specific student with missing data can be quickly found. Admin users who identify missing data for either participation or learning are notified with a message in the APR section and can run a report to see who those missing students are. Reports show the current and prior year values. Users can receive instructions on updating the information or view a report with verification failures.
AS21 also gives visibility by providing a teacher's name and email so students missing a teacher survey response can be contacted and given a link to complete the survey.
Updates to APR Review Outcomes
Program directors or state administrators can see APR data for multiple grantees and centers at once when viewing the "all sites" section of AS21. For example, admin users can see attendance data for a grantee (and all the sites associated with the grantee) at a glance. This enhancement allows viewing multiple programs and exporting to a spreadsheet versus reviewing each site individually to do their checks.
Improving Student Information System Data Shares
OST programs that use the integration between AS21 and the district Student Information System (SIS) can now view their data processing status easier and faster. Users are alerted when a student has a missing student ID number, but the nightly data transfer can continue.SIS roster data integration is managed through TransACT and the Global Grid for Learning (GG4L) partnership.
Another change in the data processing is related to updating contact information. In AS21, admin users can adjust the SIS data share settings to identify which contact fields they want to edit. For example, if a home phone number is blank, AS21 flags that as missing information coming in from the SIS. With that field properly identified, the system will not overwrite good information when the transfer occurs.
AS21 provides a complete picture of a program in an easy-to-access online system. Watch the recorded webinar for more information on data automation.
Schedule a demonstration to help understand the reporting expectations of programs and how AS21 makes reporting quick and stress-free.
