Aligning IEPs to the Montana Common Core Standards

1. Aligning IEPs to the Montana Common Core Standards Presented by: Chris Bilant

2. Outcomes Participants will: Part 1 • Deepen your general understanding of the changes coming with the Montana Common Core Standards (MCCS). • …and how these changes will impact students with disabilities through Standards Based IEPs. • Practice aligning IEPs to the Montana Common Core Standards. Part 2 • Participate in an interactive webinar with UM’s Gail McGregor, who will provide I.D.E.A.’s legal foundation to Standards Based IEPs • Practice writing Standards Based IEPs.

3. 10 Minute University Do it yourself…….(like shown today), or use the webinar provided by WMCSPD at the link below. http://www.wmcspd.org/montana-common-core-standards

4. Resources Packet - Terms (aka the “umbrella document”) - Shifts (for both ELA and Math) - Websites - www.opi.mt.gov Books - Courtade, G. and Browder, D. M., Aligning IEPs to the Common Core State Standards for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities. Attainment Company, Inc. 2011.

5. The Common Core Standards for College and Career Readiness… Why common core, why college, why career? What does this mean for educators?

8. On-the Job Lexile Requirements Lexile National Adult Literacy Study 1992 1,500 1,400 1,300 1,200 1,100 1,000 900 800 International Center for Leadership in Education 2009 Craftsman Sales Secretary Construction Nurse

9. Tier I - words of everyday speech e.g. today, school, bathroom, etc. Tier II - general academic words, typically found in text, ways to communicate simple ideas e.g. evaluate, compare, explain….. Tier III - domain-specific words (informational text) e.g. parallelogram, respiration, Impressionism…. Vocabulary

10. ……for SPED…… • Access to the general education curriculum • How do we keep the standards rigorous, yet accessible? • When do you accommodate? (MORE) • When do you modify? (LESS) • How do you share pacing and curriculum mapping? • IEPs aligned to common core standards • What does alignment to academic standards mean? • How do you collaborate with general education colleagues to write and implement IEPs? • What about students with moderate to severe disabilities?

11. What does Alignment with the Montana Common Core Standards Mean? • I.D.E.A. ‘04 requires all IEP students have access to the general curriculum. • The general curriculum includes the full educational experience available to all students. • The general curriculum includes all subjects that all students study: • core academic subjects • art, music, p.e., and career education.

12. What are Standards? • English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects - Define what students should understand & be able to do in their study of English Language Arts and Literacy • Arranged by grade level Strands & Topics • Mathematical Practice & Content - Define what students should understand and be able to do in their study of mathematics. - Arranged by grade level Domains & Clusters

13. e.g., Montana Common Core Standard4th grade Writing • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. b. Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations. c. Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events. d. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely. e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events

14. What is the General Ed. Curriculum? • …includes the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics • …includes the Essential Standards for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.

15. What & Why Alignment? • Dfn. – Process of matching state standards with instruction with assessment. • Important because: • Prepares students for CRT/Smarter Balanced (2014) • Promotes meaningful academic instruction • Match between written, taught, and tested curriculum.

16. When Educational Components Align • General Curriculum (State Standards) Instruction Assessment (Skills Taught) (CRT/SmarterBalanced) Notice instruction addresses content covered by the CRT & links to the MCCS.

17. When IEPs Promote Alignment General Curriculum (State Standards) IEPs Instruction Assessment (Skills Taught) (CRT/SB) Notice the IEP helps focus the instruction

18. IEPs Promoting Alignment Assessment Instruction Core Curriculum PLAAFP MAGs/STOBs

19. 10:00 break

20. Objectives Participants will: Part 1 • Deepen your general understanding of the changes coming with the Montana Common Core Standards (MCCS). • …and how these changes will impact students with disabilities through Standards Based IEPs. • Practice aligning IEPs to the Montana Common Core Standards. Part 2 • Participate in an interactive webinar with UM’s Gail McGregor, who will provide I.D.E.A.’s legal foundation to Standards Based IEPs • Practice writing Standards Based IEPs.

21. Narrowing the Focus: Getting Familiar with MCCS

22. Blue is New Choose a grade band and choose a domain (Math) or a strand (ELA). Look through the grade band and content area and look for areas that are not currently addressed in your instruction and/or IEPs. What is new? Highlight those areas blue.

23. K-8 Domain Progressions in CCSS

24. Grade 4

26. Fractions: Grades 3–6 3. Develop an understanding of fractions as numbers. 4. Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering. 4. Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understandings of operations on whole numbers. 4. Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions. 5. Use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions. 5. Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions. 6. Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.

27. Drilling into the Critical Areas in Math

28. Writing Framework

29. Three Types of Writing Foldable Persuasive Writing What’s the continuum? What’s the progression of skills? What accommodations could be made ?

30. Reading Framework

31. “Among the highest priorities of the Common Core Standards is that • students can read closely and gain knowledge from texts.” • More questions that can be answered ONLY with • reference to the text. • Sequences of questions should elicit a sustained • discussion. • Tasks must require the use of more textual evidence.

32. Homework…… The good news is that the major areas (aka critical areas) have been determined…… The challenge is…… you need to drill deep in each grade level to be able to create a continuum within the critical areas for aligning IEPs to the Common Core Standards.

33. Objectives Participants will: Part 1 • Deepen your general understanding of the changes coming with the Montana Common Core Standards (MCCS). • …and how these changes will impact students with disabilities through Standards Based IEPs. • Practice aligning IEPs to the Montana Common Core Standards. Part 2 • Participate in an interactive webinar with UM’s Gail McGregor, who will provide I.D.E.A.’s legal foundation to Standards Based IEPs • Practice writing Standards Based IEPs.

34. Lunch Break 11:30 – 1:00

35. Energizer Post – it Note…Last Man Standing • Write 1 piece of professional information about yourself. and 1 piece of personal information. and 1 thing that you especially enjoy at which you’re particularly successful.

36. GuidelinesSelecting IEP Goals to Promote Alignment 1. Become Familiar with Montana Common Core Standards, esp. Major Topics/Clusters • English Language Arts & Literacy • Mathematics • All Standards & Grade-Bands - all Grades • Standards by Strand & Topic/Domain & Cluster • Grade Specific • Math Practices

37. GuidelinesSelecting IEP Goals to Promote Alignment 2. Develop Alignment Based on Assigned Grade Level for General Curriculum Access Assigned Grade Level: 3rd Grade 3rd Grade State Standards Instruction Level: Entry Level Academic Skills (K-1) i.e., align to 3rd Grade, not Kndg or 1st grade, for age-appropriate general curriculum access.

38. GuidelinesSelecting IEP Goals to Promote Alignment • Keep the IEP Planning Student-Focused i.e., strong PLAAFP Statements • Current Academic Performance • Continuous progress monitoring data • Strengths • Identify skills that can be used to promote access to grade level content • …with accommodations and supports that may be needed.

39. Case Studies: Jack • Read over the case study found in your packet • Using the Montana Common Core for English Language Arts & Literacy (ELA), align 5th grade level standards (Jack’s grade placement) with the PLAAFP data. • …what does this tell you about appropriate MAGs/STOBs?

40. Jack Jack is an 11-year old 5th grader with a learning disability in reading. A review of class work and informal reading assessments indicate Jack’s independent oral reading fluency rate is 49 words correct per minute on decodable text and 24 words per minute on grade level text. He correctly identifies short vowel sounds and consonant blends in closed syllable words, but has a slight difficulty with nonsense words. He occasionally inserts sounds when decoding words like reading “flap” for “fap.” He demonstrates 95 % accuracy on probes of r-controlled vowels and consonant and vowel digraphs. Jack has difficulty with the “au” sounds in isolation and in unknown words, demonstrating 45% accuracy on worksheets and probes. He continues to develop comprehension and thinking strategies to answer inferential questions that require higher level thinking skills. Jack’s reading skills impedes completion of work at grade Level expectations.

41. Joan Joan's reading decoding skills are 4 years below her grade level (8th grade); her comprehension skills are 2 to 4 years below grade level (variation due to familiarity with content); and her listening comprehension skills are at grade level. In written language, she is able to write a complete sentence, and will combine simple sentences into compounded sentences with 95% accuracy, when reminded to do so. Given a story starter, Joan writes 3 sentences or less while her classmates are writing 2-3 five-sentence paragraphs with basic to proficient writing skills evidenced. Joan’s writing errors include spacing, conventions (i.e., punctuation, grammar, spelling errors with commonly used words), and poor penmanship. While she understands the sequence of words, first, next, and finally, she does not use them consistently in her writing. Spelling of phonetically predictable words is at 5th grade level, but she is unable to recall the correct spelling of most unpredictable words, including "would, show, they, from," and others. She has learned capitalization and punctuation rules, requiring only occasional reminders when she forgets to apply them. Her disability interferes with the acquisition of grade level curricular standards in English Language Arts & Literacy

42. Jerry Based on teacher observational data and informal progress monitoring data, Jerry can add 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers with and without grouping. He can also subtract 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers, but only when renaming is required one time. He has a basic understanding of multiplication, but has not learned any of his multiplication facts. Jerry does not consistently use borrowing and carrying, which adversely affects adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. His 2nd grade peers solve two digit addition and subtraction problems that require borrowing and carrying, averaging 17/20 correct. Jerry’s average is solving 3-5/20 correctly. Jerry needs to borrow and carry in order to solve higher-level math problems. Jerry’s disability prevents him from achieving 2nd grade Math Skills (80% on major math clusters)

43. In Closing…….. “These standards are not intended to be new names for old ways of doing business. They are a call to take the next step. It is time for states to work together to build on lessons learned from two decades of standards based reforms. It is time to recognize that standards are not just promises to our children, but promises we intend to keep.” -CCSS (2010, pg. 5)

44. What are Standards – Based IEPs • Standards-based IEPs use grade-level academic content standards as a guide for determining what each student should know and be able to do. • Standards-based IEPs incorporate state content standards in their development • Standards-based IEPs align individual goals with grade-level curriculum.

45. Why? Standards-based IEPs • Standards-based IEPs increase expectations for learners and improves access to the general curriculum. • Through standards-based IEPs, students are given the best opportunity for access to the general curriculum and participation in district wide and state assessments. • Historically, the performance of a special education student was left to the subjectivity of the teacher. • e.g., Reporting that a 5th grader was “doing well” might mean that the 5th grader was doing great in third grade curriculum. • Some parents have little idea how discrepant their student is from grade-level peers. • Typical IEPs do not prepare students for the CRT, which is based on state standards.

46. 7-Step Process for Standards-based IEPs Step 1: Consider the grade – level content standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled or be enrolled based on age. • What is the intent of the content standard? • What is the content standard saying that the student must know and be able to do? Step 2: Examine classroom and student data to determine where the student is functioning in relation to the grade-level standards • Has the student been taught content aligned with standards? • Has the student been provided appropriate instructional scaffolding to attain grade-level expectations/ • Were the lessons and teaching materials used aligned with standards? • Was the instruction evidence based?

47. 7 Step Process cont… Step 3: Develop the present level of academic achievement and functional performance. • Describe the individual strengths and needs of the student in relation to accessing and mastering the general curriculum • Consider the factors related to the student’s disability and how they affect how the student learns and demonstrates what he knows. Step 4: Develop measurable annual goals aligned with grade-level academic content standards • What are the student’s needs? • Does the goal have a specific time-frame? • What can the student reasonably be expected to accomplish in one year? • Are the conditions for meeting the goal addressed? • How will the outcome be measured?

48. 7 Step Process cont… Step 5: Assess and report the student’s progress throughout the year. • How does the student demonstrate what he knows in the classroom, district, and State assessments? • Are a variety of assessments used to measure progress? • How will progress be reported to parents? Step 6: Identify specially designed instruction, including accommodations and/or modifications needed to access and progress in the general education curriculum. • What accommodations are needed to enable the student to access the knowledge in the general curriculum? • What accommodations have been used? • Has the complexity of the material been changed in such a way that the content has been modified?

49. 7 Step Process cont… Step 7: Determine the most appropriate State assessment option – CRT or CRT-Alt. • What types of responses does the CRT/CRT-Alt require? • What are the administrative conditions of the CRT/CRT-Alt? • Are test accommodations approved?

50. The Bottom Line… • Standards establish clear expectations about what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. • Educators can use innovative instructional methods to engage students in academic content while ensuring that students are taught appropriate grade level content. • IEP team decisions can be more focused now that Montana has identified the bottom line of what students must know and be able to do.