Youth Development Software FAQ
Student Evaluation & Teaching System (SETS)
SETS History
SETS was developed after years of direct service with Youth Advancement Through Music & Art (YATMA), a Seattle-based nonprofit that served more than 2,500 vulnerable youth through music and arts programs. The insights gained from that completed work informed the design of SETS, which was created later as a separate system to help teachers and programs clearly see and document student development.
How does SETS Assess Students?
Sets uses three scales:
1. The Student Observation Scale (completed by teacher / mentor) 2. The Self Esteem Scale (completed by students), 3. The Student Assessment Scale (completed by an adult with knowledge of the student’s behavior).
SETS also contains a Staff Assessment Scale for tracking and assessment of teachers and staff.
SETS utilizes anchor points to ensure consistent scoring of students' progress. (We can show you this in a tour).
Goal setting is one of the measurements used in the student evaluation process. Teachers / mentors set one skill and one personal goal for each student for each assessment period (the assessment period is determined by the program director).
Goals are designed to be achievable by the next observation, thus improving short-term success levels that motivates the student toward self sufficiency in successful learning. Achievement levels of the goals of the preceding period are also scored.
On-screen guidelines facilitate the setting of clear, attainable goals and for scoring the goals’ attainment. All of this information – qualitative and quantitative – is automatically included when evaluation reports are compiled. Funders love this combination of quantitative and qualitative information.
How does SETS Suport Teaching Practice?
The evaluation and assessment scales focus teachers on the Principles of Empowerment™, core learning skills and abilities that are prerequisites to any real learning.
When teachers work with SETS to assess students, they can gain new perspectives and develop new approaches for individual students. By providing these perspectives, SETS becomes an ongoing staff development tool as opposed to short-lived, more superficial techniques.
Because SETS highlights student strengths, it allows instructors to develop individualized strategies that encourage achievement while minimizing discouragement. SETS also helps teachers identify student limitations, so they can develop remedial activities and identify and compare the effectiveness of various teaching strategies.
SETS' assessment component uitutilizes and builds upon best practices:
- It was developed in conjunction with the resesarch-based methodologies of the Search Institute's Developmental Assets, Jung/Briggs-Myers Personality Assessment, Harold Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
- Working with other educators, social workers, therapists, and research scientists, Merge director Bill Rossi broke new ground by precisely defining the underlying skills and abilities necessary for self-directed learning These Principles of Empowerment™ measure core learning principles in the student's relation himself, in his relation to the teacher, and in relation to his skill development.
How does SETS Manage Programs?
Yes. SETS maintains all contact information about students, staff, and significant others. You can input contacts individually or import an existing list.
SETS provides program oversight of afterschool programs by reporting on:
- all necessary personal record keeping information
- student demographics
- teacher progress notes and qualitative reports
- student interests served
- which classes and sections are currently offered
- which classes are open for additional enrollment
- which teachers and students are in each class
- staff and student attendance
- teacher evaluation and goal-oriented support.
By utilizing this basic data with the student evaluations, directors keep operations flowing smoothly, plus see which teachers / mentors are the most effective and who might need additional support.
SETS’ management reports help administrators ensure program fidelity to standards while controlling costs by reducing paperwork and redundancies.
SETS generates more funding by verifying the efficacy of the program to potential funders.
Is SETS Easy to Use?
Day to Day Use: Thanks to years of design, testing, and refining in the field, SETS is so essential, integrated, and fluid to use that it makes sense. That makes it friendly for the day-to-day user.
Initial Configuration: Setting up SETS for use in your organization requires some consideration. If you want great results, first spend time with the Sandbox database to get a feel for how things look and work. Then configure SETS by working through the Program Director Manual step by step. It's a simple process.
Most day-to-day users are up and going quickly with simple self-training. SETS comes complete with short video tutorials and quick-start manuals, and – for those who want to know more – a comprehensive user manual with answers to every question you could possibly have.
SETS also comes with a “Sandbox” database – a place to play around and get comfortable. If you have questions, we're here for you. We conduct all support via email, adding video screen sharing if necessary.
What are SETS' Delivery Options?
How is SETS delivered? SETS is currently delivered as a locally-managed, PC-based system. As of mid-2026, SETS will be available in two delivery formats, depending on a program’s needs and context. Some programs will continue to use SETS as a locally managed, PC-based system, which offers simplicity, data ownership, and independence from ongoing platform requirements. Other programs will use SETS through a hosted option, designed for organizations that prefer shared access and centralized management. Both options use the same underlying system and support the same teacher-centered practice.
What is SETS' Technology?
As a PC-or LAN-based system, SETS requires Windows XP or Windows 7 or above; Mac users purchase software to bridge to Windows programs. (See note below)
SETS operates on a single computer or Local Area Network. LAN users load the SETS application on each computer; the database is loaded onto the LAN to be accessed by all computers. Each SETS license accommodates installation on all computers within your organization - there is no charge for additional "seats".
Although Merge can not advise on hardware or network setups, if you are a Windows environment you might find this article informative: https://pureinfotech.com/setup-network-file-sharing-windows-10/
Mac Users Note: We do not provide ongoing support for a PC-based system used on Mac. However, the only issues identified to date are upon first use, with one or two error messages with shutdowns. If you receive these, be sure to switch data (the switch data button is on the home page) to the Sandbox database before you begin.
Once you subscribe to SETS, you will be directed back to our site, to a page with the download link (right click, save as). Carefully follow the instructions on that page to begin.
Installation will create a SETS folder with user manuals. A SETS shortcut will be placed on your desktop.
SETS’ ease of use is one of the reasons we can offer it so affordably, but we’re available by email (setshelp(at)merge-education dot com) if you need us. Although rarely necessary, you can access phone-based support via initial email contact if desired.
Miscellaneous FAQ
Why is SETS so inexpensive compared to other evaluation software? SETS is priced so that community programs can afford it.
SETS is complete right out of the box, but you can customize any of the scales if you'd prefer to use your own metrics.
Some like to see it in action, and we're ready when you are. Don't worry, about getting the hard sell --we've spent decades in the field and have no desire to sell you SETS if it's not what you want.
Would you like some wording about SETS to use with your grant requests? Click the "Download SETS Overview" button below and submit it with your request.
SETS' security scheme ensures confidentiality. This scheme is detailed in the user manual. Following are the most basic details of three of the levels:
Director Security Level- Can add, see and edit all records for all students and staff members
- Can add, see and edit Attendance records
- Can add, see and edit student enrollment in activities
- Can see reports for all students
- Can add and see records for all students and staff members but cannot edit them
- Can add new Attendance records but cannot see or edit existing ones
- Can add, see and edit student enrollment in activities
- Can see reports for all students
- Can see the identification records only for his students but cannot edit them once completed
- Can add new students, but introduce only some basic information
- Cannot see any staff identification records
When we say SETS is essential, we’re referring to its simplicity. Its ability to track the fundamental learning points and behavioral and emotional benchmarks is integrated into program management. SETS was designed to accomplish a lot without fanfare, to truly make your job easier.
We hope we're not belaboring the point, but most directors and teachers actually enjoy using SETS. They like how SETS' intuitive design integrates their many tasks, provides comprehensive and easy program oversight, and helps hone their teaching skills by focusing on fundamental learning points (student strengths).
SETS really does make everyone's job easier.
Testimonial
Laura Corbett
Intern/ Consultant, Philadelphia
SETS is a comprehensive and unique assessment software to assist organizations in tracking both qualitative and quantitative data, and that was exactly what we needed!
It only takes a few hours after using the tool to understand how it works and how to use it most effectively.
SETS is an easy, accurate, and effective way to measure progress.