PLAAFP

Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

Required PLAAFP Components for IEP Goals

Recommended Location: Goal pages - Each of the PLAAFP components need to be completed for each annual IEP goal (e.g., a strengths statement for math, another for reading, etc.). Rather than clustering them together, positioning annual IEP goal PLAAFPs on the separate Goal pages makes it less likely that a component will be missed. 

PLAAFP Component 1: Strength's Statement Related to Goal Area

A PLAAFP should include a statement of the student's strengths in relation to the goal area.  It may also be helpful to provide some general information about the child related to the goal, however, examples such as: "Cindy loves math class", "Brandon is friendly to others", or "Trina has a great personality" are vague and/or they do not relate to a specific goal area. High-quality strengths statements are skill-focused and conceptualized around a clear scope and sequence for increasing proficiency in the goal area.

For example, if the goal area is behavior and the student struggles with same age peer relationships, but relates well to adults, highlight the latter in a strength's statement.  Among other things, this indicates to service providers where the student has had some success and gives them an overall understanding of the child so they can target instruction on the skill components where the student demonstrates greater need.

Examples

"Cindy demonstrates letter sound fluency expected for her grade level, and she uses expression when reading recognized sight words aloud. Cindy utilizes quality reading strategies, such as supporting her reading rate and comprehension of text by tracking with her finger, identifying and underlining key terms, and re-reading text selections when she does not understand the material."

"When engaged in a writing task involving a preferred topic or when he has been provided with a graphic organizer to organize his writing ideas, Declan typically writes at approximately the same rate that would be expected of a typically developing peer."

"In the area of social awareness, Manuel appears to demonstrate empathy and perspective taking skills that are typical of non-disabled same-age peers. He responds appropriately to concerns expressed by peers and adults in his classes. During unstructured or apparently preferred activities, Manuel typically follows instructions quickly and without argument."

PLAAFP Component 2: Specific, Observation and Measurable Data 

**Include what is expected of peers in general curriculum

Once you have selected an appropriate measurement tool for your annual IEP goal, this section of the PLAAFP is straightforward. You simply (1) describe the measurement tool (e.g., answering the question: "What is an Oral Reading Fluency probe and how does it work?") and indicate your baseline data ("How does the student currently perform using that measurement?").

The PLAAFP must also include the expectation of peers in the general curriculum, expressed in quantitative terms. For example, if you are using a CBM probe, what score would a typically developing same-age peer be expected to obtain? If you are using a rubric for a Low Incidence student, how would a typically developing same-age peer be expected to score on it?

Feel free to include additional data that would support a reader of the IEP in understanding and supporting the student, but ensure that the data is relevant and objective. For example, when writing a PLAAFP for a social-emotional-behavioral goal, it would be relevant and objective to include that, "Jill was referred from the classroom to the school's Stop & Think room 27 times in the school's most recent grading period. A majority of these referrals occurred in response to verbally aggressive behavior toward adults." Less helpful would be a statement such as, "Jill is often rude toward others."

Examples

"When presented with an unrehearsed level 4 reading passage with one minute to read, Cindy currently reads at a rate of 85 words correct per minute. A non-disabled same-age peer would be expected to read 150 words correct per minute on level 4 reading passages."

"Curriculum Based Measures of writing are an ongoing measure of a student's writing skills. The student is given a partial topic sentence, one minute of think time, and three minutes to write. Scoring procedures measure correct word sequences (CWS), which is defined as two adjacent words that are syntactically and semantically appropriate as well as correctly spelled. At this time, when given a story starter with one minute to think followed by three minutes to write, Anquan has obtained a median score of 8 CWS. The target score for a non-disabled same-age peer would be 22 CWS."

"Manuel needs to develop greater proficiency in the skill of following instructions. He struggles to generalize the skill, particularly to settings and activities that place heavy demands on his ability to self-regulate his emotions and attention. Observers assess Manuel's performance of this skill by determining if he (1) Remained silent or said an affirmative word/phrase, such as “Okay." and (2) Without delay, did what he had been instructed to do. On a rating form based on the skill steps listed, designed to assess the rate at which Manuel performs this skill when presented with opportunities, and completed by all of his classroom teachers, Manuel currently obtains a rating of 56%. A non-disabled same-age peer would obtain a rating of 85-100%, indicating expected proficiency."

PLAAFP Component 3: Student-Centered Needs Statement Related to Goal Area

Our annual IEP goals identify areas of educational need where the team expects the student to make progress, but it's less meaningful if we never articulate what this progress will do for the student and why it's important (i.e., "XXX needs to increase XXX because...").

If the student has post-secondary transition goals, this is a great opportunity to connect the annual IEP goals ("the steps on the staircase") to their post-secondary goals ("the destination.")

Examples

"Cindy needs to develop greater proficiency in her reading fluency skills because this will help her to access and learn from reading activities in all instructional areas throughout her school day."

"Declan needs to increase the rate and accuracy of his writing because it will allow him to meaningfully participate in writing activities in core academic classes and elective classes during his school day. Increasing his proficiency in spelling and punctuation skills will also reduce the number of instances throughout his school day where Anquan currently pauses his writing to ask an adult or peer for assistance."

"Manuel needs to increase his level of proficiency with the skill of following instructions because this will increase his capacity to meaningfully participate in his classes and in routines throughout the school day. Following instructions appropriately throughout his school day will also help Manuel to build and maintain positive relationships with authority figures in the school setting."

PLAAFP Component 4: How Student's Needs Affect Participation in General Curriculum 

Without adaptations to the task, instruction, environment, etc., how would the student's functioning differ from a typically developing non-disabled peer in the same classroom? 

You don't need to duplicate the accommodations and modifications, AT, or paraprofessional support portions of the IEP document here, but after reading your PLAAFP, someone should be able to review those portions of the IEP and understand why the specific supports were included. Note that "disability" refers to specific areas of educational need, not the student's category (e.g., SLD).

Examples

"Cindy's inability to read at an expected rate and level of accuracy affects her capacity to finish reading assigned text with the same speed as her peers during whole group instruction and to comprehend text sufficiently, after one reading, to meaningfully participate in group discussion questions."

"Declan’s inability to write at an expected rate and level of accuracy affects his capacity to take notes, complete worksheets, and participate in story activities with the same speed as his peers during whole group instruction. In order to produce written work with expected spelling and punctuation, Declan must also stop frequently to request assistance from a peer or adult in the classroom."

"Manuel’s inability to follow instructions at an expected level of proficiency affects his capacity to initiate engagement in group activities, maintain engagement when an activity is less preferred, and to respond appropriately to correction."

Post Secondary Transition PLAAFP

IDEA 2004 requires that, for students for whom transition data has been collected during an evaluation, the IEP must contain a PLAAFP statement that includes information regarding the students' strengths, preferences, interests, and needs in all areas of transition (i.e., Post Secondary Education & Training, Employment, and Independent Living (which includes Home Living, Recreation & Leisure, and Community Participation).

Examples

Post Secondary Education & Training

Employment

Home Living

Community Participation

Recreation & Leisure