Brandywine Special Needs PTA IEPs – Writing Measurable Goals and Objectives October 20, 2005

2 Resources Used Administrative Manual for Special Education Services (2000) Better IEPs: How to Develop Legally Correct and Educationally Useful Programs, 3rd Edition (Bateman and Linden, 1992) A Guide to the Individualized Education Program (Office of Special Education Services, US DOE, 2000) The IEP Process (Delaware Department of Education, 2001) Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 2004) Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives (Bateman & Herr, 2003)

3 Basic Special Education Process Under IDEA Child is identified as possibly needing special education and related services Child is evaluated Eligibility is decided How a child is identified From A Guide to the Individualized Education Program (Office of Special Education Services, US DOE)

4 Basic Special Education Process Under IDEA (cont’d.) Child is found eligible for services IEP meeting is scheduled IEP meeting is held and the IEP is written Writing the IEP How a child is identified From A Guide to the Individualized Education Program (Office of Special Education Services, US DOE)

5 Walk in prepared  Know what reading programs are available in the school district  Ask what “peer-reviewed research” supports this curriculum – and then look it up!  Know which general education teachers will be in attendance  Ask if your child is participating in the same curriculum as other peers – is there a supplementary curriculum?

6 Basic Special Education Process Under IDEA (cont’d.) Services are provided Progress is measured and reported to parents IEP is reviewed (Reevaluation every 3 years) What happens after the IEP is written From A Guide to the Individualized Education Program (Office of Special Education Services, US DOE)

7 FOR ALL STUDENTS: I. Present level of Educational Performance II. Measurable Goals and Objectives III. Assessment Status IV. Nonparticipation with Non-disabled peers V. All needed services fully described (amount, frequency, etc.) VI. Progress Reporting IEP COMPONENTS FOR SOME STUDENTS: VII. Transition – including transfer of rights VIII. Behavior Plan IX. ESL needs X. Braille XI. Communication needs XII. Assistive Technology IEP COMPONENTS From Better IEPs: How to Develop Legally Correct and Educationally Useful Programs, 3 rd Edition (Bateman and Linden)

8 FOR ALL STUDENTS: I. Present level of Educational Performance II. Measurable Goals and Objectives III. Assessment Status IV. Nonparticipation with Non-disabled peers V. All needed services fully described (amount, frequency, etc.) VI. Progress Reporting IEP COMPONENTS FOR SOME STUDENTS: VII. Transition – including transfer of rights VIII. Behavior Plan IX. ESL needs X. Braille XI. Communication needs XII. Assistive Technology IEP COMPONENTS From Better IEPs: How to Develop Legally Correct and Educationally Useful Programs, 3 rd Edition (Bateman and Linden)

9 Present Level of Educational Performance  May be contained in a unique need or characteristic (e.g. has no friends, always plays alone, absent 80 out of 175 days, tardy at least once daily)  Or can be presented as a beginning point in a sequence PLEP –objectives –goal  PLEP is now, objectives are next and goal is where student is headed.

10 Example  Area of concern is slow, inaccurate decoding  PLEP is words per minutes with three to eight errors in fifth grade material.  First objective might be WPM with 0-2 errors.  Second objective might be 50 WPM with 0-2 errors  Goal might be 80 WPM with 0-2 errors

11 FOR ALL STUDENTS: I. Present level of Educational Performance II. Measurable Goals and Objectives III. Assessment Status IV. Nonparticipation with Non-disabled peers V. All needed services fully described (amount, frequency, etc.) VI. Progress Reporting IEP COMPONENTS FOR SOME STUDENTS: VII. Transition – including transfer of rights VIII. Behavior Plan IX. ESL needs X. Braille XI. Communication needs XII. Assistive Technology IEP COMPONENTS From Better IEPs: How to Develop Legally Correct and Educationally Useful Programs, 3 rd Edition (Bateman and Linden)

12 Goals and Objectives  Begin with asking “If the service we are providing is effective, what will we see in the student’s behavior that tells us so?”  Purpose of goals and objectives is to evaluate services  Objectives should be statements of how far the student will progress toward the annual goal

13  Annual goal is really a 12 month objectives that tells you by when.  It can be efficient to write an objective for every reporting period now that we must report out as frequently as we do for students without IEPs Goals and Objectives

14 How to Evaluate Progress  Go to parent/teacher conferences  Set up additional conferences  Ask teacher if progress is being made  Understand how the goal/objective is being measured

15 Is it Progress?  40%  Reading objective - PLEP at IEP in June states: Grade 4 – lesson 39 – read 75 words per minute with 3 errors  64%  Reading objective – Progress update for 1 st marking period (Nov): Grade 4 – lesson 72 – read 63 words per minute with 2 error

16 What to do if progress not being made or is slower than expected?  Set up IEP meeting  Discuss student’s rate of progress –Is there any progress at all? –Is it slower than expected?  Discuss why student is not making progress  Decisions can include: –Stay the course –Change accommodations or the teaching –Change the target –Revise the goal/objective (target a specific area)

17 5 Areas of Reading  Decoding  Phonemic Awareness  Vocabulary  Fluency  Comprehension  Motivation

18 Other Potential Resources  Reading Specialists  Instructional Support Teams  Ask the school or district  State Programs: –Reading First –Success for Secondary Struggling Readers

19 Goals and Objectives  A goal must be meaningful  A goal is measurable  A goal guides decision-making and future planning A measurable goal contains: 1.An observable learner performance (what the learner will be doing) 2.Any important conditions such as “given software”, or “given access to dictionary”, and 3.Measurable criteria which specify the level at which student’s performance will be acceptable (e.g., speed, accuracy, frequency, quality) From Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives (Bateman & Herr, 2003)

20 Example  Student has a severe learning disability affecting his written expression  Services might include keyboarding instruction, tutoring in writing, modifications in test taking and length of written assignments, substitution or oral reports for some term papers.  The entire set of services could be evaluated in terms of students’ improved rate of course completion and attendance.

21Example PLEP: Given third grade text/passage, Walter reads wpm with 4-6 errors. Objectives: 1.Given third grade text/passage, Walter reads wpm with 1-3 errors. 2.Given fourth grade text/passage, Walter reads wpm with 1-3 errors. 3.Given fifth grade text/passage, Walter reads wpm with 1-3 errors. Goal: Given fifth grade text/passage, Walter reads 120 wpm with 1-3 errors. Adapted From Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives (Bateman & Herr, 2003)

22Example PLEP: Maurice forgets classroom assignments and fails to complete his homework half of the time. Objectives: 1.Maurice will write down all of his class assignments in his memory book immediately after they are assigned. He will do this without error every day for a week. 2.Maurice will carry his memory book with ihim from home to school and home again every day for a week. 3.Maurice will use his memory book to remind him of his assignments so that he completes 75% of his homework assignments 4 our of 5 days. Goal: Maurice will complete all of his homework assignments, at least 3 out of 4 weeks each month. Adapted From Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives (Bateman & Herr, 2003)

23 Parental Disagreement/Refusal of Services  Try to reach consensus  Reach a temporary solution/placement  Ask for mediation  School/District inform parents of their rights  Ultimately, District is responsible for ensuring FAPE (1998 Appendix C to part 300, Question 9) From Better IEPs: How to Develop Legally Correct and Educationally Useful Programs, 3 rd Edition (Bateman and Linden)

24 Contact Information  Brian M. Touchette  Louann Vari (302)