Empowering Learners Through Systems, Care, and Collaboration: How Region 8 Drives Persistence and Assessment Success

Student persistence begins before a learner ever steps into any one of our many classrooms across the region. In Region 8, our local program managers have established a robust, standardized intake/testing process that lays the groundwork for long-term retention. That process begins with accurate placements and setting expectations up front.

• Accurate Level Placement: Precise diagnostic and intake testing ensures students are placed in classes that match their current skill levels. Proper initial placement prevents the student frustration and disengagement that frequently leads to early dropouts or unnecessary class transfers.
• Upfront Expectations: Post-testing is communicated clearly during intake as a core requirement for program participation. Framed as a shared commitment between the program and the student, learners enter with full awareness that post-testing is an integral part of their educational journey, and it keeps them engaged throughout the process.

Assessments can often feel like an administrative requirement imposed on students rather than a tool for their personal growth. Our program managers transformed this narrative by actively involving learners in their own progress by educating students on the long-term value of assessments, carving direct time for data visits, and fostering a strong sense of ownership.

• Educating on Long-Term Value: Assessment and career coaching teams partner to explicitly educate students on why we test, demonstrate how standardized assessments track measurable skill gains, unlock postsecondary opportunities, and support workforce advancement.
• Classroom Data Visits: Program managers, assessment specialists, and instructors regularly visit classrooms to review assessment results directly with students.
• Fostering Ownership: By reviewing score reports transparently, students gain genuine ownership over their learning targets, transforming post-tests from a source of anxiety into a celebrated milestone.

Persistence is a team effort. Our local program managers lead a multidisciplinary coalition—comprising Administrative Assistants, Assessment Specialists, Teachers, Social Workers, and Career Coaches—who provide wrap-around support for every student.

• Systematic Retention Efforts: Career coaches and social workers step in early to address barriers to attendance, providing resource coordination and individualized counseling.
• Structured Persistence Logging: Teams maintain systematic call logs in our LACES database for student follow-ups. Every absent learner receives prompt, personalized outreach to keep them connected to the program.
• Automated Hour Milestones: Assessment specialists conduct proactive outreach at structured attendance intervals—sending encouraging check-ins and test reminders once a student reached a certain number of instructional hours to keep assessment on the student’s radar.

Lastly, by leveraging LACES, using real-time data, embracing change and utilizing virtual testing, we’ve figured out a way to streamline assessments that not only minimizes friction for both staff and students, but also keeps our persistence percentages high.

• Leveraging LACES Indicators: Local program managers actively utilize real-time indicators in the LACES database to track student hours and identify post-test eligibility as soon as benchmarks are met.
• Rapid Result Turnaround: Fast-tracking test scoring ensures results are returned promptly to instructors and students, allowing instructional adjustments to happen in real time.
• Capitalizing on Assessment Policy Shifts: Embracing the transition from BEST Plus 2.0 to BEST Plus 3.0—which lowered the formal post-assessment requirement from 60 to 40 instructional hours—allowed our teams to capture post-tests earlier and lock in measurable gains.
• Flexible Virtual Testing: Providing virtual post-testing options removes transportation and scheduling barriers, allowing working adults and parents to complete required testing conveniently.