APPENDICES

FY 2016 Annual Performance Report and FY 2018 Annual Performance Plan—U.S. Department of Education 127 

Appendix B: Changed Performance Goals 

The Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 requires 

agencies to “identify performance goals changed or dropped since publication of the 

Annual Performance Plan, if such changes were approved by OMB, and the reasons 

for the changes.”

92

 

92 OMB Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget (2015), Part 6, Section 210.22 – Content for Strategic 

Plans, Annual Performance Plans, Annual Performance Reports 
APPENDICES

CHANGED PERFORMANCE GOALS

FY 2016 Annual Performance Report and FY 2018 Annual Performance Plan—U.S. Department of Education 128 

FY 2016 EXTERNAL (PUBLIC-FACING) METRICS BEING REMOVED and NEW METRICS BEING ADDED FOR 2017

GOAL 1: POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, AND ADULT EDUCATION. Increase college access, 

affordability, quality, and completion by improving postsecondary education and lifelong learning opportunities for youths and adults.

EXTERNAL 

METRIC NO. METRIC (INDICATOR) BRIEF SUMMARY FOR REMOVAL NEW METRICS FOR 2017 NEW METRIC DATA SOURCE 

1.3.B. Enrollment in IHEs below the minimum 

earnings threshold 

The Department has minimal impact 

on this metric and the rate did not 

change positively in FY 2016. 

No replacement metric is being 

proposed at this time. 

NA

1.1.C. Percentage of first-time FAFSA filers among 

high school seniors 

Federal Student Aid (FSA) reports this 

metric in their Annual Performance 

Report with ranges as targets. The 

Department is moving away from 

using ranges for any of its metrics. The 

new metric will focus on the number of 

first-time FAFSA filers among high 

school seniors, which is 

complementary to what FSA is already 

reporting. Further, the new metric 

highlights the actual impact of FSA’s 

reach by reflecting the actual number 

of students completing the FAFSA 

versus reporting just the percentage 

year-over-year. 

Number of first-time FAFSA filers 

among high school seniors 

FSA’s Central Processing 

System 
APPENDICES

CHANGED PERFORMANCE GOALS

FY 2016 Annual Performance Report and FY 2018 Annual Performance Plan—U.S. Department of Education 129 

GOAL 2: ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. Improve the elementary and secondary education system’s ability to consistently 

deliver excellent instruction aligned with rigorous academic standards while providing effective support services to close achievement and 

opportunity gaps, and ensure all students graduate high school college- and career-ready 

EXTERNAL 

METRIC NO. 

METRIC (INDICATOR) BRIEF SUMMARY FOR 

REMOVAL NEW METRIC(s) FOR 2017 NEW METRIC DATA SOURCE 

2.2.A. Number of states that have fully implemented 

teacher and principal evaluation and support 

systems that consider multiple measures of 

effectiveness, with student growth as a 

significant factor 

In December 2015, the President 

signed into law the Every Student 

Succeeds Act (ESSA), which 

reauthorizes the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act of 1965

(ESEA). Under the ESEA as amended 

by the ESSA, the Secretary of 

Education is prohibited from, among 

other prohibitions, prescribing “any 

aspect or parameter of a teacher, 

principal, or other school leader 

evaluation system within a State or 

local educational agency” and 

“indicators or specific measures of 

teacher, principal, or other school 

leader effectiveness or quality.” The 

Department has no new data on the 

number of states implementing 

teacher and leader evaluation and 

support systems consistent with this 

performance metric and no way to 

verify the data reported. 

No replacement metric is being 

proposed at this time. 

NA

2.5.A. Percentage of high school and middle school 

teachers who teach STEM as their main 

assignment who hold a corresponding 

undergraduate degree

Retiring this metric due to the data set 

only being available every four years 

and therefore has not been helpful to 

inform STEM policy efforts. In addition, 

degree held is just one indicator of 

STEM content knowledge and doesn’t 

apply for things like elementary school 

teaching. The data set was also only 

applicable for math and science and 

didn’t capture engineering or computer 

science, which have been important 

STEM disciplines as well. 

No replacement metric is being 

proposed at this time. 

NA
APPENDICES

CHANGED PERFORMANCE GOALS

FY 2016 Annual Performance Report and FY 2018 Annual Performance Plan—U.S. Department of Education 130 

GOAL 3: EARLY LEARNING. Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 3rd grade, so 

that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high school college- and career-ready. 

EXTERNAL 

METRIC NO. METRIC (INDICATOR) BRIEF SUMMARY FOR REMOVAL NEW METRIC(s) FOR 2017 NEW METRIC DATA SOURCE 

NA NA NA NA NA

GOAL 4: EQUITY. Increase educational opportunities for underserved students and reduce discrimination so that all students are wellpositioned to succeed. 

4.2.A. Percentage of proactive civil rights 

investigations launched annually that address 

areas of concentration in civil rights 

enforcement 

This metric is too narrow to capture 

the breadth of the Office for Civil 

Rights’ (OCR) work. A new metric is 

being proposed. 

To ensure educational 

institution’s awareness of and 

compliance with federal civil 

rights obligations, the new metric 

focuses on increasing the 

average number of cases 

resolved, per investigative staff 

member. 

OCR’s Case Management 

System (CMS) and human 

resources dashboard 

4.2.B. Percentage of proactive civil rights 

investigations resolved annually that address 

areas of concentration in civil rights 

enforcement 

This metric is too narrow to capture 

the breadth of the Office for Civil 

Rights’ (OCR) work. A new metric is 

being proposed. 

To increase awareness and 

understanding by students and 

their families of their rights, and 

schools, colleges and universities 

of their obligations under federal 

civil rights, the new metric 

focuses on increasing the 

number of technical assistance 

presentations and press 

releases on OCR’s work. 

OCR’s Case Management 

System (CMS) and website 

external metric no. METRIC (INDICATOR) Brief summary for removal New metric(s) for 2017 New metric data source
APPENDICES

CHANGED PERFORMANCE GOALS

FY 2016 Annual Performance Report and FY 2018 Annual Performance Plan—U.S. Department of Education 131 

GOAL 5: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THE U.S. EDUCATION SYSTEM. Enhance the education system’s ability to continuously improve 

through better and more widespread use of data, research and evaluation, evidence, transparency, innovation, and technology. 

EXTERNAL 

METRIC NO. 

METRIC (INDICATOR) BRIEF SUMMARY FOR 

REMOVAL NEW METRIC(s) FOR 2017 NEW METRIC DATA SOURCE 

1.1.B. Web traffic to the College Scorecard NA This performance metric is 

transitioning from Goal 1 to Goal 

5.

NA

5.1.C. Number of states linking K-12 with early 

childhood data 

Requesting to replace this metric with 

a new metric related to the number of 

states actively using data systems to 

support and inform improvements, 

which is a more meaningful and useful 

metric. 

Number of states actively using 

data systems to support and 

inform improvements 

Grant monitoring 

GOAL 6: U.S. DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION CAPACITY. Improve the organizational capacities of the Department to implement this strategic 

plan.

EXTERNAL 

METRIC NO.

METRIC (INDICATOR) BRIEF SUMMARY FOR 

REMOVAL NEW METRIC(s) FOR 2017 NEW METRIC DATA SOURCE

6.2.A Percentage of A-133 Single Audits Overdue 

for resolution 

OCFO/Financial Improvement 

Operations is proposing this change 

because the new measure will 

potentially be a more accurate 

measure of the efforts of both program 

office (grants administration) staff and 

staff involved in resolution of Single 

Audits to positively influence lasting 

program improvement. Lack of any 

audit findings is a reflection of effective 

administration by grant recipients and 

improvements over time will validate 

the Department’s overall efforts to 

partner with them to effect positive 

change in their operations. 

Percentage of Department grant 

recipients without any Single 

Audit findings 

Federal Audit Clearinghouse 

(FAC) 

Total number of the Department’s 2016 external metrics being removed FY-end: 8* 

Total number of new external metrics being added in 2017: 5

 

*

 Please note, the total number of metrics removed in FY 2015 was 11 versus the 12 reported in the 2015 APR.