Title II-D Personnel Technological Proficiency
Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the standards-based performance profiles of technology user skills?
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Is there some sort of a system that I can use to determine the proficiency of my staff?
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Are LEAs required to use the PTP Self-Assessment to assess staff?
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How does an LEA report existing staff that have not been assessed but are required to be assessed?
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What are the consequences of having personnel classified as “Not Proficient”?
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What are the consequences of having personnel classified as “Not Assessed”?
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Will an LEA lose Title II Part D funds if the LEA fails to report proficiency information to CDE?
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Are LEAs required to report this information if they do not accept Title II Part D funds?
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Is the district required to retain survey results for audit purposes?
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Are users able to save and exit the system and return to complete the survey later?
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Will the user receive a certificate or an email notifying them of their proficiency rating?
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How does a district obtain the Educator Identification Numbers?
The U.S. Department of Education is requiring each state to report the unduplicated headcount of school personnel assessed against the standards-based performance profiles of technology user skills as defined by the state.
Each LEA that receives Title II Part D funds is required to assess and report the technological proficiency of all instructional personnel.
2. What are the standards-based performance profiles of technology user skills?
CDE endorses the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS·T) and Administrators (NETS·A). Information about the NETS standards can be found at http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx.
3. Who is required to be assessed?
The reporting requirement indicates that each state will need to report the proficiency status of all full-time Teachers, Library/Media Specialists, and Administrators.
CDE has identified the following Job Classification Codes that will require a proficiency status: 105 (Principal), 106 (Assist. Principal), 201-206 (Teachers), 216 (Librarian). Code 104 (Inst. Manager), and 107 (Inst. Coordinator) IF school is specified (not District-wide school code – 9980.)
CDE will use this data to fulfill the reporting requirement set forth by the US Department of Education. Data will be reported at the LEA level. The US Department of Education will use the data to fulfill their requirement to report data to Congress. This information is influential in securing future funding.
5. Can the LEA use this information in staff evaluations?
It is a local decision on whether to use the PTP data in staff evaluations. The state is not requiring the use of this data in staff evaluations. CDE recommends that the information be used to guide future technology professional development focusing the areas in which the LEA staff was not proficient.
6. Is there some sort of a system that I can use to determine the proficiency of my staff?
CDE commissioned the assistance of an outside assessment expert to create two self assessment surveys based on the 2008 NETS·T and NETS·A, one for teachers and media specialists/librarians and the other for administrators. The surveys are reliable and valid and underwent numerous reviews. They are designed for LEAs to determine the proficiency of their staff, including school administrators. The results from the self-assessments will be available to the individual survey taker as well as LEA staff.
Access to the self-assessment tools should open the month of October.
7. Are LEAs required to use the PTP Self-Assessment to assess staff?
No. LEAs have the option of assessing the technology proficiency of staff either by using the CDE’s online assessment tools or by through another method the LEA determines more suitable. If the online tool is used, the LEA will only need to report that the self assessment tool was used to determine proficiency in the annual HR/Sped collection.
8. How do LEAs report the data to the CDE?
LEAs will report the proficiency ratings of personnel through three additional fields in the annual HR/Sped collection.
9. How does an LEA report existing staff that have not been assessed but are required to be assessed?
LEAs will need to report the proficiency level as 02- “Not Proficient”.
10. Are new staff members required to be assessed?
If the staff member is new to the LEA, and has not been assessed, the LEA can report the proficiency level as 03 – Not Assessed and the assessment type as 06 – Not Assessed for that new staff member.
11. What do we do if we require our staff to use the self assessment tool but not all of the staff uses the tool?
The LEA can assess the staff member in a different way. If this is the case, the LEA will need to complete the collection by providing the new assessment information in the Annual HR/Sped collections. Otherwise, the LEA will need to report the staff that did not use the tool as “Not Proficient” in the HR/Sped collection.
12. How often do LEAs need to assess instructional personnel?
Instructional personnel need to be assessed annually until deemed proficient. Once proficient, staff will not need to be assessed again for three years.
13. What are the consequences of having personnel classified as “Not Proficient”?
Each LEA is required to report the proficiency status of its instructional personnel. If the personnel are deemed not proficient, the LEA is required to assess the not proficient staff each year until they become proficient.
14. What are the consequences of having personnel classified as “Not Assessed”?
The response is the same as above (question #13). Remember that the “not assessed” option is only available to staff new to the LEA. The LEA will be required to assess staff each year until they become proficient.
15. What are the consequences if the LEA has a large percentage of personnel that are not technologically proficient?
At this time, CDE will not enforce consequences for LEAs that have a large percentage of personnel that are assessed but not proficient.
16. Will an LEA lose Title II Part D funds if the LEA fails to report proficiency information to CDE?
While CDE is committed to assisting LEAs, there is a risk of future restrictions on the availability of Title II, Part D funds if an LEA does not submit required reports.
17. Are LEAs required to report this information if they do not accept Title II Part D funds?
No, this requirement only applies to LEAs that accept Title II Part D funds.
18. Can the LEA report proficiency data for one teacher and leave the remaining teachers as not assessed?
First, LEAs are expected to make a reasonable effort to comply with this reporting requirement. If CDE determines that the LEA is not making a good faith effort to comply, CDE may increase monitoring, make spending recommendations, or make a recommendation to withhold future funding.
CDE is committed to working with all LEAs to help with complying with the federal reporting requirements. These requirements are not intended to be punitive. The information provided to the U.S. Department of Education will help inform future funding decisions from Congress.
19. Is the district required to retain survey results for audit purposes?
Any information needed regarding this collection for audit purposes can be requested from CDE. If the district does not use the PTP Self Assessment Survey then the district is responsible for retaining records for audit purposes.
20. How long will the survey system be available?
The Self Assessment Survey system will be available beginning October 8, 2010 and will close when the HR/Sped collection closes on February 25, 2011.
21. If a staff member is deemed not proficient, can the staff member take the survey again before the system closes?
No. Staff will need to be re-assessed the following year. This year, you would report that person as “assessed” and “not proficient.”
22. The HR/Sped collection system has an option to report the Type of Assessment as 01 - Self Assessment and the 07 - PTP Self Assessment. What is the difference?
The difference is the type of assessment and the amount of information to be entered. Use the 01 - Self Assessment code if staff to used a tool that is unrelated to the PTP Self Assessment tool provided by CDE. In this case, the district will need to also report the proficiency rating and when the rating was achieved. If the district elects to use the PTP Self Assessment System, the district will only report the type of assessment. The remaining fields can be zero filled.
23. Can staff complete the survey together? For example, all staff would log into the system and go over each question together then supply a response.
No. The system should be used by each individual instructional staff member to rate themselves based on how they feel they are able to perform technology-based activities in their current position.
24. Are Charter School staff required to be assessed?
Yes, they are required to be assessed and their proficiency will need to be reported to CDE.
25. Are users able to save and exit the system and return to complete the survey later?
Yes. There is a "Save and Exit" button at the end of each page of the survey.
26. Will the user receive a certificate or an email notifying them of their proficiency rating?
The last page of the survey provides the results based on the users selections. Users will obtain a proficiency rating if the score is 74.5% or higher.
27. How is the assessment scored?
Each response for each assessment question has been given a point value from 0-4. To determine the score, the tool will divide the cumulative score of responses by the maximum responses possible, to assign a percentage.
28. Is there a report system where districts can retrieve data to determine how many staff have taken the survey?
Upon request, CDE will provide the data received from respondents. Districts can ask for this data as often as they like. The request can be emailed to collins_d@cde.state.co.us. In addition, the HR/Sped collection system has a Technology Assessment Report that will provide a data summary that includes the proficiency level, assessment type, date of assessment and survey results if applicable for each required individual.
29. How does a district obtain the Educator Identification Numbers?
Each district identified an Education Identifier Respondent who was responsible for downloading EID numbers for each employee. Districts will need to contact their EID Respondent for this information.
Return to PTP Self Assessment Survey System
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