SB-IEP BOOSTER SHOT: Developing Present Levels and making decisions about accommodations February 2014 ADE-SEU

Why Connect IEPs to Standards?  High stakes accountability, performance goals & indicators  IDEA – access to the general curriculum  Essential for closing the achievement gap  Promotes a single system of education – inclusion and a common language  Encourage greater consistency across schools & districts  It’s best for kids – assumes more, not less

Connecting IEPs to Standards… Does not mean –  Writing goals that restate the standards  Using the academic standards alone to determine goals  Assuming that every student will work only on grade level content

Connecting IEPs to Standards… Does mean –  Referring to standards to determine expectations at grade level  Using the standards as a guide to determine what is important for the student to learn or be able to do  Conducting an analysis to determine gap between grade expectations and current skills/knowledge

General Steps 1. Consider the grade-level content standards  Discuss expected knowledge and skills  Examine benchmarks  Consider prerequisite knowledge and skills 2. Examine student data to determine where student is in relation to grade-level standards  Compare expectations with student’s current instructional level  Gap Analysis

IEP #101 and #103 There are two places to record present level information on the IEP:  Student Profile Page  Goal Pages

Present Level - Selecting the Standard Discuss intent of standards:  What are the knowledge and skills necessary for the student to achieve to a level that is expected in the standards?  What are the prerequisite skills?

Selecting the Standard  Determine which standards are most important for each student (based on progress in the general education curriculum)  Compare standard(s) with student’s areas of need and the impact of the disability  Use data to determine the areas the student will find difficult without additional supports

Identifying Instructional Need Consider the target grade level standards RI.6.2: Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

Identification of Need 1. Consider the target grade level standards  Identify critical knowledge and skills within the standards  Use a data analysis process to conduct a drill down  Identify the gap

2. Of these skills, where does the student demonstrate proficiency? (These could become descriptors in the Present Level Statements)  Formal assessment  Informal assessment Identification of Need

3. Can the standard(s) be achieved with an accommodation?  For example, can the student:  Demonstrate the central idea of a text if given orally rather than being asked to read the items independently?  Summarize the text when it is read orally? Identification of Need

4. Given these responses:  What skills need to be taught explicitly to demonstrate proficiency on the targeted standard?  Which skills/knowledge can be acquired in the general classroom with an accommodation/assistive technology? Identification of Need

Writing Present Level Statements  Describe performance in academic and non-academic areas  Include relationship between evaluation/assessment data and Present Level Statements  Use objective, measurable terms  Ensure data is self-explanatory (or provide an explanation of score)

Functional Performance Students:  social/emotional (behavioral) performance  communication skills  performance in areas of recreation/leisure, self- management, independent living, etc. Ask… “ What have we learned about this student’s ability to function independently and appropriately with peers and adults?”

Putting it All Together On the IEP:  The Present Level Statements must include:  Academic and functional performance: strengths, needs and data sources  Adverse affect of the disability in the general education curriculum - The Impact Statement for preschool children, the affect on participation in age appropriate activities

Review of Present Level Statements 1.Are they related to the vision (desired outcome) for this student? 2. Do they reflect what the student knows in relation to the general curriculum or standards expectations; strengths/needs? 3.Are they stated in measurable terms? 4.Do they include up to date data sources? 5.Do they include strengths, needs, and disability’s impact on access to the general curriculum? 6. Are they self-explanatory?

Present Level Remember… The Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance sets the stage for developing IEP goals !

Before and After SLE was the goal Present Level - often general information regarding broad areas of the curriculum such as “reading” Standard anchors the goal Present Level - specific to each standard such as, “ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for answers” Before SB IEP’s After SB-IEP IEPs

Before and After Present Level - often incomplete or spotty; list of scores from standardized tests Present Level - objective measurable terms; self explanatory Present Level - up-to-date data sources included in description of where student is functioning in regard to standard expectation Before SB IEP’s After SB-IEP IEPs

Before and After Standard was the goal; not very measurable or attainable for some students Goals - based on gap analysis between student’s present level of functioning and knowledge/skill expectations standards Goals - based on what student can be expected to master within one year’s time Goals - linked to specific skills or knowledge to be mastered; measurable and attainable Before SB IEP’s After SB-IEP IEPs

Before and After Goals did not inform instruction beyond the most basic level Goals (& objectives) - inform instruction Before SB IEP’s After SB-IEP IEP s

Accommodations: New Options PARCC Summative Assessments allow for several different accommodations that we have not allow previously in AR. These accommodations have always been allowed in the classroom setting, just not on standardized test. Some students may be receiving low-tech versions of these supports in the classroom

New Options Text to Speech or Video of a Human ASL Interpreter for the ELA/Literacy Assessments (Reading Access Accommodation) Calculation Device and Mathematics Tools (on Non- calculator Sessions of Mathematics Assessments) Scribing or Speech-to-Text (i.e., Dictation/Transcription) for constructed responses on the ELA/Literacy Assessments Word Prediction on the ELA/Literacy Performance-Based Assessment

Criteria for using Reading Access Type of Student: Blind or visually impaired and has not yet, or cannot, learn to read braille Deaf or hearing impaired with history of significant language deprivation Other disability that severely limits/prevents student from accessing printed text after varied/multiple attempts to teach student (unable to decode or read fluently) Conditions that must be present: Student is receiving this accommodation during instruction and regular assessments Student’s inability to decode printed text is documented and verified through locally administered diagnostic assessments Student receives ongoing, intensive instruction/intervention in foundational reading skills

What are Foundational Reading Skill s? According to the CCSS: Print Concepts Phonological Awareness Phonics and Word Recognition Fluency There are specific standards for these skills in grades K-5. Students in grades may still be working on some or all of these skills.

How do we know if this is appropriate? First, check to see if the student is the right type of student. Indicators of this would be in the Student Profile description (IEP page #101). More detailed info would be on the Present Level statements.

How do we know if this is appropriate? Next, check to see if all the required conditions are present: Are there any reading goals? Does the diagnostic data support the need? (See Present Level Statements) Is the student receiving instruction/intervention? Is this accommodation listed on IEP page #200/201?

If appropriate, add it to IEP page #102 Read Aloud/Text-to-Speech: ELA/Literacy, Math, Science; small group testing; extended time not to exceed 50%.

Calculation Device/Mathematics Tool on the Non-Calculator Sessions, not including math fluency items for grades 3 – 6. Type of Student: Student has a disability that severely limits/prevents his/her ability to perform basic calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), even after varied/repeated attempts to teach student to do so. Conditions that must be present: Student is receiving this accommodation during instruction and regular assessments Student’s inability to perform math calculations is documented and verified through locally administered diagnostic assessments Student receives ongoing, intensive instruction/intervention to learn to calculate w/o a calculation device

How do we know if this is appropriate? First, check to see if the student is the right type of student. Indicators of this would be in the Student Profile description (IEP page #101). More detailed info would be on the Present Level statements.

How do we know this is appropriate? Next, check to see if all the required conditions are present: Are there any math goals? Does the diagnostic data support the need? (See Present Level Statements) Is the student receiving instruction/intervention? Is this accommodation listed on IEP page #200/201?

If appropriate, add to IEP page #102 Calculator and math counters for math assessment

Scribing/Speech-to-Text For the Prose Constructed Response on ELA/Literacy Assessment Type of Student: A physical disability that severely limits/prevents the student’s motor process of writing through keyboarding A disability that severely limits or prevents the student from expressing written language, even after varied/repeated attempts to teach the student Conditions that must be present: Student is receiving this accommodation during instruction and regular assessments Student’s inability to express in writing is documented and verified through locally administered diagnostic assessments Student receives ongoing, intensive instruction/intervention to learn written expression, as deemed appropriate by IEP/504 team

How do we know if this is appropriate? First, check to see if the student is the right type of student. Indicators of this would be in the Student Profile description (IEP page #101). More detailed info would be on the Present Level statements.

How do we know this is appropriate? Next, check to see if all the required conditions are present: Are there any written expression goals? Does the diagnostic data support the need? (See Present Level Statements) Is the student receiving instruction/intervention, per team decision? Is this accommodation listed on IEP page #200/201?

If appropriate, add to IEP page #102 Text to Speech for math, ELA/Literacy Constructed Response and Selected Response, individual testing

Word Prediction For the ELA/Literacy Performance Based Assessment Type of Student: A physical disability that severely limits/prevents the student’s motor process of writing through keyboarding A disability that severely limits or prevents the student from recalling, processing, and expressing written language, even after varied/repeated attempts to teach the student Conditions that must be present: Student is receiving this accommodation during instruction and regular assessments Student’s inability to express in writing is documented and verified through locally administered diagnostic assessments Student receives ongoing, intensive instruction/intervention to learn written expression, as deemed appropriate by IEP/504 team

How do we know if this is appropriate? First, check to see if the student is the right type of student. Indicators of this would be in the Student Profile description (IEP page #101). More detailed info would be on the Present Level statements.

How do we know this is appropriate? Next, check to see if all the required conditions are present: Are there any written expression goals? Does the diagnostic data support the need? (See Present Level Statements) Is the student receiving instruction/intervention, per team decision? Is this accommodation listed on IEP page #200/201?

If appropriate, add to IEP page #102 Word Prediction for ELA/Literacy PBA

Wrapping it up… The present level should tell the story of the student’s educational need. There should be a clear relationship between the student’s areas of of need and the educational services provided to the student. This includes the demonstrating the basis for decisions to use “special” accommodations. The student should be using any accommodation they receive on a standardized test on a regular basis in the classroom. It is OK to mix high tech and low tech versions of an accommodation. Just make sure they are not experiencing the high tech version for the first time during assessment.

Items for clarification Must include at least one academic standard Must include standard for tested area Do not have to tie functional goals to an academic standard Objectives do not have to be four or five part, but do have to be measurable

Resources and-accommodations-manual and-accommodations-manual Accessibility%20Features%20and%20Accommodations %20Manual%20November% pdf Accessibility%20Features%20and%20Accommodations %20Manual%20November% pdf

Results Driven Accountability?

Questions? Lisa Haley: Jennifer Brown: