Improving IEPs: Collaborative Review & Measurable Learning Expectations

1. Developing Effective IEPS Slide Deck No. 3 Ministry of Education, 2009 PUT TITLE HERE

2. Developing More Effective IEPs This deck takes the information garnered from the Provincial Individual Education Plan (IEP) Collaborative Review to share ways on how to improve IEPs. Special emphasis is placed on the program section of the IEP to demonstrate how to make the learning expectations in the IEP ‘measurable and observable’. Actual wording from school board IEPs is used to support discussion. The deck has a number of hands-on activities. It also includes links to ministry resources as well as other related websites.

3. Collaborative review model Highlight connections - within the IEP - among the IEP, evaluation and reporting to parents Focus on student achievement Enhance competence and confidence in writing measurable learning expectations Goals of the Presentation

4. Collaborative Review Model

5. Key Elements of the Review • Template • Assessment Data • Areas of Strength and Areas of Need • Accommodations • Program Section • Transition Plan • Parent/Student Consultation • Link to Provincial Report Card

6. Key Connections within the IEP • Assessment Data → • Areas of Strength and Areas of Need → • Accommodations • Program Section • Baseline Level of Achievement → • Annual Program Goal → • Learning Expectations

7. Template – What we looked for • Content consistent with Individual Education Plan Standards • Logical sequence – assessment data → areas of strength and need → accommodations → program section • Clear language easily understood by parents and older students

8. Template – What we found • One third of samples – capacity to be populated with required information • Two thirds of smaples – sections missing; no logical sequence; extraneous/ redundant entries → lack of clarity and readability

9. Knowing Your StudentsPersonalization is…. • Knowing your students • Knowing where they are at in their learning • Knowing where they need to go in their learning • Knowing how to get them to where they need to go in their learning

10. Knowing Your Students Continuous Assessment Process • The assessment process is multi-disciplinary and occurs in a continuous cycle that is fully integrated in to the teaching-learning process • Accurate assessment and evaluation are critically important to teachers who are committed to enhancing student achievement for all students, including those with special education needs

11. Assessment Data – What we looked for • Current and relevant assessment information, e.g., behavioural, psycho-educational, educational, medical/therapy, as appropriate • Succinct results in plain language • Documentation of need for special education program and/or services in IEP

12. Assessment Data – What we found • Variable quality • Some samples– limited to diagnosis • Other samples – too detailed; too many entries • Dated assessments • Unnecessary inclusion of specific sub scores and percentile scores • Notable lack of educational assessment data

13. Activity: You decide – yes or no? • Canadian Achievement Test (CAT 3) 2002 Math: 69th %ile; Total language: 69th %ile; total battery: 86th %ile • Speech and language assessment 2005: Severe receptive language delay; moderate expressive language delay

14. You decide – yes or no? • Pediatrician 2004: suspects one or several learning disabilities • Psychological assessment 2002: overall cognitive ability within average range; average visual memory/visual learning skills; very weak verbal memory/verbal learning skills

15. You decide – yes or no? • _____Child Development Clinic 1999: Confirms diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder • Psychological Assessment 2005: Autism Spectrum Disorder with evidence of severe difficulty in the areas of oral communication, social interaction and self-control

16. Areas of Strength and Areas of Need What we looked for • Consistency with assessment data • Areas of strength – focus on preferred learning style/modality, processing skills and/or previously acquired learning skills, e.g., visual memory skills • Areas of need – focus on broad cognitive and/or processing challenges or skill deficits, e.g., organizational skills

17. Areas of Strength and Areas of Need What we found • Many areas of strength – appropriate • Some – do not describe student as a learner, e.g., likes board games; supportive parents; athletic and has a job • Some areas of need – appropriate • Others – include accommodations, i.e., need for program or personnel • Often too many entries

18. Accommodations – What we looked for • Key strategies, supports, individual equipment/technology that enable student to learn and demonstrate learning • Logical flow from areas of strength and areas of need • Accommodations unique to individual student • Accommodations for EQAO testing

19. Accommodations – What we found • Accommodations unique to individual student in some cases • Others – generic, e.g., practice; praise; dictionary • Many – too numerous or redundant • EQAO information not consistently provided • Over 60% of secondary IEPs – accommodated only

20. Activity: Strength, Need or Accommodation? • Visual learner • Social skills • FM equipment • Expressive language skills – writing • Braille • Anger management skills • Use of a computer with spell-check • Buddy/peer tutoring

21. Program Section • Core of the IEP • Link between the Ontario curriculum and the Provincial Report Card • Plan for student achievement → accountability to parents • Classroom teacher is key

22. Program Section Components

23. Let’s Review Terminology • Modified – from Ontario curriculum • Alternative – not from Ontario curriculum, e.g., social skills; K courses, etc.

24. Current Level of Achievement • Starting point or benchmark from which to determine current annual program goal and measure future progress • Modified subjects/courses – letter grade/mark and curriculum grade level from previous June Provincial Report Card • Alternative skill areas – comment from previous June alternative report • Unchanged for duration of school year or semester

25. Annual Program Goal • Clear indication of what student is expected to achieve by end of school year or semester • For language, mathematics and alternative skill areas – stated in observable and measurable terms • For other subject/course areas – stated in observable terms

26. Activity: Annual Program GoalsYes or no? • Increase understanding of text • Will complete 50% of the Grade 5 language curriculum in each of the four strands: oral communication; reading; writing; media literacy

27. Activity: Annual Program GoalsYes or no? • Will display more appropriate conduct during peer interaction • Will express anger and frustration without physical contact 8 out of 10 times, and without abusive language 5 out of 10 times

28. Learning Expectations • Measurableperformance tasks, leading to assessment/ evaluation/reporting by term • Modified subjects/courses – distilled by teachers from learning expectations of Ontario curriculum policy documents • Notation of curriculum grade level/course • Alternative skill areas – specific tasks • Revision by term

29. Learning ExpectationsWhat we found in the Review • Not written as measurable performance tasks • Modified – often general statements from Ontario curriculum policy documents • Alternative – often general statements • Inconsistent evidence of revision by term and curriculum grade level/course • Usually identified as area for improvement by boards

30. Activity: Learning Expectations Measurable – yes or no? • Increase ability to focus on required daily work and routines • Read a variety of texts from diverse cultures, including literary texts • Will watch speaker in small group for up to 3 minutes, 3 times a day • Will write a summary of at least 5 sentences in length for each chapter of Charlotte’s Web

31. Learning ExpectationsMeasurable – yes or no? • Demonstrate an understanding of the passage of time • Bring completed homework and required materials to class 80% of the time • Express their thoughts and share experiences • Produce maps to show 10 popular tourist destinations and related transportation routes from the capital city in both China and Canada

32. Secondary Schools“Let’s Talk!” • Modifications and secondary credits • K Courses vs. modifications • The role of the principal • Transition plan from elementary school • Transition plan from secondary school • Communication with parent(s)/student • Policy, myth and practice

33. Teaching StrategiesWhat we looked for • Only teaching strategies different from those used with other students in class • If provided, alignment with each learning expectation

34. Teaching StrategiesWhat we found • Evidence of good teaching practice, but not unique and therefore unnecessarily recorded • Inconsistent alignment with each learning expectation

35. Assessment MethodsWhat we looked for • Variety of appropriate assessment methods • Alignment with each learning expectation

36. Assessment Methods – What we found • Variety of assessment methods generally included • Inconsistent alignment with each learning expectation • Over-reliance on ‘observation’ without checklist or rubric

37. Transition Plan What we looked for • Plan for all students 14 years of age or older unless identified solely as gifted* • Long-range cumulative plan for transition to post-secondary activities • Collaborative involvement of student, parent(s), school and community partners

38. Transition Plan – What we found • Provided for most students, as required • Few entries • Generic • Address activities in secondary school instead of post-secondary activities • Inconsistent evidence of collaboration • Lack of evidence of detailed planning for students with significant challenges

39. Parent/Student Consultation What we looked for • Evidence of parent engagement in IEP development process • Inclusion of student 16 years of age or older • Record of outcomes/feedback from parent/student

40. Parent/Student ConsultationWhat we found • Completed log not always provided • Minimal entries, e.g., IEP sent home • Parental feedback generally not recorded • Lack of evidence of student involvement

41. Link to Provincial Report Card (PRC)What we looked for • IEP box on PRC checked for modified subjects/courses • Required statement from PRC Guide included for modified subjects/courses • Comments that reflect achievement of learning expectations in IEP • Reporting of achievement in alternative skill areas on PRC or alternative format • No indication on PRC if ‘accommodated only’

42. Link to Provincial Report CardWhat we found • IEP box checked for modified subjects/courses • Required statement included • Comments on PRC not always related to learning expectations in IEP • Some – excellent alternative reporting formats • Others – no reporting of achievement in alternative skill areas • IEP box sometimes inappropriately checked if ‘accommodated only’

43. Let’s Write Measurable Learning Expectations: Tips for Teachers • Whom are you teaching? – Know your student. • What should you teach? – Know your curriculum. • For whom are you writing? – For parents and older students; use clear language.

44. Tips for Teachers (cont’d) • How many learning expectations for each modified subject and/or alternative skill area? – Decide on a reasonable number achievable for the term. • How do you modify curriculum? Reach back or reach forward: - grade level - level of difficulty - quantity - complexity

45. Tips for teachers (cont’d) • How do you express a performance task in measurable terms? – Consider: - describing the activity in specific terms - delineating steps involved in concept or skill development - including quantitative language - specifying content and/or titles.

46. Remember • The IEP is a working document for planning, communication and accountability • Measurable learning expectations are the heart of the IEP • Measurable learning expectations → appropriate assessment/evaluation → accountability re achievement, and • Know your student

47. Supports for the Development and Implementation of Effective IEPs • Education Act, Regulation181/98 • Individual Education Plans: Standards for Development, Program Planning, and Implementation (2000) • The Individual Education Plan (IEP): A Resource Guide (2004) • IEP Collaborative Review2006/07 Provincial Report: Common Trends • Provincial Electronic IEP Template (2007) • Shared SolutionsA Guide to Preventing and Resolving Conflicts Regarding Programs and Services for Students with Special Education Needs(2007) • Sample IEPs (2008/09) • LDAO parent/student IEP website (2009)

48. Related Websites • Ontario Ministry of Education, Special Education http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/speced.html • Sample IEPs - http://www.ontariodirectors.ca/IEP-PEI/index.html • IEP Template https://iep.edu.gov.on.ca/IEPWeb/ • EQAO Guide for Accommodations, a Special Provision and Exemptions http://www.eqao.com/pdf_e/08/Accom_Guide_ENG_Gr36_2008_web.pdf • Special Education Advisory Committee Information Program http://seac-learning.ca