Better Reporting Transforms CTE Program Management

Seeking a Data Management Solution

A fellow Texas CTE director recommended that Steve look into Eduthings, a management and reporting system that consolidates CTE data into one portal, in a Career and Technical Association of Texas roundtable.  

“I was blown away by what I saw. Eduthings had great reporting tools, the kind I have been looking for,” says Steve. “And, when I did the cost-benefit analysis, considering how much time it would save me, it was pennies on the dollar.” 

It was the funding tool that most appealed to Steve. Although the Texas Student Attendance Handbook has a formula that he can use to find out how much a district is receiving in funding by student, it must be calculated manually using a multistep process. Eduthings provides the same data with just one click. And when he looked closely at this data, Steve identified a funding issue. 

“Using Eduthings, I found a discrepancy with how much was provided versus how much we were supposed to receive. I used this data to support my claim and our district reallocated the correct amount of funding to CTE,” says Steve. 

“I was blown away by what I saw. Eduthings had great reporting tools, the kind I have been looking for,” says Steve. “And, when I did the cost-benefit analysis, considering how much time it would save me, it was pennies on the dollar.”

Easier State Reporting

CISD started using Eduthings in the 2021-2022 school year. This was also the first year that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) tightened its IBC requirements. The state phased out several IBCs by cohort, so Steve needed to evaluate what certifications the district offered. The TEA’s College, Career, and Military Preparation (CCMP) began phasing in requirements so that students must complete a program of study of three or more courses for four or more credits, plus pass the IBC, for it to count towards the district’s A-F accountability grade.  

“Eduthings helped us outline costs per certification, identify our passing rates and run a year-to-year comparison in relation to other certifications that were not being phased out by the state. As a result of using Eduthings to analyze this data, I was able to provide the upper management with timely, relevant data to support the new direction with short notice,” says Steve.

Eduthings offers a robust set of features to enhance industry-based certification reporting. Its comprehensive reports can be customized with filters for student, demographics, teacher, course, certification, completer status or district, providing a versatile and detailed view into CTE performance.

Promoting CTE Student and Program Success

With College Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) programs counting for 40 percent of the district’s A-F Accountability grade in Texas, keeping a close eye on the program’s health is critical to the district’s success. But Steve also sees good CTE program management as critical to student success too. 

“We offer great programming for kids as they move on into life. We're offering life lessons. We're the reason why kids do not ‘ditch.’ Our graduation rates are higher,” says Steve. “Nobody calls here asking how our math program is. They call here asking about our health science program. They ask about our law enforcement program, which is on the cusp of being the Mecca here in El Paso. We also just opened up a P-TECH program.”

He uses the analytics tools in Eduthings to keep their CTE program on-budget, regularly running cost-benefit reports to help him make tough decisions to maintain profitability and enable growth. He can also see important student success factors, like attendance, graduation and certifications earned. 

“Administratively, it helps us support those programs to keep them either open or to help us decide whether that program is not financially sustainable,” says Steve. “We can forecast next year's budget, seeing how much we spent on a specific certification or maybe if one certification costs too much because students failed their certification exams.”

When making these high-stakes decisions, Steve needs to know he’s using update-to-date, high-quality data without spending hours contacting colleagues.

“I'm confident to say that the data I have in Eduthings is current and valid. I can track that because it even tells me the last time the teacher logged in,” says Steve.

A Thoughtful Roll-out

Although Steve uses Eduthings just about every day, CISD educators use it seasonally. He has been very thoughtful about how to roll it out to CTE teachers and counselors. He encourages educators to use just one new Eduthings feature a year, which has led to positive reviews and buy-in. 

This year, he is focusing on Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) tracking and reporting for the nine CTSOs the district offers. Steve and his colleagues can perform all CTSO-related tasks within Eduthings to ensure the programs are on track. 

“I can see the number of students in the CTSO, if they are meeting monthly and uploading their meeting minutes, and either have done an hour of community service or a competition,” says Steve. “We also upload the educators’ contracts and use it to ensure they meet the requirements for the stipend.”

Building a Bright Future

Steve is excited for the future of CISD’s CTE program. With an upcoming bond designed to revitalize the district’s properties, Steve sees an opportunity to repurpose a potentially vacant building into a CTE-focused campus. 

“CTE is all about real-world experience. With a dedicated building, I have room for a realistic clinic, a realistic dental office, a realistic animal science center where vets can come in and do surgeries, and so much more. We’ve had a lot of success that we can build on,” says Steve. 

Steve is using the district-level tools in Eduthings to help create this future. 

“We have to justify our programs, the cost of the programs and CCMR points,” he says. “I use the ‘Funding’ tab to track if we will earn specific funding because we have to meet a certain threshold.”

The tools in Eduthings help CTE directors and coordinators like Steve identify opportunities to increase resources, prepare state funding reports and efficiently use Perkins V and local CTE funds so they can maintain, expand and create more opportunities for students to have career successes.