Individualized Education Program

Present Levels Performance

and

Annual Goals

Sept. 2009

Session Objectives

• Identify the state/federal required components of the Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance

• Identify the state/federal required components of measurable Annual Goals.

• Write a Present Level of Performance and measurable annual goal for a given student.

Policy and Resource References

• North Carolina Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities (November 1, 2007)

• Department of Education Federal Register (August 14, 2006)

• http://IDEA.ed.gov

Individualized Education Program

General. As used in this part, the term individualized education program or IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting and that must include—

NC Policy 1503-4.1

Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

(1) A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional

performance, including—

(i) How the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the

general education curriculum; or

(ii) For preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s

participation in appropriate activities;

Academic Achievement

• Academic achievement generally refers to a child’s performance in academic areas (e.g. reading, language arts, and math).

Functional Performance

• Functional performance generally refers to skills or activities that may not be considered academic or related to a child’s academic achievement.

• Functional is often used in the context of routine activities of everyday living and are varied depending on the individual needs of the child.

• Functional performance can impact academic achievement

Present Levels of Performance

Functional performance must be addressed for all students within the present level of performance, and in the annual goals as appropriate.

The PLAAFP Must be…

Current

• Relevant

• Objective

• Measurable

• Understandable

Major Components of PLAAFP

• Data-based student specific information related to current academic achievement and functional performance

• Strengths of the student

• Needs resulting from the disability

• Effects of the disability on involvement and progress in the general education curriculum

Data-Based Student Specific Information

Note:

A variety of sources must be documented that may include:

• Current and relevant formal evaluation data

• Current and relevant informal data

– Observations and supporting anecdotal records – Work samples– Progress toward last year’s goals– Concerns of parents– Student’s desired school/post-school outcome goals– Input from related service providers

Data-Based Student Specific Information

• The PLAAFP should be written in objective measurable terms.

• Data from the child’s evaluation would be one source of such information.

• Test scores that are pertinent to the child’s diagnosis might be included, if appropriate.

• Scores should be self-explanatory or an explanation must be included.

Data-Based Student Specific Information

• The PLAAFP should be comprehensive for each skill area or domain (academic/functional).

• Test scores must be explained.

• The PLAAFP should be jargon-free.

Strengths of the Student

• Reflects specific skills or behavior the student has mastered

• Reflect specific skills in which the student performs well for the domain or area targeted

Needs Resulting from the Disability

Needs are determined by consideration of…

• The important skills and behaviors that are critical for the student to learn in order to be able to participate and make progress in the general curriculum.

Effects of the Disability

The PLAAFP…

• Describes how the disability impacts the student’s involvement in the general curriculum.

• Conveys the unique challenges or barriers that exist for the student as a result of the disability.

• Describes the current level of independence, and need for assistance.

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional

Performance

Activity # 1

PLAAFP Component PLP Statement

1. Data-based student specific information about the student’s current academic achievement and functional performance

2. Strengths of the student

3. Needs resulting from the disability

4. Effects of the disability on involvement and progress in the general education curriculum

PLAAFP: Activity #1

Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

IsabelA review of informal checklist of social/emotional skills, indicate that Isabel is very social and loves to tease her friends in a playful way. When required to complete difficult tasks, Isabel often avoids these tasks by talking with her friends, and it often takes 5-10 verbal prompts to get Isabel to begin the task. Once she begins, she almost always completes the tasks. When she is tired she exhibits extreme emotions: uncontrollable giggling, sobbing, and occasional anger, approximately 5 times per week (according to parental and teacher report). This inhibits her progress in the general curriculum, as she needs direct instruction in social skills.

Anthony

Present Level of Education Performance:

A review of curriculum based measures indicate that Anthony, a fourth grade student, can read 80 words per minute of connected text with 100% accuracy, which is within the range of words per minute established for typical peers in the second grade. Anthony demonstrates a relative strength in determining the meaning of unknown words by reading words in context and applying word structures (prefix, base words, suffix). Anthony’s limited attention span and distractibility can detract him from completing assigned tasks, focusing on the details of reading passages/assignments and remaining on task.

The measurable annual goal is a statement that links directly to the areas of need identified in the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance.

ANNUAL GOAL

Developing Measurable Annual Goals

NC Policy requires that the Individualized Education

Program include:

(2)(i) A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to-

A. 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

NC Policy 1503-4.1

Annual Goals

(B) Meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability;

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

Policy 1503-4.1

Measurable Annual GoalsCreating Standards-based IEPs

• Title 1/No Child Left Behind requires that students with disabilities assessed through modified achievement standards have annual goals aligned to grade level competencies.

• In NC, students in grades 3-8 & 10 who are assessed via the Extend 2 are subject to this requirement.

ESEA 1111(h)

IDEA 612 (a)(15)

Measurable Annual GoalsStandards Based

• While state standards are not required to be documented on the IEP for all students, in developing annual goals for all students, consideration must always be given to the state standards set forth in the general education curriculum.

• Connecting the standard to the annual goal maintains high expectations and improves results.

Measurable Annual Goals

The annual goals in the IEP are statements that describe what a child with a disability can reasonably be expected to accomplish within the duration of the IEP.

Measurable Annual GoalsMajor Components

• Any important givens/conditions (when, with what, where)…as applicable.

• A skill/domain area (academic, behavioral, functional).

• An observable learner performance (what the learner will be doing, an action).

• Measurable criteria which specify the level at which the student’s performance will be acceptable (e.g., speed, accuracy, frequency)

Measurable Annual Goals

What exactly does “measurable” mean?Unfortunately, IDEA doesn’t define it.

Characteristics of Measurability:

• Reveals what to do to measure whether the Goal has been accomplished. To measure something is to do something.

• Yields the same conclusion if measured by several people.

• A measurable goal allows us to know how much progress has been made since the last measured performance.

• A measurable goal can be measured as written, without additional information.

• Measurable goals contain givens (if necessary), the learner performance, and the criterion (level of performance to be reached).

Measurable Annual Goals

Criterion or Level of Performance

(How well the learner must do)

Frequently used examples of criteria:

• 4 of 5 trials

• 3 consecutive days

• % accuracy

Measurable Annual Goals

Use of percentage:

“The history of how this strange use of percentage began appears to be lost. But we should know not to aspire to have Josh cross the street safely 80% of the time.”

Excerpt taken from: Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives; Bateman & Herr, 2006

Measurable Annual Goals

“The use of percentage needs to be carefully limited to a narrow range of goals”

Appropriate use of %: Jane will correctly spell 95% of the 6th grade spelling words dictated to her.

Inappropriate use of %: Jane will improve her behavior 80% of the time with 90% accuracy.

Measurable Annual Goals

Observable means:

• Clearly defined

• Visible

• Countable behavior

Measurable Annual Goals

Non-Measurable Measurable

John will use at least two strategies to take responsibility for his anger management with 80% accuracy.

Given verbal prompts by the teacher, John will display no more than one verbal outburst per day.

Given ten words, Alex shall group letters and pronounce letter sounds in words with 80% accuracy.

Given ten unfamiliar, regular CVC words, Alex will decode nine of ten correctly.

ISABELPresent Level of Academic Achievement and Functional

Performance

A review of informal checklist of social/emotional skills, indicate that Isabel is very social and loves to tease her friends in a playful way. When required to complete tasks, Isabel often avoids these tasks by talking with her friends, and it often takes 5-10 verbal prompts to get Isabel to begin the task. Once she begins, she almost always completes the tasks. When she is tired she exhibits extreme emotions: uncontrollable giggling, sobbing, and occasional anger, approximately 5 times per week (according to parental and teacher report). This inhibits her progress in the general curriculum, as she needs direct instruction of social skills.

Isabel

Annual Goal : When required to complete tasks, Isabel will begin the task with a maximum of 3 prompts.

Annual Goal: When Isabel is tired, she will apply a replacement behavior in 3 of 4 instances.

ANTHONY

Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

A review of curriculum based measures indicates that Anthony, a fourth grade student, can read 80 words per minute of connected text with 100% accuracy which is within the range of words per minutes established for typical peers in the second grade. Anthony demonstrates a relative strength in determining the meaning of unknown words by reading words in context and applying word structures (prefix, base words, and suffix). Anthony’s difficulties with reading fluently affect his ability to focus on the details of reading passages/assignments, which affects his ability to comprehend grade level content area subjects.

Annual Goal: Given a second grade reading passage, Anthony will orally read 105 words of connected text per minute with 100% accuracy.

4th Grade Competency Standard: Students will apply the basic features of reading to achieve fluent oral reading.

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional

Performance

BOTTOM LINE………

The present level of performance is the cornerstone of the IEP. It is the source that drives other IEP components. It is the statement that links all components of the IEP together.

Measurable Annual Goals

“The IEP is the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and measurable goals developed from appropriate present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, are the heart of each IEP”

“A child is the root of the heart”

Bateman & Herr

Herbie

• As a table group, use the Teacher Input for Developing PLAAFP to:

– Develop a PLAAFP

– Write Annual Goal(s)

• Questions

• Plus/Delta/Issue Bin