What are Measurable IEP Goals?

Probably the most important part of your child’s IEP is the “Measurable Annual Goals.”  These goals are suppose to be the result of one year of special education services and will help you determine if your child is making progress in their education.  It is important to review the goals that the school has proposed for your child.  They are suppose to be the framework for what your child will work on in the given year.  If these goals are too easy or too difficult or not appropriate,  another valuable year of your child’s education could be wasted.   The goals for most children should reflect what the general education students are working on to maintain educational equality.  For some children, the severity of their disability makes it impossible for them to have goals that are equal to those of their peers.  They have other needs that must be met. For all students, though, the goals should be aimed at getting your child to achieve to their full-potential (revealed in the educational testing that was done), starting at their current ability level and building upward.  The goals should be challenging, yet attainable and should reflect your child’s needs.

Many times I have witnessed parents fighting endlessly for lesser items on an IEP, completely ignoring the goals.  I think many parents aren’t aware of how important the goals really are for their child’s success.  Some parents only know some of the effects of their child’s disability;  like low test scores and frustration over homework, so naturally they would put emphasis on those areas of the IEP.  Yes, extra testing time is great; and reduced workload can help some students accomplish more and relieve some stress.  However, it is my experience that the academic, behavioral, and other goals that are set for your child are what really makes the difference in the long run.  The kinds of services, and sometimes the quality of services, given are based on those goals.  Whether or not you can see the progress your child is making will depend on the goals being measurable.   When the special education teachers write your child’s progress report, they will write about the progress they are making on those goals. If the goals are written correctly, so they are measurable, you will be able to plainly tell if your child is having success or not.  Since you want to know if your child is getting what they need and making progress, you will want to be sure that the goals are written in a way that is measurable.  (Usually, measurable goals will include a percentage or ratio of success.  For example, it might say “…..with success in 3 out of 4 attempts”  or “…with 80% accuracy”.)

If you think the goals are not challenging enough, too challenging, not measurable, or will not meet your child’s needs SPEAK UP!  Here is your chance to help your child get what they need to be a success.    It is your right to object and ask for the school to make adjustments to the goals.  Tell them why you object to the goals, give them a chance to explain their reasoning, and then make your opinion and desires known.

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IEPs Explained for Parents

If you are not in the special education field, reading an individual education program (IEP) can be a little like reading a document in another language.  You will find terminology that you probably have not come in contact with before. There are lots of acronyms and terms on IEPs that are specific to special education.  Here, I will try to explain some of the more confusing terms and acronyms of IEPs, however, if you have a question about your child’s IEP that this post does not answer, feel free to post a question.

General Curriculum:  This the regular curriculum that all non-disabled students receive in a school district.  The term general is used in place of “regular”; for example, a non-special education classroom is called a general education classroom.

Instructional Modifications:  Basically, these are any changes that can and will be made to the instruction for your child to help their learning.   These can also be called specially designed instruction.  These are changes that non-disabled students do not qualify for.

Methodology:  This means how the instruction will be delivered, by which method.  Sometimes teams will specify a certain way to best present new material to your child (e.g. visual aids or multi-sensory instruction).

accommodations:  These are changes to the learning environment that will help your child make more effective progress.  Students who are not on IEPs can qualify for accommodations as well.  An example of an accommodation is preferential seating near the source of instruction.

Assistive Technology:  These are devices (can be electronic) that can help a student with a disability.

Performance Criteria:  This is another term for testing or assessment.

Measurable Goal:  This is a goal (or outcome) that can be actually measured.  Usually goals are written in terms of ratios and/or percentages.  Here is an example of a measurable goal:  Jane will read a paragraph with 80% accuracy in 4:5 opportunities. The goals should be challenging, yet reachable.

Benchmarks:  These are the steps that a student will probably make before they can accomplish the measurable goal.  For example, Jane will probably read with 75% accuracy before she can read it at 80% accuracy.  If the goals are challenging enough, students will not be able to reach them without first meeting the benchmarks.

Nonparticipation Justification:  This is were the school district must prove why they are removing a student from the general education classroom.  Because students have the right to be educated with their peers to the most extent possible, the school system needs to tell why it is preferable to take this student out.

What is a Core Evaluation? (Educational Evaluation Description)

These are the components of a comprehensive educational evaluation (or core evaluation). Of course, not every student would be given all of these individual evaluations, but a good evaluation should produce a complete profile of your child as a learner and include more than one assessment. I believe that each student that is suspected of having special educational needs deserves to have a comprehensive evaluation that looks at each area of suspected need in an in depth way. I do not believe that adequate educational plans can be written without a complete learning profile of each student evaluated. A learning profile shows a child’s learning strengths and weakness and details ways in which your child would learn information best.

Here is a list of what a comprehensive educational evaluation could include:

History of the Student This section of the evaluation should include the results of previous testing and instructional approaches tried with the student. Information should be gathered from a review of the student’s records, such as cumulative folder, report cards, and standardized testing scores. Information should also be included about the child’s health and development, such as was the child born prematurely and did they reach developmental milestones at the expected ages.

Language Evaluation This section of the evaluation should include the results of testing in all the areas of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Reading areas that should be tested are phonemic awareness, phonological processing, phonics, and reading comprehension. A writing evaluation should include spelling, handwriting, sentence organization and cohesion, and conventions. A listening (or receptive language) evaluation would include following directions and listening comprehension tests. A speech and language evaluation would look at the student’s ability to correctly make sounds and say words and their ability express themselves in a variety of situations.

Math Evaluation A math evaluation measures a student’s mathematical reasoning skills and their number concepts and intuition. A math assessment would look at the following areas: number sense, functional and applied mathematical skills, problem solving, calculation, and the meaning and relationship of algorithms.

Cognitive Evaluation This area of the evaluation would measure the student’s brain functions and assess their potential to learn new skills and information. Areas that may be assessed are working memory, executive function, visual-spatial processing, problem solving, pattern recognition, abstract reasoning, and intellectual ability.

Emotional/Behavioral Evaluation This part of the evaluation would include information about the child’s emotional state, self-concept, and ability to maintain expected behavior and adherence to the rules of school. Areas that may be assessed are anxiety, attention span, hyperactivity or arousal level, impulsivity or self-control, defiant or non-compliant behavior, and depression.

Health Evaluation This evaluation would be included if a student is suspected of having a health-related issue that is effecting their ability to access the curriculum. The student’s pediatrician or a specialist in the area of concern usually does this evaluation. Types of health evaluations that can be done are vision or hearing evaluations, neurology, respiratory, or developmental.

Occupational or Physical Therapy Evaluations These types of evaluation are done is a student is suspected of having a delay or disability in the area of fine motor (such as tasks involving the use of the hands) or gross motor skills (such as tasks involving the use of the legs and feet). More increasingly, occupational therapy evaluations are including sensory integration assessments that measure a student’s under-reactiveness or over-reactiveness to sensory stimuli.

Good luck and remember that a good educational evaluation should produce a profile of your child’s learning strengths and weakness, as well as the ways in which they would learn best.

Qualifying for Special Education

In order to receive special education services your child must meet two requirements.  First, they must have a qualifying disability and second, they must not be making progress that would be expected for their age and grade-level.  What this means is that even if your child has a qualifying disability, they may not qualify for services because they are making progress without them.  According to the federal act IDEA, there are 10 types of disabilities that can qualify a child for special education services.  These disabilities categories* are:

1. Autism:  PDD, Asperger syndrome
2. Developmental delay:  Cerebral Palsy, Downs syndrome
3. Intellectual impairment:  Cognitive impairment, mental retardation, chromosome disorders
4. Sensory impairment:  Hearing or vision impairment or deafness or blindness
5. Neurological impairment:  Brain injury, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy
6. Emotional impairment:  Anxiety or mood disorders,  ODD, conduct disorder,  schizophrenia
7.  Communication impairment:  Speech and language disorders
8.  Physical impairment:  Muscular Dystrophy, spina bifida
9.  Health impairment:  ADHD, asthma,
10.  Specific learning disability (LD):  Dyslexia(LD in reading), dysgraphia(LD in writing), dyscalculia (LD in math)

*I have listed some examples of some diagnosis that might fall in these categories, but this is not a complete list and some disabilities may belong in more than one category.

Definition of Special Education

Special education is individualized instruction and services given to students that have a disability or condition that prevents them from being able to do the same school work and school activities as “typical” children, so that they can reach their individual potential.   Special education is provided at no additional costs to the parents and is confidential.  

There are 7 types of disabilities that children can receive services for while at school.  These disabilities are: developmental delay, intellectual impairment, sensory impairment, hearing-vision-deaf-blind, neurological impairment, emotional impairment, communication impairment, physical impairment, health impairment, specific learning disability.m 

Special education is a right that is protected by a federal act called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law protects a parents’ rights to make decisions about their child’s special education, guarantees an appropriate evaluation of your child, ensures that an individual education plan (IEP) will be written and carried out in the least restrictive environment, and outlines how parents and schools can resolve any disagreements they have. An individual education plan or IEP, is a written document that outlines what special education services, accommodations, and modifications will be given to your child.  It also states where the services will be carried out.  Some children will receive services in the classroom (inclusion), while other students will receive services outside of the classroom (pull-out services).  In some instances, students will be educated in a separate classroom or school.  However, the law says that students must be educated with their peers to the maximum extent possible.  Therefore, placing students in separate classrooms or schools is done only after serious consideration about the benefits and drawbacks of doing so.

What is LRE? (Least Restrictive Environment)

Text from the Massachusetts DOE/FCSP publication “A parent’s guide to Special Education”

LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT

The federal law, IDEA, mandates that students with disabilities must be educated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate based on the student’s needs. This is known as the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). The Team (including the parent) determines the placement that the student needs to provide the services on the student’s IEP and the Team must choose the least restrictive environment able to provide those services. This means that the student should attend the school he or she would attend if non-disabled, unless the Team determines that the nature of the student’s disability will not allow that student to have a successful educational experience in that environment.

FAPE and LRE are closely tied together. Both federal and Massachusetts special education laws require that a Team consider appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. In order to help your child be successful, the Team must carefully consider whether supplemental aids and services and specialized instruction could make it possible for your child to be educated with non-disabled peers. If services can be appropriately provided in a less restrictive setting, the Team must choose that type of program and setting. If the student’s program requires a more restrictive setting to be successful, then the Team may consider other settings. The Team should look class by class, activity by activity, and only remove your child from the general education classrooms if, and only if, supplemental aids and services would not make it possible for the student to remain in that classroom and make effective progress.

Determination of the LRE is based on your child’s IEP, not on a diagnosis or specific disability label. This determination must be made individually and carefully. Students cannot be placed in separate or more restrictive environments only because they require modification of the curriculum. It is important to remember that Teams do not have to choose between specialized help for a student and inclusion of that student in the general education classroom; students are entitled to both. After the Team has developed the IEP and understands the needs and goals for your child, then the Team will determine the most appropriate setting for your child’s services. LRE is an integral part of the placement determination.

What is FAPE? (Free and Appropriate Public Education)

Text from the Massachusetts DOE/FCSP publication “A Parent’s Guide to Special Education”

FREE AND APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION (FAPE)

A child who is eligible for special education services is entitled by federal law to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). FAPE ensures that all students with disabilities receive an appropriate public education at no expense to the family. FAPE differs for each student because each student has unique needs. FAPE specifies that needed services must be provided without cost to the family.

FAPE guarantees that for students who are found eligible for special education, school districts must be prepared to provide services according to an IEP beginning no later than their third birthday. If a student continues to be eligible, services may continue until the student graduates from high school with a standard diploma or turns 22, whichever comes first.

FAPE also means that students receiving special education services have access to and make meaningful progress in the general curriculum (i.e. the same curriculum as students without disabilities) and the right to be full participants in the life of the school. Your child is not only entitled to access the academic portion of school but also to participate in extracurricular and other activities sponsored by the school. Full participation means that students with disabilities are entitled to the aids and services needed to assist them in participating in all areas of school life. FAPE is closely tied to a principle known as the “Least Restrictive Environment” which is described in detail in the next section of this Guide.

The ABC’s of Special Education: Useful SPED Acronyms and Terms (Part I)

IEP, LRE, BIP, etc…. What do all these acronyms and terms mean?  Here are the definitions for some of the more common terms and acronyms, used by educators during team meetings, but you were to afraid to ask what they mean…  

504 Plan:   A plan developed for a student with a disability that specifies what accommodations and/or services they will get in school.

Accommodation:   Changing the way material is presented, or the environment/setting, or the conditions as needed.

APE:   Adaptive Physical Education or P.E. for students that have a disability that keeps them from participating in P.E..

Assessment:   An assessment is an evaluation or test.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP):   A formalized plan that goal is to change specific negative behaviors a student may have.

Developmental Disability/Developmentally Delayed (DD):   A substantial disability that began before age 18 and is expected to continue.

Direct Services:  Services given to the child either one-to-one (1:1) or in a small group setting.

DOE:   Department of Education

EBD/ED: Emotional/Behavioral Disorder or Emotional Disturbance.   Used when a student has significant problems following the rules and/or in managing their emotions.

FAPE:  Free Appropriate Public Education

FBA: Functional Behavioral Assessment

IEP (Individualized Education Program):   A written education plan for a child  developed by a team of  professionals (teachers, therapists, etc.) and the child’s parents.

Inclusion:   To provide sped services to the student in the regular classroom.

LD (Learning Disability):  A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, which may results in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE):  The environment that provides disabled students the most amount of access possible to non-disabled students.

Occupational Therapy (OT):   A therapeutic service that specializes in upper arm function, including fine motor skills like handwriting. It also deal with activities of daily living and sensory integration issues.

Physical Therapy (PT):  A therapeutic service where the therapist specializes in gross motor skills such as walking, running, jumping, balance issues, etc.

Resource Room:  A room separate from the regular classroom where students  receive academic assistance.

SLP:  Speech and Language Pathologist