Welcome to our November edition! This month, we cover the following topics:
Documenting student enlistment in the armed forces for accountability
A data tracking tool used to organize your students’ college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) indicators
Ways to create a culture of accountability awareness in your district
Accountability Knowledge:
Enlistment in the Armed Forces
Military enlistment has long been a viable postsecondary option for students. Now, it counts as a CCMR indicator, and Texas districts must document these student plans as part of our A–F system. The 2019 Accountability Manual defines this indicator as enlistment in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marines (p. 15). Enlistment in the reserve components of our military does not count toward A–F accountability.
How to document enlistment for students:
Each district and campus will need to decide how to document this indicator for their students. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has said that enlistment documentation may include contact with a local recruiter, senior survey data, a district-created form with student signature, or similar methods. Each district and campus will need to maintain supporting documentation, which could be subject to audit by the agency. See documentation examples here: Resource page for Region 13 Accountability.
Districts that offer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Career Exploration Program (CEP) will need additional supporting documentation to code students with the military enlistment indicator. The ASVAB CEP alone, with no other documentation, does not indicate intent to enlist. The ASVAB CEP consists of:
The ASVAB multiple aptitude test
Interest Self-Assessment
Career Exploration tools
How to report enlistment for students:
Districts report military enlistment for the previous year’s graduating class in their fall Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) submission. This data may be updated until the January resubmission deadline. Districts use Element ID E1589 to indicate whether students enlisted in or intended to enlist in the US Armed Forces. See page 99 in the Texas School Data Systems PEIMS manual for more information on Element ID E1589.
College, Career, and Military Readiness Strategies
Keeping track of your students’ accomplishments can be challenging. Using a graphic organizer, such as a CCMR tracking sheet, can help monitor student achievement. Region 13 has created a free Excel spreadsheet to visually track students’ CCMR progress at any campus by cohort. You can download the Region 13 CCMR Tracking Tool to your desktop. The spreadsheet shows the names of students who have met one of the CCMR indicators highlighted in blue. The names of students who have met some but not all aspects of a CCMR indicator are highlighted in red. Names of students who have not met any indicator in any capacity have no highlight.
The Region 13 CCMR Tracking Sheet includes three tabs.
The first tab includes instructions on using this tool to track student data
The second tab has examples of senior students and their indicated CCMR achievements
The third tab is for tracking your class of 2020 CCMR indicators
The first tab has additional information related to the following indicators:
College prep ELA and math (TEC 28.014)
Industry-based certifications (letter from TEA – 10/17/2019)
Graduating with completed IEP and workforce readiness (TAC 89.1070)
Earning a Level I or II Certificate 9 (Handout from Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board – THECB)
If you would like to read additional content related to a particular indicator, click the link on the How To tab and search the Texas Education Code or Texas Administrative Code for the specific reference cited.
When working on the tab for CCMR Seniors 2020 in the spreadsheet, you can also hover over each indicator to learn more specific information. For example, when you hover over TSI Reading, a note for the administrator pops up. This note states, “For this TSI Criteria Indicator, a student must earn in both Reading/English and Math. TSI RDG >=351.” Refer to these administrator notes as needed while coding your students.
Making an Impact
Texas OnCourse has created learning opportunities that support educator development on CCMR advising. Within the Texas OnCourse Academy, educators can gain knowledge on the ins and outs of military academy applications and military enlistment. They can also learn more about the ASVAB, which is given at many high schools and can provide a great deal of career information to students. Modules related to these topics are included in the Postsecondary Pathways content area in the Academy. The content map below shows where you can find these modules within the Academy.
Create an accountability culture at your campus. This helpful chart outlines how Texas OnCourse resources support accountability. We’ve included details on how specific learning modules in the Academy can support your staff in these areas, as well as middle school lessons that are relevant from our Middle School Curriculum Guide.
Start early on the legislative requirement from House Bill 3 that calls for all seniors from the class of 2022 to complete a FAFSA or TASFA application. Build a campus task force that includes a counselor, several teachers, your coaches, and at least one administrator to help increase your financial aid applications. Use our Academy FAFSA and TASFA modules to help task force members and other staff build their skills to support students and their families with financial aid completion.
Learning Opportunities
TEA learning opportunities:
Did you know that the TEA Performance Reporting Division has a Performance Reporting Resources page? It links to their latest presentations on accountability, given at various conferences and during Texas Education Telecommunications Network sessions with the regional service centers. They answer frequently asked questions as well – and have already posted two presentations just for the month of November!
Texas OnCourse learning opportunities:
A–F Accountability: Making an Impact Using Texas OnCourse December 3rd, 2019, 10:00 am CST. This webinar is designed for counselors, advisers, teachers, and other educators directly supporting students. Please pass this information on to your staff. Administrators are also welcome to register and attend. You can do so here. Even if you cannot attend live, you will receive a recording if you register.
