10/16/2014Dr. Y. Xu

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Developing IEPs

“The IEP is the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and measurable goals and objectives/benchmarks/progress markers are the heart of each IEP.” (Bateman & Herr, 2006; p.11)

Since the Amendments of IDEA 2004, IEP teams are only required to write short-term objectives or benchmarks for students who take alternate assessments. Bateman & Linden (2012) described the decision to

remove short-term objectives from most IEPs as “…a wildly misguided move to reduce paperwork…(p.170)”

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Developing IEPs

IDEA 1997 and 2004 amendments both put emphases on Students with special needs make more progress; Special educators accurately and objectively

measure student progress; The progress are accurately and meaningfully

reported to parents

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)

1. A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance including: How the child’s disability affects the child’s

involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.

For preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities.

(Emphasis added indicating the changes in IDEA 2004)

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)2. A statement of measurable annual goals,

including academic and functional goals, designed to: Meet the child’s needs that result from the

disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum and

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

For children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short term objectives

(Emphasis added indicating the change in IDEA 2004)

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)

3. A description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured and when periodic reports on child’s progress will be provided

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)4. A statement of the special education

and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child:◦ to advance appropriately toward attaining the

annual goals;◦ to be involved and make progress in the general

education curriculum and to participate in extracurricular and other non-academic activities.

◦ to be educated and participate with other children (with and without disabilities).

(Emphasis added indicating the change in IDEA 2004)

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)

5. An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with non-disabled children in the regular class and in other activities.

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)6. A statement of any individual appropriate

accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and districtwide assessments; and

If the IEP Team determines that the child take an alternate assessment on a particular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement, a statement of why

The child cannot participate in the regular assessment; and

The particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child

(Emphasis added indicating the change in IDEA 2004)

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)7. The projected date for the beginning of services and modifications, anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications.

8. Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16 or younger, and updated annually, thereafter, the IEP must include Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals; andThe transition services (Emphasis added indicating the change in IDEA 2004)

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IEP Content (34 CFR Part 300,

§300.320-324)

9. Beginning not later than one year before the child reaches the age of majority under State law, the IEP must include a statement that the child has been informed of the child’s rights under Part B of the Act, if any, that will transfer to the child on reaching the age of majority

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Present Levels of Academic Achievement

and Functional Performance

[§300.320(a)(1)]

The purpose of present level statement To provide the IEP team with a sufficient level of

descriptive data needed to develop meaningful annual goals and short-term objectives

The present level statements serve as a baseline description of a child’s current performance.

The statements only need to be provided in areas in which the child will receive special education support.

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Present Level Statements Criteria

Should accurately describe the effect of the child’s disability on the child’s performance in any area of education that is affected, academic and non-academic

Written in objective, understandable terms There should be a direct relationship between the

present level statements and the other components of the IEP

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Present Level Statements

Writing present level statements Inappropriate data sources

Psychoeducational reports Commercially prepared norm-referenced tests

Appropriate data sources Curriculum-based measurement for academic skills

Assessment options for functional performance Direct test Observation

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Present Level Statements Example: Academic skillsReading and writing: Stan points to his name in print and says the letter sound for the consonants (s, t, n). He holds a primary pencil with a pincer grasp and copies his name in large (approx. 3 inch letters), but does not hold a regular size pencil.

Math: Stan consistently rote counts 5 and can count to 10 when provided manipulatives. When shown groups of items and asked which group has more or less, he identifies the correct group. Stan recognizes the numerals 1-5 at 100% accuracy but only correctly names the numerals 6 through 9 at 50% of opportunities.

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Present Level Statements Example: Functional, self-help)

Miguel is at the beginning of the self-initiated stage of toileting where he indicates a need for elimination. On average, he indicates the need to use the restroom (urination) three times per day but is already wet by the time he indicates a toileting need. He is compliant and cooperates during toileting and changing activities.

During meal or snack, Miguel consistently uses a spoon to eat semisolid food, such as pudding or gelatin, without spilling. When eating more liquefied foods, such as soup or cereal with milk, he spills about half of the contents before getting the spoon to his mouth. He is beginning to use the fork to spear precut food and consistently gets the food into his mouth without spilling. He consistently drinks liquid from a weighted cup with two handles, using both hands, without spilling when the cup is less than half full.

(Hyatt & Filler, 2013)

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Annual Goals

Annual goal: a statement describing the child’s expected skill level or performance within one calendar year, using the present levels as the baseline or starting point.

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Short-term objectives and

benchmarks Short-term objectives are intermediate steps

between the present level of performance and the annual goal. They build one upon the other and sum to equal what is stated in the goal.

Benchmarks are major milestones.

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Objectives must be clear, specific, and measurable.

Present level

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

Annual Goal 1

3 months

6 months

9 months

Writing Annual Goals and Short-term Objectives

Some foundational rules (Hyatt & Filler, 2013): The annual goals are derived from the present level

statements and the short-term objectives are intermediate steps that follow a logical progression leading from the present levels to the annual goals.

Annual goals and short-term objectives are only written for areas in which the child will receive specially designed instruction.

The targeted behavior must be measurable. The annual goal and/or short-term objectives should

pass the “stranger test.” Annual goals are not lesson plan objectives. Annual goals and short-term objectives should

address the need to increase skills, not simply remove skills.

Short-term objectives should be written for only one student, the student with IEP.

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Indicators of high-quality goals and objectives

Functionality Generality Integration Hierarchical relationship Measurability

(Noonan & McCormick, 2006; Notari-Syverson & Shuster, 1995)

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Functionality

The usefulness of the skill for coping with the challenges of daily living and participating in routine activities

Will the skill enhance the child’s ability to participate independently in all or most of his or her natural environment?

Will the skill increase the child’s appropriate interactions with peers and objects in his or her natural environments?

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Generality

The potential for carryover Can the skill be taught and thus generalized across

a variety of people, activities, materials, and settings?

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Integration

The ease of teaching the skill in the context of daily routines in natural environments Do the child’s peers without disabilities

demonstrate the skill within a variety of daily activities and routines?

Are there naturally occurring antecedents and logical consequences for the skill in the child’s daily activities and routines?

Can the skill be elicited in a variety of activities and settings?

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Hierarchical relationship

The association between the goal and the objectives that enable their attainment Is the objective necessary for achieving the goal?

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Measurability

Decisions about what data will be recorded and how they will be collected Can the skill be seen and /or heard so that it can be

counted? Can the product(s) of the skill be recorded?

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Measurability

Goals and objectives must be both measurable and measured in order to determine progress and to make necessary revisions to the IEP.

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Measurability

A measurable goal/objective Reveals what to do to measure whether the

goal/objective has been accomplished Yields the same conclusion if measured by several

people Allows a calculation of how much progress it

represents Can be measured without additional information

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Components of Objectives

1. Behavior (Skill): A statement of exactly what is expected of the child, in observable, visible, and countable terms that anyone can understand,

e.g., (Child’s name) will point to and name…; (Child’s name) will walk…; will speak...;

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Components of Objectives:

Behavior (Skill)

Observable

Matching author to book title

Reading orally

Dressing oneself

Pointing, drawing, identifying, writing, etc.

Not Observable

Appreciating art

Enjoying literature

Becoming independent

Improving, feeling, knowing

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Components of Objectives

2. Condition: under what situation the behavior (skill) will occur Conditions can be materials, instruction, time

limits, prompts, assistive technology, etc.

e.g., During school hours,…; When asked to play; When shown 10 pictures; When asked “What’s your name?”; When provided eating utensils...

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Components of Objectives

3. Criteria: a description of how well the child is expected to perform the target behavior or skill. Alberto and Troutman (2013) suggested four

fundamental ways to consider criteria: Accuracy Frequency Duration Latency

e.g., correctly answer 10 of 10 single-digit addition problems within 2 minutes

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Components of Objectives

4. Number of times to meet criteria The number of times that the child must demonstrate the target behavior under the specified conditions and at criterion.

e.g.

1). When shown two different items and asked to choose one, Maria will look at one item and maintain her gaze on that object for two seconds on three opportunities per day for three consecutive days.

2). Given a worksheet with 10 single-digit addition problems (0-9), John will write the correct answer to 9 problems within 2 minutes on three consecutive opportunities.

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Writing Short-term Objectives

For example:

Goal:

XuXu will correctly identify three colors.

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Writing Short-term Objectives

Related Objectives:

1. When shown a color 8x10 photo of 10 common packaged food items and asked “Show me red,” XuXu will touch the one red item 8 of 10 times on each of three successive days.

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Writing Short-term Objectives

2. When shown a color 8x10 photo of 10 children and asked “Show me red, Now show me yellow,” XuXu will first touch the child dressed in red and then touch the child dressed in yellow 8 of 10 times on three successive days.

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Writing Short-term Objectives

3. When presented with 10 small toys, each a different color, and asked ‘Give me the red toy. Now give me the yellow toy. Now give me the green toy.” XuXu will do so 8 of 10 times on each of three successive days.

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More exercises

In-class handouts

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