Methods to Monitor Progress

A student’s PLAAFP statements inform her annual goals, which inform decisions about the special education and related services she will receive. Once these services and supports are identified, the IEP team needs to decide how they will determine whether the student’s program is effective (i.e., helping the student make appropriate progress). IDEA requires that every IEP contain a component in which IEP teams document:

• How a student’s progress toward meeting each annual goal will be measured

• When periodic reports on that progress will be provided to parents

Developing a Progress Monitoring Plan

The most appropriate progress monitoring systems are those in which objective numerical data are collected frequently, graphed, analyzed, and then used to make instructional decisions. Anecdotal data and other subjective procedures are not appropriate for monitoring student progress and should not be the basis of a progress monitoring system.

A good practice for assessing student progress is to use data from formative assessments to measure progress on the academic skill or functional behavior specified in the annual goal. These data can also be used to inform instructional decision making.

Reporting Progress to Parents

The IEP team must stipulate when periodic reports on the student’s progress will be provided to her parents. These reports keep the parents informed regarding whether their child is on track to achieve her annual goals.

A good rule of thumb is to provide progress reports on the student’s annual goals at least as frequently as parents of students without disabilities receive progress reports (e.g., report cards).

IEP teams should facilitate the parents’ understanding of the data so that they can clearly determine whether their child is making progress toward all of her annual goals. There are several considerations to keep in mind when reporting progress to parents:

• Avoid using jargon

• Use graphs to provide visual representations of the data

• Present information in parent’s home language whenever possible

• State clearly whether the student is on track to meet her annual goals

Don’t:

• Use subjective measures.

• Measure so inconsistently or infrequently that data-based changes to services and supports can’t occur.

• Assume that an individual has the requisite skills to collect data.

• Broadly describe the setting or context (e.g., in the general education setting) or omit it completely.

• Collect data on an inconsistent basis.

Examples:

• Monday at the beginning of reading class (9:00 am) and then Wednesday right before recess (10:30 am)

• At the teacher’s convenience

• When the student is in a good mood

• Use different performance criterion than those stated in the annual goals.