Meaningful and Measurable Progress

How do you know if your student is succeeding at school? Many families get minimal information from their students directly and rely on communication from the District. The quality and frequency of this communication varies widely depending on the District. However, the IDEA requires that the District provides regular progress monitoring to families consistent with the submission of report cards. For most districts, quarterly report cards and progress monitoring are provided. Progress monitoring is separate from the grades provided by your student's teachers and relate directly to the agreed upon goals within your student's IEP.

Progress monitoring data can be confusing, but tracking progress on IEP goals is critical in determining your student’s needs and the effectiveness of the current supports. An IEP must include specific goals for your student to address his or her unique educational needs. Each goal must clearly state and include baselines of functioning. You should be able to tell with each progress report if your student has improved, declined, or plateaued. If you do not understand the progress reports being provided, or the goal as written, you can ask for clarification or a meeting with your team to understand your child's performance.

How do Districts measure progress?

Each goal on your student’s IEP should specifically state how the progress will be monitored. This will include the frequency in which data is collected and the methodology. The data should be collected multiple times during a reporting period and be provided in a consistent format so that it is able to easily be understood by any IEP team member. Districts frequently utilize classroom based assessments, formalized intervention tools, rubrics, and standardized intervention tools such as utilization of the aimsweb or MAP assessment systems.

What does meaningful progress look like?

Meaningful progress can look different for each individual student; therefore, it is critical to compare your student’s progress not against other students, but against their own prior performance. Each IEP goal must include a baseline which indicates the student’s level when the goal is first implemented.  To show progress, the student should be improving from his baseline each quarter. This data can be shown by documenting each trial throughout the quarter or an overall average during the quarter. Goals are meant to be active for a full year of the IEP, so mastery of a goal is not anticipated for every progress report.

What if my student is not showing progress?

It depends on how long the goal has been implemented. If this is a recently implemented goal and your student does not show progress, the lack of progress could be a result of the limited time the District has implemented the supports. However, if your student continually does not show progress, especially if they are declining, it is time to review their current supports. It is possible the supports and interventions need to be modified. Goals must be reviewed annually and if the student is not achieving them, the supports must be reviewed and adjusted as necessary to allow the student to receive a meaningful educational benefit. Utilization of the same goals year after year is a red flag that your student's program is not providing access to FAPE.

If you are concerned your student is not making progress on his or her goals, or if you need assistance with any educational issue, contact Extraordinary Law for a consultation today.

412-438-3186 or info@extraordinarylaw.com