Performance Measurement Initiative

The Office of Vocational and Adult Education, the National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL)‚ and its partners‚ MPR Associates and Johns Hopkins University‚ are developing and pilot-testing a new generation of secondary and postsecondary performance accountability systems that improve the ability of schools‚ institutions‚ and state educational systems to assess and report accurately on attainment of academic and technical skills. The project involves federal‚ state‚ and local representatives in: identifying appropriate measures; designing data collection and accountability systems to address those measures; and identifying strategies and mechanisms to use these data for program management‚ program improvement‚ and program accountability.

The initiative was initially designed to "develop a next generation of performance accountability measures for secondary and postsecondary education‚ including career and technical education. “This system was intended to enhance the ability of states‚ districts‚ secondary schools‚ and postsecondary institutions to gather and report data on students’ academic performance‚ transition to postsecondary education and employment‚ and other important outcomes that are anticipated to be in any new legislation. In the absence of new legislation‚ the PMI was refocused on identifying and exploring the viability of various approaches to implementing an exemplary new performance accountability system.

The following is a sample of the types of work that have been conducted:

• Identified members for the Accountability and Assessment Working Group and convened an initial meeting to help guide the project.
• Developed an RFP and review process to identify six states to collaborate on the project and the development of an exemplary performance accountability system.
• Designed and convened a national forum for the six participating states‚ providing facilitators for each state and focusing on a range of performance measurement and data collection issues.
• Employed a rigorous review and analysis process that culminated in an Analytical Mapping Report. The report was used as a basis for a feasibility structure‚ format‚ and analysis plan.
• Designed a state performance measurement guide that identifies performance indicators as well as flow charts that suggest a series of alternative options and implications for states and locals.
• Developed a protocol to use with two states that explores the feasibility of these states collecting data related to the OMB common core measures. These two states will be collecting data that explore the feasibility of using UI wage records to assess secondary and postsecondary student employment outcomes.