McKinney-Vento Data 

Standards and Indicators 

(2006 Revisions)

National Center for Homeless Education 

SERVE 

Updated March 2006
McKinney-Vento Data 

1

Standards and Indicators 

(2006 Revisions) 

PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................................................1 

SECTION I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................2-4

SECTION II. MCKINNEY-VENTO STANDARDS AND INDICATORS OF QUALITY 

 PROGRAMS (2006 REVISIONS) ........................................................................5-18

STANDARD 1: All homeless students, identified and enrolled at the time of the state assessment, 

take the state assessment required for their grade levels. ...........................................................5 

STANDARD 2: All homeless students demonstrate academic progress..............................................................6 

STANDARD 3: All children in homeless situations are identified ......................................................................7 

STANDARD 4: Within one day of an attempt to enroll in school, homeless students are in 

attendance ..................................................................................................................................8 

STANDARD 5: All homeless students experience stability in school .................................................................9 

STANDARD 6: All homeless students receive specialized and comparable services when eligible. ...........10-11 

STANDARD 7: All preschool-aged homeless children enroll in and attend preschool programs .....................12 

STANDARD 8: All homeless unaccompanied youth enroll in and attend school.........................................13-14 

STANDARD 9: All parents (or persons acting as parents) of homeless children and youth are 

informed of the educational and related opportunities available to their children 

and are provided meaningful opportunities to participate in their children’s 

education.............................................................................................................................15-16 

STANDARD 10: LEAs help with the needs of all homeless children and youth through 

collaborative efforts both within and beyond the LEA .......................................................17-18 

APPENDIX H: 

SECTION III. REPORTING REQUIREMENT MATRIX...........................................................19-22 

APPENDIX I. HOW TO DEVELOP BENCHMARKS FOR MCKINNEY-VENTO

 STANDARDS AND INDICATORS ......................................................................23-26 

Table of Contents 
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“People without information cannot act. 

People with information cannot help but act.” 

--Ken Blanchard 

Section I. Introduction 

In a time of high-stakes accountability and decreasing funding opportunities, it is 

important for homeless education programs to find ways to continuously enhance 

services and to effectively communicate successes. Increasingly, funding agencies are 

emphasizing the importance of collecting and reporting outcome data to account for the 

use of allocated resources. With this in mind, the National Center for Homeless 

Education (NCHE) in collaboration with national, state, and local stakeholders developed 

a set of standards and indicators reflecting the various components that characterize a 

quality homeless education program. 

In 2001, a participatory process was used to develop the original Standards and 

Indicators for quality McKinney-Vento (MV) programs. The workgroup included State 

Coordinators for homeless education, local homeless liaisons, representatives of national 

organizations, and program-evaluation specialists. In 2005, NCHE convened a similar 

group to revise the MV Standards and Indicators. The involvement of national, state, and 

local stakeholders helped to ensure that the revised Standards and Indicators are both 

relevant and useful. 

Currently, MV programs are not mandated to collect all the outcome data 

presented in this document; however, it is important to note that the MV Standards and 

Indicators encompass a majority of the measures that the U.S. Department of Education’s 

Homeless Children and Youth Program requires states to report from their MV 

subgranted districts. In addition, the Department of Education endorses the usage of the 

Standards and Indicators. The original MV Standards and Indicators were included in the 

U.S. Department of Education’s 2004 Policy Guidance for the Education of Homeless 

Children and Youths Program. The revised MV Standards and Indicators have been 

approved by the U.S. Department of Education, as well. Thus, development of the 

Standards and Indicators and the dissemination of this document are provided by NCHE 

as a tool for homeless education programs to ensure compliance with federal 

requirements and to improve their services. 

How do the revised MV Standards and Indicators differ from the original ones? 

• Ten Standards have replaced the original five, grouped by student 

achievement/performance outcomes, school and LEA support outcomes, and 

collaboration outcomes. 

• The revised Standards and Indicators reflect four years of effective practice in 

implementing the reauthorized McKinney-Vento Act. 

• Indicators for each Standard are “suggested” measures for LEAs to select and 

adapt to their programs as appropriate. 

• The revised Standards and Indicators use language that focuses on quantifiable 

outcomes to facilitate comparisons over time and with other programs in the 

school district. 
3

The revised Standards and Indicators are designed to apply to a wide range of MV 

programs across the nation. It is understood that programs vary significantly (e.g., in the 

number of identified homeless students/families, resources available, services provided, 

level of technology, number of staff members, demographics, socio-economic conditions, 

etc.), and therefore, no two programs are ever identical. Thus, the MV Standards and 

Indicators presented in this document may not be applicable for every program. 

However, the Standards represent a comprehensive framework that is based on 

the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act and effective practice. It is essential for 

administrators in all MV programs to ask themselves the following questions, based on 

the ten Standards: 

1. Do all students experiencing homelessness in my district, identified and enrolled 

at the time of the state assessment, take the state assessment required for their 

grade levels? 

2. Do all students experiencing homelessness in my district demonstrate academic 

progress? 

3. Are all children in homeless situations identified in my district? 

4. Within one full day of an attempt to enroll in school, are all students experiencing 

homelessness in my district in attendance? 

5. Do all students experiencing homeless in my district experience stability in 

school? 

6. Do all students experiencing homelessness in my district receive specialized and 

comparable services when eligible? 

7. Are all preschool-aged students experiencing homelessness in my district enrolled 

in and attending preschool programs? 

8. Are all unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness in my district enrolled 

and attending school? 

9. Are all parents (or persons acting as parents of children and youth) of students 

experiencing homelessness in my district informed of the educational and related 

opportunities available to their children and provided with meaningful 

opportunities to participate in their children’s education? 

10. Does my district help with the needs of all students experiencing homelessness 

through collaborative efforts both within and beyond the LEA? 

How are the MV Standards and Indicators helpful? 

The Standards and Indicators provide a framework for data collection. Data collected 

on the Standards and Indicators: 

• Reinforce an outcome-driven program, rather than an activity-driven program 

• Provide a measure of accountability 

• Provide understandable and valid data 

• Serve as a mechanism to monitor program progress 

• Identify areas for improvement 

• Provide performance information to stakeholders 

One of the greatest benefits of collecting data using the Standards and Indicators is to 

guide program administrators in asking questions about their program that yield insights 
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on trends, comparisons, and gaps. Note the sample questions listed with each of the 

Standards in Section II that are designed to identify areas for further study and provide 

more in-depth understanding of program strengths and weaknesses. 

How do we get started in using the MV Standards and Indicators? 

Reflecting on the ten questions listed above is just the first step of a process to 

ascertain the scope of your school district’s MV program. In addition, local sites that 

have collected MV Standards and Indicators data in the past recommend that you: 

• Assess if and how your program is currently collecting data in regards to each of 

the Standards (e.g., program documentation, intake forms, surveys, parent 

interviews, etc.). 

• Then, select the Standards that your program plans to collect student-level data to 

support. (Note: It is important for your program to collect some type of data on 

each of the ten Standards—even if it is just anecdotal or based on staff 

observations. However, collecting student-level data will ensure more reliable 

reporting). 

• Begin collecting student-level data on one or two Standards and Indicators that can 

be easily integrated into your current data-collection system. Over a planned period 

of time, incorporate the remaining, more difficult student-level elements into your 

data system one-by-one. This process will help your program strengthen its datacollection capacities in a way that will not be overwhelming. 

• Determine if the suggested Indicators are applicable for your program to collect; if 

not, your program should design more relevant and useful indicators. It is important 

to note that programs have the flexibility to create and/or revise the suggested 

Indicators; however, the Standards should always retain the same language and 

intent. 

In essence, Indicators presented in this document should be viewed as a “menu” of 

options your program could use to collect data regarding the ten Standards for quality 

programs. It would be overwhelming for a program to collect data for all the proposed 

Indicators in this document. Thus, prioritizing your data-collection plan is an important 

first step. 

Collecting MV Standards and Indicators data is an interactive and iterative process 

that will require the involvement of various stakeholders in the area of homeless 

education. It is recommended that your program assemble a small workgroup to provide 

input about how best to incorporate the Standards and Indicators into your current datacollection system. 

More detailed information regarding: (a) the history of the MV Standards and 

Indicators project; (b) incorporating the MV Standards and Indicators into your local 

program; (c) piloting the data-collection processes; (d) use of logic models; (e) and 

challenges, strategies, and reporting requirements is available on the NCHE website at 

http://www.serve.org/nche/products_list.php#guidebook. Although the McKinney-Vento 

Data Standards and Indicators Guidebook was written to assist with data collection with 

regard to the original MV Standards and Indicators, much of the information included in 

the Guidebook is also applicable to the process of collecting data using the revised 

Standards and Indicators presented in this document.
Section II. 

McKinney-Vento Standards and Indicators of Quality Programs 

(2006 Revisions)

Student Achievement/Performance Outcomes 

Standard 1: All homeless students*, identified and enrolled at the time of the state assessment, take the state their grade levels. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

1.1: Percent of homeless students who took the standards-based assessment in math. 

1.1: Number of homeless students who took the standards-based assessment in math required for their grade/ Total number of homeless students identified and enrolled (at the time the state assessment was given) who were required to take the state math assessment. 

--Are these percents increasing or decreas--How do these percents from last year codistrict average? --What assumptions can be made based on --What does the school, district, and/or Mof all eligible students to state math and reimprovements could be made? 

1.2: Percent of homeless students who took the standards-based assessment in reading. 

1.2: Number of homeless students who took the standards-based assessment in reading required for their grade/ Total number of homeless students identified and enrolled (at the time the state assessment was given) who were required to take the state reading assessment. 

* Although the term “homeless students” is used throughout Section II and III of this document, it is understood that temporary experience of residential loss or instability, and that the term “homeless” is not a permanent or definitionais important to note that for the purposes of streamlining the language of this document, the term “homeless studentsrefers to “children and youth experiencing homelessness.”

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Student Achievement/Performance Outcomes 

Standard 2: All homeless students demonstrate academic progress. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

2.1: Number of homeless students who met or exceeded state proficiency rates on the standards-based assessment in math/ Number of homeless students enrolled who took the math state assessment. 

2.1: Percent of homeless students who met or exceeded state proficiency rates on the standards-based assessment in math. 

--Are these percents increasing or decreas--What assumptions can be made based on --How do these percents compare with the average? 

2.2: Percent of homeless students who met or exceeded state proficiency rates on the standards-based assessment in reading. 

2.2: Number of homeless students who met or exceeded state proficiency rates on the standards-based assessment in reading/ Number of homeless students enrolled who were required to take the reading state assessment. 

--What does the school, district, and/or Mproficiency of all eligible homeless studenassessments? What improvements could b--What does the school, district, and/or Mhomeless students have the academic supppromoted to the next grade level or show pexpectations? What improvements could b

2.3: Percent of homeless students promoted to the next grade level is at or above the promotion rates of the school. 

2.3: Number of homeless students promoted to the next grade level/ Number of homeless students enrolled. Then, compare that percentage with the promotion rates of the school. 

--What does the school, district, and/or Mstudents graduate? What could be improve--What efforts have been made by the MV students’ plans for post graduation? --What strategies/activities does the districstudents will show progress toward grade-level upon enrollment for whatever period 

2.4: Percent of homeless students who showed progress toward grade-level expectations. 

2.4: Number of homeless students who showed progress toward grade-level expectations/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

--Is it possible for my LEA to collect gradwere identified as homeless during their hentire career as a student (K-12)? --Note: It is suggested that Indicator 2.4 dhomeless students are not in the school/diassessed via the state standardized test. Scdetermine how to assess homeless childrelevel from the time they enroll—such as, fenrollment compared with academic perfoat the time child disenrolled or at end of th

2.5: Percent of homeless students who graduated high school, or equivalent, is at or above the graduation rate of the school. 

2.5: Number of homeless students who received a high school diploma or equivalent/ Number of homeless students eligible for a high school diploma or equivalent. Then, compare that percent with the graduation rate of the school. 

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School/LEA Support Outcomes

Standard 3: All children in homeless situations are identified. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

3.1: Number of homeless students enrolled in school. 

3.1: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on 

3.2: Percent of students in LEA that are homeless. 

3.2: Number of homeless students enrolled in the LEA/Number of total students enrolled in LEA. 

--Is it possible for my LEA to disaggregatfollowing categories: a) students that were enrolled in school and b) those that were ithey enrolled in school? 

3.3: Number of LEA outreach activities conducted to identify students in shelters and other settings, including those living doubled up. 

3.3: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

--What processes has the MV program usebecome homeless while enrolled in schoo

identified? What improvements could be mdifferent processes needed? 

--What processes has the MV program usewho were not enrolled in school are being 

improvements could be made? Are additio

3.4: Number of school staff members needed? provided professional development to enable them to identify students who may be eligible for McKinney-Vento services/ Number of school staff members. 

3.4: Percent of school staff members provided professional development to enable them to identify students who may be eligible for McKinney-Vento services. 

--What outreach activities has the MV proin shelters, hotel, motels, and other settingdoubled up? What improvements could be activities? Are additional or different outr--Are all school staff members expected to development or are certain staff members development based on their role and acces--What types of professional development MV program used to assist staff to better iother settings, including those living doubcould be made to the current identification different professional development strateg--Are you currently collecting participant utility, and relevance of professional deveWhat aspects of the professional developmreceiving the highest ratings? Why? --What aspects of the professional developare receiving the lowest ratings? What can quality, utility, and relevance of these acti

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School/LEA Support Outcomes

Standard 4: Within one full day of an attempt to enroll in school, homeless students are in attendance. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

4.1: Percent of homeless students who were enrolled on the same day they came to school to be enrolled. 

4.1: Number of homeless students who were enrolled on the same day they came to school to be enrolled/ Number of homeless students enrolled in school. 

--Note: To collect Indicator 4.1 and 4.2 dhave a conversation with parents/guardianof the enrollment process they experiencean “immediate” enrollment. 

--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on 

4.2: Percent of homeless students who attended school on the same day of enrollment. 

4.2: Number of homeless students who attended school on the same day of enrollment/Number of homeless students enrolled in school. 

--What school-/district-level processes has ensure homeless students are being immed

not immediately enrolled, what processes reason for delayed enrollment? What imprthe current enrollment processes? Are addneeded? 

4.3: Total count of the days that passed between enrollment and attendance for all homeless students/ Total number of homeless students enrolled. 

4.3: Average number of days between a homeless student’s enrollment in school and his/her school attendance. 

--What school-/district-level processes has ensure homeless students attend school on 

If a student does not attend school on the sprocesses are in place to document the reaWhat improvements could be made to the immediate student attendance? Are additioneeded? 

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School/LEA Support Outcomes

Standard 5: All homeless students experience stability in school.

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

5.1: Average rate of attendance for homeless students is at or above the school average. 

5.1: Total number of days homeless students were in attendance/Total number of days homeless students were enrolled. Then, compare that percent with the school’s attendance average. 

5.2: Percent of homeless students that remain in one school for the duration of the school year. 

5.2: Number of homeless students that remained in one school for the duration of the school year/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

--Note: To determine Indicator 5.1, the athomeless student must be calculated indivdays he or she attended school versus the enrolled in school. In a district with large the average rate of attendance may be deteof homeless students enrolled. 

5.3: Average number of schools attended by homeless students in one year. 

5.3: Total count of school moves for all homeless students for one year/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on --What are the most common barriers that from attending school? 

5.4: Average number of residential moves for homeless students once identified as homeless. 

5.4: Total count of residential moves for all homeless students/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

--What strategies are currently in place to (reduced school transfers) for homeless stcould be made? Are additional or differen--What progress has been made by the pro“one child, one school, one year?” --How can the MV program assist in lowe

5.5: Number of requests granted regarding moves for homeless students once identifitransportation to school of origin/ Number of requests made by clients for transportation to school of origin. 

5.5: Percent of homeless students who received transportation to the school of origin (defined by the McKinney-Vento Act) as requested by the parent or guardian. 

--If all requests for transportation to schoowhy were requests denied? What can the Mdenied requests?

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School/LEA Support Outcomes

Standard 6: All homeless students receive specialized and comparable services when eligible. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Ba

6.1: Number of homeless students who received an individual needs assessment/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

6.1: Percent of homeless students who received an individual needs assessment to determine appropriate services and extra support to access services. 

--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on 

6.2: Percent of enrolled homeless students with a completed special education evaluation that was conducted within 60 days of a parent request or within timeframes established by the state. 

6.2: Number of homeless students with a completed special education evaluation that was conducted within 60 days of a parent request or within timeframes established by the state/ Number of homeless students enrolled whose parents requested a special education evaluation. 

--What strategies are currently in place to receive specialized and comparable servicimprovements could be made? Are additioneeded? --Are homeless students being evaluated fmanner, as defined by the IDEA legislatiospecial education services are not being prbe done to expedite the IEP once a homel--Do all homeless students who need servthem? 

6.3: Percent of homeless students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) who began receiving special education services on the day of their enrollment in school. 

6.3: Number of homeless students with IEPs who began receiving special education services on the day of their enrollment in school/ Number of homeless students with IEPs who enrolled in school. 

--If comparable opportunities are provided students decline participation, why are stu--How could the MV program document abarriers? 

6.4: Percent of homeless students who do not attend Title I schools who receive services through Title I, including support services in shelters and other locations where they live. 

6.4: Number of homeless students who do not attend Title I schools who receive services through Title I, including support services in shelters and other locations where they live/ Number of homeless students who do not attend Title I schools. 

--Has the amount of funds set aside througdecreased? How does your LEA determinformulae (per pupil amount, percentage oand/or evaluative tools (student achievemassessments, etc.) are used to make this de--How does the percent of homeless studecurricular activities compare to the school why not? How can the MV program encoparticipation? 

6.5: Amount of funds set aside for homeless students through Title I. 

6.5: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

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Standard 6: All homeless students receive specialized and comparable services when eligible. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Ba

6.6: Percent of homeless students who had access to free and reduced price meals. 

6.6: Number of homeless students who had access to free and reduced price meals/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 6.7: Number of homeless students who had access to ELL services, gifted and talented, and/or vocational education services/ Number of homeless student eligible for ELL services, gifted and talented, and/or vocational education services. 

6.7: Percent of homeless students who had access to one or any combination of the following services when needed/eligible: ELL, gifted and talented, and/or vocational education services. 

6.8: Number of homeless students who received supplemental academic services/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

6.8: Percent of homeless students who received supplemental academic services (e.g., after school program and tutoring). 6.9: Percent of homeless students who received school and personal supplies when needed. 

6.9: Number of homeless students receiving basic school and personal supplies when needed/ Number of homeless students needing basic school and personal supplies. 6.10: Number of homeless students who participated in extracurricular activities/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

6.10: Percent of homeless students who participated in extracurricular activities. 

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School/LEA Support Outcomes

Standard 7: All preschool-aged* homeless children enroll in and attend preschool programs. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Ba

7.1: Number of preschool-aged children identified as homeless by LEA. 

7.1: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

7.2: Number of preschool-aged children identified as homeless by LEA, enrolled and attending a SEA or LEA public preschool. (If public preschool is available in the district.) 

7.2: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

7.3: Number of homeless preschool-aged children identified through IDEA, Part C. 

7.3: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

7.4: Number of LEA contacts, meetings, correspondence, and/or agreements with preschools not operated by the SEA or LEA. 

--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on  --What strategies are currently in place to children enroll in and attend preschool procould be made? Are additional or differen--How do these data compare to the numbcommunity that have access to preschool --How many or what percent of homeless developmental assessment or screening? Wused? --Do contacts, meetings, and correspondeidentification and preschool enrollment of children? --Note: The amount and type of data avai

7.4: Because this is not a percent, no homeless children will vary from district tformula is needed. which indicators should be selected for da

*For this standard, preschool-aged includes infant and toddlers. 

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School/LEA Support Outcomes

Standard 8: All homeless unaccompanied youth enroll in and attend school. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

8.1: Number of homeless unaccompanied youth enrolled in school by LEA. 

8.1: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

8.2: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth informed of their rights under McKinneyVento by LEA. 

8.2: Number of homeless unaccompanied youth informed of their rights under McKinney-Vento by LEA/ Number of unaccompanied youth enrolled. 

8.3: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth assisted with selecting the school for attendance in their best interest.

8.3: Number of enrolled homeless unaccompanied youth assisted with selecting the school for attendance in their best interest/ Number of unaccompanied youth enrolled. 

8.4: Number of LEA contacts, meetings, correspondence, and/or agreements with agencies, such as child welfare, juvenile justice, and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act shelter providers to coordinate needs of homeless unaccompanied youth. 

8.4: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

8.5: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth provided with access and referrals to needed services by LEA. 

8.5: Number of homeless unaccompanied youth provided access and referrals to needed services/ Number of unaccompanied youth enrolled. 

8.6: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth that are not on grade level. 

--Note: School districts determine MV elyouth applying the definition of homeless general, most unaccompanied youth are el--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on --What strategies are currently in place to youth enroll and attend school? What impadditional or different strategies needed? --If needed services opportunities are provstudents decline participation, why are stuHow could the MV program document anbarriers? --If a homeless unaccompanied youth is nservices are provided students to make up -- How has the MV program encouraged hand work toward postsecondary education services are provided to assist unaccompaand/or applying for postsecondary educatiSAT/ACT preparation, course selection, ascholarships, etc.)? What improvements cor different strategies needed?

8.6: Number of homeless unaccompanied youth that are not on grade level/ Number of unaccompanied youth enrolled. 

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Standard 8: All homeless unaccompanied youth enroll in and attend school. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

8.7: Percent of homeless 8.7: Number of homeless unaccompanied unaccompanied youth provided youth who were provided with assistance with assistance in preparing for preparing for and/or applying for and/or applying for postsecondary postsecondary education opportunities/ education opportunities. Number of unaccompanied youth enrolled. 

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Collaboration Outcomes

Standard 9: All parents (or persons acting as parent s) of homeless children and youth are informed of the eopportunities available to their children and are provided meaningful opportunities to participate in their ch

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

9.1: Percent of homeless students whose parents were informed of McKinney-Vento rights. 

9.1: Number of homeless students whose parents were informed of McKinney-Vento rights/ Number of homeless student enrolled. 

9.2: Percent of homeless students whose parents were provided information and assistance in making best-interest decisions regarding school enrollment and educational stability of their children. 

9.2: Number of homeless students whose parents were informed and assisted/ Number of homeless students enrolled. 

9.3: Percent of homeless students whose parents were provided written explanation of schoolplacement decisions, including an explanation of the right to appeal, when their child was placed in a school other than the school of origin or the school requested. 

9.3: Number of students whose parents were provided written explanation of schoolplacement decisions when their child was placed in a school other than the school of origin or the school requested/ Number of students placed in a school other than the school of origin or school requested. 

9.4: Percent of homeless students whose parents required local liaison assistance or intervention to settle a disagreement between them and school staff over school selection for their child.* 

--Are these numbers/percents increasing o--What assumptions can be made based on --What strategies are currently in place to homelessness are informed of their MV ricould be made? Are additional or differen--In what ways are homeless parents proviassistance in making best-interest decisionand educational stability of their children? convenient for the parent? In a level and/oby the parent? --If homeless parents are provided opportucomparable to those of non-homeless pareparticipation, why are they declining partiprogram document and eliminate any exis--If all parent requests for transportation to not granted, why were requests denied? Walleviate denied requests? * Local liaison intervention to settle a disaand the school over school selection is not formal dispute process. The U.S. Departm

9.4: Number of homeless students whose that any intervention involving parents be parents required local liaison assistance or liaison. (See the Barrier Tracking form in intervention to settle a disagreement Homeless Education Liaisons, Appendix E between them and school staff over school NCHE Products and Publications.) selection for their child/ Number of homeless students enrolled in school. 

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Standard 9: All parents (or persons acting as parent s) of homeless children and youth are informed of the e

opportunities available to their children and are provided meaningful opportunities to participate in their ch

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

9.5: Percent of homeless students 9.5: Number of homeless students whose whose parents were informed of parents were informed of opportunities to opportunities to receive services receive services comparable to those of noncomparable to those of non- homeless parents/ Number of homeless homeless parents. students enrolled. 9.6: Percent of homeless students 9.6: Number of homeless students whose whose parents were provided with parents were provided with individual individual student reports student reports informing them of their informing them of their child’s child’s specific academic needs and specific academic needs and achievement/ Number of homeless students achievement. enrolled. 9.7: Percent of times parents 9.7: Number of times LEA provided were provided transportation to parents with transportation to school school activities when requested activities / Number of times parents (e.g., parent-teacher conferences). requested transportation to school activities. 9.8: Percent of times parents 9.8: Number of times LEA provided were provided transportation to parents with transportation to and from and from community activities community activities / Number of times when requested (e.g., parenting parents requested transportation to groups). community activities. 

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Collaboration Outcomes

Standard 10: LEAs help with the needs of all homeless children and youth through collaborative efforts both LEA. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

10.1: Number of collaborative contacts with federal programs (e.g., Head Start, Housing and Urban Development, Continuum of Care, staff from Runaway and Homeless Youth shelters, etc.). 

10.1: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

10.2: Number of collaborative contacts with Title I staff. 

10.2: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

10.3: Number of collaborative contacts with Special Education staff. 

10.3: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

10.4: Number of collaborative contacts with LEA staff (e.g., migrant education, school nutrition, pupil transportation, school enrollment, etc.). 

10.4: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

10.5: Number of collaborative contacts with community service providers (e.g., shelter provision, child welfare, health, mental health, child care, housing, faithbased initiatives, etc.). 

10.5: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

10.6: Number of collaborative contacts with other LEAs to which their homeless families frequently move or from which their homeless families frequently come. 

--Are these numbers increasing or decreas--What assumptions can be made based on --How do you rate the quality of the collabLEA staff, community-based service provdistricts? Which collaborations need to be MV program do to alleviate any existing b--Aside from posters, what are other ways about MV legislation? --Does collaboration between Title I and tprogram result in a local Title I plan that ahomeless students and establishes approprfunds? --Does collaboration with Special Educatiand service provision for students with spe--Do collaborative contacts with communiimproved coordination for and service pro--Note: “Collaborative contacts” include establish and sustain long-term relationshidevelopment of agreed-upon policies and plans to address the needs of homeless chiunaccompanied youth. Collaborative continitiated or attended by the homeless local purposes of identifying needs or planning, informal agreements. 

10.6: Because this is not a percent, no formula is needed. 

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Standard 10: LEAs help with the needs of all homeless children and youth through collaborative efforts both 

LEA. 

Indicator Formula Questions to Ask Bas

10.7: Percent of schools 10.7: Number of schools displaying displaying McKinney-Vento McKinney-Vento posters/ Number of posters. schools in LEA. 10.8: Number of McKinney- 10.8: Because this is not a percent, no Vento posters disseminated and formula is needed.displayed in the community. 

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Section III. Reporting Requirement Matrix 

The following table provides an overview of each of the various reports the proposed McKinney-Vento Indicators ad

Performance Results Act Report (GPRA), The U.S. Department of Education Annual McKinney-Vento Program Da

McKinney-Vento Internal Data Report, and others (including: Adequate Yearly Progress, No Child Left Behind, IndEducation Act, and U.S. Department of Agriculture). 

Indicator GPRA 

MV Federal 

Data Collection 

Report 

Lo

In

Dat

1.1: Percent of homeless students who took the standards-based assessment in math. 9 9 1.2: Percent of homeless students who took the standards-based assessment in reading. 9 9 2.1: Percent of homeless students who met or exceeded state proficiency rates on the standards-based assessment in math. 9 9 2.2: Percent of homeless students who met or exceeded state proficiency rates on the standards-based assessment in reading. 9 9 2.3: Percent of homeless students promoted to the next grade level is at or above the promotion rates of the school. 2.4: Percent of homeless students who showed progress toward grade-level expectations. 2.5: Percent of homeless students who graduated high school, or equivalent, is at or above the graduation rate of the school. 3.1: Number of homeless students enrolled in school. 9 3.2: Percent of students in LEA that are homeless. 9 3.3: Number of LEA outreach activities conducted to identify students in shelters and other settings, including those living doubled up. 3.4: Percent of school staff members provided professional development to enable them to identify students who may be eligible for McKinney-Vento services. 4.1: Percent of homeless students who were enrolled on the same day they came to school to be enrolled. 4.2: Percent of homeless students who attended school on the same day of enrollment. 4.3: Average number of days between a homeless student’s enrollment in school and his/her school attendance. 
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Indicator GPRA 

MV Federal 

Data Collection 

Report 

Lo

In

Dat

5.1: Average rate of attendance for homeless students is at or above the school average. 5.2: Percent of homeless students that remain in one school for the duration of the school year. 5.3: Average number of schools attended by homeless students in one year. 5.4: Average number of residential moves for homeless students once identified as homeless. 5.5: Percent of homeless students who received transportation to the school of origin (defined by the McKinney-Vento Act) as requested by the parent or guardian. 6.1: Percent of homeless students who received an individual needs assessment to determine appropriate services and extra support to access services. 6.2: Percent of enrolled homeless students with a completed special education evaluation that was conducted within 60 days of a parent request or within timeframes established by the state. 6.3: Percent of homeless students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) who began receiving special education services on the day of their enrollment in school. 6.4: Percent of homeless students who do not attend Title I schools who receive services through Title I, including support services in shelters and other locations where they live. 6.5: Amount of funds set aside for homeless students through Title I. 6.6: Percent of homeless students who had access to free and reduced meals. 6.7: Percent of homeless students who had access to one or any combination of the following services when needed/eligible: ELL, gifted and talented, and/or vocational education services. 6.8: Percent of homeless students who received supplemental academic services (e.g., after school program and tutoring). 6.9: Percent of homeless students who received school and personal supplies when needed. 6.10: Percent of homeless students who participated in extracurricular activities. 
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Indicator GPRA 

MV Federal 

Data Collection 

Report 

Lo

In

Dat

7.1: Number of preschool-aged children identified as homeless by LEA. 7.2: Number of preschool-aged homeless children identified as homeless by LEA, enrolled and attending a SEA or LEA public preschool. (If public preschool is available in the district.) 7.3: Number of homeless preschool-aged children identified through IDEA, Part C. 7.4: Number of LEA contacts, meetings, correspondence, and/or agreements with preschools not operated by the SEA or LEA. 8.1: Number of homeless unaccompanied youth enrolled in school by LEA. 8.2: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth informed of their rights under McKinney-Vento by LEA. 8.3: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth assisted with selecting the school for attendance in their best interest. 8.4: Number of LEA contacts, meetings, correspondence, and/or agreements with agencies, such as child welfare, juvenile justice, and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act shelter providers to coordinate needs of homeless unaccompanied youth.8.5: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth provided with access and referrals to needed services by LEA. 8.6: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth that are not on grade level. 8.7: Percent of homeless unaccompanied youth provided with assistance in preparing for and/or applying for postsecondary education opportunities. 9.1: Percent of homeless students whose parents were informed of McKinney-Vento rights. 9.2: Percent of homeless students whose parents were provided information and assistance in making best interest decisions regarding school enrollment and educational stability of their children.9.3: Percent of homeless students whose parents were provided written explanation of school-placement decisions, including an explanation of the right to appeal, when their child was placed in a school other than the school of origin or the school requested.
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Indicator GPRA 

MV Federal 

Data Collection 

Report 

Lo

In

Dat

9.4: Percent of homeless students whose parents required local liaison assistance or intervention to settle a disagreement between them and school staff over school selection for their child.* 9.5: Percent of homeless students whose parents were informed of opportunities to receive services comparable to those of non-homeless parents. 9.6: Percent of homeless students whose parents were provided with individual student reports informing them of their child’s specific academic needs and achievement. 9.7: Percent of times parents were provided transportation to school activities when requested (e.g., parent-teacher conferences). 9.8: Percent of times parents were provided transportation to and from community activities when requested (e.g., parenting groups). 10.1: Number of collaborative contacts with federal programs (e.g., Head Start, Housing and Urban Development, Continuum of Care, staff from Runaway and Homeless Youth shelters, etc.). 10.2: Number of collaborative contacts with Title I staff. 10.3: Number of collaborative contacts with Special Education staff. 10.4: Number of collaborative contacts with LEA staff (e.g., migrant education, school nutrition, pupil transportation, school enrollment, etc.). 10.5: Number of collaborative contacts with community service providers (e.g., shelter provision, child welfare, health, mental health, child care, housing, faith-based initiatives, etc.). 10.6: Number of collaborative contacts with other LEAs to which their homeless families frequently move or from which their homeless families frequently come. 10.7: Percent of schools displaying McKinney-Vento posters. 10.8: Number of McKinney-Vento posters disseminated and displayed in the community. 
APPENDIX I 

How to Develop Benchmarks 

for McKinney-Vento Standards and Indicators 

The purpose of this appendix is to provide information about how to develop benchmarks to enhance your program’s 

performance indicator system. This appendix will: (a) provide some background context regarding the McKinney-Vento 

Standards and Indicators, (b) define benchmarking, (c) illustrate a step-by-step process to develop benchmarks, and (d) 

show examples of quality benchmarks that aligned with various McKinney-Vento Indicators. 

What are the McKinney-Vento Standards and Indicators? 

The McKinney-Vento Standards express general characteristics of high quality programs. The Indicators are suggested 

measures that will help program staff assess their progress toward the ten Standards. The Standards are universal and 

applicable to all homeless education programs while the Indicators are suggested measures that can be customized to 

meet your program’s specific needs. 

Based on legislation and effective practice, the McKinney-Vento Standards and Indicators were developed by NCHE in 

collaboration with national, state, and local homeless education agencies in an effort to ensure compliance with federal 

requirements and assist with program improvement. The ten McKinney-Vento Standards (revised in 2006) are as 

follows: 

1. All homeless students, identified and enrolled at the time of the state assessment, take the state assessment 

required for their grade level. 

2. All homeless students demonstrate academic progress. 

3. All children in homeless situations are identified. 

4. Within one full day of an attempt to enroll in school, homeless students are in attendance. 

5. All homeless students experience stability in school. 

6. All homeless students receive specialized and comparable services when eligible. 

7. All preschool-aged homeless children enroll in and attend preschool programs. 

8. All homeless unaccompanied youth enroll in and attend school. 

9. All parents (or persons acting as parents) of homeless children and youth are informed of the educational and 

related opportunities available to their children and are provided meaningful opportunities to participate in their 

children’s education. 

10. LEAs help with the needs of all homeless children and youth through collaborative efforts both within and 

beyond the LEA. 

What is a Benchmark? 

This document will assist you in writing benchmarks that are unique to your individual program. We are using the term 

“benchmark” to describe the progress your program is expected to make toward meeting an indicator during a specified 

time period. Benchmarks can be written as incremental steps (ie. monthly, every nine weeks, by semester, etc.) or as 

your final annual target. It is more helpful to have them written incrementally because you can gauge your progress at 

different points during the implementation of the program. 

Differences in terminology are common across professional fields and within the educational field. Your school district 

may refer to “benchmarks” as objectives, short-term goals, or even as indicators. It doesn’t really matter which terms 

you use as long as your partners, team members, and co-workers use the same term and agree on a common purpose. 

Focusing on the Task at Hand 

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Ideally, a program would develop benchmarks for each of the McKinney-Vento Indicators they choose to address. The 

specific benchmarks you develop depend on many things—the age of your program, the amount of funding, the size of 

your program, and the types of data you are collecting. 

The following steps will facilitate the writing of benchmarks. 

Step 1: Involve others—the task of setting benchmarks can seem quite daunting, especially if you are trying to do this 

as an individual rather than by asking others to form a team to assist you and to provide added input. By involving 

others you can get multiple perspectives on which areas are a priority. It is encouraged that you involve various program 

staff, internal and external evaluators, and/or data collection specialists when developing your program. 

Step 2: Identify the indicators on which your program is currently focusing—have the team assess if and how your 

program is currently collecting data in regards to each of the Standards. Next, determine if the suggested McKinneyVento Indicators are applicable for your program to collect; if not, the team should design more relevant and useful 

Indicators. Then, begin collecting the data. 

Step 3: Look at the data—have the team closely look at any McKinney-Vento Indicator data you have collected. 

Discuss the following questions with your team: 

• Where are the greatest areas of concern? 

• Are there priorities that need to be addressed? 

• What improvements would make the greatest impact? 

• Look at the Standards and Indicators Tables found on pages 5-18 of this document. The right-hand column 

presents a list of questions you can ask based on the data that you have collected. 

Discussing the questions above with your team is a good catalyst for setting specific program benchmarks for each 

Indicator. 

Step 4: Developing your benchmarks—the most common approach to setting benchmarks is to look at current 

performance levels on the indicators of interest, along with past trends leading to the these levels. This is considered 

your “baseline,” or point from which to measure change and gauge progress. Baselines are important in that they help to 

establish realistic expectations. 

Benchmarks may seem to be somewhat arbitrary, particularly if program staff doesn’t have sufficient data or experience 

on which to base them. It is often tempting to set benchmarks at easily attainable levels in an effort to make a project 

look successful; however, modest benchmarks do not challenge staff to work harder and smarter to improve 

performance significantly. Inversely, overly aggressive benchmarks can set a program up for failure and become a 

disincentive for working toward improved performance in the future. 

If you have several years of data, you may base the benchmarks on progress seen so far. 

• Benchmarks can reflect prior increments if you feel your program is making sufficient progress, or 

• Benchmarks can reflect increments greater than prior increments if you feel your program needs to make 

greater progress. 

In the end though, it is less important that benchmarks be met than it is that they effectively guide the program 

implementation and evaluation and are based on real-world expectations of project success. Setting quality benchmarks 

will provide increased incentive for more program focus and resources in priority areas. 

Step 5: Assessing the quality of your benchmarks—a common way to assess the benchmarks you have developed is 

to determine if your benchmarks are SMART (O’Neill, 2000, 46). 

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• Specific—Are your benchmarks specific? A specific benchmark has a much greater chance of being 

accomplished than a general benchmark. 

• Measurable—Are your benchmarks measurable? Ensure you have concrete criteria for measuring progress 

toward your benchmark. 

• Attainable—Are your benchmarks attainable? Determine if your benchmarks will help to develop attitudes, 

abilities, skills, and financial capacity to make the benchmarks come true. 

• Results-oriented—Are your benchmarks results-oriented? Ensure that the benchmarks have a positive 

impact on improving homeless student learning. 

• Time-bound—Are your benchmarks time-bound? Define exactly when you expect to see your benchmark 

results (e.g. annually, quarterly, monthly, etc.). Developing time-bound benchmarks makes it easier to 

develop specific and measurable benchmarks that will ultimately be attainable. 

Benchmark Format and Examples 

Although there are many ways to develop benchmarks, one suggested format that programs have found effective is 

modeled below: 

How many of who (or what) is going 

to do (or be) what by when? 

Example 1—Look at Standard 3 and Indicator 3.4 as an example. Standard 3 states that “All children in homeless 

situations are identified.” Indicator 3.4 is the “Percent of school staff members provided professional development to 

enable them to identify students who may be eligible for McKinney-Vento services.” Think about what a best practice for 

this Indicator might look like: 

 All district staff members have knowledge of current laws and regulations regarding homeless 

children. 

By using the above format, along with the best practice for the Indicator, you can easily plug in numbers and come up 

with the following incremental benchmarks: 

 70% of all district staff members will have received professional development regarding homeless 

identification by September 30, 2006. 

 80% of all district staff members will have received professional development regarding homeless 

identification by December 15, 2006. 

 95% of all district staff members will have received professional development regarding homeless 

identification by the end of the 2006-2007 school year. 

Example 2—Look at Standard 5 and Indicator 5.2 as another example. Standard 5 states that “All homeless students 

experience stability in school.” Indicator 5.2 is the “Percent of homeless students that remain in one school for the 

duration of the school year.” Think about what a best practice for this Indicator might look like: 

 All homeless students are provided the opportunity to continue to be enrolled, attend, and have 

transportation to their school of origin. 

By using the above format, along with the best practice for the Indicator, you can easily plug in numbers and come up 

with the following incremental benchmarks: 

 50% of all homeless students will remain in their school of origin during the 2005-2006 school year. 

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 55% of all homeless students will remain in their school of origin during the 2006-2007 school year. 

 60% of all homeless students will remain in their school of origin during the 2007-2008 school year. 

Example 3—Look at Standard 9 and Indicator 9.1 as another example. Standard 9 states that “All parents (or persons 

acting as parents) of homeless students are informed of the educational and related opportunities available to their 

children and are provided meaningful opportunities to participate in their children’s education.” Indicator 9.1 is the 

“Percent of homeless children whose parents were informed of McKinney-Vento rights.” Think about what a best 

practice for this Indicator might look like: 

 All parents of homeless students will be provided information regarding their McKinney-Vento rights 

in a manner that is at their educational level and in a language that they understand. 

By using the above format, along with the best practice for the Indicator, you can easily plug in numbers and come up 

with the following incremental benchmarks: 

 90% of the parents of homeless elementary students will be informed of their McKinney-Vento rights 

during the 2005-2006 school year. 

 87% of the parents of homeless middle school students will be informed of their McKinney-Vento 

rights during the 2005-2006 school year. 

 60% of the parents of homeless high school students will be informed of their McKinney-Vento rights 

during the 2005-2006 school year. 

Conclusion 

At a minimum, you should have benchmarks documented for all the McKinney-Vento Indicators your program has 

adopted. It is essential that the data are reviewed periodically to monitor your program’s progress on meeting the 

benchmarks and/or identifying interventions and strategies if the specified benchmarks are not being met. 

Sources 

McKinney-Vento Data Standards and Indicators (2006 Revisions). SERVE/NCHE website: 

http://www.serve.org/nche/products_list.php#st_and_ind_2006_rev

SIERTEC Evaluation Planning Guide. SERVE/SIERTEC website: http://www.seirtec.org/_evlaution/tpe05.php

O’Neill, J. (2000). SMART goals, SMART schools. Educational Leadership, 57(5), 46-50. 

Poister, T. H. (2003). Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

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