Alignment Check: How can IEP goals be written to celebrate the common core standards?

Sara Jozwik & Alice CahillIllinois State University

Targets for Today

• View Needs Assessment Results• Examine goals written to

students’ areas of identified need• Craft goals to align to the

common core• Ensure goals are sensitive to Ells'

language acquisition needs

IEP Goal Writing Needs Assessment

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Chart Title

Training NeedsTraining Topics Ranked in Order of Most Frequently Selected:• Aligning goal statements to the common core standards for

students with high incidence disabilities.• Writing data-driven PLAAFP statements• Aligning goal statements to the common core standards for

students with low incidence disabilities.• Figuring out how to set up data collection tools to capture

the kinds of data I want to collect.• Deciding on IEP goals that align to the student’s areas of

need (e.g. self management goals for students with ED, attention goals for students with OHI).

Training Needs, Continued

• Using the SMART goal format to write goals.• Choosing how to collect data on the student’s

goals.• Writing goals that are sensitive to ELLs’

language acquisition needs.• Figuring out how to word the goal statement

so anyone who reads it will be able to monitor progress in a way that I intended.

Current concerns about IEP goals

• Special education team members identified the following concerns, in order of most frequently selected: – current goals are too vague, too general, and skills are

not measurable, – goals are not aligned to content standards and do not

show utility for implementing meaningful instruction– goals are not written to reflect a push-in model of

support– goals lack individualization and are all alike.

How many students’ goals have we re-written this year?

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Other concerns related to IEP goals

• The main theme identified was need for support with the process of aligning goals to the common core state standards.

• Most responses reflected anxiety with how to individualize goals to meet the explicit needs of the learner, especially when the needs are below grade level expectations, with specific common core standards.

• Many of us wonder what the implications will be on instruction, data collection, and co-teaching.

PLAAFP

• Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance statements should…

• Provide information that specifically relates to the goals and objects and should allow for direct comparison of progress through the year.

• Measurable PLAAFPs permit the IEP team to fulfill progress monitoring requirements and provide FAPE.

• Hint: While crafting measurable statements, check the student strengths section of the IEP to be sure meaningful, data-driven statements appear.

Example PLAAFP reading• Chris has a reading comprehension deficit; here is his PLAAFP • Chris is a strong decoder, and can read most any grade level text with 97%

accuracy. Chris does stumble over multi-syllabic words and will make visual substitutions (e.g., carnival for carnivore). In small groups. Where Chris feels comfortable, he will volunteer to read aloud often. Chris does not understand material that he has read or that has been read aloud to him. Text must be simplified, read in chunks, and visual mapping strategies must be used for simple comprehension. Chris has difficulty with inferential comprehension. Strategies that have been shown to increase his comprehension include making connections to his life, accessing his background knowledge, coding the text, and using graphic organizers. Chris lacks the skills to use these strategies independently.

• NWEA MAP: Spring 196 (12th percentile), Fall 200 (8th percentile)• ISAT Reading: Below standards• Easy CBM passage comprehension: 5th grade passage 65% accuracy, 6th grade

passage 50% (goal is 80%)

Example PLAAFP writing• Suzy has been working on written expression; here is her PLAAFP• With verbal prompting at each step, and using a graphic organizer, Suzy can

follow a writing process to compose a five paragraph expository, narrative, or persuasive essay. Each paragraph has a topic sentence, relates to the theme of the piece, and is supported by three detail sentences. Suzy rarely uses transition words. Her use of beginning capitalization and ending marks is consistent, but no other forms of punctuation are used. With prompting Suzy will vary word choice, but generally her vocabulary is consistent with a third grade level of writing. Sentences rarely contain more than one idea or detail. Spelling is mainly phonetic. Over the last three samples, twenty-five percent of non-sight words were spelled incorrectly.

• NWEA Language: Spring 2012 at 16th percentile, Fall 2012 at 11th percentile• Aimsweb total written words: Suzy averages 29 written words in 3 minutes

(target is 43) and shows a steady rate of improvement.

SMART Goals• Specific• Measureable• Attainable• Realistic• Timely• Example: By May 2014, Jon will write a focused five sentence paragraph

that includes a topic sentence, supporting details and a conclusion in 6 of 8 opportunities.

• This sample connects to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly

• Once written, examine the goal and see whether it promotes principles of self-determination.

Challenges with goal writing

• Measurability• Individualization• Wording• Data collection• Decision making (assessments)

Measurability

Problems• A goal is written to increase

skills in a specific area as measured by a percentage accuracy, but a baseline percentage is omitted from the PLAAFP.

• Goals fail to provide a measureable standard.

• Terms like “with minimal prompting” and “with some support” are NOT measureable.

Solution• Be sure to include a baseline

percentage if you are using percentage accuracy.

• Are you always using 80% percent accuracy as a target? Is this realistic? Reasonable? Justifiable?

• Include criteria; ensure the skill is being measured in a meaningful way.

Individualization

Problem• All the students on my

caseload have the same goal.

• It is hard to write goals that are centered around the students needs, for example, when inattention is interfering with academics.

Solution• Amend or accept…Do all the

students on your caseload have the same needs and the same present levels of performance?

• Once you have pinned down the areas of need, remember to be clear, be specific, and be measurable with stating realistic expectations for where the student will be one year from now.

Wording

Problem• When goals are written in

inexact terms, such as, “to increase participation” the team cannot make an objective analysis of whether the student is making progress toward the goal.

Solution• To ensure that any staff

member knows how to implement the goal from the face of it, check your wording. Does it pass the stranger test?

• Have you checked the format? Is it SMART?

“If there’s no meaning in it, that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we needn’t try to find any” –King of Hearts, Lewis Carroll

Data Collection Challenges

Problem• The goal is not being

addressed during my direct service minutes.

• The curriculum only addresses the objective for one week instead of all quarter.

• The goal is not measurable.• The data I am collecting is

not meaningful.

Solution• Does the goal need to be amended

to better suit the students’ needs? How can the schedule be adjusted to make direct service minutes “count”? Collaborate; get input from other implementers.

• Is the curriculum being implemented with fidelity, with great enough depth? What will the outcome be if you spend more time with instruction tailored to the students’ need? What will the outcome be if you don’t?

Assessment

Problem • The only information I have

is the classroom teachers’ qualitative input and test scores from MAP .

• I am not sure what assessments we use diagnostically, to monitor progress, or to measure achievement.

Solution• Collaborate with the social worker

(who is skilled at doing on-task/off-task observations)

• Collaborate with the school psychologist who will know which measures are used (KTEA, WISC)

• Collaborate with reading specialists, math specialists, and the ELL/Bilingual team to gather information about authentic assessment approaches, Fountas and Pinnell, DIBELS, Aimsweb, early numeracy screeners.

Alignment

• Common core key points:• Although CCS replace ILS the foundational pieces

remain consistent –students will be given opportunities for instruction in general education curriculum aligned to standards and students’ individualized needs will be considered when designing and implementing instructional activities.

• How does this happen? Prioritize skills for each student.

Steps toward IEP Goal Alignment1. Use the student’s present level statement to inform the

process of crafting the IEP goal.2. Choose the grade level standard.3. “Unpack” the grade level standard (Or, reference someone

else’s version, e.g., the Ohio Extended Standards) to analyze the sub-skills of the strand.

4. Prioritize student needs to develop the Goal. 5.Write the goal in consideration of the student’s rate of

learning.6. Read and evaluate the goal to be sure all terms are

measureable.

Example Goal Statements

You can take it to the bank…

Goal for student with OHI

• A student’s inattention is impacting academic achievement:

• The ILS Social Emotional Standards can be still be referenced, or…

• Consider the CCS, for example: 1C.2b. Monitor progress on achieving a short-

term personal goal.

Goal for student with ED• Self management goals can reflect the IL Social Emotional

Standards or can incorporate some CCS elements.• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and

events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.1a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion).

• 2C.2b. Analyze ways to work effectively in groups.• 1A.2b. Describe and demonstrate ways to express emotions

in a socially acceptable manner.

Goal for student with LD• If a 4th grade student’s needs have been prioritized and a focus on place

value is identified, then…• Math CCS Math 4NBT5. Use place value understanding and properties of

operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic. Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply 2 two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

• Example: By December 2013, Student will make progress toward understanding the place value system by recognizing the value of a digit, comparing and ordering numbers, and explaining the patterns within a base ten number system and computing to solve problems using numbers (0 through 1,000,000) in order achieve 75% accuracy on 6 independent practice trials (quizzes, curriculum based assessments) per quarter.

SLPs.. Consider these ELA standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1c Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Stuck?

• To gain more sample ideas, visit our WIKI• https://iepgoalbank.wikispaces.com/

Data Tools and Techniques• Kinds of data we usually collect for behavior: frequency, latency, duration• Kinds of data we usually collect for academics: percentage accuracy, words read aloud

correctly, correct written word sequences• Approaches to data collection

– Task analysis– Dichotomous rating (mark with a plus or minus; one or zero each time the target is or is not

observed)• Online progress monitoring

– Aimsweb – Easy CBM

• Rubrics and rating scales– comprehension rubrics for each skill can measure comprehension performance– Other rubrics can be created or may already exist to measure writing skills

• Apps– Super duper data tracker– Class dojo

Crafting goals for ELLs• Points to consider…• Legally, when writing the IEP, we are required to “consider

the language needs of the ELL.” What does this really mean?• IEPs should reflect language and cultural needs of ELLs• Include input (collaborate) from knowledgeable team

members • Decide on services, instructional strategies based on peer-

reviewed research• Use authentic assessment approaches to ensure the team

has sufficient information to craft a goal statement

In Conclusion…

• Champ out your goals by… Collaborating and asking for Help to Align goals to standards so we can Measure our students’ Progress and celebrate their successes!