Using SPPI 14 Information

(bright upbeat music) - Hello. And welcome back to our three-part video series on State Performance Plan Indicator 14 or SPPI 14. "Measuring Post-School Outcomes "for Students with Disabilities." I am Michele McKinley. And I'm the executive director of Special Programs for Manor Independent School District in Manor, Texas, near Austin. This is video two of the series. So if you miss the first video on the SPPI 14 basics for administrators, you can view it here. In this second video, I will walk through the information contained in SPPI 14 reports and how local education agencies, or LEAs, can use that information. In the third and final video, I will share ways to improve the SPPI 14 outcome data for your local education agency or LEA. Knowing how to use the information from the SPPI 14 reports begins with being familiar with the information they contain. The LEA report cover page shows how many surveys went out to former students and families and how many responses were returned. You will learn the response rate for your LEA from this data. Please note that LEAs with fewer than five survey responses in a single year may not receive the same report. For these LEAs, responses may be combined over years or within SSA networks until five or more responses exist in total. This rule is intended to help protect the respondent's identity and preserve the confidentiality of responses. As you review your LEA's report, notice the information from your LEA, region, and state, as well as the previous year's data for comparison. First, the report looks at the number of respondents and their individual responses to the survey questions. The report then assigns the respondents to one of five categories based on their responses to education and employment-related questions. Unlike the three SPPI 14 indicator measures discussed in video one, which are cumulative, these five categories are separate and distinct. After I share more about the five categories, I will also show you how these five distinct categories fit into those three indicator measures for reporting purposes. Category one is higher education and includes those who responded that over the past year they were enrolled in a two-year, or four-year college, or university for at least one complete term. Category two is competitive employment and includes those who were not included in category one, but who over the past year worked for a minimum of three months for 20 hours or more per week, were paid at least minimum wage, and their employer was a company or business employing people with and without disabilities. Competitive employment also includes those who were in the military or in supported employment that met the same criteria. Category three is other education and includes those who were not included in category one or category two, but who completed at least one term in school, job training, or continuing education that was not a two-year, or four-year college, or university. This category includes a high school completion program, a short-term education program, a vocational or technical school, a religious or church mission, or a volunteer or community service training program. Category four is other employment and includes those who were not included in category one, category two, or category three, but who worked for at least three months in sheltered employment, a family business, self-employment, or were employed while in jail or prison. Category four also includes those who worked in a position that fit the definition of competitive employment from category two, but worked fewer than 20 hours per week or were paid less than minimum wage. Category five includes any respondent who did not fit into one of the first four categories. These five distinct and separate categories are combined to comprise the SPPI 14 measures A, B, and C. Indicator measure 14 A is the percentage of respondents who were enrolled in higher education as reported in category one only. Indicator measure 14 B is the percentage of respondents who were enrolled in higher education or competitively employed as reported in categories one and two combined. Indicator measure 14 C is the percentage of respondents who were enrolled in higher education, or competitively employed, enrolled in other education, or engaged in other employment as reported in categories one, two, three, and four combined. LEAs can use the report to answer the following broad questions. Was the LEA's response rate higher or lower than the regional response rate? Was the LEA's response rate higher or lower than the statewide response rate? If the LEA's response rate was lower, why is that? Did the LEA have good contact information for students and families? Were students and families prepared in advance to receive and respond to the survey? How many responses were completed in English and how many in Spanish? What were the SPPI 14 measure C results? How many respondents were enrolled in higher education or employed? This number may be the most important. This number tells whether or not an LEA's transition services help the respondents on their path to continuing their education or getting a job. Now, let's use the reports to develop a more detailed picture. First, did the respondents who were enrolled in higher education utilize their college's disability services? If yes, what accommodations did they use? If no, what percentage did not contact the disability services and why? Did they know they were able to receive services? Did they know how to contact the disability services office? Next, you will see information about respondents who reported having a job at some point during the last year. This chart lets LEAs know how they obtained their job with the following options given. They got the job by themselves. Family members assisted them in getting a job. A friend assisted them in getting a job. A state agency assisted them in getting a job. Community organizations assisted them in getting a job. A former school or LEA assisted them in getting a job. Other. As you look at this information, some questions you may want to ask are, what support does my LEA have to assist students with obtaining employment during their time in high school? What process does my LEA have in place to ensure all students connect with Texas Workforce Vocational Rehabilitation before exiting school? What are some ways that my LEA can use this data to improve services for students with disabilities? Finally, LEAs will find data on which school activities proved helpful to respondents in their transition to life after high school. They could choose from elective classes, academic classes, work experiences, career and technical education classes, and more. When looking at this section of the report, some questions an LEA may want to ask include, what was the most helpful school activity for respondents in my LEA? What was the least helpful? What is my LEA doing that I should continue, change, or eliminate to improve those results? As you can see, the SPPI 14 reports contain a lot of valuable information. And the results from the SPPI 14 survey are critical to LEA in school improvement. I hope the questions posed in this video will prompt deeper solution-oriented discussions with your leadership teams. If you are interested in some ideas to help you with these discussions, watch video three where I will share strategies for improving SPPI 14 outcomes for your LEA.