State Performance Plan 2005-2012 - Part B - Arkansas Department Of Education (Page 206 of 277) in pdf

State Performance Plan 2005-2012 - Part B - Arkansas Department Of Education Page 206

Arkansas Department of Education Special Education Unit

Part B State Performance Plan

Improvement Activities/Timelines/Resources

Arkansas will develop a post-school outcome survey to be conducted in the spring of 2007 for

FFY 2005

graduates, dropouts, and students who exited at maximum age in school year 2005-06. A list of youth with

IEPs from each district will be compiled from the Arkansas Public School Computer Network (APSCN).

The Arkansas Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center will contract with LifeTrack Services, Inc.

to generate mailings, conduct telephone follow-ups, and basic survey response analysis. ADE-SEU will

receive a results analysis report from LifeTrack Services along with the raw data for additional analysis to

be undertaken by the Arkansas IDEA Data & Research Office.

The Arkansas IDEA Data & Research Office will provide district and statewide reports on the survey results

to the ADE-SEU and the State partners in secondary and postsecondary education. This will provide them

with valuable information on how the three priorities, as discussed in Indicators 1, 2 and 13, can be

enhanced; thus, leading to improved secondary transition plans, as well as graduation and dropout rates.

Arkansas’ Post-school Outcomes Sampling Plan

Post-school outcomes will be collected through a stratified random sample. Stratified random sampling

without replacement is used to assign each LEA to a sampling year. The district average daily membership

(ADM) strata are based upon 2004-05 data. The strata are assigned according to natural splits in the existing

ADM data. Within these strata, LEAs were randomly assigned to a collection year. Little Rock School

District, the largest school district in Arkansas with an ADM over 20,000, is the only school district within

ADM strata 1; therefore, it is sampled in year one (1) and will be sampled a second time in year six (6).

Summaries of the number of districts within each stratum as well as per year are provided in Tables 1 and 2.

Treatment of Missing Data: The survey response rate will be examined and reported. In addition, missing

data will be evaluated. Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis will be conducted to investigate the effects, if

any, of non-response and missing data on results of the survey. Demographic and historical data will be

evaluated with regard to differences between students who respond and those who do not. Estimates and

analysis will be adjusted accordingly.

Table 1. ADM Strata

ADM

# Districts ADM Strata

20,000 and over

10,000 to 19,999

5,000 to 9,999

2,500 to 4,999

1,000 to 2,499

1 to 999

144

Total

264

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State Performance Plan 2005-2012 - Part B - Arkansas Department Of Education Page 206