5.3.1  Educational Needs Assessment

The purpose of the educational needs assessment is to determine if the W-2 applicant or participant needs, or would benefit from, education and training activities:  

1.             A course of study meeting the standards established under Wis. Stat. s. 115.29 (4), for the granting of a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation;

2.             Technical college courses;

3.             Educational courses that provide an employment skill;

4.             English as a second language (ESL) courses that the Wisconsin works agency determines would facilitate an individual’s efforts to obtain employment;

5.             Adult basic education courses, including literacy skills and remedial math and reading courses; and

6.             Employer−sponsored training.

The W-2 agency is required to conduct an educational needs assessment with all new W-2 applicants and must reassess the participant for education and training needs before making a change in W-2 placement.  The assessment must:

1.             Identify the applicant or participant’s current educational levels. Agencies must use a standardized educational assessment tool to determine educational levels if the FEP determines an educational needs assessment is needed. TABE, BEST, and TABE/CLAS-E are standardized educational assessment tools supported in WWP.

The FEP must never delay eligibility determination and placement because completion of a standardized educational needs assessment tool is pending. If necessary to ensure timely placement, the FEP must use the best information available from the WWP Education History and Post-Secondary Education pages to fulfill the educational needs assessment requirement at application and inform the initial placement decision and EP.  

For some applicants and participants, the self-reported information gathered through the WWP Informal Assessment Driver Flow may not accurately reflect current educational levels. When completion of a standardized educational needs assessment tool is necessary to determine or confirm the applicant or participant’s current educational levels, the tool must be scheduled and documented in WWP within 30 days of placement. See 6.4 for information on assignment of activities in WWP.

For an individual who has demonstrated their reading and math skills through attainment of post-secondary education, a standardized educational assessment tool is not necessary. Postsecondary education includes completion of any coursework or education beyond high school such as a continuing education certificate, associate degree, or baccalaureate degree.  

If a standardized assessment tool, such as TABE or BEST has been completed within the prior six months, the agency may use the results of that assessment to determine the applicant or participant's current educational level.  It is not necessary to administer a new standardized educational assessment to the individual.

2.             Determine the applicant or participant’s education and training needs. In making this determination, the FEP must consider the following:

a.             The information gathered on the applicant or participant’s current educational levels. The FEP must document this information on the appropriate WWP Informal Assessment pages (Education History, Post-Secondary Education), the WWP Test Scores Application, and in PIN comments.

b.             The level of education and training necessary to obtain full-time employment in the local labor market. The Department of Workforce Development maintains a website with Wisconsin labor market information at
https://jobcenterofwisconsin.com/wisconomy/
.  From this website you can link to many useful resources, such as:

·        LMI – for Workforce Development Areas (WDA) at https://jobcenterofwisconsin.com/wisconomy/. This site covers the occupations in demand for each region and county in the state.

·        The Occupational Information Network (O*NET ), at http://online.onetcenter.org/. This site provides comprehensive information on job requirements and worker competencies for employment sectors and occupations. 

·        SkillExplorer at http://skillexplorer.wisconsin.gov. This site provides information on jobs that share similar skills, including typical education level required for entry, required training, and current openings searchable by location.

c.              The applicant or participant’s program employment goals.

 

Program employment goals are shorter-term employment goals that can be achieved through participation in the W-2 program and are part of the EP. (See 6.1.1)  

 

If the FEP determines that the individual is eligible for W-2 and he or she needs or would benefit from education or training activities, including a course of study meeting the standards established for the granting of a declaration of high school graduation, the education and training activities must be included in the individual’s EP. See 8.3 for additional information on education and training activities.

 

EXAMPLE:  Holly is found nonfinancially and financially eligible for W-2. During the WWP Informal Assessment, Holly reported that she has not completed high school and 11th grade is her last grade completed. Holly also tells the FEP she has had several brief job spells as a short-order cook and her long-term employment goal is to become a manager of a restaurant. However, all of her past employment has resulted in job terminations due to disputes with her supervisors. The FEP determines that Holly would be appropriate for a CSJ. Holly's initial EP includes activity hours for completing TABE testing. The TABE results indicate that Holly has a 10th grade reading comprehension level and an 8th grade math level. After completing the first week, she is assigned to 30 hours per week at a work experience site that combines food preparation experience with culinary skills training, which is expected to last about six weeks.  In addition, Holly is assigned to eight hours per week of tutoring to prepare her for her GED.

If the applicant or participant refuses to complete an educational needs assessment, such as the TABE, and there is no other information available as to the individual’s current math and reading comprehension level, the W-2 agency may proceed to work with the individual as though there are no literacy or numeracy barriers.

 

 

History: Release 21-07; Release 20-03; Release 19-07; Release 19-02; Release 10-02.