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pdfU.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM
Annual Performance Reporting Online System
User’s Guide
October 2009
Paperwork Burden Statement
According to the Paperwork reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a
collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid
OMB control number for this information collection is 1810-0669. The time required to
complete this information collection is estimated to average 14 hours per response, including the
time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed and complete
and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of
the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department
of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4537. If you have comments or concerns regarding
the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Division, Teacher Quality Unit, 400
Maryland Avenue, S.W., LBJ Room 3E110, Washington D.C. 20202-2600.
User’s Guide for On Line MSP APR
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Table of Contents
Preface............................................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1
Moving Through the Reporting System ..................................................................................... 2
Taking a Break............................................................................................................................ 2
Saving Your Responses .............................................................................................................. 2
Obtaining an Account, User ID and Logging In ........................................................................ 3
Logging In................................................................................................................................... 3
Reports Page ............................................................................................................................... 4
User Preferences ......................................................................................................................... 5
Logout ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Project Administration ................................................................................................................ 6
Getting Started – Entering Information ..................................................................................... 6
Instructions.................................................................................................................................. 7
My APR ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Comments ................................................................................................................................... 9
Section I. MSP Project Information......................................................................................... 10
Section II. MSP Project Abstract ............................................................................................ 12
Section III. Responsibilities ...................................................................................................... 13
Section IV. Professional Development Participants ................................................................. 14
Section V. Professional Development Models ......................................................................... 16
Section VI. Professional Development Content and Processes ................................................ 17
Section VII. Program Evaluation.............................................................................................. 17
Section VII. Program Evaluation.............................................................................................. 18
Section VIII. Government Performance and Results Act Indicators for MSP Program (GPRA)
................................................................................................................................................... 19
Section IX. Lessons Learned .................................................................................................... 21
IX A. MSP Implementation .................................................................................................. 22
IX B. MSP Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 23
Section X. State Review ........................................................................................................... 24
Other Functions .......................................................................................................................... 25
Required Fields ......................................................................................................................... 25
Links at the Bottom of Each Page............................................................................................. 27
Attaching Files .......................................................................................................................... 27
Downloading a Report .............................................................................................................. 28
Submitting a Report to the State ............................................................................................... 28
Report Due Date ....................................................................................................................... 29
Quick Instructions for Project Directors to Submit an APR to the State.................................. 30
Additional Functions Available to State Coordinators ........................................................... 30
Accessing Reports Submitted to State ...................................................................................... 30
Section X. State Review ........................................................................................................... 31
Begin the Submission Process .................................................................................................. 31
Revisions Needed...................................................................................................................... 31
Partial Submission .................................................................................................................... 31
Submitting a report to the US Department of Education.......................................................... 32
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Quick Instructions For State Coordinators to Submit an APR to ED....................................... 33
Getting Help ................................................................................................................................ 35
MSP Program Officers ............................................................................................................... 35
Pat ............................................................................................................................................. 35
Miriam....................................................................................................................................... 35
Jim............................................................................................................................................. 35
Michelle .................................................................................................................................... 35
Appendix A: Additional Instructions about Teachers for Section VIII. Government
Performance and Results Act Indicators for MSP Program (GPRA) ................................... 36
Which teachers to include..................................................................................................... 36
How to determine significant gains ...................................................................................... 36
Appendix B: Mathematics and Science Partnerships Teacher Content Knowledge User’s
Guide ............................................................................................................................................ 38
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 38
Running the Spreadsheet........................................................................................................... 39
Enter data here tab .................................................................................................................... 42
View results here tab................................................................................................................. 46
Appendix B1: Calculating Significant Gains for 30 Teachers or More................................. 50
Paired-samples t-test ................................................................................................................. 50
Appendix B2: Calculating Significant Gains for Less Than 30 Teachers ............................. 51
Wilcoxon signed ranks test ....................................................................................................... 51
Assumptions.......................................................................................................................... 51
Hypotheses............................................................................................................................ 51
Test Statistic.......................................................................................................................... 51
Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 52
Decision Rule........................................................................................................................ 52
Appendix B3: Check for Out of Range Values ........................................................................ 53
Range Test ................................................................................................................................ 53
Appendix C: MSP Project Administration Website for State Coordinators ........................ 54
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 54
Logging In................................................................................................................................. 54
State Level Personnel................................................................................................................ 55
APR Maintenance for State Coordinators Only........................................................................ 55
Archiving Records ................................................................................................................ 55
Create a New APR ................................................................................................................ 56
Add a New MSP Project ....................................................................................................... 56
Editing Project Information ...................................................................................................... 57
APR Performance Period...................................................................................................... 57
Funding Start and Funding End Dates .................................................................................. 57
APR Due Dates ..................................................................................................................... 57
Editing Project Staff.............................................................................................................. 58
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Preface
This User’s Guide for the Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program Online Annual
Performance Report is a step-by-step guide for using the online annual report system. In addition to
the User’s Guide, other resources and assistance are available to users, including brief Instructions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Definitions sections on the system. Users may also check the
Getting Help section on the system to find contact information for Department of Education staff who
can assist you with any additional questions you may have.
The User’s Guide begins with some general information about the system, provides brief
highlights of instructions, and then presents more detailed step-by-step instructions to guide users
as they begin using the system for the first time. It is recommended that users print out this
User’s Guide and keep it handy when interacting with the APR system.
Introduction
The Mathematics and Science Partnerships program (MSP) is intended to increase the academic
achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing the content knowledge and
teaching skills of classroom teachers. Partnerships between high-need school districts and
mathematics, science, and engineering departments at institutions of higher education are at the
core of these improvement efforts. The MSP program is a formula grant program to the states,
with the size of individual state awards based on the number of students living in poverty. With
these funds, each State holds a grant competition in which awards are made to partnerships to
improve teachers’ content knowledge of and instructional skills in mathematics and science.
The legislation that authorizes the MSP program, Title II, Part B, Section 2202 (f) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), requires each of the projects funded by the States to submit an annual
report to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), documenting the partnership’s progress in
meeting its MSP goals and objectives. This Annual Performance Report (APR) reporting system
is the tool designated by the Department for this reporting.
The reporting system is designed for MSP projects to provide the following types of information:
Description of MSP Partners
Roles and Responsibilities of Partners
Characteristics of MSP Participants
Professional Development Models
Program Evaluation Design
Evaluation Findings and Evidence of Outcomes
Information for GPRA Reporting
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The report asks three types of questions:
Close-ended questions. The system asks you to select one or more response options that
are presented on the screen. For these questions, please use the mouse to click on the
button(s) next to the appropriate response(s).
Short-answer questions. The system asks you to type in short answers such as the number
of teachers who participated in MSP activities. Please type your response in the space
provided.
Open-ended questions. The system allows you to provide a longer narrative response. For
these questions, please type, copy and paste, or upload a file with your response in the
space provided. Your response should be as clear and succinct as possible. The
maximum length of narrative response is indicated in the directions.
Moving Through the Reporting System
You may move from any section of the reporting form to any other section by clicking on the title
of the section. This will take you directly to the section you wish to complete. You may fill out
the form in any order; you do not need to fill out the report form in order from “beginning” to
“end.” The left-hand navigation menu links to different sections of the report. The section
currently being displayed is highlighted in red on the menu. You may also navigate through the
system by clicking the Next Form link after you have completed and saved your information on
the current form. The Next Form link will take you to the next section of the form. If you wish to
re-visit the previous section, you may click Previous Form, or if you wish to go back to the
beginning of the section, you may click Start of Section.
Taking a Break
Please allow time to collect the information required by this form and prepare the narratives. The
form is designed so that you can respond at your convenience and in separate sessions. If you do
not have all the information on hand to answer a specific question, you may SAVE your answers
and close the reporting form until you obtain the necessary information. If other staff members
are more familiar with some topics, you may ask them to fill out those sections or questions.
If you need to take a break or have someone else work on the report, click Save Report and close
out of the form (see Saving Your Responses below). To re-enter the reporting form, you would
simply go through the same steps as you did when you opened the form initially.
Saving Your Responses
You may save your responses in the report at any time by clicking on the Save Report button at
the bottom of each page. You may save the information you have entered even if you have not
completed that page/form.
The system also has an auto save function, which automatically saves information. The auto save
function is triggered when you are typing a long narrative response to an open-ended question.
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Your response will be saved automatically every 30 seconds to prevent timeout without saving. If
the system times out before you are done writing your response, you can simply log in again,
navigate to the question, and find your answer.
Saving the information you entered into the form is the most important function to remember.
Before leaving one section of the form to move to another, always save your report.
Obtaining an Account, User ID and Logging In
Because the MSP APR is a closed system, only authorized users are allowed to access the system.
State Coordinators are in charge of granting authorization to project-level users based on requests
from MSP Project Directors through the Project Administration Website for State Coordinators
(explained further in Appendix C). Please notify your State Coordinator about any additions or
changes in staff for current projects.
To request access for project-level staff, the Project Director must contact the MSP State
Coordinator and request that project staff information be updated for a specific project. In your
communication with the State Coordinator, please include the following information:
User name (first name, last name)
User email address
Level of authority for this user (Full-Access Contact or Read-Only)
Title of the MSP Project
New users will automatically receive an email with a username and temporary password for the
APR website. Veteran users who are assigned to a new project or experience a change in status
will receive an email notifying them of the change and should login using their existing username
and password.
Logging In
When you have received an email that includes a username and a temporary password, you are
ready to log into the system. To log in, go to the site: http://apr.ed-msp.net.
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The following login screen will appear:
Figure 1: Login
Enter your username and password, and click on Sign In. If you ever forget your password,
please click on the Forgot your password? link that appears near the bottom of this page. This
will prompt you for your email address and then send you a message containing a link where you
may reset your password.
Reports Page
Once you are signed in, you will see the MSP APR homepage. You can return to this page at any
time by clicking on the Reports tab, near the top of the screen. On this page, you will see some
general user instructions. At the bottom of the page, there is a list of APR reports to which you
have access. For example, a State Coordinator will have access to all the MSP projects in his/her
state. A Project Director will have access to only his/her project(s). An Evaluator will have
access to the project(s) he/she is evaluating.
You will see three tabs at the top of the page. The tabs are Reports, User Preferences, and Logout.
State Level Personnel will see a fourth tab called Project Administration.
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Figure 2: Home Page
User Preferences
The User Preferences tab contains your user information. You can change your password in this
section; we urge you to do so to ensure the security of the system.
Logout
The logout tab will allow you to log out of the system. (Remember to SAVE any information you
have entered before clicking the Logout tab!)
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Project Administration
The Project Administration tab leads you to the MSP Project Administration for State
Coordinators Website (see Appendix C). MSP State Coordinators and other approved state-level
personnel can access this Website to edit project staff and APR user information as well as
prepare online APR forms for data entry and to maintain accurate project records.
Getting Started – Entering Information
From the homepage, click on Edit new APR to open and edit the current APR form. You can
also click on Browse OLD APR to view any data already entered into the old version of the APR
form prior to July 2009. In both forms, you will see the Instructions section of the form, which
contains the following tabs: Instructions, My APR, Comments, and History. Project directors will
see one additional tab: Report Users. Each of these tabs is described below.
Figure 3: Instructions
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Instructions
The Instructions section contains some brief instructions for users, including Completing Form
and Getting Help sections. In addition, there is a Definitions section that contains definitions of
some key words used in the APR. The FAQ section is updated periodically as questions are
received and clarifications are provided about using the form.
My APR
When you are ready to begin entering information about your project, click on the My APR tab.
From the Table of Contents, click on any section of the list to begin.
In the My APR tab, you will see that the MSP APR form has ten sections, each with additional
subsections. The legend on the left hand side of the page shows the icons that appear next to each
section listed. If a section has not yet been completed, an icon of a blank page will appear. If a section
has been visited at least once, an icon of a page with an “A” for “author” will appear. This signifies
that the section has been visited by an authorized project staff member.
If a section has been pre-populated with information that was submitted the previous year, a page with
a “C” for “copied” will appear until the section is visited by a project staff member, who should
carefully review the content for accuracy and make any necessary changes before submitting the
report. Finally, if a page is a “Read-Only” page, an icon of a small lock will appear.
When working on your report, you can always return to the My APR tab to access the sections
that have been completed and those that you still need to complete.
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Figure 4: My APR tab
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Comments
The Comments tab was created to facilitate communication and information sharing among
various contributors to an APR report on this system. This tab appears once you click on Edit
New APR and remains visible as you edit the APR. Using the Comments section, the State
Coordinator can provide specific feedback on each section of the APR that requires revision.
Project Directors, evaluators, and other contacts may also make comments that project-level users
can access and read about any section of the report.
Click on the Comments tab near the top of the screen to access existing comments for a report or
to create a new one. To make a new comment click on the New Comment link that appears near
the bottom of the Comments page. Then select the area of the APR that the comment refers to
from the dropdown menu. The subject should refer to the nature of the comment. Finally, type
your comment in the space below and click on the Create button. When comments are created,
they can be viewed by anyone who accesses the APR. In addition, an automatic email will be
sent to the Project Director letting them know that a comment has been made on their APR.
Figure 5: New Comment
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History Tab
The History tab tracks the history of the information entered into the form. The version of the
form, the name of the user, as well as the date and time of the update will show for each section of
the form. This can be a useful tool when multiple users have access to the system to enter data for
an MSP Project APR.
Report Users Tab
The Report Users tab enables Project Directors to view the name and position of each project staff
member that can access the APR. In order to add or modify information for project staff
members, please contact your State Coordinator.
Section I. MSP Project Information
Figure 6: Section I – MSP Project Information
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In the MSP Project Information section, you will be prompted for basic information about your
MSP project and partner organization(s). Please include the partnership title (project title), contact
information for the Project Director, APR performance period, sources of funding, and
information about your partner organizations. This section of the form has three subsections:
Project, Lead Organization, and Partner Organizations.
In the Partner Organizations section of the report, you will provide information for your MSP
project’s partner organizations. When you are ready to begin entering information about your
partner organization(s), click Add Project Partner. A blank form requesting descriptive
information about your partner organization will open. When you have entered the information
about your partner organization, click the Save Report button at the bottom of the page. You will
then see your partner organization listed on this page. To edit or delete information about the
project partner, click on the Edit or Delete button next to the project partner name.
Figure 7: Section I – MSP Project Information, Part C
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To add information about multiple partners, click on Add Project Partner to open a new blank
form for each project partner and enter the partner organization information. Be sure to click the
Save Report button after entering the information about your project partner.
When all of your partner organizations appear in a list on this page, and all information about
each partner has been entered, you have completed this section of the report. Be sure to click the
Save Report button before leaving this page.
Section II. MSP Project Abstract
In the Project Abstract section of the form, you are asked to provide a brief abstract of your project.
Please note that the project abstract will be used to describe your project in publications and on the
ED-MSP website. It must be typed or cut and pasted into the space provided so that it can be
automatically transferred to the public website. Also, please note that this is a summary of your
project and is limited to 1000 words. You will be able to more fully describe your project in other
sections of the APR.
Figure 8: Section II – Project Abstract
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Section III. Responsibilities
In the Responsibilities section, you will identify the areas of responsibility among your MSP
partners. Various functions are listed that might be performed by partners. For each of the
functions or activities, indicate the APPROXIMATE percentage of effort undertaken by each
partner group. The partner groups listed include K-12 Institutions, IHE Faculty, and Other
(specify).
Figure 9: Section III – Responsibilities
For each activity, list the percentage of time spent on that activity by the partner group.
Percentages are approximate and should add up to 100 percent. For example, if the K-12
institution does almost all of the program administration (e.g. 90 percent) with the IHE faculty
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providing a small amount of program administration (e.g. 10 percent), then enter 90 next to K-12
institution and 10 next to IHE faculty under Section A. Administer Overall Program.
Under the Responsibilities section of the APR, there are several sub-sections. These include:
Administer Overall Program
Design Professional Development
Delivers Professional Development
Evaluate MSP
For each of these sections, you will be asked to indicate the approximate percentage of effort
undertaken by each partner group. The percentages should add to 100 percent for each section.
Section IV. Professional Development Participants
In the Professional Development Participants section, you will be asked to provide information on
the number of higher education faculty involved in your MSP project, the primary goal and target
of your MSP project, and the people who participated in your project’s professional development
activities.
When providing the number of IHE faculty members with regular, substantive involvement in the
MSP project, please remember to count each person only ONCE.
Figure 10: Section IV – Professional Development Participants
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When you have completed the Primary Goal and Target for Intervention section, you will see a
gray-bordered box that tells you that the information has been saved successfully. You are then
asked to click on Next and will be asked to complete a series of additional questions in order to
more fully describe your primary target for intervention - the teachers or school(s).
Then select and complete the remaining subsections to describe the teachers, administrators, and
students participating in your MSP project. Be sure to count each person only ONCE.
These subsections include:
Total Number of Participating Teachers
Elementary School Teachers
Middle School Teachers
High School Teachers
Administrators
Participant Students (For this section you will need to indicate the number of students who
were taught during the 12-month reporting period by the teachers who participated in MSP
professional development activities. Approximate numbers of students are acceptable.)
Include both full-time and part-time teachers. You should count each person only once and for only
ONE area of primary responsibility (area/duty/position that involved more than 50 percent of the
person’s time). You should use locally applicable definitions of elementary, middle, and high schools.
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Section V. Professional Development Models
In the Professional Development Models section, you will be asked for information about the type
of professional development model(s) used in your MSP project.
Figure 11: Section V – Professional Development Models
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Section VI. Professional Development Content and Processes
In the Professional Development Content and Processes section, you will provide information
about the mathematics and/or science content and processes taught to teachers in MSP activities.
Figure 12: Section VI – Professional Development Content and Processes
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Section VII. Program Evaluation
In the Program Evaluation section, you will be asked to describe your evaluation design, including
your data collection/analysis methods and assessment measures. You will also be asked to briefly
describe the impact of your MSP project on teacher content knowledge and student achievement. If
your project chooses to use multiple assessment measures, please be sure to add and describe each one
separately in section VII D. Assessment Measures. Please note that you can upload an electronic copy
of an evaluation report (if you have one) when submitting your completed APR. ED encourages
projects to aggregate data submitted in evaluation reports across all years of the grant to demonstrate
the project’s influence over time. See Section J. Upload Report for information and instructions. If
your project is complete (i.e., your project’s grant cycle is over or your project has to re-compete in
order to receive additional funding), please check the box, Final Report to indicate that your
project has ended.
Figure 13: Section VII – Program Evaluation
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Section VIII. Government Performance and Results Act Indicators for
MSP Program (GPRA)
Under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), all federal agencies are required to
develop indicators in order to report to the U.S. Congress on federal program impacts and
outcomes. For the MSP Program, the following indicators have been developed:
Teacher Knowledge
1. The percentage of MSP teachers who significantly increase their content
knowledge as reflected in project-level pre- and post-assessments. Information for
this measure is determined by the MSPTCK spreadsheet which is used to calculate
the number of participating teachers that made statistically significant gains in
content knowledge. For more information, please refer to Appendix A of this
guide, Additional Instructions about Teachers for Section VIII. Government
Performance and Results Act Indicators for MSP Program (GPRA).
Student Achievement
2. The percentage of students in classrooms of MSP teachers who score at the basic
level or below in State assessments of mathematics or science.
3. The percentage of students in classrooms of MSP teachers who score at the
proficient level or above in State assessments of mathematics or science.
Evaluation Design
4. The percentage of MSP projects that report using an experimental or quasiexperimental design for their evaluations.
5. The percentage of MSP projects that use an experimental or quasi-experimental
design for their evaluations that are conducted successfully and that yield
scientifically valid results. Information for this measure is determined by the
Criteria for Classifying Designs of MSP Evaluations that is available to the public
on the ED-MSP website (http://www.ed-msp.net) under Resources.
Efficiency
6. The percentage of SEAs that submit complete and accurate data on MSP
performance measures in a timely manner.
In this section of the APR, you are asked to provide information about teachers and students
participating in your MSP program to inform indicators 1, 2 and 3.
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Figure 14: Section VIII – Government Performance and Results Act Indicators for MSP Program
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Section IX. Lessons Learned
In the Lessons Learned section you will be asked to describe both the successes and challenges
encountered in implementing and evaluating your MSP project.
Figure 15: Section IX – Lessons Learned
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IX A. MSP Implementation
The MSP Implementation section asks you to describe the major successes and challenges in
implementing your project (Max. 1000 words). Please note that this is a text only view. If you
have charts, tables, or pre-formatted paragraphs, you can upload them as attachments by
following the link on the page called Attach Files.
Figure 16: Section IX – A. MSP Implementation
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IX B. MSP Evaluation
The MSP Evaluation section asks to you describe the major successes and challenges in
evaluating your project (Max. 1000 words). Please note that this is a text only view. If you have
charts, tables, or pre-formatted paragraphs, you can upload them as attachments by following the
link on the page called Attach Files.
Figure 17: Section IX – B. MSP Evaluation
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Section X. State Review
The State Review section is for State Coordinator use only. In this section, the State
Coordinator provides funding information about this particular project. After completing
this section, State Coordinators can submit the report to the Department of Education as
explained in the section below, Additional Functions Available to State Coordinators.
Figure 18: Section X -- State Review
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Other Functions
Required Fields
Several fields in the MSP APR form are required, and the system will not allow you to
save the form without correctly completing those fields. When you save a page that is
missing required information or contains invalid information in the required fields, a
gray-bordered box will appear at the top of the screen with a message. If the information
in the required field(s) is not entered correctly, then an advice message will appear with
information to assist you in completing the information correctly. The cell where
information needs to be corrected or entered will be shaded in red to assist you in locating
where the correction needs to be made.
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Figure 19: Sample Error Messages
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Links at the Bottom of Each Page
At the bottom of each screen page, there are four links that will assist you in maneuvering
through the APR system.
Previous Form: Clicking on this link will take you back to the form immediately
preceding the form you are currently in.
Start of Section: Clicking on this link will take you to the opening page of the
section of the form you are currently in.
Next Form: Clicking on this link will take to you to the next form. Be sure to hit
the “Save Report” button before moving to a new section of the form.
Back to Home: Clicking on this link will take you to the Home Page. Be sure to
hit the “Save Report” button before moving to a new section of the form.
Back to top: Clicking on this link will take you to the top of the form you are
currently in.
Attaching Files
There are several places in the APR where you can to attach a file to your report. These
places are:
Section V. Professional Development Models, C. Description of Professional
Development Model
Section VII. Program Evaluation, F. Teacher Findings
Section VII. Program Evaluation, G. Student Findings
Section VII. Program Evaluation, H. Impact on Partnership
Section VII. Program Evaluation, I. Other Impacts
Section VII. Program Evaluation, J. Upload Report
Section IX. Lessons Learned, A. MSP Implementation
Section IX. Lessons Learned, B. MSP Evaluation
To attach a file, click on the Attach File link, and browse for the file you wish to attach
from your own computer files. When you locate the file, highlight it and click Open.
Once attached, the name of the file will appear in the space provided. Please note that
you are may attach a limit of 5 files, at a total size of 10MB. If you have more than 5
files you would like to attach, directions are provided for zipping files which will
compress and combine them.
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Downloading a Report
You can download your completed (or partially completed) APR from the system. From
the My APR page, click on one of the following links that appear at the bottom of the
page: Download as Text, Download as HTML, or Download as CSV. A dialogue box
will appear asking whether you would like to Open or Save the file. Save the file to your
own computer. For record-keeping, viewing, or printing a report, we recommend using
the HTML format.
Submitting a Report to the State
When the report is complete and you have checked to be sure that all the information is
accurate, you are ready submit the APR to your State Coordinator. Please note that only
the official project director can submit the APR. To submit the report, click on Change
APR Status beside the appropriate project on your APR homepage. You will see two
tabs near the bottom of the table representing two submission options: Submission and
Partial Submission. By selecting the Submission tab and clicking on the Submit to State
button, you will submit the report to the State Coordinator and at the same time change
the report’s status to “Approval Pending.” The report will become read-only. You will
not be able to edit the report unless you receive an email notifying you that your State
Coordinator has requested revisions.
If the report is due to the State Coordinator before all of your data are available, select the
Partial Submission tab.
Partial Submission can only be used when the following items are missing:
data on gains in teacher content knowledge; and/or
student achievement data; and/or
the evaluation report.
You must complete all of the other sections of the APR before you submit it to the State
Coordinator. Upon making this selection, you will be asked to identify which data are
missing. When you are finished, click on the Partial Submit to State button. This action
will submit the report to the State Coordinator and change the status of the report to
“Approval Pending| Partial Submission – Incomplete.” At this time, most sections of the
report will become read-only. You will only be able to edit the sections corresponding to
the missing information you identified. When the State Coordinator submits your report
to the Department of Education, the status will change to “Partial Approval Granted.”
When the missing data become available, you are expected to enter the information and
re-submit your completed report. Click Change APR Status beside the appropriate
project on your APR homepage, fill in the missing data, and uncheck the missing data.
28
Click on Submit to State. At this time, the entire report will become “read-only” unless
you receive a message notifying you that revisions are needed.
Report Due Date
State Coordinators set the APR due date according to a formula provided by the Department
of Education. Reports are due to the Department of Education 60 days after the end of each
year of performance. Based on this date, State Coordinators also determine when APRs must
be submitted to them. Please contact your State Coordinator with enquiries regarding APR
due dates for specific project reports.
29
Figure 20: Submit to State
Quick Instructions for Project Directors to Submit an APR to the
State
To submit an APR report to your MSP state coordinator, please follow these steps:
1) Only the official project director can submit the APR. Be sure that you are listed as
an official Project Director for the MSP project or notify your state coordinator if an
update is needed.
2) From the Reports page, select the APR from the list and click on Change APR
Status.
3) If you are only missing teacher, student or evaluation data, select the Partial
Submission tab. Specify the missing data and click on the button Partial Submit to
State. When you provide the missing data, you will need to re-submit the report to the
state.
4) If the information provided is complete and accurate, select the Submission tab
and click on the button Submit to State. If you need to edit a report that has been
submitted to the state by accident, please contact your state coordinator. He/She will need
to change the status to Revisions Needed so that you may edit the report again.
5) If your APR status is Revisions Needed or Partial Submission Granted, and you
have made the necessary revisions, re-submit the report to your state coordinator by
following the steps listed above.
Additional Functions Available to State Coordinators
After a Project Director has submitted a report to the State Coordinator, the report’s
status appears as “Approval Pending” and the report is ready for State Coordinator
review. State coordinators can use comments to communicate with Project Directors
about any revisions that they should make. In addition to the functions described above,
State Coordinators have access to another section of the report, Section X—State Review,
and are authorized to submit the report to the Department of Education. These functions
are described in the sections below.
Accessing Reports Submitted to State
30
The Edit New APR link, located next to the title of the report that you are reviewing,
gives you access to each of the reports that have been submitted to you. To begin
reviewing a report, click on Edit New APR and then select the My APR tab, near the top
of the page. This enables you to view each section of the APR and review the report for
accuracy and completeness. To access any supporting documents that a Project Director
may have uploaded in the report, return to your APR homepage by clicking on the
Reports tab. From here, click on the Change APR Status link, and then click on Attach
Files.
Section X. State Review
In the State Review section, the State Coordinator completes information about the
project’s award date, length of award, year of implementation, and whether this is a
project’s final report.
Begin the Submission Process
After the State Coordinator has completed the following steps for a particular APR:
reviewed the report,
entered the appropriate information in Section X,
made comments if necessary, and
are ready to submit the report or return it to the Project Director for revisions, he/she may
click on the Reports tab to return to the APR home page, and then click on Change APR
Status beside the appropriate project. Two tabs will appear near the bottom of the table:
Submission and Partial Submission. Choose Submission, unless any of the following
information is missing: data on gains in teacher content knowledge, student achievement
data, or the evaluation report. At the bottom of each tab, there are two buttons: Approve and
Revisions Needed.
Revisions Needed
If the State Coordinator determines that an MSP APR needs revision, then he/she will select
Revisions Needed under the Submission Tab. This will change the status of the report to
“Revisions Needed” in the list of active APRs, which can be viewed at any time by clicking on the
Reports tab. This will also generate an email message to inform the Project Director that the
APR for the MSP Project in question needs to be revised and will direct him/her to check the
Comments tab to view the feedback from the State Coordinator.
Partial Submission
After reviewing a report and choosing the Change APR Status option from the APR
homepage, the Partial Submission tab may be selected if there is missing teacher content
knowledge or student achievement data required for section VIII - Government
Performance & Results Act Reporting or if the project is waiting for an evaluator to
31
submit the external evaluation report for section VII.J. - Upload Report. By clicking on
the Partial Submit to ED button that appears under this tab, the report will temporarily
be submitted to the US Department of Education and change the status of the report to
“Partial Approval Granted.” However, choosing this option requires the Project Director
to re-submit the completed report at a later date, once the data become available.
Upon making this selection, the State Coordinator will be asked to identify which data
are missing and provide a Revised Due to ED Date. Revised due to ED dates should be
agreed upon in coordination with Abt Associates staff ([email protected]). Please
determine a date that will allow enough time for the missing data to become available and
for the Project Director to enter the data in the report. After the Project Director resubmits the report with the new information, the State Coordinator needs to review the
report before re-submitting the completed report to the US Department of Education.
Submitting a report to the US Department of Education
Once the State Coordinator has selected the Submit tab, which can be accessed by clicking
on Change APR Status next to the report listing on the APR homepage, he/she should click
on the Approve button to approve the report and submit it to the U.S. Department of
Education. Clicking on the Approve button will prevent project staff from making any
additional changes, and submit the report to the U.S. Department of Education. This
action will automatically change the report’s status to “Approval Granted” in the online
system.
If a Project Director submitted a report before all of the project’s data were available, the
report’s status appears as “Partial Approval Pending” and the Partial Submission tab is
displayed after Change APR Status is clicked. A filled in checkbox indicates which data
are missing from the report. The following buttons will appear near the bottom of this
tab: Partial Submit to ED and Revisions Needed. Click on Partial Submit to ED to
temporarily submit the report to the U.S. Department of Education. However, choosing
this option requires the Project Director to re-submit the completed report at a later date,
once the data become available
32
Figure 21: Submit to ED
Quick Instructions For State Coordinators to Submit an APR to
ED
To submit an APR report to ED, please follow these steps:
1) Be sure that the APR Status says Approval Pending. Otherwise, notify the project
director. The PD will need to officially Submit to State before you can act on the report.
2) From the Reports page, select the APR from the list and click on Change APR
Status.
3) If you made comments that require revisions from the PD, select the Submission
tab and click on the button Revisions Needed. This will unlock the report and enable
the PD to make the requested changes.
4) If you are only missing teacher, student or evaluation data, select the Partial
33
Submission tab. Specify the missing data and click on the button Partial Submit to ED.
Once you chose this option, please notify your program officer at ED. When the PD
provides the missing data, he/she will need to re-submit the report to the state.
5) If the information provided is complete and accurate, select the Submission tab
and click on the button Submit to ED. If you need to edit a report that has been
submitted to ED by accident, please contact your program officer at ED.
6) If you used Partial Submission and are ready to submit the report, click on the
button Submit to ED. This will appear under the Partial Submission tab. You will notice
that no boxes will be checked, indicating that the missing data has been provided.
34
Getting Help
If at any time you have questions about the reporting form, you may contact the
following persons by email.
For questions about the MSP program, legislation, and national policy guidance,
contact the U.S. Department of Education:
Pat O’Connell Johnson, [email protected]
Miriam Lund, [email protected]
Jimmy Yun, [email protected]
Michelle Meier, [email protected]
For questions about MSP annual reports and submission of annual report data, contact
Abt Associates Inc.:
MSP Program Support, [email protected]
For technical questions about how to use the online reporting form, contact
Washington Software, Inc. (WSI):
MSP Website Development, [email protected]
MSP Program Officers
Pat
[email protected]
(202) 260-7313
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
Miriam
[email protected]
(202) 401-2871
Alaska
Arizona
Colorado
Florida
Idaho
Kansas
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Puerto Rico
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
35
Jim
[email protected]
(202) 205-4012
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
North Carolina
Ohio
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
Wisconsin
Michelle
[email protected]
(202) 260-0974
Delaware
Maryland
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Appendix A: Additional Instructions about Teachers for
Section VIII. Government Performance and Results Act
Indicators for MSP Program (GPRA)
Which teachers to include
If the primary target of your project from your response to Question IV B is individual
teachers, include just those individual teachers; if the primary target is a schools, include
all of the mathematics or science teachers from the participating MSP school or schools.
Report separately for mathematics and science. Some projects will require the use of
more than one spreadsheet, one for math and one for science. Once you run a
spreadsheet, be sure to save it on your computer and clearly specify the name of the
subject (mathematics or science), test, and group of teachers (treatment or
control/comparison) in the filename.
How to determine significant gains
To calculate your responses for items 2, 3, 5, and 6 in section 8A, use the electronic
spreadsheet supplied by the MSP federal program office.
The spreadsheet uses a statistical test called a dependent t-test (for 30 or more
respondents) or the Wilcoxon signed ranks test (for less than 30 respondents) to
calculate, with 85 percent certainty, the number of teachers who showed
significant gains on content knowledge tests. You will need to enter each
teacher’s pre-test and post-test scores on a test of content knowledge into the
spreadsheet, and the spreadsheet will produce a report that can be used to respond
to items 2, 3, 5, and 6.
If you did not administer both a pre-test and post-test of content knowledge to any
teachers who were the primary target of your project, complete items 1 and 4,
enter "0" for items 2 and 5, and enter "NA" for items 3 and 6.
Grantees who administer more than one test to the same group of teachers should
select the most relevant or important test and report the results for that one.
If you administer more than one type of teacher content knowledge test to
different groups of teachers (e.g. an algebra test to algebra teachers and a
geometry test to geometry teachers), complete a separate spreadsheet for each test
administered and then sum the results to respond to items 2, 3, 5, and 6. Do not
include teachers from control or comparison groups in the spreadsheet. Save each
spreadsheet that you complete on to your computer and include the name of the
test and the group tested in the filename. For example, an MSP project used two
tests to assess the content knowledge gains of their mathematics teachers: Test A
for middle school algebra teachers and Test B for high school geometry teachers.
The project evaluator first entered the pretest and posttest scores for each teacher
who took Test A into the spreadsheet and printed the Test A report. She then did
the same for Test B and printed the Test B report. The report for Test A showed
36
that of the 30 algebra teachers with both pretest and posttest scores, 25 had
significant gains. The report for Test B showed that of the 40 geometry teachers
with both pretest and posttest scores, 35 had significant gains. The project
evaluator summed all mathematics teachers with both pretest and posttest scores
(30 algebra + 40 geometry) to report "70" for item 2, and then summed all
participating mathematics teachers who had significant gains (25 algebra + 35
geometry) to report a "60" for item 3.
If your evaluation design includes a control or comparison group, complete a
separate spreadsheet for the teachers in this group. Save each spreadsheet on your
computer and specify whether the teachers listed belong to the treatment or
control group in the filename.
37
Appendix B: Mathematics and Science Partnerships
Teacher Content Knowledge User’s Guide
Introduction
The Mathematics and Science Partnerships Teacher Content Knowledge (MSPTCK)
software is designed to assist grantees to determine the number of teachers who have
made significant gains in content knowledge. Specifically, the software produces a report
that grantees can use to respond to Annual Performance Report question 8A items 2, 3, 5,
and 6, which are shown below:
Mathematics
2) Number of teachers with both pretest and posttest in math content knowledge;
3) Number of teachers who showed significant gains in math content knowledge;
Science
5) Number of teachers with both pretest and posttest in science content
knowledge;
6) Number of teachers who showed significant gains in science content
knowledge.
The software is an Excel spreadsheet designed to operate in Microsoft Excel® 2000 or a
higher version, for Windows®. There is also a version of the spreadsheet for use on
Macintosh computers with Excel 2004.
The MSPTCK spreadsheet uses a two-step process to determine which teachers made
significant gains. In step 1, the software will perform a statistical test to see if the overall
gain score is statistically significant at the 0.15 significance level. When the number of
participating teachers is 30 or more, a dependent t-test (also known as the paired-samples
t-test) will be performed. When there are less than 30 participating teachers, a
nonparametric statistical test known as the Wilcoxon signed ranks test will be used. A
description of the paired-samples t-test and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test is provided in
Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively.
If the calculated p-value for a test is greater than 0.15, it can be concluded that the gain
score is not statistically significant for the tested group as a whole or for the individual
teachers. All of the teachers in tested groups where the p-value of the test statistic is
greater than 0.15 belong to the category of “no significant gains.”
If the overall gain score is statistically significant (i.e., p-values less than or equal to
0.15), the software will proceed to step 2, which determines the number of teachers in the
tested group who made significant gains in content knowledge. Gain scores are computed
as the difference between the posttest scores and the pretest scores. Teachers whose gain
scores are greater than one-third of the standard deviation of the pretest score will be
counted as having made significant gains.
38
Once step 2 is complete, the software will produce a report for the grantee that shows the
counts of teachers with significant gains. Grantees who administer more than one content
knowledge test to different groups of teachers will need to run the application separately
for each test and then aggregate the results to respond to question 8A items 2, 3, 5, and 6.
Grantees who administer more than one test to the same group of teachers should select
the most relevant or important test and report that one. For each individual MSP teacher
participant, there should be only one set of pretest, posttest, and gain score information.
Running the Spreadsheet
On the web page where you accessed this User’s Guide, you should click on the link to
the electronic spreadsheet.
You can either save the spreadsheet file or open it directly. When you try to open the
spreadsheet file, the following window should appear, except if you are using a PC with
Microsoft Excel® 2007. If you are using a PC with Microsoft Excel® 2007 follow the
instructions beginning at the top of page 4.
If the window appears, then select the “Enable Macros” button in the pop-up window.
If the window does not appear, open Excel and try these instructions to reset the Excel
macro security from High to Medium:
a. From the Tools menu, select Options.
b. Click the Security tab.
c. Press the Macro Security button (lower right), which brings up
another window.
d. Select the Medium security level and press OK.
e. Press OK to close the window.
Then attempt to open the spreadsheet again.
39
If you still do not see the window with the “Enable Macros” button, then check with your
computer staff or internet provider for help getting the spreadsheet past any fire-wall or
anti-virus software that may be blocking the macros.
If you are using a PC with Microsoft Excel® 2007, you will see the following screen
when you try to open the spreadsheet file:
40
Notice the "Security Warning" bar just above the spreadsheet. Click on the “Options” button and
you will see the following screen:
Click on “Enable this content” then hit the “OK” button.
When the macros are successfully enabled and you have the MSPTCK spreadsheet open, you
should see three tabs. In addition to the Enter data here tab shown below, the spreadsheet
contains the tabs View results here and Information.
User’s Guide for On Line MSP APR
41
Enter data here tab
Beginning in row 2 on the Enter data here tab, enter the ID number in column A (ID is the
teacher ID and should be encrypted to prevent linkage to the identity of the teacher), pretest
scores in column B, and posttest scores in column C. Raw scores and standard scores including
scale scores, stanines, and normal curve equivalents can be entered in the spreadsheet. Percentile
scores and scores in standard deviation units should not be entered into the spreadsheet. If you
already have the data in another Excel file, copy and paste the data onto the MSPTCK
spreadsheet. Blank rows are not allowed between data. When blank rows are detected, the
following message will appear:
42
Ensure that there are no blank rows in between records. If you have problems with entering data,
check the security setting of your Excel program. Follow steps a through e above.
After you have successfully entered the ID, pretest scores, and posttest scores, enter the Project
Name, Test Name, Your Name, and For Year, which is the year the data are being reported for, in
the red boxes on the right of the screen. The Project Name and Test Name that you enter will be
used as the default file name when saving your data and results files.
You have the option of checking the data for possible out-of-range values. We recommend
activating this edit function by leaving the Perform range check box checked. The procedure that
MSPTCK uses for detecting out-of-range values is described in Appendix C.
Click the Go button.
The Macintosh version of the spreadsheet does not have a Go button. Instead, hit the Ctrl and Q
at the same time to run the spreadsheet.
Possible out-of-range values are highlighted in yellow. The system provides you with the number
of possible out-of-range values. It also prompts you to check the input data as shown below.
43
If you want to correct the data, click Yes and correct the values. After correcting the values, click
the Go button. If the values are correct, click No to proceed.
To test the significance of the overall gain score (computed as posttest score – pretest score) at the
0.15 level, the system performs a paired-samples t-test (for 30 or more participating teachers) or a
Wilcoxon signed ranks test (for less than 30 participating teachers). If the overall gain score is
significant, the system continues to test if the gain score for each individual teacher is significant.
Teacher records with significant gain scores are highlighted in red as shown below. A window
appears to let you know that the results are ready to be viewed. Click the OK button.
44
Before bringing you to the View results here tab, the system prompts you to save results in an
Excel file with the default name “Project Name_Test Name.xls”. Click the Save button. The data
that you entered in the Enter data here tab and the results displayed in View results here will be
saved. If you click the Cancel button, the system will alert you that the data have not been saved,
and you will be reminded to save the data when you close the workbook.
45
View results here tab
To view your results, click the View results here tab. The View results here screen displays the
following results:
Project Name, Test Name, My Name and Year that you entered.
Test statistic (t-statistic for the paired-samples t-test or W statistic for the Wilcoxon
signed ranks test) for testing the overall significance of the gain scores.
p-value for the test statistic.
Number of records in your input data set.
Number of records with both pretest and posttest scores. Note that only records with
both test scores are included in the computation of the test statistic and the p-value.
Number of teachers whose gain scores are significant.
46
The above example illustrates the steps that the software will perform when the overall gain score
is significant. The following example shows the results for a non-significant overall gain score.
When the overall gain score is not significant, the following message will pop up:
47
Click the OK button. Follow the procedures for viewing results described above. On the View
results here tab, you will see that the p-value is greater than 0.15, indicating that the overall gain
score is not significant.
Information tab
Click the Information tab to display the information on how to use the results generated by the
MSPTCK spreadsheet for completing question 8A items 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the MSP Annual
Performance Report.
48
49
Appendix B1: Calculating Significant Gains for 30 Teachers or
More
Paired-samples t-test
A paired-samples t-test is used when the number of participating teachers is 30 or more. In the
testing procedure, two hypotheses are stated. The null hypothesis is what we presume to be true,
and the alternative hypothesis is what we will accept as true if there is strong evidence to reject
the null hypothesis. The null and alternative hypotheses can be formulated as follows:
Ho: average value of posttest scores = average value of pretest scores.
Ha: average value of posttest scores > average value of pretest scores.
In the paired-samples t-test, the test statistic is computed as the difference of the average pretest
score and the average posttest score, divided by the standard error of the difference. Based on the
t-statistic, the test procedure produces a p-value that indicates the likelihood of getting an
improvement in score due to random chance alone. Since we are testing the hypothesis in one
direction (i.e., an increase in posttest score), a one-tail p-value will be used. For this study, a pvalue of 0.15 or less will suggest that the overall gain score is statistically significant.
Let X 1i = pretest score for the i-th teacher
Let X 2i = posttest score for the i-th teacher
Let X di = X 2i - X 1i for the i-th teacher
The paired-samples t-statistic is:
t
d
sd / n
where d is the mean of X di ,
n
(x
s d is the standard deviation of X di , computed as
i 1
n is the number of pairs with non-missing X 1i and X 2i .
50
di
d )2
n 1
,
Appendix B2: Calculating Significant Gains for Less Than 30
Teachers
Wilcoxon signed ranks test
The Wilcoxon signed ranks test is used when the number of participating teachers is less than 30.
One of the underlying assumptions of the paired-samples t-test is that the mean of the paired
difference scores is normally distributed. For most test score situations, where the scores can be
considered as relatively continuous (for example, scores of 0 to 100 on a test), and the number of
pairs of scores is fairly large (at least 30 teachers), this assumption can be reasonably expected to
be met. If this condition is not met, as would be the case if the number of teachers in the group is
small, for example 12 teachers, the paired-samples t-test could be biased. In this situation a
nonparametric test should be used. One such nonparametric test that does not require the data to
be normally distributed is the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. The assumptions of this test, the
hypothesis, the test statistic, and the decision rule are presented below.
Assumptions
1)
The observed differences between the posttest score and the pretest score (Di) are mutually
independent.
2)
The distribution of each Di is symmetric about a common median.
3)
The pretest and posttest scores are at least interval numbers (can be added and multiplied
meaningfully).
Hypotheses
Ho: the posttest score tends to be the same as or lower than the pretest score.
Ha: the posttest score tends to be higher than the pretest score.
Test Statistic
Let X1i be the pretest score for the i-th subject;
X2i be the posttest score for the i-th subject;
Di be the difference between the posttest score and the pretest score for the i-th subject, i.e., Di
= X2i – X1i.
Define Ri, the signed rank, for each pair of scores (X1i, X2i) as follows:
User’s Guide for On Line MSP APR
51
the rank assigned to ( X 1i , X 2i ) if Di is positive
Ri
the negative of the rank assigned to ( X 1i , X 2i ) if Di is negative.
The test statistic, W is defined as:
n
W
Ri
i 1
n
2
Ri
i 1
Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
Compute Di = X2i – X1i.
Rank the Di’s without regard to the sign of Di (i.e., rank the absolute difference of
Di). Ignore all zero Di’s. When there are ties, assign the average rank to the ties.
Affix the original signs to the rank numbers.
Compute W.
Decision Rule
The statistic W can be approximated by a normal distribution. We use the same level of
significance (0.15) as the paired-samples t-test. When the p-value for the observed value of W is
0.15 or less, this is considered evidence that the overall gain score is statistically significant.
52
Appendix B3: Check for Out of Range Values
Range Test
The MSPTCK software includes an option for grantees to check for out-of-range values for
pretest scores, posttest scores, and gain scores. The range check is based on the quartiles of your
data. The software computes the following statistics:
Q1 = first quartile of your data (the value such that 25% of the values fall at or below this value);
Q3 = third quartile of your data (the value such that 75% of the values fall at or below this value);
Interquartile range (IQR) = Q3 – Q1;
Lower bound (LB) = Q1 – 1.5 * IQR;
Upper bound (UB) = Q3 + 1.5 * IQR.
A value is out of range if it is smaller than LB or larger than UB.
53
Appendix C: MSP Project Administration Website
for State Coordinators
Introduction
The MSP Project Administration Website was created to enable State Coordinators and other
approved state-level personnel to manage electronic records for MSP projects in their states and
independently update critical project-level information as needed. This guide provides step-bystep instructions for preparing online APR forms for data entry, maintaining accurate project
records, and editing APR user information.
Logging In
To access the MSP Project Administration Website, visit the ED-MSP public website located at
the following URL: www.ed-msp.net. On the upper-right corner of the homepage, click on
Website Administrators. Enter your username and password on the login screen.
You can also access this login page from the APR website: http://apr.ed-msp.net. Simply click on
the tab called Project Administration and enter your login information. This brings you your list
of current projects on the MSP Project Administration homepage as shown below.
54
State Level Personnel
The MSP Project Administration Website can only be accessed by State Coordinators and
approved state-level personnel. To verify the contact information and access types for state-level
personnel, click on the button View MSP State-Level Personnel that appears once you have
logged in successfully.
The Position column indicates the type of access granted to each person listed. Please be sure that
only one person has SEA Status. This person is listed as the official State Coordinator on the
public MSP website and is fully responsible for reviewing and submitting completed annual
reports to the Department of Education.
To modify information for state-level personnel, please contact your program officer at the U.S.
Department of Education. When adding a new person, be sure to specify the level of access
required. The three level of access options are as follows:
SEA Status – can read, edit, and submit to the Department of Education
Full-Access State Contact – can read, edit, and comment on APRs
Read-only access
APR Maintenance for State Coordinators Only
To ensure that all current projects have an electronic report available for data entry, you will need
to check the list of current MSP projects in your state that appears when you log in. Each record
listed represents a project’s annual report.
Archiving Records
Records for reports that belong to projects that are no longer active or for reports that have
already been submitted and approved by the Department of Education should be archived in an
area of the website where they can be accessed later, if necessary. This way, the home page will
only display currently active reports.
To archive a record, simply click the Archive button that appears in the far right column, and then
select one of the following reasons for archiving the report:
End of grant cycle - The project submitted its final APR and is no longer active.
Discontinued funding - Funding was discontinued by the state before the end of the
project.
Duplicate - APR was duplicated by mistake and will not be used.
APR Approved - The corresponding APR has been submitted and approved. This
information is no longer needed by project or state staff.
Other - please specify:
55
Archived records can be viewed by clicking on the “View Archived Projects” button located
near the top of your MSP Project Administration homepage. This will display a list of inactive
projects in your state that have been archived for one of the reasons listed above. To return to the
list of current projects, simply click on View Current Projects at the top of the page.
Create a New APR
Once an annual report is approved by the U.S. Department of Education, the report will become
read-only and unavailable for editing. If the submitted report was not the final report for the
current grant cycle, State Coordinators must create a new APR so that project staff will be able to
access the new report and enter data for the current year.
To create a new APR, click on the Create a New APR button, located on the far left column
directly above the Archive button. Then confirm the selection by clicking on the Copy Annual
Report button on the following page. When a new report is created, please make a note of the
new Project Code. This information will help identify the new report on the APR website.
Once a new report is created, it is necessary to provide the following information: APR
Performance Period1, APR due to State and APR due to ED dates. Also, please be sure that a
project abstract is available and that project staff information is accurate.
To check the newly created report, click on the button Go to APR Website. Then enter the title
of the project for which you created the report. There are now at least two records for the same
project. The record that displays a status of “Approval Granted” represents the report that has
been approved, and the record with an “Incomplete” status represents the active report. The
approved report should be archived.
Add a New MSP Project
To create APRs for new projects or projects that have re-competed for a new funding cycle, you
will need to click on the button called Add a New MSP Project and enter the information
requested. This information will be used to automatically generate an APR for the new project
and create a record in the Project Administration website that can later be viewed or edited from
your list of current projects. An automatic email will also be sent to the Project Director to notify
him/her that the report is available for editing.
When adding a new project, you will be required to provide the project start date, the name of the
lead institution, and a unique project title. For projects that have re-competed, you may use the
same title and simply add the tag “(Cycle #)” at the end.
At this time, you will also be asked to provide a project abstract. The Department of Education
suggests that you cut and paste the abstract from the proposal into the space provided. This
abstract will automatically be made available on the public website at the following location:
1
The APR Performance Period (PP) refers to the year in which the majority of months of the activities described in
the APR take place, where the year is defined as October through September. For example PP2007 = October 1,
2007 - September 30, 2008.
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http://www.ed-msp.net/do/searchCoordinatorByState. However, it will be replaced once a year by
the abstract in the project’s Annual Report. Click OK when ready. On the next screen, you will
need to identify the Project Director. Once you have finished, the project will automatically be
assigned a unique Project Code that consists of the state abbreviation, the funding start year, and a
random number. It will be accessible from your list of current projects.
Editing Project Information
Once your list of current projects is accurate, you should make sure that all information stored for
each project is up-to-date. To view information stored for individual projects, click on View/Edit
on the far left column next to the appropriate project on your list of current projects. This will
bring you to a static view of the project information. Items that need your immediate attention are
the APR performance period, the funding start and end dates, APR due dates, and project staff
(see below for a detail discussion of these items). To modify any of the project information on
this page, click on the button called Edit Project Information located near the top of the page.
APR Performance Period
The APR Performance Period is a new field that stores critical information that will be used to
distinguish the multiple APRs submitted by projects that span more than one year. This field
needs to be filled out for ALL APR reports.
To add this information to an existing report profile, choose the correct performance period from
the drop-down menu. The APR Performance Period reflects the year in which the majority of
months of the activities described in the APR take place. Please use the definitions for the
performance periods in the drop-down menu to guide your selection. Once you are finished, click
on Save and Edit User Information. Then click on Save and Return to the list of Current
Projects.
Funding Start and Funding End Dates
The funding start date is required in order to add a new project and should already be filled in.
Because the maximum length of grants awarded by the MSP program is three years, the funding
end date must be no later than three years after the funding start date.
Some projects that have re-competed for additional funding may display a funding end date that is
more than three years after the funding start date. In this case, please create a new MSP project, as
explained above, indicating that the project is in the second funding cycle, and archive the
existing project because the project has reached the end of its grant cycle.
APR Due Dates
Each MSP project is required to report its MSP activities during each 12-month period after the
award of the MSP grant. States have 60 days beyond the end of each 12-month reporting period
to submit the annual reports to the U.S. Department of Education. For example, if the award date
was September 1, 2005 with a 12-month performance period, the annual report for this project
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would be due to the U.S. Department of Education by October 31, 2006. Please use the chart
below to determine your projects’ due dates.
Award Date
Determined by State
Departments of
Education
Performance Period
Award date + 12
months
Due to State
To be determined by
State Departments of
Education
Due to ED
Award date + 12
months + 60 days
Because the award dates differ among grantees, the due dates also vary.
Please remember: The report focuses on the MSP project activities conducted during the 12month reporting period, i.e., the most recent 12-month cycle from your grant award date.
When creating a new MSP Project or Report, always review the APR due to ED and APR Due to
State dates for accuracy. The APR Due to ED field is required for all reports and will serve as an
indicator of timeliness in reporting. Reminder emails will be sent to Project Directors and State
Coordinators based on the APR Due to ED date provided. The APR Due to State field reflects the
internal deadline set by the State Coordinator. This date should precede the APR due to ED date
and allow sufficient time for State Coordinators to review the completed report, make comments,
and request revisions before the report is due to the US Department of Education.
Once the APR due to ED and APR due to State dates are set for a project, this information
becomes available on the public website in the following URL:
http://www.ed-msp.net/do/searchCoordinatorByState.
Editing Project Staff
To add or modify a project staff member, click on the Save and Edit User Information button
towards the bottom of the Edit Project Information screen.
On this page, you will see a description of the three access types:
Project Director – can read, write, and submit reports to the State (maximum of 2)
Project Contact – can read and edit reports
Read-only access
This description is followed by a row corresponding to each of the three access types. Because at
least one Project Director is required to add a new MSP project, at least one Project Director
should already be filled in and no additional spaces for Project Directors will be visible. To add a
staff member, enter the person’s name and contact information next to the appropriate access
level. To delete staff members, simply delete them from this list. When you are finished, click on
either the Save and Add More Staff button or the Save and return to the list of current
projects button. To add a second Project Director, for example, simply click on the button Save
and Add More Staff near the bottom of the page, and a new row for additional staff members
will appear.
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Adding staff members on this page will automatically grant them access to the project’s APR
website. Any listed Project Directors or contacts that are new to the MSP Program will receive an
email with their username and password. Any Project Directors or staff previously assigned to an
MSP Project will receive an email to notify them when they are assigned to a new project or if
their type of access has changed.
Project-level staff cannot view or edit information on this website, therefore Project Directors
must contact the State Coordinator when any project staffing changes occur. The names and roles
of all project staff members are visible to Project Directors in the Report Users tab of the APR
website. The name of the Project Director identified in the PD1 field will be visible to the public
on the MSP website at the following URL: http://www.ed-msp.net/do/searchCoordinatorByState.
Please encourage projects to inform you of any staff changes.
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| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Title | Microsoft Word - October 2009 User's Guide_102209.doc |
| Author | FoxL |
| File Modified | 2009-10-29 |
| File Created | 2009-10-29 |