Ginevra Courtade, Ph.D. University of Louisville

1. Aligning IEPs to the Common Core State Standards for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities Ginevra Courtade, Ph.D. University of Louisville

2. What should be included in the IEP*? (a) a statement of the present level of performance in both academic achievement and functional performance, (b) a statement of measurable annual goals (both academic and functional), (c) a description of benchmarks or short term objectives, (d) a description of how student progress towards the goals will be measured, (e) a statement regarding related services and supplementary aids and services (based on peer reviewed research) to be provided, (f) an explanation of the extent to which student will not participate in the general education classroom, (g) a statement of any accommodations needed to measure academic and functional achievement of the student, (h) frequency, location, and duration of services, and (i) postsecondary goals beginning when the student is 16 years old. According to IDEA 2004

3. What do you need in order to develop an effective IEP? • Knowledge of federal and state regulations • Guidelines for developing a standards-based IEP • A process for assessing and planning

4. Aligning IEPs to the Common Core State Standards for Students with Disabilities

5. Have you started incorporating CCSS into IEPs?

6. Underlying Assumptions in IEP Development Have Not Changed • All students will receive instruction on state standards with opportunities for instruction in general education • The student will receive instruction and supports to achieve academic and functional goals • The student’s unique needs will be considered

7. What is a Standards-Based IEP? • An IEP developed through planning based on the student’s grade level standards (or grade level alternate achievement standards) • Strengths and needs based on standards • Planning process should identify ways to close the gap between current performance and grade-level expectations Modified from http://wvde.state.us/ose/StandardsBasedIEPs.pdf

8. Why Create a Standards-Based IEP for Students with Severe Disabilities? • Equity and accountability • IDEA 1997, 2004 • Involvement and progress in the general curriculum • Measureable goals that enable students to make progress in that curriculum • NCLB • Required outcome of achievement in reading, math, and science

9. A Standards-Based IEP What it is What it is NOT An IEP that is focused solely on academic standards A generic IEP that does not meet the individual needs of the student • An IEP that incorporates grade level appropriate academic goals based on state standards or alternate achievement standards Brown et al., 1976 Always consider long range goals: The criterion of ultimate functioning

10. How do we get there?Begin with alignment • The process of matching two educational components which strengthens the purpose and goals of both • Why is alignment important? • IEPs aligned with state standards can prepare students for state assessments • For students to show progress in academic content, they need academic instruction • Well aligned IEPs can promote meaningful academic instruction.

11. Further Understanding Alignment

12. Alignment Example

13. Guidelines for developing an IEP that includes goals that align to state standards Selecting IEP Goals That Promote Alignment: How do we get there?

14. Guideline 1 • Become familiar with state standards • Common Core State Standards-English Language Arts • http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards • Common Core State Standards-Mathematics • http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/mathematics • ILS Common Core Resources • http://isbe.net/common_core/htmls/resources.htm

15. Additional National Standards • National Science Education Standards • http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962 • National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies • http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/curriculum

16. Guideline 2 • Become Familiar your State’s Approach to Extending Standards for AA-AAS • Illinois Alternate Assessment Frameworks • http://www.isbe.net/assessment/htmls/iaa_framework.htm

17. IAA Reading Frameworks Priorities-Grade 4 example

18. Guideline 3 • Keep the planning student focused • Begin with an overview of recent progress and strengths. • The student might lead the meeting • Members of the team who have conducted recent assessments can present their findings • The student’s preferences and individual goals can be a starting point for planning.

19. Guideline 4 • Consider both specific academic goals and broad access goals • The IEP creates access to the curriculum, but is not a curriculum itself

20. Speech OT/PT SD Skills AT Self-Mgmnt Skills Social Skills Personally Relevant (Functional) Skills Life Skills

21. Consider the circle diagram… • In an IEP for a student with severe disabilities • Is academic content enough? • Not all of your objectives will align with state standards…DO NOT “force fit” them • What else is needed to support the student? • OT, PT, self-determination skills, etc. • Overall focus should be individualized skills that consider the criterion of ultimate functioning • Personally relevant skills

22. Guideline 5 • Ask the question: Is it really academic? • Sometimes in extending the state standard, the essence of the academic component is lost. • General educators can be especially helpful as resource people in making sure that the final goals have clear links to academic content.

23. Is it really English Language Arts? Camilla is a 12 year old 7th grader with severe disabilities. • Camilla will use her AAC device to greet peers in English class. • Camilla will acquire 20 sight words that relate to activities in her community and home. • Camilla will select two major themes using pictures with phrases after hearing a text summary read aloud; she will categorize 2-3 events in each chapter of the text during read alouds using additional pictures related to the story and will summarize by presenting a chart of these categories. • Camilla will identify initial consonant and vowel sounds and use this skill in writing words with software that anticipates the spelling from the first letters.

24. Guideline 6 • Do not force fit all IEP objectives into alignment with academic standards • What else should be part of the IEP?

25. Writing Measurable IEP Objectives

26. Developing IEP objectives • What are the general goals for the student? • What is the student’s present level of performance? • How does the student get from the present level of performance to the goal? • Short term objectives

28. Writing Measureable Goals/Objectives • What is a measureable objective? • One that when written, the entire IEP team or anyone else working with the student, can agree that the criteria has been met • Should include: • Condition-The circumstances under which the behavior will occur • Behavior-the skill, action, or performance that it is being monitored, directly observed, and measured • Criteria-how much, how often, or to what standard the behavior must occur in order to demonstrate that the objective has been reached

30. Writing Goals/Objectives for Active Participation • Consider how the student can be an active learner • Active participation occurs when the student acquires independent responses that demonstrate understanding • Example- Student with a physical disability chooses the main idea from a chapter within a chapter book • Passive approach-help the student choose the main idea with hand over hand assistance • Active approach-have the student eye gaze to which main idea best fit the chapter read

31. Examples Passive Responses Active Responses Brittany will use a laser head pointer to select between 3 pictures projected on a screen to answer comprehension questions Your turn! Change the passive response for Kevin into an active response Do the same for Kirsten • Brittany will circle the correct answer with physical guidance to answer comprehension questions • Kevin will listen to a story the teacher is reading. • Kristen will accompany her peer to buy lunch.

32. Writing Standards-based Goals/Objectives

33. Promote Broad Skills in Literacy • Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts • Reading • Writing • Speaking and listening • Language • There also are literacy standards for history/social studies, science, and technology. • National Reading Panel components • Phonemic awareness • Phonics • Fluency • Vocabulary • Text comprehension

34. Promote Broad Skills in Mathematics Common Core State Standards in Math High School Numbers and Quantity Algebra Functions Modeling Geometry Statistics & Probability • Common Core State Standards in Math K-8 • Counting & Cardinality (K) • Operations and Algebraic Thinking (K-5) • Numbers and Operations in Base Ten (K-5) • Numbers and Operations-Fractions (3-5) • Measurement & Data (K-5) • Geometry (K-8) • Ratios & Proportional Relationships (6-7) • Ratios & Proportional Relationships (6-8) • Expressions & Equations (6-8) • Statistics & Probability (6-8) • Functions (Grade 8)

35. Present Level of Performance • Describe what students can do in each content area • Consider using level of symbol use to describe current performance • In math Jerry can put one object with an object to show 1:1 correspondence. He does not yet use or recognize numbers or count. He can imitate a model to create sets to show the solution to a problem.

36. Definitions of Symbolic Levels • Awareness: Has no clear response • Pre-symbolic (Beginning with Symbols): Communicates with gestures, eye gaze, purposeful moving to object, sounds • Early Symbolic (concrete): Beginning to use pictures or other symbols to communicate within a limited vocabulary • Symbolic (abstract): Speaks or has vocabulary of signs, pictures to communicate. Recognizes some sight words, numbers, etc.

37. Concerns About Symbolic Levels • Can not be used to infer cognitive level • Students may acquire symbols and show much higher functioning than realized • Objects can be highly complex (e.g., models) • All students should have opportunity to receive and respond with text • Students can become symbolic through training in use of AAC

38. Aligning Grade Level Standards: Incorporating Present Level of Performance-ELA

39. Aligning Grade Level Standards: Incorporating Present Level of Performance-Math

40. Apply Longstanding Values/ Supports • Self Determination-making choices and decisions regarding one's quality of life free from undue external influence • Use general curriculum activities as context for learning self-determination skills that contribute to increased autonomy for students • Skills can promote learning of the general curriculum, while at the same time foster the acquisition of skills with lifelong benefits

42. Incorporating SD in Academic Objectives • Examples • David will count tasks to determine how many jobs he completed. • Sam will use a picture/word journal to rate characteristics of potential jobs based on likes/dislikes • Which components of SD are embedded?

43. Your turn! • Write two standards-based objectives that embed a self-determination skill. • Given numbers 1-10, Alex will correctly count items to represent each number. • Stephanie will select pictures to identify 2/3 of a story’s main characters.

44. Apply Longstanding Values/ Supports • Assistive Technology • Should enable the student to engage in the task more independently • Examples • Photos, picture symbols, pencil grips, stamps, switches, software, touch screens

45. Original Objective With AT AT Examples • John will read 5 three word phrases that use known words. • David will watch as a peer counts manipulatives in sets of 1 to 10 items. • John will read 10 complete sentences composed with a picture support program using picture cues to identify at least one novel word per sentence. • David will use a math software program with virtual manipulatives and a head switch to choose the correct number of manipulatives that have been counted for sets 1-10.

46. Your turn! Original Objective With AT • Chuck will choose 5 pictures to put in a journal and dictate a description of the pictures. • Randy will partially participate in a science lesson.

47. Apply Longstanding Values/ Supports • Personal relevance/ functionality • Using a real life activity to help make the standard meaningful • Creates a picture symbol homework list (writing) • Locates a room by its number (math) • Uses a keypad in the cafeteria (math) • Locates the sports page using newspaper index (reading) • Follows a picture schedule (reading)

49. Your turn! • Identify simple machines and explain how they help us (Note: inclined planes, ramps, wheels, pulleys, screws, levers, etc.) • Collect, organize and display data to solve problems (goal is to use graphs and data – bar graphs, tallies, pictographs, Venn diagrams, circle graphs, line plots, tables). Identify the mode of a set of data (most often occurring)

50. Practicing Alignment to State Standards