Present Levels
Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) should clearly describe the student’s current skills for each area identified and/or considered as exceptional in the evaluation, prior IEP, and team concerns. The PLEP should provide the foundation for the data-based decisions the IEP team is required to make with regard to a student’s goals, support, accommodations, modifications, and services for the next year...The PLEP also provides information for selecting appropriate interventions and support and services, including LRE (Special Education Framework, p 36).
Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) should
Provide the informational basis for generating goals, supports, accommodations, and services that are specifically designed to meet the student’s individual needs
Describe the unique needs of the student that the IEP will address
Identify the student’s level of performance (i.e., what they can and are not able to do) using current data
Identify the student’s area(s) of strength
Identify area(s) of exceptionality (deficit)
Be written in positive terms
Provide the informational basis for generating goals, supports, accommodations, and services that are specifically designed to meet the student’s individual needs
Describe current (within a calendar year) academic and functional performance
For Transition, the PLEP should indicate PINS and be based on the transition assessment.
Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) Considerations:
1. Do you know in which area(s) the student is exceptional as indicated by a yes/no?
2. Do you know in which specific area(s) the student requires intervention?
3. Do you know where to begin instruction/intervention? If not, more diagnostic assessment may be needed.
4. Do you know how the area of exceptionality is aligned to the standards?
5. Do you know how the area of deficit will impact the student on the mastery of standards?
E.g., Reading fluency deficit will impact student in their access to grade-level texts and instructional materials in all content areas.
E.g., Math calculation deficit will impact student calculating integrated math, problem-solving, and accessing new math concepts at a rate commensurate with their peers.
Without proper PLAAFPs, the IEP team cannot develop appropriate goals, accommodations, or select an appropriate program for the student.
In order for special education to be the most intensive intervention, the IEP team must know the specific and individual needs of the learner, relying upon more diagnostic data than universal screening alone is designed to give.
Roles and Responsibilities:
The Case Manager is responsible for entering academic, social/emotional, behavioral, and prevocational PLAAFPs in a student's IEP whereas Related Service Providers (i.e., Speech Language Pathologists) are responsible for entering PLEPs that pertain to that service. For students eligible for related services, please coordinate with these professionals well in advance of the IEP team meeting to ensure PLEPs and goals are entered in the draft IEP timely.
For initial and reevaluations, School Psychologists may be willing to make evaluations completed for eligibility purposes available to be used as a PLAAFP. This requires coordination between the Case Manager and the School Psychologist, particularly around the areas that are marked exceptional. Remember, any PLAAFP labeled as exceptional in TNPulse must have corresponding IEP goal.
A variety of free assessment data sources may be found on the CMCSS RTI Assessment Site. Additional sources information may be found below.
