| |
Activities
|
| |
Part I – Teacher Pipeline Application |
| |
Task 1. Management
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) shall manage this
TEAL II project in an efficient manner that fosters communications with staff, SCHEV, and
Virginia’s schools of education.
Subtask 1.1 Post Award Conference
Within the first week after contract award, Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract
with HigherEd.org, Inc.)'s project director and other key project staff as identified in the
proposal shall review (in person or on a conference call) with the SCHEV Policy Research and
Data Warehousing Director and other appropriate SCHEV staff the overall contract tasks,
identify potential problems and possible solutions, and discuss areas of concern related to the
proposed project staffing plan and other management requirements. The primary purpose of
this meeting is to refine the management, staffing, and overall scheduling plan contained in
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.)’s technical proposal.
These refinements will not alter the specifications or the design of the contract, but will provide
management information for use by Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with
HigherEd.org, Inc.) and the government in monitoring the work to be performed.
Subtask 1.2 Schedule
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) shall develop and
maintain a detailed schedule covering the full project period. For all activities within the
project, the schedule shall detail the key staff assigned and the projected start and completion
dates. The schedule shall be updated monthly, retaining planned and actual completion dates.
For each monthly update, all actual completion dates shall be entered and the future three (3)
months' planned activities shall be updated as appropriate.
Subtask 1.3 Monthly Project Status Reports/Vouchers
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) shall report monthly
on the progress made in accomplishing the project tasks, the consumption of funds, problems
encountered, and plans for the next month. The monthly report shall detail the progress made
in accomplishing the project tasks and subtasks, problems encountered, and plans for the next
month, including any schedule revisions. By attachment, the financial status of the project shall
be described, including detailed monthly charges by named staff. Monthly vouchers shall also
be submitted according to SCHEV requirements.
Subtask 1.4 Weekly Conference Calls or Emails
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) shall arrange for
weekly conference calls or email exchanges with SCHEV to discuss progress of the project and
to resolve any questions or problems that may arise.
Subtask 1.5 Quality Control Plan
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) shall develop a plan
for quality control. A summary of the results of this quality control monitoring shall be included
in each monthly report.
Task 2. Development of Web Data Applications for Schools of Education
The web application will be simple enough to be used by non-technical staff in the various
schools of education.
Subtask 2.1 Develop web app for schools for submission of student ID record, student
contact record, and student entry record
The security, website, database structure, edit checks, and institutional displays of the Teacher
Pipeline Application will be developed for three of the records as soon as possible. These
include the student ID/header record, the student contact record, and the student
entry/admissions record. Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org,
Inc.) will adapt existing SCHEV unit record layout dictionaries, programs, and edits whenever
possible. The Fall Headcount Enrollment file is the most similar to these proposed TPA records.
The Student ID/header record consists of the social security number, institutional student
identification number, name, gender, race ethnicity, date of birth, IPEDS institutional UNITID,
and 10 optional fields for institutional use.
The Student Contact record stores current address, telephone, and email.
The Student Entry record includes typical entry data such as previous educational attainment
and teaching experience, test scores, and grade point averages.
Subtask 2.2 Develop web app for schools for submission of continuing student record and
program completers record
Two additional record types will be completed once the initial collection mechanism is put in
place and fully operational. These include the Continuing Student record and the Program
Completers record. As with the other record types, Radford University (as indicated in the
subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) needs to address and implement security, website design,
database structure, edit checks, and institutional displays for these data.
The Continuing Student record references the current year and term, the Continuing Student
Flag (which indicates whether this is the start of term for a new student, start of term for a
continuing student, term withdrawal, or end of term), and progress information such as
cumulative and program grade point averages (GPA). Also included is a “Student Program” field
to allow institutions and SCHEV to track when students change programs.
The Program Completers Record includes PRAXIS II test scores, information about field
experiences or probationary teaching, teaching plans, and degree awards.
Subtask 2.3 Develop online HTML/ASP forms for manual submission of collection records
Institutional users will be able to enter data manually through HTML forms.
Subtask 2.4 Develop file upload capability for text, Access, and Excel formats
Institutional users will be able to upload files in several formats, including text, Microsoft
Access, and Microsoft Excel.
Subtask 2.5 Edit checks
For the first semester of submissions, data entry edit checks are expected to be relatively
simple. These are expected to grow in complexity as questions arise from schools of education
as they submit data.
Subtask 2.6 Record matching
As data are submitted for the five types of records, it is required that no student identifiers or
SSNs be used that do not have an existing student entry record. Data that include entry errors
or other problems will be flagged for resolution by the submitting institution before that can be
used in aggregate reports.
Task 3. School Data Collection by HTML and File Upload
Subtask 3.1 Develop online HTML/ASP forms for manual submission of collection
records
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.)
will develop the software for institutional users to be able to enter data manually
through HTML forms.
Subtask 3.2 Develop file upload capability for text, Access, and Excel formats
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.)
will develop the software for institutional users to be able to upload files in several
formats, including text, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel.
Subtask 3.3 Edit checks
For the first semester of submissions we will design data entry edit checks to
be relatively simple. These are expected to grow in complexity as questions arise
from schools of education as they submit data.
Subtask 3.4 Record matching
As data are submitted for the five types of records, it is required that no
student identifiers or SSNs be used that do not have an existing student entry
record. Data that include entry errors or other problems must be flagged for
resolution by the submitting institution before that can be used in aggregate
reports. Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org,
Inc.) will incorporate this into its development of the TPA software.
Task 4. User-Managed Optional Fields and Support Tables
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) will provide for
user-managed optional fields with corresponding support tables to allow local customization of
data without programmer intervention.
Subtask 4.1 Develop Optional Fields
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) will modify the data
collection system so that schools can document and collect data on optional fields of interest to
them for their students. These will be available regardless of the method selected for
submission (HTML forms or upload). These will be part of the student ID/header record.
Institutions will be able to design and implement these new fields with web processes. The
resulting information will be available for institutional use and for SCHEV oversight. Some form
of dynamically generated reporting on these data will be made available as well.
Subtask 4.2 Develop Support Tables
Crosswalks and other types of mapping will be developed in the form of support tables. These
will allow for lookup and conversion of institutional data so that they are comparably analyzed
and displayed in the SCHEV TPA Data Warehouse. These will be recommended by Radford
University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) and approved by SCHEV.
They may include data lookup tables such as program, major, certifications desired, etc. unless
these may be accommodated with variations of existing SCHEV support tables such as provided
in the Institutional Information (II) files.
Task 5. Development of SCHEV Data Warehouse Application for TEAL II Reporting
A new feature of the SCHEV Data Warehouse web application will be developed to display
information about TEAL II reporting.
Subtask 5.1 Integration of Web Applications into SCHEV’s Existing System
As the collection system and support tables are developed, they will be fully integrated into
SCHEV’s existing system. This requires that SCHEV standards, record layouts, and
documentation be adhered to. This documentation will allow for seamless integration of the
new TPA reports and results into the SCHEV research section and collection sites.
Subtask 5.2 Development of web-based data warehouse for reporting within SCHEV
A new addition to the SCHEV Data Warehouse will be created to provide for the analysis and
display of standard reports about TPA data. These will utilize the support tables as needed.
They will be based upon the same types of institutional summary table shells which will be
created. These reports will access the unit record data and will allow for drill down to the
institution level on a variety of fields of interest. These will not drill down to the student level,
but will allow for selections and specialized reports.
Subtask 5.3 Basic reporting
Upon submission of their data, institutional staff will be able to review individual and
aggregate/summary data about their teacher education students in the TPA. These reports
may also be viewed by SCHEV.
Subtask 5.4 Longitudinal displays of data on individual students
As TPA data are collected over the course of several semesters, institutional representatives and
SCHEV staff will be able to view the progress longitudinally of both individual students and
groups of students. It is expected that these reports will be designed to display specific sets of
characteristics, such as test score thresholds, institution, and demographic variables. The
results will show progress over time at the aggregate and student levels.
Subtask 5.5 Subsequent enrollment and completions tracking
Through direct connectivity to SCHEV’s existing database, institutions would be able to identify
students leaving their program/institution and enrolling elsewhere in the Commonwealth. The
TPA software needs to allow for periodic joins between the SCHEV unit record database and the
TPA database. The results will identify additional enrollments and program completions which
occur at other institutions. Both SCHEV Data Warehouse displays and institutional displays at
the original and transfer institutions will be produced as part of longitudinal tracking.
Task 6. Labels and Files for Mail-Merge Use
Institutions and SCHEV will be able to print labels directly or download files for mail-merge use.
Subtask 6.1 Ability to print labels directly or download files for mail-merge use.
ASP software will be developed so that institutional and SCHEV staff may dynamically create a
file with information suitable for printing labels (name, address). These will be made available
as a CSV file format that may be used in mail-merge utilities, as well as for direct printing of
standard size labels.
Task 7. Training and Web Tutorials
Subtask 7.1 Training
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) will design and with
approval present a schedule of training sessions for schools of education staff around Virginia.
It is expected that three to four such sessions will be held and travel costs will be included. All
materials will be prepared for distribution. The training materials will be revised based upon
feedback from SCHEV and participants as the project evolves during the course of the contract.
Publicity, registration, and conduct of these training sessions will be the responsibility of
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.); as will the
documentation and dissemination of any results from these meetings.
Subtask 7.2 Web Tutorials
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) will design and with
approval create a set of web-based tutorials for the staff of schools of education to use. The
resulting ASP code, navigation system, and graphics will be integrated within the project
website materials on the SCHEV research section site as appropriate.
Task 8. Project Website
Subtask 8.1 Design project website
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) will design and after
approval from SCHEV implement a project website which contains user-friendly materials and
status reports about TEAL II data collection efforts.
Subtask 8.2 Maintain project website
Radford University (as indicated in the subcontract with HigherEd.org, Inc.) will maintain the
project website to ensure that materials and status reports about TEAL II data collection efforts
are timely and accurate.
|
|
|
