State Leadership Funds (Adult education and family literacy act Section 223 (AEFLA))
AEFLA Section 223(1)(a)
On February 14, 2020, the Iowa Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation released a request for proposals for a five-year federal grant to provide adult education and literacy Section 231 activities and services as well as a proposal for Section 243, Integrated English Literacy and Civics Engagement. Local workforce development areas participated in the review process and provided feedback on the alignment of eligible applications with their local plans under section 108 of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Award recipients completed the first renewal period on June 30, 2022. Also in 2022, as part of the on-site monitoring process, the Department began including tours of one-stop centers. The addition of these tours and introduction of state staff to local core partners during on-site monitoring further promotes the alignment of adult education and literacy activities with the one-stop required partners.
The Iowa State Core Partner Working Group, made up of state policy makers from the Iowa Department for the Blind, Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and Iowa Workforce Development, published initial guidance on requirements for local MOUs. In November 2022, local areas submitted MOUs and updated local plans to the state core partners for review and scoring. The state working group delivered technical assistance and guidance for recommended revisions to the plans. At the conclusion of this process all local plans were approved. The MOUs were routed to the Iowa Department of Education for review and signature as the state agency has maintained responsibility for one-stop Title II activities.
The Iowa State Core Partner Working Group under the direction of the State Workforce Development Board (SWDB) completed the one-stop certification standards. The one-stop certification establishes standard expectations for the quality and consistency of customer-focused services provided by partners. The development and presentation of the one-stop certification standards to the SWDB focused on effectiveness, accessibility, and continuous improvement. Local Workforce Development Boards will begin the initial round of certifying their centers October 2022 through September 2023.
AEFLA Section 223(1)(b)
Iowa's professional development system is designed to coordinate state-level high quality professional development activities within Section 223(a). The projected impact of professional development on instruction and adult learner outcomes is evaluated by the following criteria:
- Potential for statewide implementation and adoption into AEL instructional strategies, methodologies, and curriculum;
- Long-term improvement in program outcomes measured by the state and local programs’ ability to continually meet negotiated benchmark levels; and
- Capacity to effectively meet participant and program literacy goals.
The state professional development system is managed in coordination with AEL administrators, instructors, and trainers representing all funded programs. A data-driven planning process is used to identify professional development needs and to set priorities for each program year. Iowa emphasized key areas of training in adult education standards, digital literacy, distance education, and English language instruction. Highlights from PY 2022-23 include:
STudent Achievement in Reading (STAR) – Currently the STAR program is being revised for the upcoming year. STAR will continue to assist Iowa’s implementation of evidence-based practices to provide adults with the reading skills they need to achieve their goals in school, the workplace, and their daily lives. STAR training will be part of our Strategic Planning for implementation for 2024 and we will most likely move to an every other year training.
Teaching Skills That Matter (TSTM) – TSTM trains teachers to integrate important skills using researched based approaches in crucial topics for adult learners. All of Iowa’s AEL programs have been able to participate in TSTM training opportunities, we are currently evaluating future training opportunities.
Canvas Training - Upskilling AEL instructors in online course development and delivery in Iowa’s learning management system continues to be a priority. All programs were invited to participate in seven virtual webinar trainings to work on their content in a sandbox course.
IDEAL Teacher Training - The IDEAL teacher training was built to support teachers using the Iowa Distance Education Adult Literacy (IDEAL) online courses. Participants were immersed in the course content, completed a getting started checklist, learned how to monitor online student progress, and navigated the course assessments. We continue to work with our AEL providers to deliver online distance education training to local instructors to enhance student participation.
Connectible – This portal platform has been used as a recruiting and enrollment tool, including demographic collection, contact information and communications from instructors to students. Several programs have used this platform to create a dashboard that can include tracking student details and assessment scores for CASAS and TE. Connectible now can continue to be used on a program-by-program basis.
Standards-in-Action 2.0 - Instructors and state staff were invited to participate in a one on one with national trainers including Math and ELA/ELL in the fall of 2022. Expectations are to apply lessons from each training session to the review of your selected curriculum during the follow-up work sessions. Work with the SIA 2.0 experts to debrief the review of your selected curriculum. Assist with developing an action plan to expand your state’s curriculum review alignment efforts after the training.
Future Directions 2023-2024
Several high-quality professional development activities are planned including:
- SIA 2.0 Curriculum Review for ELA and Math - Participants will learn how to ensure that the content of instruction is aligned to content standards but utilizing a curriculum that is utilized in the state. The interactive training will be offered to all programs.
- Canvas and Online Instructor Training - Canvas and IDEAL training prepare instructors to adapt course content, learn virtual classroom management, and distance education strategies. Iowa will continue to use AtomicJolt for IDEAL course enhancement and support.
- Standards-in-Action 2.0 - Instructors and state staff will examine and reflect on instructional models of core academic content in literacy and math for English learners.
- Teaching Skills That Matter - Iowa will continue to implement TSTM by delivering a TSTM strand at the 2023 summer conference and statewide webinars. TSTM will continue to be part of the professional development discussion.
AEFLA Section 223(1)(c)
State leadership funds support the following activities and initiatives in providing technical assistance (TA) to AEL-awarded providers, core partners, and the education and workforce community.
AEL Coordinators - Each year state staff update the Coordinator Handbook, including key areas of WIOA implementation, Iowa AEL policies and best practices in instructional services and program management. The Department conducted the annual training for new and experienced program coordinators in December 2023. Program leaders meet on a bi-monthly basis throughout the calendar year.
Data Specialist - Each year state staff update the data specialist handbook. The handbook is a comprehensive reference on entering data into the Iowa AEL management system (TOPspro Enterprise). In addition, a Data Dictionary is December provided to set a statewide standardization of instructions and definitions for the data management system. Data specialists meet with a state consultant every other month to discuss topics such as registration, updates to the data management system, NRS guidelines, year-end performance and assessment policies.
AEL Instructors - AEL instructors participated in TA organized by the Department on Northstar, an online digital literacy program. The TA covered digital literacy standards, assessments, curriculum, self-directed online learning, and how to start incorporating and implementing digital literacy using the Northstar features.
Education and Workforce Community - Iowa AEL is responsive to requests from sector partnerships, Regional Planning Partnerships, and economic development committees. These collaborations expand AEL’s participant pipeline and help connect students to meaningful pathways toward education and careers.
The Department developed and disseminated practices and guidance through multiple statewide targeted webinars. The webinars were based on the Department’s review of monitoring outcomes and on an analysis of key data points associated with provider effectiveness. Targeted TA included:
- A review of IET and IELCE program requirements, measurable skills gain, models of workforce training, eligible training costs, qualifying credentials, and the program approval form for new and existing IETs and IELCE.
- Pre-monitoring meetings with providers, sometimes referred to as monitoring orientation meetings, include a review of the purpose of monitoring, the monitoring process, guidance documents, submission of supporting documentation, and associated timeline.
Future Directions in 2023-2024
- The Department identified areas for statewide continuous improvement which will be addressed through various activities including the continuation of a series of webinars.
AEFLA Section 223(1)(d)
State staff assess providers’ implementation of the Iowa Program Standards Framework with on-site and virtual monitoring. The risk-based monitoring process allows staff to gauge compliance with WIOA provisions, identify areas of improvement, determine technical assistance needs, and note innovative or promising practices.
In PY 2022-23 state staff employed an updated risk analysis tool that incorporated new data elements related to performance, fiscal management, services, assessment, data quality, and Integrated Education and Training (IET). The results help the Department identify which local programs are at high, moderate, or low risk of noncompliance and to administer strategies appropriate for each tier, including virtual monitoring and the development of improvement plans (high risk), virtual monitoring (moderate risk), and consultation with state staff to select and disseminate noteworthy practices (low risk).
The Department conducts an on-site visit to each program during the five-year federal grant cycle (PY21-25), regardless of risk, for a total of three every year. While virtual monitoring involves a targeted review of select standards, on-site visits address all program standards. State staff expanded the on-site schedule to three days, with providers presenting a virtual program overview on the first day, the site visit on day two, and a virtual exit meeting for the preliminary report and discussion on the third day.
The team met its goal of conducting a full monitoring of three programs: Iowa Central Community College (6/26/2023), Des Moines Area Community College (5/9/2023), and Northeast Iowa Community College (5/23/2023). Nine of the 12 programs received targeted virtual monitoring based on areas of need identified by the annual risk assessment. The remaining three programs consulted with the Department to identify and share a best practice or model with the Iowa AEL community. The ultimate goal for the Department’s monitoring process, regardless of strategy, is continuous program improvement.
AEFLA Section 223(a)(2)
In addition to working closely with the core and required one-stop partners, Iowa’s AEL consultants forged partnerships with organizations whose missions are aimed at improving the outcomes of underserved populations, such as Iowa Literacy Council and United Way among others. The State has used funds for permissible activities including:
- Professional Growth - A web-based professional development platform was used to track that providers are participating in high quality professional development. The system captures, tracks, and reports in the areas of individual professional development plans; completed hours of training; and classroom observations. The observation component is used by local providers to identify professional development needs.
- Virtual Conference - Department held the Iowa Adult Education Virtual Conference January 31st through February 2nd. The virtual conference was an opportunity for AEL providers to learn innovative practices in adult education.
- Iowa Adult Education and Literacy Conference – In June 2023 the Department held its annual AEL summer conference. The conference was delivered virtually for the second year in a row. Topics of note were DOE to DWD-Transition to Stability, leadership, career essentials for adult learners, innovative classroom strategies, IET/IELCE, and IDEAL. The conference objectives were to strengthen leadership skills, build understanding of state initiatives, expand online instruction, and bring together the AEL community. The conference will continue to include the Iowa Literacy Council for sponsorship, direction, and administration. Plans for the upcoming year include more engage with all WIOA partners.
Performance Data Analysis
Performance Data Analysis
In PY 2022-23, a typical adult education and literacy student served was female (53.3%), employed (47.15%), a minority (69.0%), averaging 25-44 years of age (50.0%).
Iowa had a post test rate of 60% this program year with nine of twelve educational functional levels meeting the target and an overall measurable skill gain rate of 48%. We also had an increase in high school equivalency completers with a total of 1,675, a 7.5% increase over last year.
Iowa’s Adult Education and Literacy Enrollment
Overall enrollment has increased 28.6 percent over the past two years with ABE enrollment increasing slightly at 11.2 percent and ESL increasing 48.1 percent. Participants increased 11.2 percent in PY 2022-2022 with 10,505 participants compared to PY 2021-22 with 9,328 participants. Of the total number of participants that met the NRS guidelines, students in ABE, including ABE Levels 1-6, comprised the largest group by program type with 52.9 percent of the total learners served. Students enrolled in ESL, including ESL Levels 1-6, increased to 46.9 percent from 42.9 percent enrolled. This is trend continues to increase as we return to pre-pandemic levels.
|
Participant Enrollment |
|||||
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
|
Adult Basic Education |
6,507 |
5,319 |
4,942 |
5,328 |
5,569 |
|
English as a Second Language |
4,532 |
4,159 |
2,559 |
4,000 |
4,936 |
|
Total |
11,039 |
9,478 |
7,501 |
9,328 |
10,505 |
Retention
Student retention is critical to the process of accessing progress. Persistence and sufficient hours decreased slightly with 42.3 percent of the 13,889 individuals seeking services persisted for a minimum of 12 or more hours of instruction and a pre-test. Average hours of instruction for the 10,505 enrollees federally reported increased again this year to 74 hours which is the same from last program year. This remains similar compared to the PY 2021-2022 where the average was also 74 hours. ESL averaged the highest with 87 hours while ABE decreased slightly to 61. Using ABE Level 1-5 and ESL levels 1-6, the posttest rate was 60%.
Of the 5,881 post tested, 68.7 percent achieved a measurable skill gain, a slight decrease from program year 2021-22. Of the 688 participants at ABE Level 6, 75.43 percent achieved a measurable skill gain.
Measurable Skill Gains
Of the 10,505 participants, Iowa had 10,670 periods of participation. Of the 10,670 periods of participation, 48.9 percent (5,091) made a measurable skill gain. This is a 8.9 percent increase over PY 2022-2023 and exceeded our overall target of 47 percent.
|
Functioning Level |
PY19 MSG |
PY20 MSG |
PY21 MSG |
PY22 MSG |
PY22 Goal |
PY23 Goal |
|
ABE Beginning Literacy |
36% |
26% |
36% |
39% |
38% |
38% |
|
ABE Beginning Basic |
35% |
31% |
34% |
46% |
45% |
37% |
|
ABE Intermediate Low |
36% |
32% |
37% |
42% |
43% |
40% |
|
ABE Intermediate High |
42% |
39% |
43% |
51% |
45% |
46% |
|
ASE Low |
60% |
48% |
49% |
55% |
60% |
55% |
|
ASE High |
69% |
61% |
69% |
70% |
68% |
71% |
|
ESL Beginning Literacy |
54% |
36% |
53% |
46% |
45% |
50% |
|
ESL Low Beginning |
50% |
39% |
50% |
53% |
51% |
50% |
|
ESL High Beginning |
47% |
36% |
47% |
45% |
51% |
50% |
|
ESL Low Intermediate |
41% |
33% |
46% |
46% |
46% |
47% |
|
ESL High Intermediate |
48% |
36% |
46% |
49% |
48% |
31% |
|
ESL Advanced |
30% |
26% |
31% |
35% |
30% |
47% |
Primary Indicators of Performance
Iowa utilizes a data match process to determine if performance targets have been met for the follow-up core measures. Employment the 2nd quarter after exit was up slightly to 55.48 percent from 52.3 percent the previous program year. Median quarterly wage earnings for 2nd quarter after exit were also up to $7,318 compared to last reporting year at $6,069. IELCE participants continue to have the highest quarterly earnings with $12,845 while IET participants have a high rate of employment at 73.7 percent. Distance learners were employed at 55.5 percent earning a quarterly wage of $5,622. Overall employment in the 4th quarter after exit is 57.5 percent.
Improvements
Quarterly reports have been implemented as an additional check. Our focus on achieving measurable skill gains with managed enrollment and instruction target to EFL proved successful. We exceeded our target of 47 percent measurable skill gains with 47.71 percent.
Future Directions in PY 2023- 2024
We will continue to focus our attention on managed enrollment and instruction targeted to EFL. Programs are also working on using a statewide student management system to enroll and communicate with students along with professional development tracking.
Integration with One-stop Partners
The Iowa Department of Education is the state-level entity responsible for Title II. The Department is a member of the SWDB and is represented on all state level WIOA working groups and committees. Working in collaboration with core WIOA partners, the Iowa State Core Partner Working Group has been engaged in fulfilling the strategic goals of the Unified State Plan. The Working Group continues to work with other partners around service integration to reduce duplication and ensure effective collaboration.
Local AEL providers offer career services at one-stop centers and/or via direct linkages. These include outreach, intake, and orientation; skills and supportive services needs assessment; program coordination and referral; training provider performance and cost information; and information on the availability of supportive services and referrals. Some providers offer direct access to such services as workforce preparation and training at one-stops or nearby classes but have had services interrupted due to the pandemic and in person restrictions. The applicable career services provided in the one-stop system are documented with WIOA partners and tracked locally to help identify duplication, streamlining efforts, and cost sharing information needed for the MOU. Title II providers have been able to implement remote assessment to determine basic skill needs and have pivoted many services to an online delivery for participants.
Infrastructure costs are not currently supported by local agreements. MOU guidance is still under development and will be published at a later date. State agencies responsible for WIOA have been working together in recent months to develop IFA policy and guidance for local areas. The state AEL team has provided and will continue to offer technical assistance on WIOA laws and regulations.
Future Directions in PY 2023-2024
- Title II will launch a shared statewide distance education curriculum and provide digital literacy instruction and career services accessible at the one-stop centers; and
- Title II will continue to expand career services remotely through the implementation of a new statewide student management system.
- Title II will move over[S[1] to Iowa Workforce Development on July 1st, 2023 as part of statewide reorganization for better alignment with WIOA.
Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education
IELCE Funds and grants
On February 14, 2020, the Department released a request for proposals for a five-year federal grant to provide adult education and literacy Section 231 activities and services as well as a proposal for Section 243, Integrated English Literacy and Civics Engagement. During PY 2021-22 five (5) Iowa AEL providers continued to carry out IELCE services with allocations ranging from $25,204 to $70,612. Each year, providers set targets for the number of IELCE participants to be served in the upcoming program year.
Our next competition for IELCE funding will begin this summer for the AEFLA 243 funding.
Training activity
In PY 2022-23 the Department employed professional development as a key strategy for supporting local programs’ efforts to deliver IELCE services in combination with integrated education and training activities.
The Department continued to provide professional development with an emphasis on local employer needs, employer engagement, and partnerships through several ZOOM trainings highlighting best practices from recent successful IELCE’s from Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo and Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids along with national models. Best practices included working with a variety of new Iowan English language learners providing services and instruction at different levels, providing curriculum and training based off of regional employer needs for in demand industries, along a career pathway entry (includes manufacturing, food processing and construction) that is modified for the learners ability to become proficient and employable. Inclusivity and culture are a focus for both employer and all employees for these IELCE programs to be successful and positive impact for both the learner as an employee and for the employer as they meet their regional business needs. These opportunities were designed to provide program staff with information and strategies necessary to develop and deliver quality IELCE services in combination with IET activities. Four presentations were offered for all AEL staff which included the differences in the services provided in Section 243 along with guidance in submitting appropriate IET and IELCE programming and claim documentation.
In the fall of 2022, the state engaged a high-level statewide IET/IECLE initiative to build a common state model for IET and IELCE implementation described in the next section.
IELCE Section 243(c)(1)
Reported IELCE activities focused on healthcare, retail, and manufacturing sectors. Department staff also provided statewide technical assistance to address provider questions about IELCE, particularly about the Integrated Education and Training (IET) component, including in-demand industries and occupations. Along with this, the state engaged a high-level statewide IET/IECLE initiative to build a common state model for IET and IELCE implementation. Several Deans, Directors and Vice-Presidents along with Adult Basic Education Coordinators from Iowa Lakes Community College, Kirkwood Community College, Northeast Iowa Community College, Iowa Valley Community College, Hawkeye Community College and Des Moines Area Community College collaborated over the past spring over 12 times to clarify state IET IELCE needs, identify issues with regard to IET IELCE implementation and to collaborate on a working model that can be utilized by all Iowa 15 providers. From this group a mentorship committee has been established including Iowa Central Community College, Hawkeye Community College, Kirkwood Community College, Iowa Valley Community College, Des Moines Area Community College along with a state sponsored EdTech curriculum provider-AtomicJolt. The mentorship committee is tasked with working with all of our IET and IELCE providers on assessing current IET and IELCE programs needs. The committee will also be assisting with professional development and training regarding working with employers for their in-demand industry needs, gathering American Community Survey Data for marketing to an IET IELCE cohort, and creating curriculum and training specific to each providers region and community needs. We will continue supporting all 15 providers as they work towards continued IET and IELCE programs and executing new IET IELCE programs with guidance from the AEL team and other program mentors. This model was presented at COABE in 2023 by all members of the statewide cohort.
Funded eligible providers maintained strong ties to local workforce development systems through participation on regional workforce boards and established referral processes with local one-stop centers. Provider engagement with community college continuing education and career and technical education programs that have established relationships with employers likewise assured their integration with local workforce development systems and the opportunity to promote IELCE as an avenue to address workforce needs.
Iowa reported 180 IELCE participants with 86 exiting the program with 48% achieving an MSG outcome with median second quarter earnings of $12,228.17 after exit. Our challenges continue to include expanding our IELCE activities to all providers, outreach and retention of our IELCE cohort, and sustaining and continuation of IELCE instruction. Included in our lessons learned is sharing resources and curriculum, exploring ways to incorporate and share virtual access for specific IELCE instruction across all of our programs. As we move forward with implementing program goals, we created a shared IET/IELCE state initiative library of resources, templates and samples as we incorporate professional development for all providers.
IELCE Section 243(c)(2)
Providers are represented on local workforce boards or their standing committees and have established referral processes with local one-stop centers. Iowa’s Integration with local workforce development systems presents valuable opportunities to promote IELCE as an avenue to address regional workforce needs through program updates to the LWDB and consistent engagement with workforce partners about regional workforce needs. Iowa is transitioning to a new State Director in July of 2023 which will provide new leadership as the program settles into Iowa Workforce Development. There will be a renewed emphasis for integration of IECLE programing with local workforce development systems as we move forward.
Adult Education Standards
The Common Core State Standards (Iowa Core Standards) were adopted for all K-12 grade levels in 2010. All federally funded adult education programs in Iowa are required by Iowa’s Administrative Rule 23.7(1), adopted January 14, 2015, to align reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, English acquisition, distance education, and staff training practices with content standards for adult education. These standards include the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), 21st Century Skills, and English Language Proficiency standards. The FY21- 25 Competitive Grant Application for AEFLA (WIOA, Sec 231 and Sec 225) required that all grantees are required to adopt and align instruction to the standards.
The Department organizes professional development activities and carries out an enhanced monitoring process to ensure federally funded adult education programs implement the adult education standards. The monitoring structure includes analysis and observation of the adult education standards in lesson plans, curriculum, and assessment for preparation in transitioning participants to further education or employment.
A challenge to the implementation process is the continuous need for training on the adult education standards. Providers are requesting training on the basics and while also wanting to enhance teacher’s knowledge of the standards through training such as SIA 2.0. This creates a need for both basic and enhanced standards training to be scheduled every year.
Future Directions in PY 2023-2024
- The Department will utilize its enhanced monitoring and technical assistance process to review standard aligned lesson plans for courses, curriculum, and assessments; and
- The Department will continue to deliver technical assistance and professional development by creating asynchronous online courses for basic standard training and for enhanced SIA 2.0 along with curriculum development through CANVAS, IDEAL and AtomicJolt.
Programs for Corrections Education (AEFLA Section 225)
The Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) developed definitions and terms used in Iowa’s reporting on recidivism to establish standard performance measures. They defined a measure of recidivism—the return rate to prison—as the percent of offenders released from prison who return within three years. The releases tracked include parole; discharges due to end of sentence; and sex offender releases to special sentence supervision. The recidivism rate for FY 2023 in Iowa was 34.3 percent — a lower recidivism than the recidivism rate observed in FY2022. Iowa’s AEFLA funded providers enroll participants at state correctional institutions and local correctional and institutionalized facilities. Based on the terms of an MOU and the use of shared state leadership funds, all correctional education programs are accountable to the required WIOA performance, except when excluded, and they are subject to Iowa’s assessment policies. Corrections and institutionalized individuals constituted 1,371 of the total periods of participation in adult education reported in Iowa and 56% of them achieved a measurable skill gain. Access to post testing opportunities due to closures during the pandemic continued to impact performance.
Future Directions in PY 2023-2024
- The Department will continue to work with the Iowa Department of Corrections as part of Ascendium Optimizing Post Secondary Education in Prison initiative to prioritize access to educational services which will include funding for education navigators; this is the last year for this initiative.
- Clear pathways from basic skills to in-demand industry credentials will be developed expanding access to concurrent services with models of IET/IELCE piloted.