IEP Development: Goal Writing

1. IEP Development:Goal Writing 2009-2010

2. Agenda • Welcome • Presentation on goal writing and how it is connected to the rest of the IEP • Reviewing a sample IEP • Susie’s PLAFFP, goals, benchmarks

3. IDEA states: “…(I) a statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including- (aa) how the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general education curriculum; (bb) for preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities;

4. IDEA continued… …(II) a statement of measurable annual goal, including academic and functional goals, designed to- (aa) meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum; and…. (bb) meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability; (III) a description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals described in sub-clause (II) will be measured and when periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals…” 20 U.S.C. § 1414 (d)(1)(A) (i)

5. Why are goals important? • The IEP is the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), • The IEP ensures FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education), and • (Well-written) measurable goals and objectives/benchmarks are the heart of each IEP.

6. Who writes a goal??? Teachers should draft goals for students well in advance of the IEP meeting. Teachers know the ILS and the curriculum, which need to guide the development of the goal. Case managers can provide feedback on the quality of information in DRAFT IEPs in advance. It is best practice for IEP drafts to be reviewed in advance of the meeting to ensure high quality documents.

7. Goals MUST tie to all other sections of the IEP. • The content of the goal must make sense in context of the information presented in the General Considerations section (section 7 eIEP, section 4 in the old version of the IEP). • The goal must be • Aligned to the ILS • Linked to the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) • Reflective of the progress toward mastery through the achievement of each benchmark.

8. How it all connects:What you need to write a good goal ILS: Defines where the student should be, based on grade level PLAFFP: Defines where the student is right now Determine the target behavior based on student need and consider student’s rate of learning. Goal: Defines where the students will be after a year, including what strategies will be used Benchmarks: Define what steps will be met along the way to meeting the overall goal • The PLAFFP needs to make sense in relation to the learning standard. • The strategies in the goal need to make sense in relation to the learning standard. • The benchmarks need to relate to the overall goal, either in a sequential manner OR as mastering of concepts that, when added up, equal the goal.

9. Illinois Learning Standards ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • http://www.isbe.net/ils/Default.htm

10. ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS Present Level Of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance(PLAAFP)

11. Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • A statement that describes how your student is doing in specific areas of need/subject area and is based on current information • Information about how your student’s disability affects his or her involvement in the general education curriculum in specific areas of need/subject area. • Covers all areas of developmentwhere your student may need support • The basis of the development of goals.

12. What is Present Level of Academic Achievement? ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS Academic Achievement refers to your student’s performance in academic areas. • Identifies how your student’s strengths and weaknesses affect academic performance. • Information gathered from standard scores, percentile ranks, age and grade equivalent scores on tests and assessments. • Areas of Development:All parts of a school day where a student receives a grade. • Reading or language arts Art • PE • Music • Career classes • World Languages • Math • Science • History

13. What is Present Level of Functional Performance? ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS Functional is a term that generally refers to skills or activities that are not considered academic or related to a student’s academic achievement. Used in the context of routine activities of everyday living.Areas of Development: • Daily living or self-help skills—dressing, eating, using the bathroom • Social skills—making friends • Behavior • Sensory skills—hearing, seeing • Communication skills—talking • Mobility—getting around in school and the community • Vocational skills—working

14. Details the student’s strengths and needs. Focuses on priority needs. Describes how the student’s disability impacts their learning/behavior and progress in the general curriculum. Uses narrative format to describe student’s performance. Uses clear language and avoids jargon in order to create a clear picture of the student (that would be understood by a parent and student). PLAAFP is tied directly to the subject area being addressed. Links to and EXPANDS ON information in General Considerations section Uses data from MULTIPLE sources (including curriculum based assessments, classroom observations, other district assessments, formative assessment) to describe current functioning Includes progress on current IEP goals and identifies any supports that have been successful. Quality Indicators for Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

15. Academic Achievement Example ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Present Level of Academic Achievement: • Katie is a 3rd grader who has difficulty with written language. Is this a well-written statement?

16. Academic Achievement Example continued… ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Present Level of Academic Achievement– Rewritten: • Katie is a 3rd grader. In written language, Katie spells early 1st grade level words at 90% accuracy. She writes simple sentences with invented spelling. She begins sentences with a capital letter and ends with a period 90% or more, but she has no other consistent understanding of capitalization or punctuation.

17. Functional Performance Example ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Present level of Functional Performance: • Mary is an 18 yr. old who has difficulties with preparing food. Is this a well-written statement?

18. Functional Performance Example continued… ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Present Level of Functional Performance-Rewritten: • Mary is an 18 yr. old student who would like to live in her own apartment after leaving the public school system. She is able to understand the kitchen organization and find tools she needs to perform simple tasks like measuring. Mary can currently put a cup of water into a microwave. When given a prompt, Mary knows how to open the microwave door and set the timer for 10, 30, 60, or 90 seconds in order to heat water to the necessary temperature.

19. ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS Goals

20. ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS Why write precise goals? • Provide clear focus for INSTRUCTION, which promotes positive outcomes for students • Provide a clear basis for monitoring student progress • Communicate the expectations to all stakeholders

21. ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS What are Goals? • Goals describe what your student can be expected to do or learn within a 12-month period and are designed to: • Enable your student to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum • Meet each of your student’s other educational needs that result from the student’s disability

22. SMART Goals & Objectives ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • S Specific • M Measurable • A Action words • R Realistic/relevant • T Time-limited

23. Specific Goals ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Target areas of academic achievement and functional performance • Include clear descriptions of the knowledge and skills that will be taught • Define each skill in measurable terms

24. Measurable Goals ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Measurable means you can count orobserve it. • Allow parents and teachers to know how much progress your student has made since the performance was last measured. • With measurable goals, you will know when your student reaches the goal.

25. MYTHS of Measurability ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • If a goal contains a percentage, it’s measurable. • Eugene will write a paragraph with 90% accuracy. --THIS IS NOT A GOOD GOAL. • If a goal contains technical language, it must be valid. • Kevin will improve his central auditory processing. --THIS IS NOT A GOOD GOAL. • If a goal contains an “action” verb, it is measurable. • Demonstrate an understanding of dating. --THIS IS NOT A GOOD GOAL. Source: Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives, Bateman and Herr

26. ActionWords ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Three components that must be stated in measurable terms: • Direction of behavior • increase, decrease, maintain, etc. • Area of need • reading, writing, social skills, communication, etc. • Level of attainment • without assistance, at x% rate, trials, etc. • Use action words: • The child will. . .

27. Realistic & Relevant Goals ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Assist the student’s access and make progress in the age appropriate curriculum. • Are not solely based on district curricula, state or district tests, or other external standards.

28. Time-limited Goals ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • What does your student need to know and be able to do after one year of special education services? • What is the starting point for each of your student’s needs (present levels of academic achievement and functional performance)? • Enables you to monitor your student’s progress at regular intervals.

29. Strategies and interventions in goals ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Goals should be specific about strategies to help the student meet the expectations. • Basic examples of some interventions can be found in the OSS Resource Manual for Substitute Teachers • More specific examples can be found at www.interventioncentral.org

30. Examples of Interventions to Improve Reading Fluency ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Assisted Reading Practice • Paired Reading • Repeated Reading

31. Examples of Interventions to Improve Text Comprehension ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Click or Chunk – A Student Comprehension Self Check • Mental Imagery – Improving Text Recall • Main Idea Graphic Organizer • Text Look Back

32. Examples of Interventions to Improve Writing ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Think sheets outlining step-by-step strategies • Guided practice • Plan-write-revise

33. Is tied directly to the subject area being addressed Has MEASURABLE, quantifiable outcomes Addresses the student’s individual needs as identified in the PLAAFP Is linked to the age/grade appropriate Illinois Learning Standards, but are not verbatim Includes strategies to be used with the student to achieve the goal Focuses on specific behaviors or skills Is linked to desired post schools outcomes Is achievable within year Is practical and relevant to student needs Uses clear wording that all can understand (not vague, avoids jargon) States what the child will DO (observable, action words) Quality Indicators for Annual Goals and Benchmarks

34. Goal Example ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Goal • Katie will increase her written language skills to 3rd grade level. Is this measurable and clear?

35. Goal Example continued… ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Remember? … Present Level of Performance - Rewritten • Katie is a 3rd grader. In written language, Katie spells early 1st grade level words at 90% accuracy. She writes simple sentences with invented spelling. She begins sentences with a capital letter and ends with a period 90% or more, but she has no other consistent understanding of capitalization or punctuation. • Katie will increase her written language skills to 3rd grade level. Again, is this a measurable goal?

36. Goal Example continued… ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Goal - Rewritten Given a word bank of 50 3rd grade vocabulary words and using strategies such as plan-write-revise, Katie will write a 5 sentence paragraph with correct punctuation and capitalization with 90% accuracy on 3 consecutive weekly assignments.

37. Benchmarks: the steps to reaching the goal ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Breaks the annual goal down into smaller components • States the amount of progress your child is expected to make within specific segments of the year • Establishes expected performance levels allowing for regular measurement/progress checks

38. Katie’s Benchmarks: ILS PLAAFP GOAL BENCH- MARKS • Benchmark 1: Given a word bank of 25 1st grade and 25 2nd grade vocabulary words and using guided practice in the strategy plan-write-revise, Katie will write a 3 sentence paragraph with correct punctuation and capitalization with 80% accuracy on 3 consecutive weekly assignments. • Benchmark 2: Given a word bank of 50 2nd grade vocabulary words and using guided practice in the strategy plan-write-revise, Katie will write a 4 sentence paragraph with correct punctuation and capitalization with 85% accuracy on 3 consecutive weekly assignments • Benchmark 3: Given a word bank of 25 2nd grade and 25 3rd grade vocabulary words and using guided practice in the strategy plan-write-revise, Katie will write a 5 sentence paragraph with correct punctuation and capitalization with 90% accuracy on 3 consecutive weekly assignments.

39. ACTIVITIES

40. PLAAFP ACTIVITY • Use checklist to review the sample PLAAFP. • Check which components are included in the PLAAFP • Discuss this • What components are included? • Is this PLAAFP adequate? • What would make it better?

42. GOAL ACTIVITY • Use checklist to review the sample goal presented. • Check which components are included in the goal • Discuss this • What components are included? • Is this goal adequate? • What would make it better?

43. Sample Goal and Benchmarks

44. Activity: Review an IEP Divide into 5 groups and discuss the sections you have been given. • Look at general considerations • Look at PLAAFP • Look at the goal • What can be better? • Which interventions could have been incorporated into the goal to make this a better goal?

45. Questions?