he Tech Prep Evaluation System for Illinois (TPESI) Pilot Project
held its kick-off workshop on October 4-5, 1999, in Champaign, Illinois.
The pilot project will involve four Tech Prep consortia from around
the state: College of DuPage, Rock Valley College, Illinois Central
Community College, and Kaskaskia College. The workshop was an opportunity
for evaluation teams from three sites identified by that time to meet
with UIUC's Tech Prep evaluators to discuss the goals and timelines
of the study, and to prepare the necessary materials for local evaluation
activities. The evaluation teams were also introduced to their "mentor"
site, Danville Area Community College (DACC), a participant in NCRVE's
national evaluation study (see related story on pages 8-10). A representative
from DACC, Mike Summers, spoke on the value of having evaluation data
for Tech Prep, and how such data contributed to DACC's on-going implementation
of Tech Prep. Also present were several representatives from the Illinois
State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Community College
Board (ICCB).
The TPESI project seeks to answer several penetrating questions
about implementation of Tech Prep in Illinois. The project will
reveal more about how much progress is being made in Tech Prep implementation:
who participates in Tech Prep and how that participation has changed
over time; how Tech Prep benefits students and student learning;
how Tech Prep benefits educators, employers, and other community
groups; and how Tech Prep evaluation can inform and improve future
Tech Prep implementation. This project seeks to build on past evaluation
successes, taking advantage of existing tools, methods and data
sets, and to involve the state, local consortia and higher education.
It is expected that the local evaluation teams and their consortia
will encourage training, systematic feedback and periodic reviews
to ensure that TPESI will become a valuable asset for all Illinois
Tech Prep consortia over time.
To learn more:
If you would like to visit the websites of the pilot sites, go
to the following addresses.
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