Evaluating the Federal Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority: Early Implementation and Progress of State Efforts to Develop New Statewide Academic Assessments. Evaluation Report. NCEE 2023-004

Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states temporary flexibility from federal testing requirements so that they may more easily make progress toward replacing their current assessments with more innovative ones. The key incentive to participate in IADA is that students trying out the innovative assessment are not required to also take the state's current assessment. However, states approved for IADA must still show that their innovative assessments meet most requirements for federal accountability, and they are expected to implement the new assessments statewide within 5 years. This report describes the progress of the first five assessment systems approved under IADA in order to help policymakers consider expanding the program to more states. The report is primarily based on an analysis of states' IADA applications and performance reports to the U.S. Department of Education through the 2020-2021 school year and is part of a broader evaluation of IADA required by Congress. [For the Appendix, see ED627873. For the Study Highlights, see ED627880.]

Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Community College Students. Research Report. RR-A2552-1

The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. The COVID-19 pandemic notably exacerbated these issues and underscored the urgent need to identify and implement ways to ameliorate the youth mental health crisis. In 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called on the field of higher education to address growing concerns about student mental health by identifying and elevating emerging and promising approaches that offer a more holistic way to support students' mental health. Serving as the main entry point for more than 40 percent of students seeking a postsecondary degree, community colleges represent a tremendous and untapped opportunity to better address mental health in the United States, particularly for students who have been traditionally underserved (e.g., students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students). However, community colleges have limited evidence and guidance to inform the implementation of multilevel, holistic approaches to support students with varying mental health needs. To address this knowledge gap, this report shares a descriptive study of eight community colleges at the forefront of implementing multilevel approaches (a combination of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services) to support student mental health, as well as key facilitators for and barriers to their success. [For "How Community Colleges Can Support Student Mental Health Needs. Research Brief. RB-A2552-1," see ED627489.]

How Community Colleges Can Support Student Mental Health Needs. Research Brief. RB-A2552-1

The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. Without adequate mental health support, college students, including those at community colleges, may be at risk for a variety of academic and nonacademic consequences that negatively affect their overall well-being, including lower college completion rates, higher rates of substance use, and lower lifetime earning potential. This research brief describes a study examining eight community colleges from across the United States which found that, although the institutions did offer mental health services, most lacked a clear organizing framework for those efforts, and that financial challenges limited the support offered to students. The research also highlighted the importance of community college leaders explicitly prioritizing student mental health, as well as broad staff buy-in to the effort. [For the full report, "Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Community College Students. Research Report. RR-A2552-1," see ED627480.]

Distance Learning in an Inclusive Preschool Focused on Autism During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Multiple Case Study of Four Children

Despite the widespread use of distance learning during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, little is known about the developmental appropriateness of this instructional format for preschoolers, particularly when implemented in inclusive settings. The current research was implemented in a university-affiliated, state-funded inclusive preschool classroom focused on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) where parents were given the option to enroll in a full distance program (FDP) during the first 9 weeks of the 2020/21 school year. Parents of four children, including two children with ASD, selected the FDP option. Synchronous whole group, small group, and individual online sessions were recorded using screen capture and coded for children's maintained attention and directed communication. Further, parents and teachers completed exit interviews or a focus group, which were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative research methods. This is the first study to use observational methods to measure child engagement during preschool FDP sessions. Results from this mixed-method multiple case study paint a rich picture of both opportunities and limitations inherent in distance learning when implemented in inclusive preschool settings. General conclusions, future directions, and study limitations are discussed.

A Participatory Pedagogical Model for Online Distance Learning: Ideation and Implementation

In spite of its increasing popularity, distance education faces challenges -- levels of digital literacy, access to technology, workload and time management, students' feelings of isolation and disconnection -- that can have a significant impact on the experience of the learners. In addressing these issues, we propose a pedagogical model for distance learning which promotes the synergy of eight ingredients -- Community, Openness, Multimodality, Participation, Personalisation, Learning, Experience, Technological-Enhancement, with their initial letters generating the acronym COMP-PLETE -- for the shaping of a highly participatory online learning experience and the creation of an active and cohesive community characterised by a strong sense of commitment towards the learning of the individuals and that of the group. This paper presents the theoretical rationale for and implementation of COMP-PLETE. It also provides recommendations for researchers and practitioners interested in cultivating an online learning community which responds well to the aforementioned challenges posed by distance education.

Evaluating the Federal Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority: Early Implementation and Progress of State Efforts to Develop New Statewide Academic Assessments. Study Highlights. NCEE 2023-004h

Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states flexibility from federal requirements so that they may more easily make progress toward replacing their current assessments with more innovative ones. The report describes the early progress of the first five IADA systems to help policymakers consider expanding the program to more states. The report is primarily based on analyses of states' IADA applications and annual performance reports through the 2020-2021 school year and is part of a broader evaluation of IADA required by Congress. This Study Highlights describes the key findings from the report. [For the full report, see ED627872. For the Appendix, see ED627873.]

Differentiated approach to the implementation of preventive and anti-epidemic measures among military personnel based on the COVID-19 disease risk assessment scale

Aim of the study - to develop a scale for assessing the risk of COVID-19 disease for a differentiated approach in conducting preventive and anti-epidemic measures among military personnel. Material and methods. An array of published data was analyzed to select the risk factors for a possible COVID-19 disease. The disease risk assessment scale proposed on the basis of this analysis is implemented in the form of a table in MS Excel and a program in MS Visual Studio in C# with the inclusion of recommendations for making a management decision. Results. The risk factors for COVID-19 disease were selected and included in the questionnaire. A scale for assessing the risk of COVID-19 disease was developed: when a risk factor was identified, one point was assigned;otherwise, zero points were assigned. Then all the points are added together, and this amount is considered proportional to the risk of contracting COVID-19. The resulting total score is correlated with the recommendations for the scope of preventive and anti-epidemic measures. With the program implementation of the scale, it is possible to quickly make an adequate management decision. Conclusion. The use of such approaches can be a significant contribution to the fight against the new coronavirus infection.Copyright © 2021 Infectious Diseases: News, Opinions, Training. All rights reserved.

Smart welfare and slow digital poverty: the new face of social work

The arrival of the pandemic which has affected the entire world, in addition to spreading fear due to the initial inability to manage the health crisis, has increased the fluidity and uncertainty in today's society. The system of social security itself has not only changed its contents, combining primordial material welfare with a relational type of well-being, but also its form. We have gone from the more conventional form of face-to-face relationships to the more innovative methods making us talk about e-welfare with the use of digital technology. If on the one hand the latter has removed the space-time barriers, connoting itself as smart welfare, on the other hand it has generated a digital divide, with the creation of the digitally poor. During the pandemic, schools, health care and social services have had to invent new operational methods on an experimental level by using cutting-edge organisations to meet their new needs. The aim of the article is therefore to shed light on these changes which are taking place by highlighting the operational and ethical implications of digitalisation in order to find a new approach to social work which has been seen as 'a beacon in the night of the pandemic'. L'avvento della pandemia che ha coinvolto l'intero globo, oltre a disseminare paura per l'iniziale incapacità di gestione dell'emergenza sanitaria, ha acuito le caratteristiche di fluidità e di incertezza della società attuale. Lo stesso sistema di protezione sociale ha cambiato non solo i suoi contenuti, affiancando al primordiale benessere materiale (welfare) un benessere di tipo relazionale (wellbeing), ma anche le sue forme. Si è passati da quelle più classiche che richiedevano esclusivamente un rapporto face to face a quelle più innovative che fanno parlare di un e-welfare che contempla l'uso del digitale. Quest'ultimo, se da un lato ha consentito l'abbattimento delle barriere spazio-temporali, connotandosi come smart welfare, dall'altro, ha generato un digital divide, facendo nascere il povero digitale. In piena pandemia la scuola, la sanità, il servizio sociale per fronteggiare i bisogni nuovi hanno dovuto inventare modalità operative inedite o agite solo a livello sperimentale da organizzazioni all'avanguardia. Scopo dell'articolo è pertanto quello di porre in luce questi cambiamenti in atto, evidenziando le implicazioni operative ed etiche del processo di digitalizzazione per ripensare ad un nuovo volto del lavoro sociale che ha rappresentato "un faro nella notte pandemica".

Innovating for mental health and wellbeing among foundation year doctors

Fern Raven, advanced nurse (clinical) practitioner, explains how her role and its associated innovations have helped to improve mental health and wellbeing among foundation year doctors at her trust.

Culturally Competent Policy Practice in Minority Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Contextual and Structural Perspective

Minority communities have borne a disproportionate burden of health, social and economic consequences during the pandemic. By engaging in policy-shaping processes, social workers can contribute to the development of beneficial policies for minority communities. When working in cross-cultural environments with majorities and minorities, social workers must develop cultural competence to be effective in policy practice. Despite the importance associated with cultural competence in policy practice (CCPP), little empirical evidence exists regarding what is required of social workers in order to engage in culturally competent policy change during the pandemic. In the present study, we address this lacuna through the theoretical framework of culturally competent policy practice. Drawing on twenty-one in-depth interviews, which were conducted at two time points during the pandemic with social workers who work with ultra-Orthodox minority communities in Israel, we demonstrate that CCPP involves the combination of two perspectives—contextual and structural. These include identifying and analysing social problems from a local and global perspective, reshaping the problem through self-awareness and critical awareness of power relations, and applying cultural competence skills that reflect the unique characteristics of the communities. This article discusses the strengths and limitations of CCPP, especially when implemented in changing social and political situations.

Towards best practice during COVID-19: A responsive and relational program with remote schools to enhance the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Purpose: From 2018, the Schools Up North (SUN) programme worked with three remote Australian schools to enhance their capability and resilience to support the wellbeing and mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff. This paper explores the implementation of SUN during the first two years of COVID-19 (2020–2021). Method: Using grounded theory methods, school staff, other service providers and SUN facilitators were interviewed, with transcripts and programme documents coded and interrelationships between codes identified. An implementation model was developed. Results: The SUN approach was place-based, locally informed and relational, fostering school resilience through staff reflection on and response to emerging contextual challenges. Challenges were the: community lockdowns and school closures;(un)availability of other services;community uncertainty and anxiety;school staff capability and wellbeing;and risk of educational slippage. SUN strategies were: enhancing teachers' capabilities and resources, facilitating public health discussions, and advocating at regional level. Outcomes were: enhanced capability of school staff;greater school-community engagement;student belonging and engagement;a voice for advocacy;and continuity of SUN's momentum. Conclusions: The resilience approach (rather than specific strategies) was critical for building schools' capabilities for promoting students and staff wellbeing and provides an exemplar for remote schools globally.

Implementing a State-Funded Peer-Run Mental Health Warmline During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The advent of COVID-19 was associated with an upsurge of "warmlines," or telephone lines staffed by non-clinicians that provide non-crisis mental health support. This paper describes a state-funded warmline initiative that was part of a public health approach to mitigating the harms of COVID-19 among people living with mental illness.

Linking Adult Education to Workforce Development in 2018-19: Early Implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act at the Local Level. Evaluation Report. NCEE 2023-001r

For more than 70 years, the federal government has supported efforts to improve adult literacy and other basic skills. Many adults need help with basic skills like reading, writing, mathematics, and English proficiency to succeed in the American workforce. Congress has long provided resources to help individuals address these educational challenges, most recently through Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. But WIOA includes new requirements and incentives to strengthen the link between adult education and the overall workforce development system, to move adults into and along a career pathway. This report from a national evaluation of Title II examines the extent to which local adult education providers' instructional approaches and coordination with other agencies reflect this link and highlights the challenges providers experience in collecting related performance data. The report describes providers' reported experiences in program year 2018-19, the first year when the more than 1,600 providers receiving federal Title II funds were expected to operate under WIOA's rules and before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted provider operations. [For the appendices to this report, see ED626772. For the supplemental compendium, see ED626773.]

Changing English Local Authority Duties by the Adoption of Easements in the COVID-19 Pandemic, Findings from an Interview-Based Study

This article reports findings from a study on the effect of the adjustments or 'easements' that were made to the 2014 Care Act when measures to manage the impact of COVID-19 were introduced in England in 2020. Only eight local authorities (LAs) implemented the changes permitted. The experiences of five are explored in this article. Data were collected in 2021 through interviews with Directors of Adult Social Services and other senior managers in these LAs and analysed using a thematic approach. Participants referred to the challenges under which they were working pre-pandemic, including resource pressures and problems recruiting and retaining staff. Despite the conditions attached to adopting easements these LAs had done so because of the uncertainties they were facing. All ceased to use them within a short time because they could manage without them. They had been shocked by the concerted opposition to easements and the time necessitated in responding to this. They contrasted their experiences with the apparent ease with which NHS colleagues had been able to change their practices. The experiences of these LAs may contribute to planning for the continuity of social care in any future emergency.

An Analysis of Employee Assistance Programs in the Workplace

Across the world among various industries, the concept of employee assistance and/or employee wellness programs are becoming increasingly more popular and widespread. Between the global pandemic, hybrid or fully remote working arrangements, increased cost of living and increasing inflation, this rapidly advancing society provides a new set of challenges that were either nonexistent or not as prominent as when employee assistance programs were first created. Originally instituted as a response to alcohol dependency, the desires and needs for employee assistance programs range from personal employee matters occurring both in the workplace and at home to general depression and anxiety support that is provided by the employer for any reason. This research presents an opportunity to better understand employee assistance programs from the perspectives of individual use and program effectiveness. A collection of literature spanning four consecutive decades is synthesized and referenced to help build a case for providing corresponding recommendations for the future implementation, management, and oversight of employee assistance programs. The major themes identified throughout the literature include but are not limited to program evaluation and effectiveness, employee retention, program participation, and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Applied Professional Studies is the property of Marywood University, PhD Program in Strategic Leadership & Administrative Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Team of Caring Educators Delivering a Specialized Math Curriculum for Racialized Youth during COVID-19

This study examined the efficacy of an afternoon and weekend academic program called the "Community School Initiative" (CSI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. CSI was offered to racialized students and families from the Jane and Finch community in Toronto which is one of the most under-resourced neighbourhoods in Canada. It involved a partnership between private social enterprise "Spirit of Math" and non-profit organization "Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education" (YAAACE). Seven teachers participated in a focus group and 33 students and parents completed a survey to express their experiences attending the CSI. Findings were identified using thematic analysis from a Critical Race Theory paradigm. Key characteristics of effective structural community-programming were identified. The results highlight the importance of access to opportunities in a culturally reflective manner to ensure student success through continuity of care particularly on evenings and weekends involving a team of caring educators.

The Implementation of a Nutrition Intervention in Food Pantries: The Spirit of SWAP.

Background. Food insecurity, affecting approximately 10% of the U.S. population, with up to 40% or higher in some communities, is associated with higher rates of chronic conditions and inversely associated with diet quality. Nutrition interventions implemented at food pantries are an effective strategy to increase healthy food choices and improve health outcomes for people experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP), a stoplight nutrition ranking system, can facilitate healthy food procurement and distribution at pantries. Purpose. Guided by the RE-AIM Framework, this study assesses the implementation and outcomes of SWAP as nutritional guidance and institutional policy intervention, to increase procurement and distribution of healthy foods in pantries. Method. Mixed-methods evaluation included observations, process forms, and in-depth interviews. Food inventory assessments were conducted at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results. Two large pantries in New Haven, Connecticut, collectively reaching more than 12,200 individuals yearly, implemented SWAP in 2019. Implementation was consistent prepandemic at both pantries. Due to COVID-mandated distribution changes, pantries adapted SWAP implementation during the pandemic while still maintaining the "spirit of SWAP." One pantry increased the percentage of Green foods offered. Challenges to healthy food distribution are considered. Discussion. This study has implications for policy, systems, and environmental changes. It shows the potential for SWAP adoption at pantries, which can serve as a guide for continued healthy food procurement and advocacy. Maintaining the "spirit of SWAP" shows promising results for food pantries looking to implement nutrition interventions when standard practice may not be possible.

Supporting staff at a low secure mental health setting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Why you should read this article: • To learn about some adaptations to practice adopted by a low secure mental health unit during the COVID-19 pandemic • To be aware of interventions used to enable staff to continue to support patients during the COVID-19 pandemic • To appreciate that staff's experience of the adaptations to practice and the well-being support offered to them during the pandemic can be used to inform post-pandemic practice The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly disrupted the work of healthcare professionals in forensic mental health settings, but also prompted them to adopt new ways of working that have benefits and challenges. A low secure mental health unit in the UK adapted its ways of working during the pandemic by providing staff who could work remotely with the necessary equipment. The unit also implemented a stepped psychological response, as recommended by The British Psychological Society, to assist its staff to continue to support patients. This article describes the unit's response to the pandemic and discusses the findings of two evaluations – staff experiences of remote working and of a group relaxation session. The findings could help inform post-pandemic practice in forensic mental health settings.

Sharing Lessons From Successes: Long-term Care Facilities That Weathered the Storm of COVID-19 and Staffing Crises

Purpose: To identify leadership styles and staffing strategies in Missouri long-term care (LTC) facilities that stood out among their peers as "positive deviants" with regard to COVID-19 infections and staffing shortages. Methods: Statewide survey of all LTC facilities to identify exemplar facilities with stable staffing and low rates of COVID-19. Interviews with senior leaders were conducted in 10 facilities in the state to understand the strategies employed that led to these "positive outliers." A result-based educational program was designed to describe their actions and staff reactions. Results: Exemplar leaders used transformational leadership style. Top reasons for their success were as follows: (1) trusting and supportive staff relationships;(2) positive presence and communication;and (3) use of consistent staffing assignments. Strong statewide participation was noted in the educational programs.