Standards-Based IEPs

1. Standards-Based IEPs Alabama State Department of Education Special Education Services March 2013

2. DaLee Chambers, Ph.D. Education Specialist Special Education Services Alabama State Department of Education daleec@alsde.edu 334-242-8114

3. Reproductions of the slides and/or information from this Presentation should be credited to: Alabama State Department of Education, Special Education Services P.O. Box 302101 Montgomery, AL 36130 speced@alsde.edu 334.242.8114

4. Topics • IDEA 2004 • Standards • Alabama Curriculum Guides • Alabama Extended Standards • Writing IEPs to Standards

5. IDEA 2004

6. Content of the IEP, IDEA 2004 A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including how the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general education curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for nondisabled children); or for preschool children as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities.

7. Content of the IEP, IDEA 2004 A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals, designed to 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 meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability. For children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, a description of benchmarks is also required.

8. Academic Achievement “A considerable gap in achievement in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies exists between youth with disabilities and their peers in the general population.” Wagner, M., Newman, L., Cameto, R., and Levine, P. (2006). The Academic Achievement and Functional Performance of Youth With Disabilities. A Report From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). (NCSER 2006-3000). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

9. Functional Performance Functional performance is the acquisition of essential and critical skills needed for children with disabilities to learn specific daily living, personal, social, and employment skills, or the skills needed to increase performance and independence at work, in school, in the home, in the community, for leisure time, and for postsecondary and other lifelong learning opportunities.

10. Functional Performance Personal Living Motor Skills Social Interaction and Communication Community Living Broad Independence Wagner, M., Newman, L., Cameto, R., and Levine, P. (2006). The Academic Achievement and Functional Performance of Youth With Disabilities. A Report From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). (NCSER 2006-3000). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

11. Annual GoalsStudents with MildDisabilities Academic Standards-Based Instruction (most likely Course of Study Standards or Essentials Course Objectives) Intervention Programs Functional Communication Skills Study Skills Organizational Skills Social Skills Ages 16 and Older Transition Skills

12. Annual GoalsStudents with Moderate and SevereDisabilities Academic Standards-Based Instruction (most likely Alabama Extended Standards) Intervention Programs Functional Communication Skills Adaptive Behavior Skills Daily Living Skills Ages 16 and Older Transition Skills

13. Content of the IEP, IDEA 2004 “Facial compliance with the IDEA’s requirements is not enough. The language of the IEP has to make sense and communicate something meaningful about the child and the proposed program…” Norlin, J., (2011). What do I do when…The answer book on individualized education programs. Third Edition, LRP.

14. Standards

15. Standards • Standards clearly communicate what students are expected to know and be able to do at each grade level. • For students with significant cognitive disabilities, standards also provide opportunities to access the knowledge and skills that Alabama has decided are important.

16. Alabama Courses of Study and Academic Content Standards A course of study is a document that specifies what students should know and be able to do in a particular subject area by the end of each grade level or course.Minimum content for each grade level is delineated in the academic content standards.

17. Alabama’s College and Career Readiness Standards Expecting Excellence!

18. Opportunity to Learn Teachers create opportunities for students to learn grade-level expectations (content standards).

19. Alabama Curriculum Guides

20. Alabama Curriculum Guides Designed for students who are not performing at grade level Include objectives that are prerequisite to the standard and/or break the standard down into smaller instructional units.

21. Alabama Curriculum Guides Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. [RL.3.2] Objectives: ELA 3.2.1: Define moral. ELA 3.2.2: Define genre to include fables, folktales, and myths.

22. Alabama Curriculum Guides (continued) ELA 3.2.3: Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral. ELA 3.2.4: Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. ELA 3.2.5: Identify the beginning, middle, and end of a story.

23. Alabama Extended Standards

24. What are Extended Standards? • They are extensions of the state academic content standards for each grade level. • They are designed to allow students with significant cognitive disabilities to access the general education curriculum.

25. Alabama Extended Standards

26. Alabama Curriculum Documents To access Alabama Curriculum Guides and Alabama Extended Standards: www.alex.state.al.us/specialed Click on Curriculum

28. Curriculum Guide Documents Extended Standards Documents

29. Writing IEPs to Standards

30. The IEP is the cornerstone of access to the general curriculum.

31. Q&A, Standards-Based IEPs • www.alsde.edu • Click on Offices • Click on Office of Learning Support, Special Education • Click on Standards • Scroll down to find QandA_Standards-Based_IEPs docs.alsde.edu/documents/65/QandA_Standards-Based_IEPs.pdf

32. Developing Standards-Based IEPs What steps do IEP Teams need to follow to develop effective standards-based IEPs?

33. Step 1: Collect and examine materials for making data-based IEP decisions. • Courses of study and/or curriculum guides • Current assessment data • State assessments • Classroom assessments (curriculum-based) • Eligibility data (if current and related to learning) • Student work samples • Previous year’s IEP • Other information (e.g., grades, discipline referrals, attendance reports)

34. Step 2: Analyze data to develop the student profile. The profile should include general statements regarding: • Strengths • Needs • Parental concerns • Student preferences and/or interests • Evaluation/assessment data • Other • Status of prior IEP goals • Teacher/Parent/Student input • Transition needs (at least by age 16)

35. StudentProfile

36. Step 3: Use data to summarize the present level. The present level answers the question: What is the student doing now?”

37. Present Level Components Strengths Needs How the student’s disability affects performance in the general education curriculum (for preschool children, how the disability affects the child’s participation in age appropriate activities)

38. Present Level Strengths • Must be individualized • For academic goals, must be based on data related to the standards • Are specific to each goal and are not typically repeated in more than one Present Level Ask…What have we learned about this student’s strengths?

39. Present Level Needs • Must be individualized • For academic goals, must be based on data related to the standards • Are specific to each goal and are not typically repeated in more than one Present Level Ask…What prerequisite skills/knowledge does the student need to close the gap between his/her present level and the grade-level content standard or the functional achievement expectation?

40. Present Level How the Student’s Disability Affects Performance in the General Education Curriculum • Based on characteristics of the student that are a result of his or her disability. • Might be repeated in more than one Present Level depending on the nature of the standards being addressed

41. Present Level How the Student’s Disability Affects Performance… Consider how the student’s disability affects progress in learning the grade-level content standards

42. Present Level DO NOT use the student’s exceptionality to explain how the disability affects involvement/progress in the general curriculum! • Example of what NOT to write: Marcus’ learning disability affects his progress in the general curriculum. • Example of what to write: Marcus’ weakness in applying strategies, such as making inferences and making complex predictions, affect his progress in comprehending sixth-grade literary materials.

43. Present Level Remember…The present level of academic achievement and functional performance sets the stage for developing IEP goals!

44. Step 4: Write Annual Goals. Purpose • To describe what a student can reasonably expect to accomplish in one school year • Annual Goals answer the question “What should the student be doing?”

45. Annual Goals • Academic goals are based on: • Alabama content standards listed in the Alabama COS (and Curriculum Guide Objectives and/or Essentials Course Objectives) or • Alabama Extended Standards (for students with significant cognitive disabilities)

46. Annual Goals • Five Components • Who • Time frame • Conditions • Behavior • Criterion

47. Annual Goals Measurable annual goals must include the following: The student …(WHO) Will do what …(BEHAVIOR) To what level or degree…(CRITERION) Under what conditions…(CONDITIONS) In what length of time…(TIMEFRAME)

48. Example of Annual Goal with Five Components Jacob will read 90-110 words of connected text per minute with 100% accuracy at the end of 36 weeks. The student (Jacob) Will do what (read 90-110 words per minute) To what level or degree (100% accuracy) Under what conditions (connected text) In what time frame (end of 36 weeks)

49. Annual Goals Annual goals are related to needs resulting from the student’s disability that directly affect involvement and progress in the general education curriculum. • For preschool children, as appropriate, to participate in age-appropriate activities

50. Annual Goals If a large number of needs are identified in the present level, the IEP Team must consider how each need impacts the students’ progress in the general education curriculum. Select the need that has the greatest impact on progress, and develop a goal to address that need.