You Choose the Ending For the Reporting Data to Educational Partners Module Submitted by Toni Bowen

Reporting Data to Educational Partners – You Choose the Ending The reporting of educational data is an important part of the process of determining an appropriate educational program for a student with a disability Data collected by the members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team is utilized to – develop the Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance – determine goals and, when appropriate, objectives for inclusion on the IEP – determine supports, services, and accommodations to be provided via the IEP – Evaluate the effectiveness of the IEP and the educational program on an on-going basis

Educational data includes: – Psychological and educational testing conducted to determine eligibility for special education services – Data collected in the classroom On academic skills in the general education classroom On academic skills in any special education setting On functional (including behavioral) skills in the general education, special education, and other school setting – Student performance on state- and district-wide mandated tests – Data collected by parents or others outside of the school setting – Parental concerns

You Choose the Ending As an example of the way that educational data can be utilized as part of the IEP process, please participate in the following activity Here’s the scenario: You are a special education teacher, preparing for a meeting of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team for one of your students. While preparing for the meeting, you discover there are a number of decisions that must be made in order for appropriate educational programming. Walk through the following scenario to help determine the actions that can be taken to support use of educational data in making educational decisions.

You Choose the Ending Instructions Each of the following pages contain a part of a scenario and then two choices for what can happen next. After reading these instructions, click once to move to the first page. After reading the scenario, click to bring up the two options. Each option will contain underlined words. Click on the underlined words that best describe what you think should happen next. After clicking, you will move to another page with another part of the scenario. Continue working until you have successfully completed the IEP meeting!

Click to begin “You Choose the Ending!”

You have a student in your class. His name is Mario. It’s time to prepare for Mario’s IEP meeting. That means it’s also time to: Look to see what information can be copied and pasted from the previous year’s IEP Review the skills and behaviors that have changed for Mario, based upon the IEP goals and/or objectives

Wow, in looking at the IEP from last year, it seems that a lot has changed. You’re not sure if copying and pasting will work. You decide to: Review the skills and behaviors that have changed for Mario, based upon the IEP goals and/or objectives Go through Mario’s file and find the report describing the most recent eligibility testing. It should give all the information needed

Marion has made a lot of progress. Showing this growth to the IEP team is what you think about next. You decide to: Go through the Mario’s file and find the report describing the most recent eligibility testing. It should give all the information needed Review all data that has been collected for Mario over the year, including classroom data, state- mandated testing results, and any eligibility testing

You look at the most recent eligibility testing. The only problem is that the most recent eligibility testing was done over two years ago. It doesn’t really seem to show how well the Mario is doing now. You decide to: Keep the information from the psychological as the main data you’ll be working from. The information doesn’t change that quickly Drop back and look to review additional data that has been collected for Mario over the year. That includes classroom data, state-mandated testing results as well as the results of eligibility testing

You’ve looked in the Mario’s file that you keep for data. There is classroom data as well as the results of the state-mandated test the student took earlier. You decide to: Look at the data and make sure that there is a clear link between what is collected, the goals/objectives on the Mario’s current IEP, and what you’re seeing as progress Put the pieces of data together in the folder you have to take with you when you meet with the IEP team. There’s no reason to look at the data again

Wow, in looking at Mario’s IEP, it seems that there are goals and objectives that are not covered by the psychological you’re thinking is a basis for discussion. You decide to: Look at other pieces of data. However, data you find can go into a folder to take with you when you meet with the IEP team. You’re memory is good, and you should be able to answer any questions Look at the pieces of data that cover the additional goals and objectives. You’re sure that classroom data and the report from the state-mandated test will help

It seems like there is a lot of data showing the progress that Mario is making. There is also data showing areas that continue to be a concern. This will be a great place to start the discussion for making educational decisions about the IEP for the next year. You gathered the data, so you decide to: Look at the data one more time and think about the questions that a parent, another teacher, or the student might have. You want to make sure that the data are clear to everyone around the table Not look at the data again until the IEP meeting since there are other things to do

In looking at the data, you begin thinking back to conversations you’ve had with Mario’s parents and other teachers. You know there were some questions and concerns they had, so you decide to: Contact Mario’s parents and talk with his teacher to gather any information or concerns about how Mario is doing outside of your classroom Not worry about their questions because there is probably not a concern now

It was a good thing you contacted the others who were part of Mario’s educational program. You found out some things that you didn’t know were concerns, and you were able to clear up some misunderstandings about the data you’ve collected. Now you decide to: Put together all of the information you’ve gathered into a folder to take with you to the IEP meeting. You feel comfortable with the data Look over the data one more time, and get ready for the IEP meeting

Well, it’s time for the IEP meeting and everyone is around the table. You pull out the data showing Mario’s progress. You begin to go over the data and there is a question. You decide to: Not talk much more about the data. You weren’t anticipating questions because it seems the data is pretty straight forward Ask for a clarification of the question. You weren’t anticipating questions, but can understand how the data can be confusing. Then you look at the data again

Anticipating questions about data can be tough, but you want to make sure that everyone understands the importance of what you’ve collected. To help with this understanding, you: Review who, how, and when the data were collected, and make the connection between the data and what you see in Mario’s progress Discuss how the data show the progress Mario has made, and also how the data lead to the identification of skills that should be targeted for the next school year

The discussion continues without talking much more about the data. However, when it comes time to determine goals, objectives, and services and supports that should be targeted for the next school year, there are more questions. Mario’s parents also have some concerns. You decide to: Revisit the data, paying more careful attention to how the data are being interpreted by those around the table Review the data again, as well as ask questions of the team members to ensure that all important data is “on the table” so that decisions can be made

Now it seems that everyone on Mario’s IEP team understands the data, and the team is ready to move on to the rest of the IEP, including the Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance, goals and (if appropriate) objectives, and services and supports to be provided. You know that: There is a good basis for each decision made by the IEP team, based upon the data provided Everyone on the IEP team understands the basis for the decisions made, and, if questions occur later, the data can be utilized to support further discussions

The data presented by you and others on the IEP team have been reviewed and the team is ready to move on to the rest of the IEP. The team discusses the Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance, goals and (if appropriate) objectives, and services and supports to be provided. You know that: There is a good basis for each decision made by the IEP team, based upon the data provided by each member of the team Everyone on the IEP team understands the basis for the decisions made, and, if questions occur later, the data can be utilized to support further discussions

Congratulations! You’ve gone through another IEP meeting with a team that understands the data, and have created an IEP for Mario that can support his growth through the coming year! Great job!