Developing an Developing an Appropriate Appropriate

Standards-Based IEPStandards-Based IEP

Developing an Developing an Appropriate Appropriate

Standards-Based IEPStandards-Based IEPMitzi DelkerMitzi Delker

November 2010November 2010

Why “Standards-Based?”

• Reason – Changes to both the IDEA and the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

• Moves away from old approach to IEP development, which lacked focus on closing student’s achievement gap, to this new process that focuses on alignment with what all students are expected to know and do.

• SWD should be expected to participate in general curricula and achieve at a proficient level on state assessments, when provided with specially designed instruction and appropriate accommodations.

Basics of Standards-Based IEP

• Standards tell teachers what to teach not how to teach.

• Allows for differentiated instruction for students with learning needs.

• Developing standards-based IEPs requires team members to have an understanding of our state

standards.

Requirements of Federal Education Laws

IDEA 2004 requires every student eligible for special education to have an IEP in effect at the beginning of each school year.

IEPs MUST Contain:

• Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs)• Measurable Annual Goals• If taking alternate assessments, description of

benchmarks • Statement of special education and related

services• Transition services• Individual appropriate accommodations • Transfer of Rights statement

Pre-Meeting Items

• If for eligibility, all expected team members should have opportunity to review the report prior to meeting. During meeting, have one copy of report for every 2 to 3 members.

• Parents should have access to draft IEP prior to the IEP meeting.

• Be prepared to explain Procedural Safeguards to parents/guardians.

Agenda

Create an agenda for each IEP meeting.

Assign roles (chairperson, timekeeper, notetaker for PWN).

IEPs MUST Contain:PLOPs

• Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance

INCLUDING• How the student’s disability affects the

student’s involvement and progress in the general education

curriculum.

PLOPs

• In a standards-based IEP, the PLOP clearly indicates how the student is currently performing in relationship to the standards for the student’s enrolled grade.

• PLOP should always be written using a variety of objective information and in terms that are both understandable and measurable.

Sources of Information for PLOPs

• Student’s most recent performance on all state- and district-wide assessment

• Classroom-based testing data• Progress monitoring data (i.e. end-of-unit

tests, informal/systematic questioning of student, curriculum-based measures)

• Parent information, including concerns for enhancing the student’s education

PLOPs

• Should identify the skills and knowledge student has already attained relative to grade-level standards.

• Use this information to decide what academic standards have been mastered and what standards are left to be attained.

• Gaps between student’s current level of academic functioning and the expectations for grade-level performance provide clear picture of what needs to be accomplished during the year.

Impact of Disability Guidance

Don’t use student disability as the reason for achievement deficits.

Focus on the specific impact of the student’s disability on achievement of the standards.

Impact Examples• What not to write:

– “Marcus’ learning disability affects his progress in the general curriculum.”

• What to write:– “Marcus’ weakness in

applying strategies, such as making inferences and making complex predictions, affect his progress in comprehending ninth-grade literary materials.”

Impact Examples• For a student who is IG:

– “Jody has above average skills and abilities. He benefits from learning in an enriched environment that provides supplemental instruction, critical thinking tasks and projects, and the application of higher order thinking skills. The challenges provided by his peers stretch him intellectually and keep him motivated in his other classes.”

Impact Examples

• For a student who is OHI and SLD:– “Due to Bryan’s difficulty with concentration,

distractibility, and expressing himself through writing, he needs persistent motivation in order to do written assignments, regardless of the length. He needs assistance with written assignments and note-taking. He would benefit from multiple promptings from the teacher.”

Impact Examples

• Student who is LI and SLD:– “Montrell’s low decoding skills

prevent him from reading grade level material without assistance. His writing assignments lack deep thought and he has trouble with specific writing structures without assistance.”

Impact Examples

• Student who is ID and LI:– “In order to maximize Dee’s full potential

he needs shorter periods of instruction, modified assignments, extended time, and assistance. The deficits he has in reading, writing, and computational skills would reduce the amount of information he would retain and knowledge he would gain using a general curriculum.”

Impact Examples• For a student who is LI and SI:

– “Ariel continues to have difficulty decoding new words and has difficulty remembering the steps for multistep problems and directions. Her difficulties in reading comprehension and math application impact all academic areas and warrant accommodations and modifications for success in the general education curriculum.”

Impact Examples

• For a student who is SLD:– “Due to poor reading skills, Candice needs

material read orally and often may need vocabulary explained. She has to reread material several times to herself or has passages read to her several times. She is weak in calculation of math problems and struggles to complete problems without a calculator.”

Guiding Questions to Develop PLOPs

1. What are the content standards for student’s enrolled grade?

2. Where is student performing in relation to grade-level standards?

3. What strengths/needs does this student have related to learning the standards?

4. How does disability affect involvement and progress in general curriculum?

Guiding Questions to Develop PLOPs

5. What other needs – besides academic skill deficits in areas such as organizational and social skills – impact the student’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum?

6. What strategies, accommodations, and/or interventions have been successful in helping student make progress in general curriculum?

7. What strategies, accommodations, and/or interventions have been unsuccessful?

IEPs MUST Contain:Measurable Annual Goals

• Including academic and functional goals designed to meet the student’s needs that result from the student’s disability

• To enable the student to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum (that is aligned to the state academic content standards).

• Meet each of the student’s other educational needs that result from the student’s disability.

IEPs MUST Contain:Measurable Annual Goals

• For SWD who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives.

• How student progress will be measured • Periodic reports to parents on progress

student is making toward meeting annual goals.

Annual Goals

PLOP gives a picture of the student that is used to develop annual goals linked to state standards. IEP team uses the information to:– Select area of weakness– Identifies the grade level standard

affected by area of weakness– Writes a goal addressing the grade level

standard

Next:

IEP Team:– Identifies specific skill deficits that

impact mastery of the standard– Writes a goal addressing the skills

needed to master the standard

Goals and NeedsEvery goal must relate to a need identified in the

PLOP. (Match in Number and Kind)

• Goals are written only in areas that directly affect involvement and progress in the general curriculum resulting from the student’s disability.

• Goals don’t restate the state content standards. (All students do these).

• Goals should be prioritized, and clearly show or indicate skills/knowledge most important to student’s long-term

academic progress.

Questions to Consider1. What skills must student learn in order

to become proficient on grade-level standards?

2. What access skills related to the grade-level standards must student learn?

3. What growth/progress can the student make in the coming year?

4. Will this expected growth/progress close the achievement gap for the student?

Goal Elements:(Strategic, Measurable,

Attainable)1. The student (Who)2. Will do what

(Behavior)3. To what level or

degree (Criterion)4. Under what

conditions (Conditions)

5. In what length of time (Timeframe)

• Example:– “Jacob (who) will

read 90-110 words of connected text (condition) per minute (behavior) with 100% accuracy (criterion) at the end of 36 weeks (timeframe).”

IEPs MUST Contain:Services

• Statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services

• Based on peer-reviewed research• To the extent practicable • To enable the student to advance toward

attaining the annual goals and to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum.

Services and Standards

In standards-based IEP, the IEP team provides a statement of the special education and related services the student needs to take the student from the starting point (PLOP) to the goal of meeting grade-level content standards.

Questions to Consider:

1. Which special services will make the biggest impact toward student achieving grade-level proficiency?

2. What is the direct instruction needed to support learning the grade-level content standards?

3. What accommodations will be needed in order to minimize the effects of the disability?

Modifying Grade Level Expectations

• Appropriate only when student’s present level of performance is substantially below grade level.

• Modifications change learning expectations of the standard being taught.

Appropriate Accommodations

• Appropriate accommodations necessary to measure academic achievement and functional performance of student on State and district wide assessments.

IF• IEP team determines student must take an

alternate assessment instead of State or district wide assessment, a statement of why the student cannot participate in the regular assessment and why the particular alternate assessment is appropriate for the student.

Accommodations:

• Are tools and procedures that provide equal access to instruction and assessment for SWD

• Lessen the effects of a student’s disability• Do NOT change the learning expectation• Connect to content or instructional context

(not just a list allowable on “the test”)• Are NOT specially designed instruction

Specially Designed Instruction

“adapting, as appropriate to the child’s needs, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to address the unique needs of the child that result from the child’s disability; to ensure access of the child to the general education curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.”

Accommodations vs.Specially Designed

InstructionAccommodation:

Susan will be

provided her textbook on tape because she is unable to read.

Specially Designed Instruction:

Susan will be provided intensive instruction in phonemic awareness.

Testing• IDEA requires each state to ensure that all

students with disabilities are included in all general state and district-wide assessments with appropriate accommodations, if necessary, as indicated on their IEPs.

• NCLB requires states to test all students (including SWD) annually in reading/language arts and math grades 3 – 8, and once in high school (between grades 10 and 12).

• These assessments must be based on state academic standards; academic content standards must be the same for all students.

Criteria for Meeting Transition Requirements

1. Measurable post-secondary goals covering education or training, employment and independent living (if needed)

2. Annual IEP goal(s) that will reasonably enable the student to meet the postsecondary goal(s)

3. Transition services in the IEP that focus on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student to facilitate their movement from school to post-school

MPSGs Drive IEPs

Identify MPSGs(Vision)

PLOPs related toMPSGs

Course

of Study

(Education Plan)

Needed Transtion Services

Determine Measurable

Annual Goals/Short TermObjectives

Critical Components of an IEP for Transition Services

• Measurable postsecondary goals– Education/training– Employment– Independent Living (optional)

• Age appropriate transition assessments• Measurable Annual Goals• Transition services

– Course of study– Coordinated set of activities

What is a measurable postsecondary goal?

• A statement based on age appropriate transition assessment

• Communicates what the student would like to achieve after high school

• An outcome that occurs after the student has exited high school

• A measurable postsecondary goal is NOT an activity, step, wishful intent or the process of pursuing or moving toward the desired outcome

Writing Measurable PostSecondary Goals

• Results-oriented terms (enrolled in, work, live independently)

• Descriptors (full-time, part-time)• Think about where student hopes to be

on year after high school. . . Begin with “After high school . . .”

• Based on “age-appropriate” transition assessments

14 Year Old with Mild Disability

• Training/Education: After high school, Eric will get on the job training in an area related to dirt bike racing.

• Employment: After high school, Eric will work full time with dirt bikes.

• Independent Living: After high school, Eric will live in an apartment with friends.

Sample Transition Goals• Training/Education:

– After high school, David will get on-the-job training to become a farmer.

– After high school, Mary will enroll at UTC in the teacher training program.

– After completion of school, John will attend ABC Center and receive training on work behaviors and skills. (Moderate/severe)

– After completion of school, I will attend Siskin and receive vocational skills training. (Mod/Severe)

Sample Transition Goals:

• Employment:– After completion of school, I will work at

Goodwill under their supported employment program. (Moderate/Severe)

– After completing school, John will be employed in a sheltered environment at ABC Center. (Moderate/Severe)

– After high school, David will work full-time as a _________. (Farmer, teacher, mechanic, etc.)

Sample Transition Goals:• Independent Living:

– After completion of high school, John will live at home with mom and continue to take part in community activities like bowling, going to church and visiting friends and family.

– After high school, Bill will live in an apartment with a roommate.

Checklist for IEP Meetings on EasyIEP

• Invitation to Meeting• Parent Tab• Team Tab• Narratives Tab• Assessments Tab• Participations Tab• Accommodations Tab• Goals/Objectives Tab• Supplemental Aids Tab• Special Ed. Services Tab

• Related Services Tab• Transition Tab• Documents Page• Senior Exit Meetings and

Summary of Performance• Prior Written Notice• Consent to Invite Outside

Agency• Power School/EasyIEP

form after each meeting• Contacts Tab

Informed Parental Consent

Participation in the Regular Classroom

Informed Parental Consent

Documentation of IEP Review by Teachers NOT in Attendance

Resources• Linda Harris and Jennifer Allison,

Secondary EXED Support Team• www.specialedconnection.com

• National Center for Learning Disabilitieswww.LD.org

• IDEA Parent Guide (May, 2006)www.ncld.org/content/view/902/456086