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Formal Evals require formalized testing or standardized tests - the chosen tests depend on the nature of the suspected disability AND the School Psych (some are more "comprehensive" then others)- standardized just means that every student who is evaluated is given the test in the exact same way 

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Formal Evals require formalized testing or standardized tests - the chosen tests depend on the nature of the suspected disability AND the School Psych (some are more "comprehensive" then others)- standardized just means that every student who is evaluated is given the test in the exact same way 

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Reliability = how consistent the test measures the same thing; validity = the test measures what it claims to measure 

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Reliability = how consistent the test measures the same thing; validity = the test measures what it claims to measure 

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Common intelligence tests - in KS school districts, the WISC-V and WJ-IV are most commonly utilized 

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Common intelligence tests - in KS school districts, the WISC-V and WJ-IV are most commonly utilized 

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Categories of disabilities recognized by IDEA. (Hurford, 2023)

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The categories of disability recognized by IDEA - KS also recognizes gifted under Special Education - not typical of states or included in IDEA under federal definition 

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The categories of disability recognized by IDEA - KS also recognizes gifted under Special Education - not typical of states or included in IDEA under federal definition 

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"...The total number of correctly answers questions on a subtest or test is referred to as the "raw score". ... Raw scores must be translated into standard scores so that we can understand the nature of the child's performance." (Hurford, p.2)

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"...The total number of correctly answers questions on a subtest or test is referred to as the "raw score". ... Raw scores must be translated into standard scores so that we can understand the nature of the child's performance." (Hurford, p.2)

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The difference between the brief form of the KTEA-3 and a comprehensive evaluation

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The difference between the brief form of the KTEA-3 and a comprehensive evaluation

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Special Education Action - Children are our priority. Ensuring their needs are met is our goal.

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January 7, 2021: Article first published. January 4, 2023: Article updated.

Is the Kaufman Test of Education Achievement (KTEA-3) being administered to your child?

If yes, do you know if the Brief Form or the Comprehensive Form is being administered?

Do you know the difference between the Brief and the Comprehensive Forms?

If your child has Dyslexia or is suspected of having Dyslexia, are you aware of the Dyslexia Index?

Do you know if your school is cherry picking subtests to administer, what each subtest measures, and if they are appropriate for assessing your child's needs (or suspected needs)?

A Bit of Background

I live in Fairfax County, Virginia, where (at the time of this writing) the KTEA-3 is the test Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) uses as the core test-and often the only test-when conducting educational evaluations.

FCPS denied my son an evaluation three times between first and sixth grades. After I paid for a private assessment in sixth grade, he was assessed with Dyslexia and was reading on a third grade level, even though he still had good grades and passing state exams.

After I presented the private evaluation to Silverbrook Elementary School (SES) staff, and after SES insisted on doing its own "comprehensive" initial evaluation, I assumed FCPS would do a comprehensive evaluation-as in identify and assess all of his needs.

I was wrong.

The Many Definitions of "Comprehensive"

FCPS educators administered portions of the KTEA-3 to my son four times in a period of three years.

In 2016, an FCPS educator administered eight subtests and areas if need were identified. A few weeks later, she administered eight additional subtests, at which point more areas of need were identified.

In 2017, an FCPS educator administered 12 subtests (not the exact same subtests as 2016), at which point more areas of need were identified.

In 2019, an FCPS educator administered 18 subtests, at which point areas of need still were identified.

With the exception of the second go-around in 2016, each educator stated her evaluation to be comprehensive, even though data collected indicated a need to probe other areas. For example, it shouldn't have taken a re-evaluation, just three weeks after the initial evaluation, to probe additional areas. That could have been done during the initial evaluation and the data collected, to include parental concerns, indicated all these areas needed probing.

During a 2020 due process hearing, a procedural support liaison (PSL) and the educator who administered the 2017 KTEA-3, called all the evaluations comprehensive, while the educator who administered the KTEA-3 in 2019 termed the 2016 evaluation to be "focused", rather than terming it "comprehensive" after being asked if it was comprehensive.

So, which is it?

What's the difference?

And, what do the experts say?

The Brief Form

The Brief is just what it sounds like. Brief. Among other things, it takes less time to administer and has flexible administration options.

The Brief Form has five composites and six subtests.

The five composites are:

Academic Skill Battery

Reading

Mathematics

Written Language

Brief Achievement

The six subtests are:

Letter & Word Recognition

Reading Comprehension

Written Expression

Spelling

Math Concepts & Applications

Math Computation

KTEA-3 Dyslexia Index

Comprehensive is a chameleon in school divisions.

If your school chooses to administer the Brief Form-and your child has Dyslexia or is suspected of having Dyslexia-the school needs to know there are limitations to using the Brief for Dyslexia or SLD screening. It will not be a comprehensive assessment if Dyslexia or an SLD is suspected.

Per Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment (page 119, 2016 paperback edition):

Limitations for Using the KTEA-3 Brief Form for Dyslexia or SLD Screening

Oral Language measures are not included in the Brief Form. Hence, the Brief Form will not identify:

(a) Weaknesses in oral language that may be hindering academic performance, or

(b) Critical discrepancies between oral and written language areas (Listening Comprehension vs. Reading Comprehension, Oral Expression vs. Written Expression).

One key symptom of dyslexia/reading disorder is that reading comprehension skill are lower than listening comprehension skills (RC < LC). If both reading and listening comprehension are low, then either a language disorder or a global reading impairment (characterized by low overall ability) may be suspected.

Reading Fluency, writing fluency, and math fluency subtests are not included in the Brief Form. Hence, specific fluency deficits may not be detected.

Subtests to identify processing deficits in phonological processing and naming facility are not included in the Brief Form.

The school must know, too, that the index is different depending on the age and/or grade of the student. Again, per Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment (page 281, 2016 paperback edition):

The KTEA-3 Dyslexia Index for grades K-1 includes measures of naming facility, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, letter-sound correspondence, and word recognition. . . .

The KTEA-3 Dyslexia Index for grades 2-12 includes measures of oral word reading fluency, decoding, and spelling. . . .

KTEA-3 Composite Structures of the Dyslexia Index Scores

Grades K-1 or Ages 5-7

Grades 2-12+ or Ages 7-25

Phonological Processing + Letter Naming Facility + Letter & Word Recognition

Word Recognition Fluency + Nonsense Word Decoding + Spelling

The Comprehensive Form

The Comprehensive Form has 14 composites and 19 subtests.

The 14 composites are:

Academic Skill Battery

Reading

Mathematics

Written Language

Sound-Symbol

Decoding

Reading Fluency

Reading Understanding

Oral Language

Oral Fluency

Comprehension

Expression

Orthographic Processing

The 19 subtests are:

Letter & Word Recognition

Reading Comprehension

Nonsense Word Decoding

Phonological Processing

Word Recognition Fluency

Decoding Fluency

Silent Reading Fluency

Reading Vocabulary

Math Concepts & Applications

Math Computation

Math Fluency

Written Expression

Spelling

Writing Fluency

Listening Comprehension

Oral Expression

Associational Fluency

Object Naming Facility

Letter Naming Facility

The Comprehensive, like the Brief, is just what is sounds like. It's comprehensive.

In 2016, my son was administered what FCPS called a "comprehensive evaluation" that consisted of the following eight subtests:

Letter and Word Recognition

Reading Comprehension

Nonsense Word Decoding

Math Concepts & Applications

Math Computation

Written Expression

Spelling

Silent Reading Fluency

His scores ranged from below average to above average, with a 36 standard score point discrepancy between the lowest and highest scores.

Although additional subtests are recommended if the KTEA-3 subtest scores are low-or if there's a significant difference between the different subtests' scores-FCPS considered the eight subtests to be the definition of "comprehensive".

During the evaluation process, the wonderful advocate Janice Armstrong schooled me on the KTEA, so when SES presented its final report for its initial "comprehensive" evaluation, I stated that FCPS didn't do a comprehensive evaluation and asked FCPS to administer the entire KTEA-3.

FCPS agreed to administer additional subtests, and within a few weeks of his initial evaluation being presented, FCPS initiated my son's first re-evaluation, and administered the following KTEA-3 subtests:

Phonological Processing

Silent Reading Fluency

Word Recognition Fluency

Decoding Fluency

Reading Vocabulary

Associational Fluency

Object Naming Facility

Listening Comprehension

The result?

Three additional areas of need were identified and he scored on the borderline of average/below average for two addition subtests-even though FCPS maintained the previous evaluation was "comprehensive".

I continued to state that FCPS did not provide a comprehensive initial evaluation.

In 2017, FCPS Procedural Support Liaison Jean Massie suggested doing a reevaluation. I agreed.

The result?

Summer of 2017, FCPS educator Suzanne Gowe administered the following 12 KTEA-3 subtests:

Phonological Processing

Nonsense Word Decoding

Writing Fluency

Silent Reading Fluency

Reading Comprehension

Written Expression

Spelling

Word Recognition Fluency

Decoding Fluency

Reading Vocabulary

Listening Comprehension

Letter and Word Recognition

The result?

My son scored below average on a subtest FCPS failed to administer in 2016, thus another area of need was identified.

FCPS continued to maintain that the 2016 evaluation was comprehensive and Suzanne and FCPS maintained that her 2017 evaluation was comprehensive, too.

In 2019, my son was reevaluated again. FCPS educator Kelly Brady administered the the Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI-6), Developmental Spelling Analysis (DSA) and the following 18 of the KTEA-3's 19 subtests:

Letter & Word Recognition

Nonsense Word Decoding

Reading Comprehension

Reading Vocabulary

Word Recognition Fluency

Decoding Fluency

Silent Reading Fluency

Math Concepts & Applications

Math Computation

Math Fluency

Written Expression

Spelling

Writing Fluency

Listening Comprehension

Associational Fluency

Phonological Processing

Object Naming Fluency

Letter Naming Facility

The result?

My son scored below average on a subtest FCPS failed to administer in 2016 and 2017, thus another area of need was identified.

And yet, FCPS maintained the 2016, 2017, and 2019 evaluations were all comprehensive.

Enter Due Process

And then we went to due process and things changed up.

During the due process, I showed Kelly Brady the 2016 evaluation and asked if it was comprehensive. She replied:

"I would call this more of a focused evaluation.

Callie Oettinger: And what's the difference between a focused evaluation and a comprehensive evaluation?

Kelly Brady: Sometimes, a IEP team or eligibility committee may only require certain information - so they would do a focused evaluation.

Callie Oettinger: Okay. So this is actually [Student]'s initial evaluation - the first evaluation that he was given.

Kelly Brady: Mm-hmm.

During the same hearing, Kelly and Suzanne spoke to FCPS not administering the KTEA-3 Oral Expression subtest. As with FCPS' various forms of "comprehensive", Kelly's and Suzanne's explanations resided in different forms, too.

From Kelly:

Kelly Brady: I did not evaluate [STUDENT]'s oral expression.

Callie Oettinger: Okay. Does the publisher recommend that an expression composite be administered?

Kelly Brady: We don't administer the oral expression subtest part of the KTEA at FCPS.

Callie Oettinger: Why not?

Kelly Brady: It's not approved by the test committee.

Callie Oettinger: Who is the test committee?

Kelly Brady: I don't know.

From Suzanne:

Suzanne Gowe: One of the tests that one of the subtests on the oral language composite is not a test that we give.

Callie Oettinger: And why not?

Hearing Officer Rhonda Mitchell: Is that Fairfax County policy?

Suzanne Gowe: Yes.

Callie Oettinger: Why?

Suzanne Gowe: It's the oral expression composite - and as, as far as I know - the reasoning is because the - there are other assessments that better test for the oral expression - tests that, say, a speech and language clinician would have.

Callie Oettinger: Did they give those to [STUDENT]?

Suzanne: I'm not a speech and language clinician - so I did not give those to [Student]. Are you asking if - the oral expression was not given. The oral expression was not given.

And yet, a "speech and language clinician" did not do an assessment in 2016 or 2017 or 2019, during the periods when the KTEA-3 was administered to my son-even though Suzanne maintained that there were better tests for oral expression.

Lessons Learned

Comprehensive is in the eye of the beholder and whomever the definition benefits during due process hearings.

An investment in the "Essentials" series of books edited by Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman is a must. For the KTEA, start with Essentials of KTEA-3 and WIAT-III Assessment.

Parents are the best advocates for their kids.

Reading through manuals and learning about standard scores, t scores, percentiles, bell curves, and so on, can be intimidating, but you have to know them-and you need an understanding of the tests to which they relate.

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KTEA-3: Comprehensive Isn't Always Comprehensive

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Do the KTEA-3 subtests being administered to your child add up to a comprehensive evaluation? Will they assess your child's needs (or suspected needs)?

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The Normal Curve or normal distribution, often referred to as a Bell Curve by district personnel

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The Normal Curve or normal distribution, often referred to as a Bell Curve by district personnel

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The Bell Curve (Normal/Gaussian Distribution) Explained in One Minute: From Definition to Examples

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"The standard score helps us interpret the meaning of a child's performance by comparing it to how the child's peers performed on that subtest.  The most common peer comparison involves other children of the examinee's age..." (Hurford, p. 2)

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"The standard score helps us interpret the meaning of a child's performance by comparing it to how the child's peers performed on that subtest.  The most common peer comparison involves other children of the examinee's age..." (Hurford, p. 2)

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Common descriptors used in evaluatation reports

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Common descriptors used in evaluatation reports

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Skills & Subskills - most tests used in evaluations will have an overall score (often referred to as a composite score) and a subtest score

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Skills & Subskills - most tests used in evaluations will have an overall score (often referred to as a composite score) and a subtest score

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KSDE Special Education Handbook, chapter 3 Initial Evaluations

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KSDE Special Education Handbook, chapter 3 Initial Evaluations

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How Does My Child Qualify for An IEP? from the Disability Rights Center of Kansas

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How Does My Child Qualify for An IEP? from the Disability Rights Center of Kansas

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Parent's Guide to Special Education in Kansas from Families Together, Inc. 

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Parent's Guide to Special Education in Kansas from Families Together, Inc. 

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Special Education Initial Eval Timeline - 60 days in Kansas

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Special Education Initial Eval Timeline - 60 days in Kansas

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The request for evaluation can come from school staff members or parents.  It is the responsibility of the LEA (Local Educational Agency) or school district to identify, locate, and evaluate any child with a suspected disability. 

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The request for evaluation can come from school staff members or parents.  It is the responsibility of the LEA (Local Educational Agency) or school district to identify, locate, and evaluate any child with a suspected disability. 

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All requests for eval should be made in writing.  Consider keeping copies for your records and time stamp all communication. 

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All requests for eval should be made in writing.  Consider keeping copies for your records and time stamp all communication. 

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Parents must give consent for the school to evaluate a child by signing specific documentation.  In Kansas, parents can deny consent and the evaluation will not take place. Denying consent for eval could allow the school district to file for due process (highly unlikely).  Consent for evaluation is not consent for services.  

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Parents must give consent for the school to evaluate a child by signing specific documentation.  In Kansas, parents can deny consent and the evaluation will not take place. Denying consent for eval could allow the school district to file for due process (highly unlikely).  Consent for evaluation is not consent for services.  

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To be informed and be able to actively participate in the eligibility meeting, it is suggested that parents request a copy of the evaluation report (summary of testing).  

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To be informed and be able to actively participate in the eligibility meeting, it is suggested that parents request a copy of the evaluation report (summary of testing).  

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Just because the child performs Below Average on the standardized testing completed does not automatically mean they qualify as a student with a disability; the eligibility team must then determine if the nature of the disability has an adverse impact on his/her academic performance that requires specially designed instruction 

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Just because the child performs Below Average on the standardized testing completed does not automatically mean they qualify as a student with a disability; the eligibility team must then determine if the nature of the disability has an adverse impact on his/her academic performance that requires specially designed instruction 

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What is Specially Designed Instruction? w/ Anne Bennehoff

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What is Specially Designed Instruction? w/ Anne Bennehoff

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SDI: What is it and why do we provide it?

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Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a private evaluation done by a qualified private practitioner outside the school district.  Parents can pay to have this done at any time (although not always necessary), or, if in disagreement with the findings of the school's evaluation, parents can request an IEE from the school district.  The school district has the right to deny this request. 

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Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a private evaluation done by a qualified private practitioner outside the school district.  Parents can pay to have this done at any time (although not always necessary), or, if in disagreement with the findings of the school's evaluation, parents can request an IEE from the school district.  The school district has the right to deny this request. 

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The Hidden Message in Student Orthography and What You Can Learn Through Spelling from PaTTAN 2024 Literacy Symposium

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The Hidden Message in Student Orthography and What You Can Learn Through Spelling from PaTTAN 2024 Literacy Symposium

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66. The Hidden Message in Student Orthography and What You Can Learn... | 2024 Literacy Symposium

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Be prepared by creating an IEP binder to keep track of all your child's documents.  Be sure to take it with you to all meetings. 

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Be prepared by creating an IEP binder to keep track of all your child's documents.  Be sure to take it with you to all meetings. 

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An IEP Binder used to be part of my everyday life. In a former life, I was a special education teacher.

I actually started my first blog, Bed Rested Teacher, when I was on bed rest (hence the name). It's when I got the blogging bug. Once I decided to stay home, I realized that maintaining a teacher blog while I was no longer teaching wouldn't be the best choice. One thing I learned as a teacher, is how important it is for parents of children with an IEP to stay on top of things.

IEP Binder: Stay Organized & Know Your Rights

As a teacher, one of my schools was strict about the information I could give parents to advocate for themselves. This was extremely difficult for me (and the opposite of the other school I was in).

I am passionate about the education that students with disabilities receive. It breaks my heart when I hear about a bad experience a parent has had with another teacher or school. It's what has made me want to make sure parents of children with disabilities have the knowledge they need to advocate for themselves.

One way I knew I could help would be through creating a few printables for you to create your own IEP binder. Keep your IEP binder separate from your other school information sheets.

It will keep you better organized to only have IEP and special education information in the IEP binder rather than anything family-related. This binder should travel with you anytime you go to a meeting or appointment related to your child's disability.

This page has a little more information than I traditionally include with my free printables. I feel it is important to explain to you why you should use these IEP binder printables.

On a side note, if you are a parent of a child with disabilities and are unsure of your rights, Wrights Law is a great resource.

Can These IEP Binder Worksheets Work for a Teacher?

While these printables can work for teachers, I designed them originally with parents in mind. BUT...they can definitely be used by teachers as well. I always had an IEP Binder with each student's IEP and important information (divided by tabs). These sheets work great as an easy IEP at a glance resource.

Let's look at the free printables for your IEP Binder you will be receiving below.

IEP Binder - Special Education Inserts to Keep Organized

IEP at a Glance

The first three printables are IEP at a glance worksheets. I have created a version for parents and teachers. This is all of the main information you need to be keeping track of as a parent or a teacher.

As a parent, it's important to know what your State's laws/best practices are for sending out parental meeting notices and draft IEPs. By tracking the dates of your IEP and notices, you can make sure your child's case manager is following the correct protocol.

For the services page, it's important to know what services your child is receiving. If you're a teacher, it's also important for you to have service hours easily on hand.

Aside from your own services (if you are the provider as well), you need to keep track of the other professionals such as speech and language pathologist that see your student. If you're a parent, you want to keep their contact information close so that you can easily get a hold of them if needed.

Parent Version Page 1

Teacher Version Page 1

Parent & Teacher (Same Version) Page 2

Parent & Teacher (Same Version) Contact Tracker

As a parent or a teacher, keeping a log of all communication is so important. As a special educator, you have to maintain some sort of contact log.

This is the perfect tool to print and take with you while making a phone call or to write a summary on from an e-mail. As a parent, please keep track of all the conversations you have and any actions the case manager/specialist says they will complete.

Frequently check back with your contact trackers to make sure the staff is following through.

*Side note for Parents and Teachers - While talking on the phone with a parent/teacher can be easier to tell tone, sometimes it's not worth the struggle of remembering everything from the conversation.

By using e-mail, you are creating a paper trail. If a teacher/parent says they are going to do something, you have it in writing. I always tell parents to make sure they are using e-mail. If you have a phone call, let the teacher know you will be sending a follow-up email with the notes. Ask the teacher to respond and confirm that they agree to the phone call notes.

If you are requesting to determine if your child needs to be tested, put it in a written letter and send/drop it off at the school (make sure to make a copy before you mail it and always write down the date you sent it/the school received it. That's the date the timeline starts).

The IEP Binder set includes:

IEP at a glance for parents (pages 1/2)

IEP at a glance for teachers (pages 1/2)

Contact tracker

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also an affiliate for the HP ink program. .
Notes on Using the IEP Binder Printables

To download this set of files or any of the files from our family binder, you need to sign up to receive your free members-only password. Click here to sign up.

They come in Letter size, A5, and Classic Happy Planner. You can print in any other size with this tutorial.

If you print the letter size, I suggest getting a 1 or 1 1/2 inch binder.

Print the babysitter forms each time you need them OR laminate them and use a dry erase marker.

Print on cardstock for added durability. (this is my favorite from Amazon)

I know, ink can get expensive, so invest in an that has instant ink and you can print until your heart is content! Click here to use my referral and earn 1 free month! Looking to buy a new HP instant ink compatible printer? This one is great.

If your planner inserts are smaller, use a paper cutter for easier cutting (or ).

Please Note, all Files on Mom Envy are for personal use only. Files may not be resold, modified, or used commercially. Sharing the file for free or for money on Facebook groups is prohibited (you can share a picture and link back to the post). Sharing the link, my site's name, and one picture on a blog post is okay, as long as the entire text of the post and the actual files are not shared. If you are interested in selling them commercially, please contact me directly.
File Usage Information

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IEP Binder - Free Special Education Planner Inserts

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An IEP Binder used to be part of my everyday life. In a former life, I was a special education teacher. I actually started my first blog, Bed Rested Teacher, when I was on bed rest (hence the name). It's when I got the blogging bug.

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KSDE Special Education Procedural Support Handbook (required to be given to families when initial evaluation request is made and annually if a student is found eligible for services)

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KSDE Special Education Procedural Support Handbook (required to be given to families when initial evaluation request is made and annually if a student is found eligible for services)

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Who is on the IEP team from Parents Helping Parents

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Who is on the IEP team from Parents Helping Parents

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Considerations for steps to take as a parent leading up to an IEP meeting: 

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Considerations for steps to take as a parent leading up to an IEP meeting: 

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-ask for a draft at least 3 days prior to the meeting so that you can be prepared

-write out a list of your child's strengths

-determine if it would be of value to bring anyone else with you to the meeting

-determine if you require the use of audio recording

-bring materials to take notes

-write out questions ahead of time

-seek clarity, information, or resources from outside sources such as parent support organizations

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IEP Meeting Checklist for Parents from Statewide Parent Advocacy Network

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IEP Meeting Checklist for Parents from Statewide Parent Advocacy Network

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This checklist can be used by parents at the IEP meeting to ensure that all topics are covered in the proper order.

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) by the IRIS Center

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) by the IRIS Center

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The areas of need identified in the initial evaluation create the foundation for the IEP.  The IEP identifies the areas of need (based off that evaluation), goals are written based on those areas of need, goals drive the identification of required services, and the services drive placement (LRE).

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The areas of need identified in the initial evaluation create the foundation for the IEP.  The IEP identifies the areas of need (based off that evaluation), goals are written based on those areas of need, goals drive the identification of required services, and the services drive placement (LRE).

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This most likely would not be provided to parents, however, it demonstrates the types of scores and information that can be extracted from these types of assessments.

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Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

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Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

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This section of the IEP is critical. It will outlined your child's current functioning. It should be filled with numbers that represent data. For example, the PLAAFP may contain scores from district, state, and classroom assessments.

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Developing Challenging, Ambitious, Measurable Annual Goals by the IRIS Center

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Developing Challenging, Ambitious, Measurable Annual Goals by the IRIS Center

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Page 7: Challenging, Ambitious, Measurable Annual Goals

Develop challenging, ambitious, and measurable annual IEP goals, based on the identified educational needs of the student.

The second required component of an IEP is the measurable annual goals section. The academic and/or functional goals described in this section are intended to meet a student's disability related needs that enable her to be involved in and make progress in (a) the general education curriculum (e.g., achieve grade-level mathematics skills) and (b) other education-related areas that arise from the student's disability (e.g., improve articulation, increase socially appropriate behaviors). Measurable annual goals describe what the student is reasonably expected to accomplish in a 12-month period, when provided with appropriate special education services. Each measurable annual goal should:

Address academic and/or functional needs identified in a PLAAFP statement

Be guided by grade-level content standards and therefore tied to participation in the general education curriculum

Include benchmarks or short-term objectives (for students taking alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards)

Help IEP team members determine whether a student is making educational progress and whether the special education program is providing meaningful educational benefit

Lead to a corresponding special education service

Developing Measurable Annual Goals

To begin the process of writing measurable annual goals, the IEP team should:

Start with the academic and functional needs identified in the PLAAFP statements

Identify any relevant state academic standards for the student's grade

Discuss what the student should be able to achieve during the next 12 months

Once this is done, the team is ready to design annual goals that will help close the gap between the student's current skill levels and the expected academic and/or functional performance levels. Each goal has four elements: a target behavior, the conditions under which the target behavior will be exhibited and measured, the criterion for acceptable performance, and the timeframe within which the student will meet the criterion. To develop each element, the team members can ask guiding questions that will help them narrow down the information that should be documented in each goal. The table below outlines sample guiding questions for each element and offers tips for writing measurable annual goals.

To help develop well-written, measurable goals, IEP teams may consider using the acronym SMART. These characteristics, when applied to the four goal elements above, can support IEP team members in the goal-development process. Learn more about SMART in the box below.

Note: There are multiple versions of SMART in which the letters stand for different terms (e.g., ambitious for 'A' or relevant for 'R'). The primary factor to consider when using any of them is to determine whether they will help develop better IEP goals.

The IEP team should keep in mind that these goals should be written in brief, specific, and clear language that can be easily understood by all members of the IEP team. Keeping the SMART acronym in mind, the goal below was written for K, the student from the previous page, based on his PLAAFP statement.

Given a third-grade level reading passage,

K will read aloud

at a rate of 115 words correct per minute (wpm)

by the end of the school year.

The next two goals were written for a different student whose IEP included PLAAFP statements with identified needs in the areas of mathematics calculation (double-digit multiplication) and initiating appropriate peer interactions.

When given a sheet of 20 double-digit multiplication problems,

J will calculate the problems

with at least 85% accuracy on 3 consecutive weekly progress monitoring probes

by the end of the first 9-week period.

During the 20-minute morning recess,

J will initiate a positive peer-to-peer interaction

at least once per recess, 3 out of 5 days, for 4 consecutive weeks, as deemed appropriate using a 3-point rubric

by the end of October.

Note: The order in which the goal elements are written depends on the information laid out in the overall goal. For example, the timeframe may be placed prior to the condition in some instances and after the performance criterion in others.

In the interview below, Mitch Yell provides some insight into the need for measurable annual goals. Although IEP teams have always been required to develop and include annual goals in students' IEPs, Congress changed this requirement to measurable annual goals in the 1997 reauthorization of IDEA. The distinction is important because it is difficult, if not impossible, to show student growth if goals are not measurable (time 1:05).

Mitchell Yell, PhD
Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair in Teacher Education
Professor, Special Education
University of South Carolina

Transcript: Mitchell Yell, PhD

Of all the IEPs that I've looked at, I think the most common problem is goals are written that are not measurable. Well, if they're not measurable how can you show progress? How can you change instruction, because you don't know if the child is actually learning? So I would say, in terms of best practice, what that means is we have to make certain our goals are measurable. We have to collect data, and we have to say how we will collect data, how we'll measure the child's progress toward that goal, and if the child isn't making progress then we have to make instructional changes. That essentially is best-practice. That doesn't mean you have to have all the goals based on standardized achievement tests. You could use curriculum-based assessment, but the most important thing about these goals is that they have to be measurable. And then we have to actually measure them, and if the child is progressing, that's wonderful. If the child is not progressing, we need to do something about it.

Keep in Mind

In addition to measurable annual goals, IEPs must also include a statement of how a student's progress toward meeting these goals will be measured and reported. For example, progress may be reported quarterly, concurrent with the issuance of report cards, to inform a student's parents of her progress toward meeting the annual goals. This will be discussed in more detail on Page 9.

Endrew Implications for Developing Ambitious and Challenging Annual Goals

Although IDEA requires IEP goals to be measurable, courts have ruled that they must also be ambitious and challenging. Goals that contain all four elements-target behavior, condition, performance criterion, and timeframe-may be considered "complete" in a technical sense, but those that are also ambitious and challenging are more likely to meet the Endrew substantive standard. IEP teams should have high expectations for the student and create goals that are ambitious and challenging enough for her to make meaningful progress. Additionally, goals should be realistic, based on the team's knowledge of the student's unique circumstances.

Legislation and Litigation

A U.S. District Court found that the IEP goals in reading and math for Shannon Carter were so unambitious that they...

In Carter v. Florence County School District Four (see box above), 9th-grade student Shannon Carter's reading scores were four to five years below grade level. Her IEP team developed annual reading goals that called for growth of only four months, which the court found to be "wholly inadequate. ... Because much more progress was necessary in order to provide Shannon an appropriate education" ( Carter v. Florence County School District Four, 1991, p. 454). Goals that are not ambitious and challenging may be readily achieved but do not result in meaningful progress for the student. Such goals may render the IEP inappropriate. Shannon's goals were so unambitious that the district court judge found that she was denied an appropriate education.

The Endrew decision recognizes that teams should have high expectations for the progress of a student and should craft challenging and ambitious IEP goals. However, goals should not be so ambitious that there is little chance that a student will actually achieve them. For example, because Shannon was reading four to five years below grade level, it would not have been realistic to expect her to be reading at grade level by the end of the year. Therefore, the team must draw on current data and their collective expertise to create a goal that strikes a balance between being ambitious and challenging and being realistic.

For Your Information

A student's goals must be targeted toward meeting her individual needs or circumstances. With this in mind, IEP team members should understand that:

Using stock or prewritten goals that are not individualized does not meet the requirements of IDEA.

For students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take alternate assessments, IEP goals should be aligned with the state's grade-level content standards. However, it is essential that IEP teams also consider the individual needs of the student when developing the annual goals.

Remember that the annual goals are meant to guide instruction for the next 12 months. In this interview, Tamara McLean discusses some considerations regarding annual goal development and updates (time: 0:57).

Tamara McLean
Exceptional Education Teacher

Transcript: Tamara McLean

We use the goals to drive the instruction as much as possible because they're the goals for a reason. Hopefully the goals are not so specific that we concentrate on one thing for a year. I will say the farther you get out from the development of the IEP, the less the present levels are as accurate, which makes it hard because you're maybe looking at PLAAFPs that were created six months ago. That's not where they are now. And so you let those goals drive it, but you don't make it hold them hostage, if that makes sense. If they're ready to move on, if every goal has been mastered, you better have come back to the table and updated those PLAAFPs and updated those goals. So it does drive the instruction until the child has made them invalid and then you really have to come back and redo all of it.

This toolbox describes additional resources related to the information presented on this page. These resources are provided for informational purposes only for those who wish to learn more about the topic(s). It is not necessary for those working through this module to read or refer to all of these additional resources to understand the content.

Annual Goals

This document, prepared by the Center for Parent Information & Resources (CPIR), provides information on developing measurable annual goals, including the importance of tying them to the needs identified in the PLAAFP statements, and provides examples for each goal element.

High Expectations and Appropriate Supports: The Importance of IEPs

The video below is part of the virtual 2018 OSEP SymposiumHigh Expectations and Appropriate Supports: The Importance of IEPs. In this clip, Chris Lemons, Associate Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University, demonstrates how to use state academic achievement standards to develop challenging IEP goals (time: 2:52).

Transcript: Chris Lemons - High Expectations and Appropriate Supports: The Importance of IEPs

So next I'm going to talk about the relation between challenging goals and objectives, and state academic achievement standards. Standards are written to outline a developmental trajectory through a content area. As you can see ... for example goals on the right hand side of your screen. Each of these could be an appropriate IEP goal or objective target, so a skill that we want a child to learn, for a child with a disability who is functioning at that instructional level. Standards like these, I think, can really be useful to guide an evaluation of the student's present levels of academic performance. Again, the examples on the slide, you can imagine knowing and applying grade-level phonics, and word analysis skills, and decoding words, that is a goal target that may be appropriate for a specific student.

If you look on the next slide, you can see how we might turn the standard into an IEP goal. If we have a standard that we want a child to segment spoken single syllable words, into their complete sequence of individual sounds, or phonemes, we would want to conduct an assessment. Here, I suggested that the school use a first grade curriculum based measure, or CBM, phoneme segmentation fluency at a first grade level. That is this child's instructional level. On the median of three probes, Chadwick, the student, was able to provide 12 correctly segmented phonemes within one minute. This provides us information that, by the end of the year, a reasonable goal could be, "By the end of the year, when presented with three probes from a first grade phoneme segmentation fluency CBM, Chadwick will correctly provide 45 correctly segmented phonemes in one minute."

I think it's also good to realize that this also can provide instructional information. So you can see that Chadwick is currently providing only the first sound for words. That's the instructional target that can help the teacher plan instruction. I think it's also useful to know IEP teams should not feel the need to solely rely on standards to write objectives. The IEP team really should return to the language of Endrew, and as they're having conversations about the IEP goals, to return to these words and clarify whether they have a cogent responsive explanation for the plan, and whether it's really reasonably calculated for the individual child.

Okay. Why is considering instructional level goals and objectives important? A recent meta‐analysis found that, in the area of reading at least, students with disabilities are currently performing 1.17 standard deviations less well than their typically developing peers. This represents about a gap of 3.3 years. I think that it's worth considering whether writing an annual goal that represents more than three years worth of growth will really be seen as being defensible, or achievable. Further, writing goals that are more closely aligned to the child's correct achievement level, will often begin to provide clear guidance as to what the actual instruction, or intervention, should look like.

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IRIS | Page 7: Challenging, Ambitious, Measurable Annual Goals

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Develop challenging, ambitious, and measurable annual IEP goals, based on the identified educational needs of the student. The second required component of an IEP is the measurable annual goals section.

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Practical Tips for Setting Student IEP Goals by The Center for Exceptional Children

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Practical Tips for Setting Student IEP Goals by The Center for Exceptional Children

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As a special education teacher, it is mandatory to set appropriate goals on your Individualized Education Program (IEP) annually. Appropriately setting well-thought-out goals on the IEP allows students, with any disability, to achieve success, growth, and increase positive behaviors.

By tracking progress accurately, you can make sure success is happening. Overall, we know that this can be a daunting task; you have to know the student's baseline, make sure you understand how the student learns and processes new information, accurately progress monitor the goals over time, and then determine if the student has mastered their goal. It takes a team to set these goals, including getting additional input from parents, principal, therapists, school nurse, and support staff.

"Each student's IEP is unique and lays out the roadmap for their education journey, providing support, modifications, and accommodations that allow the student to achieve the most success possible in the school setting."

Goal mastery changes year to year. Your student's road to success will be directed by your daily instruction based on your IEP goals, so here are some thoughtful and helpful tips to move forward with drafting an IEP.

1. Use parent input when possible.

Before you draft your initial IEP goals for each student, it is imperative that you include a case history review or interview with the student's parents. The parent plays one of the most vital roles in their child's education, and understanding their concerns regarding their student's needs helps to set achievable goals for the future growth of their child. Providing opportunities for the parent to communicate with you about their overall thoughts on the challenges their student's are experiencing will offer more information for you as a teacher and help you to better understand the student's strengths, challenges, weaknesses, and overall learning style.

Parents are, by law, required to be an equal partner in their child's IEP. Not only can they provide insight, but they can help collect valuable information along the way as their student works on their IEP goals. Use the parents as a tool to set up an IEP that creates measurable and attainable goals. Parents can be key when developing successful IEP goals for that particular student.

2. Use SMART IEP goals.

This acronym is short for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, and T ime-Bound. Provide goals that are very specific to a subject or skill. If these points are not considered, a goal will easily fail as it does not provide enough detail.

Every goal should be measurable. Start with a data chart, curriculum, or tests to help measure progress. Attainable is one of the most important aspects of setting goals since it can help increase independence in your students. It can also discourage students from completing them if the goal is not clearly laid out and realistic. Results-Oriented can start small so the student can easily meet their goal and build upon that as they progress. Finally, Time-Bound-set these goals for the week, month, three months, and so on. Setting the endpoint gives the student a time frame and targets to achieve. It is also essential to make sure that your IEP is set to curriculum standards within your state.

The goal is specific to a subject or skill

Measurable

Use: Data Charts, Curriculum, and tests to measure

Attainable

Make sure the goal is clearly laid out and realistic

Results-Oriented

Start with a small goal and build upon it so that the goal grows bigger

Goals should be set for: Weekly, Monthly, Three Months, etc.

3. Use resources to help plan.

In addition to setting appropriate goals for your student's IEP, it is important to help use resources to guide your process. State standards and regulations may change, so not only are you responsible for knowing what the student needs but for implementing these standards into each IEP goal. Take the extra step by setting up a resource binder (or an online file folder) filled with articles, a goal bank to build from, lesson plans, state standards, and more. References and tools will help guide you to better manage your classroom and communication with your student, their parents, and appropriate administration.

Here is a list of our trusted resources that can help you when planning.

These are just a few resources and ideas to help get you started and guide you on creating successful, individualized IEP goals for your students. Creating and cultivating relationships with your students and parents plays a vital role in the educational progress of each student. The best piece of advice is to keep up with state standards and regulations for your school district. Happy goal-setting!

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Practical Tips For Setting Student IEP Goals

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As a special education teacher, it is mandatory to set appropriate goals on your Individualized Education Program (IEP) annually. Appropriately setting well-thought-out goals on the IEP allows students, with any disability, to achieve success, growth, and increase positive behaviors. By tracking progress accurately, you can make sure success is happening.

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Fluency (Reading Rate) Assessment and Instruction w/ Jan Hasbrouck on the Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast

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Fluency (Reading Rate) Assessment and Instruction w/ Jan Hasbrouck on the Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast

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Ep. 153: Science of Reading Beyond Phonics: Fluency Instruction and Assessment with Jan Hasbrouck

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IEP Meeting Checklist for Educators from COSA

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IEP Meeting Checklist for Educators from COSA