As part of program support, we provide Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) to the field. This helps facilitate effective communication and improves the understanding of Adult Education policy. This FAQ has been compiled over several months of responses to the field of Adult Education in Illinois.

 

Q1. When should students be separated, and how should they be coded?

If a student separates from the program, it should be correctly coded in DAISI. Per NRS guidelines, follow-up goal outcomes are only measured for students that are separated from the program. According to the federal NRS for Adult Education, students should be coded as separating when:

  • Instruction ends and the student indicates that he/she will not be returning
  • The learner terminates
  • A student has not received instruction for 90 calendar days and is not scheduled to receive further instruction.

 

Q2. What is the 120 day rule?

 Programs may elect to use an assessment from the previous fiscal year for placement in the new fiscal year if that assessment was administered within 120 days of the student’s enrollment in the new fiscal year.

 

Q3. Why are there sometimes significant differences between the Program Status Report’s unduplicated students by instructional level vs. the educational functioning level?

The Program Status Report is always more inclusive. It includes all students with 7.5 attendance hours. The Performance Report is more restrictive. Students must have attended 12 hours; and Vocational, Foreign GED, and Citizenship Only students are not included unless they have been ‘optionally’ tested with the English language TABE.

 

Q4. Do programs still have to pre-test by the third class day?

Pre-testing with an ICCB approved standardized assessment must be conducted by either the third class meeting for a fixed-entry class or by the student’s third class period in an open-entry class to establish a baseline for student progress. Detailed information regarding assessment and appropriate testing waivers resulting from COVID-19 or other national/state emergencies can be found in Assessment (Section 6) of the Provider Manual.

A Temporary Testing Waiver form can be found here.