A Guide To Connecting Academic Standards and Individualized Education Programs

1. A Guide To Connecting Academic Standards and Individualized Education Programs Marshfield School District March 17, 2010

2. A Guide Connecting Academic Standards and IEPs • Introduction • What are (Academic) Standards-Based IEPs? • Relationship to Transition • Basic Steps • Example – IEP Team Meeting • Activity 1 & 2 • Questions?

3. What the law says: • The reauthorization of IDEA in 1997 and 2004 brought an emphasis on access to the general curriculum with the requirement to include: • “how the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum and for preschool children, age appropriate activities.” • The Elementary And Secondary Education Act (ESEA) required that children with disabilities participate in all state and district assessments.

4. Assessment ESEA and IDEA 2004 tied the assessments of students with disabilities to state accountability systems (Ahern, 2006): • Participation of swds in state and district-wide assessment programs • Documentation in IEP of individual accommodations in state or district achievement tests • Documentation in IEP of the justification for exclusion from a test and indicate how the student will be assessed with an alternate method. • Reports about participation & performance of students with disabilities. All students (100%) are included in the state and local accountability system.

5. Past Practice • Many IEP team discussions centered on identifying a child’s current skills, as well as the next developmental skills. • The developmental skills were frequently unrelated to the academic, behavioral or functional learning expectations for other students of the same grade level. • This resulted in two parallel curricula for students - one in special education and one in regular education.

6. The Paradigm Shift • When IEPs are connected to the academic standards, the focal point of the IEP team discussion changes to: • Identifying the academic standards that ALL students at a specific grade or age level should “know and be able to do.” • Assessing where the student is functioning with regard to the above academic standards. • Determining disability related needs that prevent the student from being proficient on these academic standards. • Developing an Annual Goal to address these needs.

7. Assess the Student Develop Annual Goals Determine Needs and Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance Past Traditional Practice

8. Assess Student Develop Annual Goals Determine Needs Determine Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance Related To Academic Standards Discuss Academic Standards Paradigm Shift: Connecting IEPs to Academic Standards

9. Benefits of Connecting IEPs to Academic Standards • Connecting IEPs to the Wisconsin academic standards, to a school district’s local benchmarks, or to the Assessment Frameworks provides students with disabilities the “opportunity to learn” the general curriculum. • Wisconsin’s academic standards were developed in collaboration with Wisconsin educators and employers – who specified what was important for the future Wisconsin Workforce.

10. Outcomes of Connecting IEPs to Academic Standards • Special education teachers have eliminated separate curriculums. As a result, students with disabilities are achieving at higher levels. • Parents are enthusiastic that IEP goals’ language is more recognizable and less clinical. • General education teachers can see the link between what they do and the needs of students with disabilities. • Academic standards provide a common language among ALL educators. • There are higher expectations for students with disabilities.

11. Think – Pair – Share What changes for classroom practice are suggested by linking IEPs to standards and grade level benchmarks? What will be needed to make this work?

12. What are the Wisconsin Standards for ALL children, birth to age 21? • Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS): age level expectations for birth through entrance to 1st grade) • Wisconsin Model Academic Standards (WMAS): Grades 4, 8, and 12 • District Standards/Benchmarks • Assessment Frameworks: Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 • Extended Grade Band Standards: Grades 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 10

13. Continuum of Wisconsin Academic Standards Birth to 1st Gr. (WMELS) Pre K to 12th Gr. (WMAS) Pre K to 1st Gr.

14. WI Model Academic Standards (WMAS)& Assessment Frameworks • The Wisconsin Model Academic Standards provide grade level expectations at the end of grades 4, 8, and 12. DPI website: http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/ • Wisconsin Assessment Frameworks (Gr. 3-8, 10) • Wisconsin Extended Grade Band Standards (Gr. 3-8, 10) • WMAS and Grade Level Expectations-District Benchmarks

15. Wisconsin Extended Grade Band Standards (EGBS) □ Developed by Wisconsin educators • For students with significant cognitive disabilities • Reflect the “essence” of Wisconsin’s Model Academic Standards and the Assessment Frameworks • Are the foundation of the WAA-SwD http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sped/pdf/waa-extstd-full.pdf

16. WMAS WISCONSIN EXTENDED GRADE BAND STANDARDS WISCONSIN ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORKS “ESSENCE” WKCE WAA-SwD

17. WMAS & Grade Level Expectations • Since Wisconsin does not identify academic standards at every grade level: • Many Wisconsin school districts have identified local benchmarks. • DPI has developed the Assessment Frameworks (based on the academic standards) to provide WKCE assessed grade level objectives. • Local curriculum should include, but not be limited to, the Assessment Frameworks grade level objectives.

18. District Benchmarks • District benchmarks are aligned with Wisconsin Model Academic Standards. • Does your district have its own benchmarks? • If so, the IEP team should consider the district grade level benchmarks in the development of the IEP.

19. Think – Pair - Share How does the presence or absence of district benchmarks affect the development of an IEP with measurable goals for students?

20. What is the Difference between Academic Standards and Curriculum? • Academic standards are statements about: - what students should know and be able to do (content), and - how they will show that they have met the academic standard (performance). • Classroom curriculum is devised by districts to prepare students to meet academic standards and benchmarks using activities, lessons, and educational materials as well as instructional techniques at each grade level.  Curriculum specifies the details for the plan of instruction to reach the academic standards. Curriculum links what is being taught (academic standards) to how it is measured (assessment).

21. “Conducting an IEP Meeting Connected with Academic Standards”

22. Preparing for the IEP Meeting All members bring a piece of the puzzle to the table Everyone attending is prepared to discuss: - grade level learning expectations for all students based on the academic standards - the impact of the student’s disability on grade level learning expectations - the student’s strengths and disability related needs.

23. IEP Team Members Parents and/or Students General Educator Special Educator LEA Representative Other

24. IEP Team Members: Parents and/or Students Parents and/or students share the student’s strengths and concerns related to academic achievement and functional performance.

25. IEP Team Members: General Educator Share information about what all students know and are able to do at the current grade level related to the standards and local benchmarks related to the student’s strengths and disability related needs.

26. IEP Team Members: Special Educator Using data, discuss the impact of the student’s disability on grade or age level expectations and current level of performance.

27. IEP Team Members:LEA Representative Is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the needs of children with disabilities Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the LEA

28. Other IEP Team Members An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may already be a member of the team. At the discretion of the parent or agency other individuals who have knowledge or expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel 34 CFR 300.321 (5-6)

29. Activity: Preparing for the IEP Meeting • Use Handout #1 to individually complete a self-assessment of the IEP team meeting process most common at your school. • Whole group discussion: What IEP team member skills need to be built to conduct IEP meeting that consider the standards?

30. During the IEP Team Meeting Identify strengths related to the student’s disability and parent concerns Identify and prioritize areas of needs related to the student’s disability. Discuss what all students should know and be able to do (Academic Standards). Identify what the student needs to learn to achieve age/grade level expectations in academic standards, benchmarks, assessment frameworks. Step 1: Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance A B C D Step 2: Develop measurable annual goals Develop annual goals, benchmarks and measures of progress if required. A

31. Step 1: Develop the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (I-4) • Determine what are student strengths and areas of difficulty • Consider within context of academic standards and benchmarks • Compare what the student needs to learn to achieve age/grade level expectations with their present level of performance

32. Which Academic Standards should be discussed as part of the IEP? The IEP team should discuss the grade-level academic standards in relation to the student’s disability related needs. IEPs need to be “individualized” and address priorities for students with disabilities. From: Michael Hock’s “Standards, Assessment, & IEPs”, 2000. 32

33. Step 2: Develop Measurable Annual Goals (I-6) A. Develop annual goals and measures of progress Expectations in annual IEP cycle. A Goal for each area of need. Goals connected to grade or age level academic standards/benchmarks. State level of attainment and progress will be measured.

34. Writing IEP Goals Connected to Academic Standards • Reflect age appropriate activities. • State what the student can reasonably accomplish in one year or the duration of the IEP. • Enhance the student’s ability to function more independently and be successful in the general curriculum. • Identify the big items the student must learn linked to formative and summative assessment. • Prioritize the student’s needs for a successful, meaningful adult life (what will the student need to know in 10 years).

35. Remember: Annual Goal ≠ Academic Standard 35

36. ExamplesUsing Academic Standards to develop IEPs

37. Connecting Academic Standards to the IEP Questions for discussion: • How is the discussion in the exemplar the same or different from your IEP meeting discussions? • What skills will you need to develop to more fully include standards/benchmarks as part of IEP team meetings?

38. Activity:Connecting Academic Standards to the IEP Using one of your IEPs, identify the grade level standards in reading/literacy that apply to the student. Write down and be prepared to share ways in which the IEP would be different if it reflected the grade level standards. DRAFT - October 2009

39. If educational research can tell us anything, it is that students are more likely to learn something at school if it is taught than if it is not. Walter C. Parker (1991). Renewing Social Studies Curriculum

40. Contacts • Sandra Berndt, Special Education Consultant, WI Dept of Public Instruction sandra.berndt@dpi.wi.gov or 608-266-1785 • Eva Kubinski, Special Education Consultant, WI Dept of Public Instruction eva.kubinski@dpi.wi.gov or 608-266-2899 • Kathy Laffin, Independent Consultant klaffin924@hotmail.com or 715-931-0637

41. DPI Resources Guide to Special Education Forms http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/doc/forms-guide.doc Model IEP Forms http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/forms06.html Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment Manual http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/pdf/sa-manual.pdf Special Education Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment webpage http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/spp-selfassmt.html

42. DPI Resources continued Wisconsin Assessment Frameworks – Reading http://www.dpi.wi.gov/oea/pdf/read_framework.pdf Wisconsin Assessment Frameworks – Mathematics http://www.dpi.wi.gov/oea/pdf/math_framework.pdf Wisconsin Extended Grade Band Standards http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sped/pdf/waa-extstd-full.pdf Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/EarlyLS_docs.htm Wisconsin Model Academic Standards http://www.dpi.wi.gov/standards/index.html