NOTE: An updated version of this module of the Self-Study Toolkit can be found in NDTAC's new Assessment Toolkit: Measuring Academic Progress. The new toolkit includes separate sections for State administrators and program managers working at the local and facility levels. Unless you have specific reasons to use this version (e.g., you are trying to compare yourself with other facilities in your State that have used this version), then NDTAC recommends that you use the new expanded version.

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This article is divided into three parts:

Part I.   Introduction

Part II.  Data Collection

Part III. Resources

Part I discusses why academic assessment is important and provides examples of standardized curricula. Part II is designed to help measure how your facility is doing in terms of providing acadmic assessment and offers suggestions on how to improve assessment practices. Part III provides additional resources on curricula and assessment.

III. Resources: Where Can I Find More Information?

Students in most juvenile justice facilities differ from those in the regular school population in that they have unique experiences and needs. Detailed below are some ways others in the field are trying to ensure the instruction provided in facilities prepares students who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk, as well as their public school peers.

Curriculum Resources

From the Courthouse to the Schoolhouse includes a section discussing correctional education, which highlights a 1992 grant awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the National Office for Social Responsibility (NOSR) to improve educational services for detained and incarcerated youth. In addition to the literature review, the grant helped develop model learning environments for incarcerated youth in three sites: Adobe Mountain School in Arizona, Lookout Mountain Youth Center in Colorado, and Sauk Centre in Minnesota.
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/jjbul2000_02_1/corr.html

Adobe Mountain School Web site:
http://www.juvenile.state.az.us/Education/AMS.htm

Lookout Mountain Youth Center Web site:
http://www.cdhs.state.co.us/dyc/FacilitiesTab.htm#lookoutmtn

Santa Clara County’s court–community school system uses a Character-Based Literacy curriculum, developed at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara with incarcerated and alternative school students.
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/education/osborne.html

NDTAC link:
http://www.neglected-delinquent.org/nd/resources/spotlight/spotlight2.asp

Assessment Resources

ASAM
California 's Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM) contracted with WestEd to assess the reliability and validity of assessment tests given at shorter time intervals for at-risk populations. See the ASAM Web site for details regarding their reporting requirements.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/am/

Please see the NDTAC article and poster session to find out more about the process and criteria used to select tests and the final candidates chosen for use within ASAM.

JJEEP
The Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program ( J JEEP) 2003 Annual Report includes a chapter discussing various student assessments used to measure students’ academic gains in Department of Juvenile Justice programs in Florida.
http://www2.criminology.fsu.edu/~jjeep/annual2003/chapter9ar03.pdf

NDTAC JJEEP article:
http://www.neglected-delinquent.org/nd/resources/interviews/blomberg.asp

JJEEP Web page:
http://www.jjeep.org/

LACOE
The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) serving students who are incarcerated and at risk uses assessment as a basis for student placement and educational services. The Juvenile Court and Community School (JCCS) system is fully accredited and structures curriculum into short modules, allowing student records to more accurately reflect work completed.

JCCS Web page:
http://www.lacoe.edu/orgs/243/index.cfm

Please see Larry Springer and Frank Plaistowe’s slide presentation at the NDTAC spring regional transition conference for a detailed description of LACOE’s approach to student assessment.
http://www.neglected-delinquent.org/nd/events/2004may/presentations/orlspringerplaistowe.ppt

Published May 2005

See the Spotlight Archives

Visit NDTAC's Curriculum & Literacy library page.

Check out the first module in NDTAC's Self-Study Toolkit on Records Transfer and Maintenance.

View additional toolkits.

Webinar: Download Dr. Mary Beth Curtis's presentation on Struggling Adolescent Readers for the May 19 Webinar.

Webinar Preview: Download Ms. Dorothy Wodraska's presentation on Merging Two Worlds for the May 19 Webinar.

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