Cornell University
ILR School
Employment and Disability Institute
TransQUAL Online
New York State Report
December 2008
Prepared by:
David Brewer, Sr. Extension Associate
Employment and Disability Institute
Cornell University
ILR School, Extension Division
201 Dolgen Hall, Garden Avenue
Ithaca, New York 14853-3901 USA
Telephone: (607) 254-4696
Fax: (607) 255-2763
TTY/TDD: (607) 255-2891
Email: drb22@cornell.edu
Website address: http://www.edi.cornell.edu
TransQUAL Online
Overview
What is TransQUAL Online?
TransQUAL Online is a tool to support school district teams as they collaboratively review and improve their practices in career development and transition. TransQUAL is built on the New York State Transition Quality Indicators Self-Assessment (TQI), adapted from the work of Dr. Paula Kohler from Western Michigan University (see Taxonomy for Transition Programming: http://unix.cc.wmich.edu/~kohlerp ). This web site is developed and maintained by Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute, through the support and guidance of the New York State Education Department, Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (NYS VESID).
TransQUAL Online is designed for use in a collaborative manner, bringing together educators, parents, student leaders, agency personnel, and business people.
TransQUAL Online supports continuous improvement, with features that encourage multiple uses and incremental systems change. For more information, contact:
David Brewer, TransQUAL Manager
Employment and Disability Institute
Cornell University
ILR School, Extension Division
201 Dolgen Hall, Garden Avenue
Ithaca, New York 14853-3901 USA
Telephone: (607) 254-4696
Fax: (607) 255-2763
TTY/TDD: (607) 255-2891
Email: drb22@cornell.edu
Website address: http://www.edi.cornell.edu
Features of TransQUAL Online
Password-Protected Accounts: Each educational program has its own unique account. When a TransQUAL planning team signs in, they view their contact information, team members, and the results of previous planning efforts.
Collaborative Self-Assessment: The self-assessment portion of TransQUAL Online is made up of 76 Transition Quality Indicators (TQI), which have been sorted into 5 categories:
1. Educational Program Structure
2. Interagency and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
3. Family Involvement
4. Student Involvement
5. Student Development
Collaborative planning teams have the opportunity to select one or more of these areas for further study. Planning teams can then quickly prioritize one or more indicators for work plan development.
Work Plan Development: Once an indicator has been selected for work plan development, TransQUAL Online brings the planning team to a work plan development web page.
When a work plan is completed and saved, the planning team has a printer-friendly document for distribution to team members and other stakeholders.
Progress Report: TransQUAL planning teams can reflect on the results of their planning and implementation efforts through an online Progress Report.
Help and Discussion Forums: TransQUAL Online planning teams can navigate to a list of Internet links, organized by the 5 categories above, of effective national practices and resources. Teams may also engage in threaded discussions to make announcements or pose questions to our growing TransQUAL Online community.
TransQUAL Online Statewide Results:
January 2000-December 2008
How many Teams use TransQUAL to generate Work Plans?
Since TransQUAL Online began in 2000, a total of 1026 TransQUAL Work Plans have been developed and saved by 555 unique collaborative planning teams. The table below shows the use of this online tool by increasing numbers of educational programs across New York. Over the last five years, the numbers of teams that have created TransQUAL Work Plans across two or more calendar years (“Repeat Users”) has gradually increased. However, the number of Records with Work Plans created and the number of Planning Teams has shown dramatic gains over the last three years. These numbers point to the success of our outreach efforts to attract new TransQUAL teams, while maintaining the interest and use of our existing teams.
TransQUAL Records w/, Work Plans, Planning Teams and Repeat Users: 2000-2008
|
|
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
# of Records Work Plans |
1 |
49 |
96 |
114 |
89 |
99 |
124 |
294 |
157 |
|
# of Planning Teams |
1 |
46 |
94 |
101 |
84 |
90 |
114 |
261 |
119 |
|
# of Repeat Users |
0 |
1 |
21 |
48 |
50 |
44 |
62 |
95 |
76 |
In 2008 a total of 119 teams have created 157 Records with Work Plans.
The table below shows the numbers of Work Plans, planning teams, and repeat users for 2008. The 2008 planning teams that created work plans are located in the Eastern (21), Hudson Valley (25), Long Island (3), Mid-State (8), Midwest (26), New York City (12), and Western (24) Transition Coordination Site (TCS) regions.
Quarterly Numbers of 2008 TransQUAL Planning Team, Records with Work Plans and Repeat Users
|
|
Jan-Mar |
Apr-Jun |
Jul-Sept |
Oct-Dec |
|
# of Records with Work Plans |
69 |
46 |
15 |
19 |
|
# of Planning Teams |
67 |
40 |
14 |
18 |
|
# of Repeat Users |
44 |
12 |
4 |
14 |
Where has TransQUAL been in use by school districts?
How many years have school districts used TransQUAL?
The table below shows the number of academic years TransQUAL Work Plans were created by New York State school districts (n=716), from 01/2000 to present – broken down by Transition Coordination Site (TCS). Currently, nearly 52% (370) of New York’s school districts have Work Plans that have been entered into TransQUAL Online.
|
Transition Coordination Site Region (% of districts with 1 or more Work Plans) |
# of School Districts with 0 Work Plans Created |
# of School Districts with 1 Academic Year of Work Plans |
# of School Districts with 2-3 Academic Years of Work Plans |
# of School Districts with 4-6 Academic Years of Work Plans |
|
Eastern (42%) |
81 |
30 |
25 |
3 |
|
Hudson (35%) |
91 |
28 |
17 |
2 |
|
Long Island (35%) |
79 |
24 |
15 |
3 |
|
Mid-State (56%) |
51 |
34 |
27 |
4 |
|
Midwest (91%) |
9 |
13 |
32 |
34 |
|
NYC (84%) |
3 |
21 |
6 |
2 |
|
Western (60%) |
32 |
23 |
26 |
1 |
|
Total (52%) |
346 |
173 |
148 |
49 |
BOCES/Regional Programs
81 BOCES and New York City regional teams have created a total of 170 TransQUAL Records w/ Work Plans. The table below displays the program location, number of work plans and planning teams, from January 2000 to present.
|
BOCES/Regional Program |
# of Teams |
# of Work Plans |
|
Broome-Tioga BOCES |
1 |
2 |
|
Capital Region BOCES |
2 |
2 |
|
Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming BOCES |
3 |
5 |
|
Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego BOCES |
2 |
3 |
|
Eastern Suffolk BOCES |
10 |
15 |
|
Erie 1 BOCES |
2 |
22 |
|
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES |
2 |
3 |
|
Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Genesee Valley BOCES |
3 |
5 |
|
Greater Southern Tier BOCES |
5 |
12 |
|
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Jefferson-Lewis BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Madison-Oneida BOCES |
3 |
3 |
|
Monroe 1 BOCES |
7 |
12 |
|
Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES |
1 |
6 |
|
Nassau County BOCES |
3 |
3 |
|
New York City Schools (e.g., Dist. 75) |
6 |
43 |
|
Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Onondaga-Cortland BOCES |
2 |
3 |
|
Orleans-Niagara BOCES |
6 |
6 |
|
Oswego BOCES |
2 |
2 |
|
Otsego-Northern Catskills BOCES |
3 |
5 |
|
Putnam-No. Westchester BOCES |
3 |
3 |
|
Rockland BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES |
2 |
2 |
|
Ulster BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES |
1 |
1 |
|
Westchester 2 BOCES |
5 |
5 |
|
Totals |
81 |
170 |
Where has TransQUAL been used across 2 or more years, completed a Progress Report, with a mixed team membership?
The table below shows the number of TransQUAL school district repeat users who may have utilized the TransQUAL online Progress Report and/or whose teams are mixed -- people not employed by the school district (e.g., parents, students, agency personnel). Note: Online data entry on team membership and progress reporting has only been available to TransQUAL teams since October 2005.
|
Transition Coordination Site Region |
# of School Districts with 2 or more Work Plans Created, only |
# of School Districts with 2+ Work Plans and 1+ Progress Reports |
# of School Districts with 2+ Work Plans, and 1+ Mixed Teams |
# of School Districts with 2+ Work Plans, 1+ Progress Reports, and 1+ Mixed Teams |
|
Eastern |
8 |
1 |
15 |
4 |
|
Hudson |
8 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
|
Long Island |
9 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
|
Mid-State |
12 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
|
Midwest |
25 |
8 |
18 |
16 |
|
NYC |
0 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
|
Western |
5 |
0 |
14 |
8 |
|
Total |
67 |
14 |
78 |
39 |
What are team perceptions of their transition practices, desired changes, and Work Plan development?
The following tables indicate accumulated New York State TransQUAL assessment and Work Plan data, completed by collaborative planning teams from the year 2000 to the present. Detailed within each are TQI ratings, and indications of both desired change and Work Plans development.
Summary of each of the 5 TQI Topic areas
This table details the distribution of TQI 1-5 ratings across all of the five topic areas listed in the far left column. The TQI ratings are as follows:
1=Indicator not evident, no planning has been initiated
2=Indicator not evident, planning is underway
3=Indicator evident in some, but not all, situations
4=Indicator evident across all situation
5=Exemplary, can educate others about this issue.
This is followed by the percentage (and numbers) of indicators that were checked “Change Desired” by New York State Teams. Of those checked “Change Desired”, the far right column indicates the percentage (and numbers) developed into actual Work Plans. The following tables provide a further analysis of the 5 TQI Topic Areas.
|
TQI Category (# of Indicators) |
# of 1-5 Ratings and Histogram |
% (#) Responses Checked "Change Desired" |
% (#) "Change Desired" Developed into Work Plans |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|||
|
Educational Program Structure (19 TQI) |
2211 |
3391 |
5587 |
3915 |
1437 |
39% (4716) |
12% (547) |
|
Interagency and Interdisciplinary Collaboration (13 TQI) |
2328 |
2611 |
4720 |
1894 |
587 |
32% (3529) |
12% (416) |
|
Family Involvement (8 TQI) |
1608 |
1602 |
2151 |
1084 |
404 |
34% (2336) |
14% (346) |
|
Student Involvement (20 TQI) |
1420 |
1874 |
4768 |
5764 |
2749 |
19% (3059) |
16% (496) |
|
Student Development (16 TQI) |
1698 |
2633 |
5411 |
3139 |
1036 |
27% (3697) |
14% (529) |
|
GRAND TOTAL OF CATEGORIES (76 total TQI) |
9265 |
12111 |
21637 |
15796 |
6213 |
24% (17337) |
14% (2334) |
Educational Program Structure
Does the educational program have the resources and structure to communicate clear guidelines, provide professional development and encourage creative opportunities for growth of transition and school-to-careers?
Summary of the Educational Program Structure TQI Categories
|
TQI Category (# of Indicators) |
# of 1-5 Ratings and Histogram |
% (#) Responses Checked "Change Desired" |
% (#) "Change Desired" Developed into Work Plans |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|||
|
Program Philosophy (4) |
296 |
493 |
1303 |
1027 |
380 |
24% (834) |
17% (142) |
|
Program Policy (4) |
376 |
761 |
1230 |
839 |
279 |
30% (1071) |
19% (198) |
|
Strategic Planning (2) |
289 |
472 |
603 |
295 |
79 |
36% (623) |
8% (49) |
|
Program Evaluation (2) |
261 |
336 |
571 |
427 |
142 |
28% (478) |
7% (36) |
|
Human Resource Development - School (4) |
443 |
631 |
1119 |
889 |
394 |
26% (912) |
9% (79) |
|
Resource Allocation (3) |
546 |
698 |
761 |
438 |
163 |
31% (798) |
5% (43) |
|
TOTAL: Educational Program Structure (19 total TQI) |
2211 |
3391 |
5587 |
3915 |
1437 |
29% (4716) |
12% (547) |
This topic has the highest overall number (547) of Work Plans created by collaborative planning teams. Most of the indicators were rated a 3 (indicator evident across some, but not all, situations). The exception to this was in the category of Resource Allocation, where a higher percentage of indicators were rated 1-indicator not evident, no planning has been initiated. All of these TQI categories were frequently checked “change desired” – most frequently under the Strategic Planning category, where 36% of the entries were checked. Interestingly, higher percentages of Work Plans were created in the areas of Program Philosophy (17%) and Program Policy (18%). This may speak to the need on the part of planning teams to develop an internal capacity as a starting point for program development.
Interagency and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Are educational program educators and community agencies aware of each others’ services and engaged with students in collaborative projects to improve transition outcomes?
Summary of the Interagency and Interdisciplinary Collaboration TQI Categories
|
TQI Category (# of Indicators) |
# of 1-5 Ratings and Histogram |
% (#) Responses Checked "Change Desired" |
% (#) "Change Desired" Developed into Work Plans |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|||
|
Interorganizational Framework (2) |
239 |
307 |
624 |
412 |
136 |
29% (495) |
16% (79) |
|
Human Resource Development -- Interagency (3) |
752 |
700 |
711 |
305 |
93 |
34% (879) |
11% (95) |
|
Organizational Planning (3) |
569 |
658 |
784 |
423 |
133 |
32% (815) |
9% (69) |
|
Individual-Level Planning (2) |
147 |
239 |
748 |
433 |
153 |
26% (452) |
17% (77) |
|
Collaborative Service Delivery (3) |
621 |
707 |
853 |
321 |
72 |
35% (888) |
11% (96) |
|
TOTAL: Interagency and Interdisciplinary Collaboration (13 total TQI) |
2328 |
2611 |
3720 |
1894 |
587 |
32% (3529) |
12% (416) |
The TQI ratings vary widely across all of the categories. The common element is the relatively low number of indicators that were rated a 4 or a 5. Human Resource Development, Organizational Planning, and Collaborative Service Delivery were rated a 1 frequently. The percentage of work plan development under Collaborative Service Delivery has increased from 8% in September 2007 to 12% in December 2008. The Model Transition Project may be responsible for this increase.
Family Involvement
Are families actively participating in transition planning, community resources, training events, and program development activities related to life after school?
Summary of the Family Involvement TQI Categories
|
TQI Category (# of Indicators) |
# of 1-5 Ratings and Histogram |
% (#) Responses Checked "Change Desired" |
% (#) "Change Desired" Developed into Work Plans |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|||
|
Family Involvement (2) |
529 |
395 |
563 |
178 |
47 |
34% (579) |
16% (90) |
|
Family Empowerment (3) |
341 |
436 |
839 |
674 |
279 |
26% (673) |
15% (101) |
|
Family Training (3) |
738 |
771 |
749 |
232 |
78 |
42% (1084) |
14% (155) |
|
TOTAL: Family Involvement (8 total TQI) |
1608 |
1602 |
2151 |
1084 |
404 |
34% (2336) |
15% (346) |
Overall, planning teams are indicating a desire to change their current status regarding family involvement in the transition process. The Family Empowerment category does show higher numbers of 4 and 5 ratings than the other two categories. With frequent total ratings of a 1 or a 2 under the Family Training category, along with 42% of the TQIs checked “change desired,” the percentage of indicators in this category that have been turned into Work Plans has jumped from 10% to 14% over the past year. Overall there have been 114 new work plans created in 2008 under the category of Family Involvement.
Student Involvement
Do students actively participate in a process of vocational assessment, IEP development, academic and career planning to achieve desired educational and adult outcomes?
Summary of the Student Involvement TQI Categories
|
TQI Category (# of Indicators) |
# of 1-5 Ratings and Histogram |
% (#) Responses Checked "Change Desired" |
% (#) "Change Desired" Developed into Work Plans |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|||
|
Student Participation (5) |
270 |
535 |
1392 |
1441 |
518 |
23% (937) |
20% (189) |
|
IEP Development (10) |
820 |
925 |
2271 |
2806 |
1452 |
18% (1494) |
15% (225) |
|
Accommodations and Planning Strategies (5) |
330 |
414 |
1105 |
1517 |
779 |
15% (628) |
13% (82) |
|
TOTAL: Student Involvement (20 total TQI) |
1420 |
1874 |
4768 |
5764 |
2749 |
19% (3059) |
16% (496) |
Planning
teams rated their educational programs a 3, 4 and 5 at a
much higher rate under Student Involvement than under the other four
categories. Along those same lines, 19% of TQI in this category are developed
into Work Plans, up from 10% in 2007. This increase may be due to the State
Performance Plan 13 (SPP 13) emphasis on student involvement in the IEP
development process, along with the addition of a crosswalk between SPP 13 and
the TQI.
Student Development
Are course offerings in the areas of academics, life skills, vocational evaluation/preparation, and work experience responsive to local economic conditions and the diversity of your student population?
Summary of the Student Development TQI Categories
|
TQI Category (# of Indicators) |
# of 1-5 Ratings and Histogram |
% (#) Responses Checked "Change Desired" |
% (#) "Change Desired" Developed into Work Plans |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|||
|
Academic Skills Instruction (3) |
168 |
345 |
1055 |
795 |
254 |
21% (574) |
19% (106) |
|
Life Skills Instruction (3) |
349 |
515 |
1036 |
541 |
164 |
25% (656) |
8% (52) |
|
Employment Skills Instruction (2) |
257 |
388 |
742 |
282 |
70 |
31% (534) |
12% (64) |
|
Career & Vocational Curricula (2) |
179 |
203 |
668 |
530 |
158 |
18% (310) |
10% (30) |
|
Vocational Assessment (4) |
431 |
683 |
1246 |
801 |
322 |
28% (963) |
19% (181) |
|
Structured Employment Experiences (2) |
314 |
499 |
664 |
190 |
68 |
38% (659) |
15% (96) |
|
TOTAL: Student Development (16 total TQI) |
1698 |
2633 |
5411 |
3139 |
1036 |
27% (3697) |
14% (529) |
Most of the TQI under this topic were rated a 3 (Indicator evident across some, but not all, situations) by collaborative planning teams. Structured Employment Experiences had higher percentages of 1 and 2 ratings, and the highest percentage of indicators checked “change desired.” The highest rate (19%) of work plan development was under Academic Skills Instruction and Vocational Assessment.
December 2008 Summary
School districts continue to use TransQUAL Online in New York State. Many existing users are creating TransQUAL Work Plans across two or more years. The accumulation of TransQUAL data about TQI ratings, the indicated desire of TransQUAL planning teams to change their present status, and the creation of related Work Plans point to the need for resources and technical assistance in transition and career development, especially in the following areas:
Family Training – The most common 1-5 rating for this category was 1-Indicator not evident, no planning has been initiated. Although the highest percentage (42%) of the TQI responses within this category were checked Change Desired, only 14% of those checked indicators were actually developed into Work Plans. This disparity suggests that planning teams either consider this issue a lower priority than others, or perhaps teams were unable to generate viable ideas to remedy their concerns. Increasing the involvement of family members within TransQUAL planning teams may help generate viable ideas for Work Plans.
Structured Employment Experiences -- A growing body of research suggests that students who earn wages will be more successful in post-school employment and postsecondary education opportunities. A somewhat higher percentage (15%) of the TQI under this category were selected for Work Plan development. Here is an opportunity for planning teams to share how they were able to develop capacity to increase student involvement in work experiences.
Program Policy, Program Philosophy – Higher percentages of planning teams developed Work Plans to address school district infrastructure – setting policies and procedures that support the provision of transition services. Developing examples from successful school districts, especially with regards to State Performance Plan Indicator 13, will assist other school districts as they establish their own processes.
Interagency Human Resource Development – Most of the TQI under this category were rated as “not evident.” A relatively high rate of check marks for Change Desired (34%) and a low percentage of selection for Work Plan development (11%) indicate a need for further study and discussion, especially regarding school-Voc. Rehab. Collaborations and the Sharedwork.org website for learning community development.
The TransQUAL Resource Project staff is working closely with each of the Transition Coordination Sites across New York State to plan appropriate local outreach activities. A State Performance Plan 13 subset of Transition Quality Indicators has been identified for team self-review, with a TransQUAL SPP 13 assessment feature added in 1996. So far, 204 unique TransQUAL planning teams have selected this new feature to create 245 TransQUAL records. See http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/edicollect/1228/ for more details.