The IEP: Progress Monitoring Process

1. The IEP: Progress Monitoring Process Southwest Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center By: Liz Neal, Clermont County Educational Service Center

2. Session Objectives • To provide an overview of the steps of progress monitoring. • To provide resources and tools for gathering and compiling data. • To provide time for practical application and feedback.

3. Session Agenda • Definition • Rationale • Prerequisites • The Steps of Progress Monitoring • Data Collection • Unpack Existing IEP • Fill in the Missing Pieces • Determine Measurement Types and Tools • Data Collection Schedule • Data Compilation • Data Compilation Tools • Data Compilation Schedule • Data Reporting • Data Reporting Schedule • Data Presentation… To Graph or Not to Graph • Using Data to Make Instructional and Service Decisions

4. Session Format • These slides indicate time for questions, group discussion, review of the IEPs you brought, and application of monitoring suggestions.

5. What is Progress Monitoring? • Progress monitoring is the ongoing process of collecting and analyzing data to determine student progress. • Progress monitoring should be used to make instructional and service decisions based on student performance.

6. Rationale • Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) 2004 • Requires a student’s individualized education plan (IEP) to include: • A statement of present levels of academic and functional performance; • A statement of measurable annual goals; • A statement of special education, related and supplemental services; Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006)

7. Rationale • An explanation of the extent, if any, of non-participation in the regular classroom; • A statement of any appropriate and necessary accommodations on state and district-wide assessments; • A statement of dates and duration of services; • Appropriate, measurable post-secondary goals and transition services; and • A statement of how the child’s progress toward the annual goals will be measured. Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006)

8. Rationale • Legal Decisions • The absence of adequate progress monitoring has been the focus of several administrative and judicial decisions. • Courts are unwilling to accept the claims of school districts regarding the appropriateness of a student’s program without proof in the form of data. Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006)

9. Rationale • Legal Decisions • Recent decisions concerning progress monitoring have revealed five primary areas of concern: • The IEP team fails to develop or implement progress monitoring plans; • Responsibilities for progress monitoring are improperly delegated; Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006)

10. Rationale • The IEP team does not plan or implement progress monitoring for behavior intervention plans (BIPs); • The team uses inappropriate measures to determine student progress toward graduation; • Progress monitoring is not frequent enough to meet the requirements of IDEIA or to provide meaningful data to IEP teams. Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006)

11. Prerequisites • A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives related to meeting the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum and to meet the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability. (OS page 66)

12. Prerequisites • In order to collect data that provides evidence of student progress, the IEP must include measurable annual goals and benchmarks or short-term objectives. • Annual goals and benchmarks or short-term objectives must include: • clearly defined, observable behaviors/actions; • the condition under which the behavior is performed; • the performance criterion. Who… will do… what… how well… under what conditions?

13. Prerequisites • A statement of how the child’s progress towards the annual goals will be measured and how the child’s parents will be regularly informed (through such means as periodic report cards), at least as often as parents are informed of their non-disabled children’s progress… (OS page 66)

14. Prerequisites • …in regard to • Their child’s progress towards the annual goals, and • The extent to which that progress is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals by the end of the year. (OS page 66-67)

15. Prerequisites • In order to collect data that provides evidence of student progress, the IEP must also include a specific statement of how and when progress will be measured and reported. • What data will be collected? • Where will the data be collected? • Who will collect and compile data; who will report progress?

16. Step 1: Data CollectionUnpack the Existing IEP Existing IEP contains measurable goals and short-term objectives as well as a clear and specific statement of student progress. NO YES Determine and define missing pieces of the goal, benchmark, or objective. Determine and define missing pieces in the statement of student progress. Measure the behaviors under the conditions using the criteria set forth in the goal, benchmark, or short-term objective defined in the IEP. Follow data type, schedule, and person responsible defined in the IEP.

17. Step 1: Data CollectionFill in the Missing Pieces • Make the existing IEP’s goals, benchmarks, and/or short-term objectives measurable. • Determine purpose and outcome of goal. (What do we need to observe of this student?) • Fill in the blanks. (Conditions? Criteria?) • Check with the team. (What are parent and other team member perceptions of purpose and outcome?)

18. Step 1: Data CollectionFill in the Missing Pieces • Make the existing IEP’s statement of student progress specific. • Determine the best way to provide evidence of student progress. (What type of data will be collected?) • Determine who will collect, compile and report data and progress. • Determine where evidence will be collected. (Where will the data be easily collected as well as provide documentation of skill?)

19. Step 1: Data CollectionFill in the Missing Pieces • Make the existing IEP’s statement of student progress specific. (continued) • Determine how often evidence will be collected. (How often is enough to truly show progress, or lack of?) • Check with the team. (What are parent and other team member perceptions about data collection and reporting?) Any written changes on an IEP must be approved by the IEP team (parents, service providers, district personnel).

20. Step 1: Data CollectionFill in the Missing Pieces • Questions and Suggestions. • Review the IEP at your table and work through the flow chart for unpacking the existing IEP. • Changes? • Questions? • Feedback? • Roadblocks?

21. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • The tools used to collect data and ultimately measure progress provide evidence of student performance specific to IEP goals, objectives, and/or short-term benchmarks. • Data collection tools should represent different types of measurement in order to provide a clear picture of student progress.

22. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • DIRECT MEASUREMENT provides valid and reliable indications of student progress. • Behavior Observation can be documented in many different ways; behavior observation provides first hand evidence of student performance as it occurs. • Observation Narratives • Data Charts • Frequency Recording • Duration Recording • Interval Recording • Time Sampling • More…

23. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • DIRECT MEASUREMENT(continued) • Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) is the direct observation and recording of student’s performance in the school curriculum. • Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) • Teacher constructed • Focuses on hierarchies of skills in the general education curriculum • Curriculum Based Measure (CBM) • Brief, standardized samples • Fluency based (accuracy and time)

24. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • DIRECT MEASUREMENT • Questions and Suggestions. • Review the data collection tools for direct measurement. • Which of these tools could be used to monitor the IEP you just unpacked? • Questions? • Feedback? • Roadblocks?

25. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • INDIRECT MEASUREMENT can supplement direct measures. • Rubrics • Describes performance on a scale from desired performance to undesired performance using both qualitative and quantitative descriptions. • Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) • Rates student performance changes on a five-point scale of from least to most favorable.

26. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • INDIRECT MEASUREMENT(continued) • Interviews • Provides a summary of student performance on a given behavior in a structured format; regular education teachers or other school personnel can informally conference with the teacher in charge of data collection; conferences are then summarized and added to the progress monitoring file. • Student Self-Monitoring • Documents student behaviors and performance through self recording given specific cues.

27. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • INDIRECT MEASUREMENT • Questions and Suggestions. • Review the data collection tools for direct measurement. • Which of these tools could be used to monitor the IEP you just unpacked? • Questions? • Feedback? • Roadblocks?

28. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • AUTHENTIC MEASUREMENT provides evidence of student performance through genuine student input. • Work Samples • Provides evidence of student performance through “hard copies” of actual student work. • Writing • Math • Projects (cutting, drawing) • Pictures of student work • Audio recordings of student performance (reading, responding to questions) • Portfolios • Documents student performance through a collection of work samples demonstrating specific outcomes.

29. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • AUTHENTIC MEASUREMENT(continued) • Student Interviews • Assesses student performance through informal conferences between the teacher and student; conversations are then summarized and included in the progress monitoring file.

30. Step 1: Data CollectionDetermine Measurement Types and Tools • AUTHENTIC MEASUREMENT • Questions and Suggestions. • Review the data collection tools for direct measurement. • Which of these tools could be used to monitor the IEP you just unpacked? • Questions? • Feedback? • Roadblocks?

31. Step 1: Data CollectionSchedule • The data collection schedule depends on how service is delivered. • Direct Instruction • Times for data collection should be worked into daily and weekly plans for instruction. • Data collection does not necessarily have to be separate from this instructional time; this situation can provide a real picture of student performance during a typical day.

32. Step 1: Data CollectionSchedule • Indirect Instruction or Support • Times for data collection should be worked into the time when service is being delivered, if possible. • Data can also be collected remotely by regular education teachers or other service providers. • Consultation • Regular education teachers and other service providers play a key role in data collection and input. • Times for data collection should also be scheduled when concerns have been brought up; this is a perfect opportunity for using direct measures (observations, data charts, etc.)

33. Step 1: Data CollectionSchedule • The effectiveness of services and instructional method is determined most efficiently when progress is measured frequently. An Administrator’s Guide to Measuring Achievement for Students with IEPs. http://www.awa11.k12.ia.us/iep/iepresults/AdministratorsGuide.htm

34. Step 1: Data CollectionSchedule • Questions and Suggestions • Develop a data collection schedule for two or three of the tools you chose. • Use your daily routine. • Consider how services are delivered. • Consider measurement type and frequency. • Questions? • Feedback? • Roadblocks?

35. Step 2: Data Compilation • Compiling data is a critical component in progress monitoring. • Summarizes data collected periodically during the duration of an IEP. • Ultimately saves time; attempting to compile all data collected during the duration of a year long IEP would be an overwhelming task. • Provides the team with useful reference points in time. • Saves time and confusion during meetings.

36. Step 2: Data CompilationTools • The tools used to compile data should include: • Student name; • IEP effective dates; • The goal, benchmark, or short-term objective directly from the IEP; • A restatement of the criteria in the goal, benchmark, or short-term objective; • An organized format that makes clear the data compilation schedule.

37. Step 2: Data CompilationSchedule • The data compilation schedule depends upon the data collection frequency. • Suggested compilation schedules:

38. Step 2: Data CompilationTools and Schedule • Questions and Suggestions? • Discuss data compilation: • If you already practice compiling data, how do you make it work along with all other responsibilities? • If you don’t usually compile data, how might it be worked in with everything else you do during school?

39. Step 3: Data ReportingSchedule • Progress on IEP goals, benchmarks, and short-term objectives is reported to parents as often as non-disabled student receive academic progress reports. • Timeline • Mid-Quarter (Interim Reports) • Quarterly • Format • Compilation Forms • Graphs • Narratives • Accompanies hard data • Explains any instructional changes or specific circumstances

40. Step 3: Data ReportingData Presentation… To Graph or Not To Graph • Review the two sets of collected data provided at your table. • Review the graphs used to compile the data collected. • Discuss the impact of the graphs. • How might the IEP meetings for these students gone had only the collected data (not compiled) been shared. • Questions?

41. Using Data to Make Instructional and Service Decisions • Student progress is considered in relationship to each goal, benchmark, or short-term objective. • Four aspects should be considered: • Progress • Did the student make the progress expected by the IEP team? (criteria)

42. Using Data to Make Instructional and Service Decisions • Comparison to Peers or Standards • How does the student’s performance compare with the performance of general education students? • Independence • Is the student more independent in the goal area? • Goal Status • Will work in the goal be continued? • Will student be dismissed from this goal area?

43. Using Data to Make Instructional and Service Decisions • Questions and Suggestions • Using the graphs of compiled data, consider instruction or service options. • Consider progress, comparison to peers or standards, independence, and goal status (with the limited information you have).

44. Final Thoughts • Progress monitoring remains a required part of the IEP with IDEIA 2004. • Other provisions in IDEIA 2004 mandate greater accountability for student progress. • Results-oriented shift • Outcomes Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006)

45. Final Thoughts • Progress monitoring processes that are focused, clearly defined, and completed will ensure meaningful educational programs for students with disabilities.

46. Works Cited/Consulted • Alexandrin, J. R. (2003). Using continuous, constructive classroom evaluations. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52-57. • An Administrator’s Guide to Measuring Achievement for Students with IEPs. http://www.awa11.k12.ia.us/iep/iepresults/AdministratorsGuide.htm • Etscheidt, Susan K. (2006). Progress monitoring: Legal issues and recommendations for IEP teams. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 56-60. • Jones, C. J. (2004). Teacher-friendly curriculum-based assessment in spelling. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 32-38. • Operating Standards for Ohio’s Schools Serving Students with Disabilities (OS), 61-74. http://www.ode.state.oh.us/exceptional_children/children_with_disabilities/Operating_Standards/default.asp • Show Me the DATA! University of Washington, Experimental Educational Unit. 2004. • Pemberton, J. B. (2003). Communicating academic progress as an integral part of assessment. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 16-20.

47. Information • Contact Information Elisabeth Neal Clermont County Educational Service Center 735-8332 (office) neal_l@ccesc.org • The IEP: Progress Monitoring Systems September 12, 2006 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.