Language assessment is an instrument for language teachers to identify the students' strengths and weaknesses in language learning, to place the student into a program and to measure the use of English in four basic skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). Difficulty when silent reading, needs to mouth words or whisper when reading . For example, students can lead the part of the meeting where they share what they discovered about themselves when taking the strengths test. Sample IEP Goal:By the end of the year, the student will demonstrate grade-level independent reading ability on literature passages as measured by the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), the Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI-5), or the Star Reading assessment. ECSE: For students Birth to three the IEP must address Physical/Motor Development; Basic Senses including Hearing and Vision; Self-Help Skills; Academic Performance/Cognitive Development/ Intellectual Functioning; Social/Emotional/ Behavioral Development; Communication and Current Health and Medical Status. Cognitive Strengths Weaknesses Comments/Notes Speaks articulately Imagine an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that focuses as much on your childs strengths as it does on your childs weaknesses. Many of them have kids who learn and think differently. Sample IEP Goal:By the end of the school year, the student will use context clues and other strategies, such as consulting a dictionary, to help determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, with 80% accuracy in four out of five opportunities. It is our duty as special education instructors to discover and publicize those assets in order to develop them further. Give this a try instead: flip those immobilizing "weakness statements" into specific strengths and needs statements that point the way toward solutions. While he should continue to work on his sentences writing, Steven will need to vary the types of sentences he writes and continue to work on the format for a basic paragraph. 1. A number or score that describes a students performance in comparison to a nationwide sample of students in the same grade. This is the heart of a strengths-based IEP. Exceptional Education Teacher, /wp-content/uploads/module_media/iep01_media/audio/iep01_p06_mclean.mp3. And you can advocate for more teacher training in strengths-based IEPs at your childs school or in your local district. Academic strengths include; curiosity, creativity, imagination, critical thinking, organization, time management, delayed gratification, and impulse control. Progress in the general education curriculum? The class is currently working on place value and will be moving into, adding money and making change, telling time, reading and creating simple graphs and some simple measurement to the 1/2 inch. What This Means:This sample IEP goal focuses on the ability to decode longer words. The goal is that the student will be able to correctly sound out 36 out of 40 of the words with these types of syllables. Concerns/Needs: Steven needs to continue to work on writing sentences, varying the types of sentences and writing basic paragraphs. Visual communication. Exceptional memory for facts and figures. Copyright 2014-2023 Understood For All Inc. hands-on activity to help identify your childs strengths, questions about having your child attend IEP meetings, Working With Schools online community group. Weaknesses must not be looked at with resentment. Ability to accept and learn from mistakes. However, in a recent writing sample he had difficulty writing complete sentences and was unable to spell a number of sight words. His broad reading scores on standardized tests are: A number that compares the students performance to a typical student performance at a particular grade level. Johnny easily completes the work when he can stand by his desk or at a table at the back of the room. Julie Rawe is the special projects editor at Understood. He is making progress in his goal to read more fluently and to use more expression in reading. Saras standardized reading composite test score is at the 73rd percentile. IEP goals are built around what the student can do and how the team can use those abilities. What This Means:This sample IEP goal aims for a child to use strategies to figure out the meaning of unknown words or phrases. These helpful sentence starters can be best used with the assistance of the student and parents. Everyone also knows a student's strengths can be leveraged to support self-esteem and growth. Discipline 5. (This skill is important for reading comprehension.) Success-oriented natural leader. Johnny is a quick thinker. Weaknesses Literacy A non-reader Unwilling to try to read Poor word attack skills No sight vocabulary Poor vocabulary (PPVT SS=45; TOLD SS=4; 3) Non-fluent when he reads Poor comprehension of reading material Poor sentence recall (TOLD SS=2; CELF=3) Not oriented to writing activities Never reads at home Grandmother a non-reader Comprehension #18 Strength and Weakness - Perfectionist There's not a single detail of your work which isn't exactly the way you planned it. Check out this guide to see the top 13 student strengths and student weaknesses contributing to academic success! It is also possible to include basic character traits such as honesty and talents related to a subject such as math or art. You can look at these typical IEP goals for reading to get a sense of what your child's goals may look like. 1) Describe Your childs learning strengths. This information is important to Your child has reading issues and just qualified for an IEP. Learn more about setting annual IEP goals, plus other ways you can play a role in the IEP process. Student involvement in IEP meetings can deepen the discussion about strengths. These list items are grouped into six different categories: Attitude, Academic Skills, Executive Function Skills, Social Skills, Motor Skills, and Sensory Processing Skills. If not, you and your childs case manager can look for a free strengths assessment online. __ a fill in the blank option. Helping students identify and leverage their strengths, interests and preferences can lead to more self-awareness and self-advocacy. It can also give kids a sense of ownership when they get to help make decisions about their IEP. Sample IEP Goal:By the end of the school year, the student will read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression at 90 words per minute with 90% accuracy, as measured by teacher records on three consecutive occasions. Youll also be better able to see what services will support your child in his learning. Copyright 2023 Vanderbilt University. Something that can be collected frequently. Strengths are covered at the beginning of the meeting, and the rest of the time is focused on deficits. Schools often overlook strengths in favor of disabilities. Page 4: Procedural Requirements: Guidelines & Common Errors, Page 7: Challenging, Ambitious, Measurable Annual Goals, Page 8: Individualized Services & Supports, Page 9: Monitoring & Reporting Student Progress, Page 10: Substantive Requirements: Common Errors, Page 11: References & Additional Resources, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Information on the students current academic and/or functional needs, An explanation of how the disability affects the students involvement and progress in the general education curriculum, Baseline data for monitoring student progress, Bridge between the PLAAFP statement and an annual goal. 50 Examples of Strengths and Weaknesses for a Job Interview [List] That's why we have decided to give you something more: Every strength and weakness comes with a brief explanation clarifying the meaning of the term. If there are student strengths examples that you would like to include for your student, make sure you add them on your own. Regardless of the way it is organized, the PLAAFP statement must contain information for each identified area of need based on the results of the students evaluation (the second step in the IEP process). What are your Child's Strengths? She has not had goals in this area during the past year. PLEP: present levels of educational performance, PLAAFP: present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. Does he have abilities in subjects such as science, social studies, reading, writing, mathematics, social skills, and logic? Example weakness 1: self-critical "I can be too critical of myself. You don't have to devote half the interview to these answers. Include aspects of the classroom environment which interfere with your childs learning. Give students a leadership role in IEP meetings. All companies search for someone who owns a drive. Students can also help the team think about how to use these strengths to develop strategies for success. It also takes Sara more than an hour to complete one worksheet. Have them fill out what their best answer is and then compare to find commonalities. For example, if Elana struggles in math, what does she do well in that subject? What This Means:This sample IEP goal aims to have a child read quickly and accurately by the end of the year. Do not include detailed information from prior years. Two times out of three, the student must back up those inferences with evidence, with at least 80 percent accuracy. It's true-getting "stuck" on a student's challenges can make it tough to move forward with an effective IEP that meets his or her needs. Because differences are our greatest strength. When student strengths are utilized, students will become more active and enthusiastic participants in their educations. It's important to note that if you start the transition process at age 14, 15, or 16 you will need to repeat the evaluations as your child grows into young adulthood. Middle School: Academic Area: Steven participates in Resource Independent Living Integrated Language Arts class (reading and writing). The 4th-grade fall benchmark is 95 wpm on a 4th-grade reading probe. Media inquiries:media@understood.org(preferred) or646-757-3100. A well-rounded statement includes several areas of strength with up to three options from each. Your child should have an IEP goal associated with each type of reading struggle. Builds your self-awareness Self-awareness is crucial in a variety of personal and interpersonal settings. These resources are provided for informational purposes only for those who wish to learn more about the topic(s). The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers and editors. Planning 8. She/He enjoys __________ and __________ . Chris scored in the low average range in written language. A strengths test not only tells the IEP team about kids abilities. He will engage in activities for longer periods of time but can be easily distracted as many children his age are. Otherwise, Sara is happy, and seems eager to please her teachers by doing her best work. His strong communication skills have also earned him the friendship and respect of his peers, many of whom look to K as a class leader. Present Level of Performance Examples: Present Level of Performance Examples #1 Looking collectively at the data from assessments, Hannah has various strengths and weaknesses. Background: A fundamental issue for child psychology concerns the origins of individual differences in early reading development. He recognizes many body parts and can identify many common animals such as cow, pig, duck, etc. Hiring. Strengths-based IEP goals use a students abilities, interests and preferences to help chart a path to progress. The Individualized Educational Plan IEP. Collaborative. This list of student strengths and weaknesses for IEP contains a wide variety of examples. It goes deeper into the methods needed to collect baseline data and then determine whether the student has made progress. Engaging and Exciting. He continues to show good problem solving skills such as moving a chair to get to the counter and clearing his bookshelf to get a set of keys that was out of his reach at home. Some people are better at math than history. K has strong expressive and receptive language skills and a large vocabulary. For example, the results of career exploration activities and formal and informal assessments can assist students and parents in identifying the young adult's strengths, weakness, preferences, and interests related to their post-secondary goals. You see this all the time with standardized tests that a. Additionally, you'll want to consider what your artistic pursuits reveal about you trait-wise. A program that is appropriate for one child with autism may not be right for another. Too often, IEP teams discuss a students strengths by saying things like What I like about Elana is And these kinds of comments can be hard to connect to the rest of the IEP in actionable ways. The teacher can use this form to assess what the child's strengths and deficits are during social behaviors during the school day. My blogs and articles consistently perform well and reach the top of Google searches. Storytelling. J Kindness 6. What are strengths that the student has that make them socially adaptable or socially accepted? Steven does struggle with creating sentences and appears to lack confidence in his own ideas. My first language also affects my weakness in writing and reading. Have you documented everything you think is important? A strengths-based IEP looks at abilities as well as weaknesses. When working towards an IEP goal, he is curious about new material and is open to new ideas. Chooses 3-4 student strengths from the student strength list, Writes a narrative about each student strength picked, Includes behavior(s) that student demonstrates when using student strength, Student's family member(s) or an other person involved in student's life can endorse student strengths to strengthen them, Student identifies his own student strengths, if appropriate to student's abilities, Shares student empowerment strategies with other professionals who work with the student, Student's team members choose student strengths to use in student success goals, If student is working on student transition goals, student's team may want to include student strengths with industry or university partnerships. Keep it short. One of the fundamental components of an IEP, a present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) statement summarizes the students current levels of functioning. Document your childs current level of academic achievement and capabilities in other areas. When writing, David frequently misspells words and uses incorrect punctuation [weakness]. Although she does have a savings account, she does not have a checking account. When working in the classroom, he will accept help when offered if it is done quietly. Schools have been focused for many years on areas of need because thats what qualifies kids for IEPs. But theyre going to reach out to the reading teacher as well and get information for how that plays out in the general education classroom. You know the plan will include goals for progress. Patience. Time Management 10. As the name implies, the educational program should be tailored to the individual student to provide the maximum benefit. * For refund and privacy policy information visit our Help & Support page. Other student strengths can include being a good listener, team worker and leader. The table below contains portions of one students PLAAFP statement that relate to his reading skills and shows how each element is addressed. Please find below samples to support educators when developing IEPs. The Present Level of Performance Examples you write can be incorporated into your childs next IEP. You can also learn more about how to develop SMART IEP goals, and then help steer the IEP team to include strengths in at least a few of your childs goals. This is when the team discusses a students strengths, interests and preferences. Theres no one way to develop a strengths-based IEP. His standardized test scores in math are in the superior range for all subtests. Is a students' awareness also considered a strength? Coding 11. You can keep your response relatively brief and focused on one or two strengths and/or weaknesses, depending on how the question was phrased. It is important to keep student strength lists unique just like iep goals because student strengths vary from student to student. Spelling test scores are a strength. Thats the ability to read between the lines when reading. It is important to document a strength and interest-based learning approach in the student's IEP. Communication skills. Note: These are simple yes or no questions. The PLAAFP statement serves as the foundation from which all other components of the IEP will be built. Is your child a visual, auditory, tactile, or kinesthetic learner? Delegating. . From student work habits (work independently) to academics (reading comprehension), every area of a child's development can be highlighted using this easy to use, step-by-step guide. Use this framework to help guide the writing process: __________ has a strong character, is _______________, and is _______________. Billy can match by color (field of 6) and sort items by colors (field of 4). In the school setting, this usually means the child's IEP goals would be written only to focus on improving the weak skills such as spelling or written expression. She is on a third grade instructional reading level. Answer example: I demand the best from the people around me and above all from myself. Remember that student strengths can be based on work habits or personality traits. Steven is able to add with re-grouping, but struggles with subtraction. 3) Provide objective data from your childs evaluation results. In their case, that portion of the statement describes how the childs disability affects her participation in appropriate activities. His reading and writing standardized test scores are in the above average range, but his classroom performance varies greatly. But by shifting the focus and putting a big emphasis on strengths, this new kind of IEP helps adultsand kidssee that theres more to these students than their weaknesses. For an initial or reevaluation, the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP bridges the evaluation results with the other IEP components. __ short passage and multiple-choice answer options. In my school when we develop the PLAAFP statements, its a collaboration of many different people. For children in EIP or ECSE programs the PLAAFP must address how their disability impacts their participation in age appropriate activities. It is also common to pick a weakness that is minor or that signals a strength. Some strengths that stem from artistic ability might include: Design thinking. I hope that this student strengths for iep examples guide has been helpful. Describes the students needs in an academic and/or functional skill area, States the impact of the students disability on her involvement in the general education curriculum, Documents the students current levels of performance, which will serve as, Informs the annual goals and the appropriate special education services and supports required to meet those goals. If the IEP fails to assess the childs present levels of academic achievement and functional performance the IEP does not comply with [IDEA]. & ' ( , R S | - 3 O P Z ^ ` a vkb h h CJ h h CJ aJ h >*CJ aJ h >*CJ aJ h h CJ aJ h=33 h CJ aJ h 6CJ aJ h CJ aJ h h 6CJ aJ h h CJ aJ h h >*CJ aJ h h >*CJ aJ h h 5CJ aJ h=33 5CJ aJ h h=33 5CJ aJ % A y z ' ( R S O P r s n o # c , 4 ? All rights reserved. Older students are more likely to participate in or lead more parts of the IEP meeting. Although Steven takes a little longer to process things than his peers, he always works hard and tries his best in class. In the office, a person undergoes many new processes, work, and experiences, so, learning agility is a crucial strength for any professional to perform consistently. Involving students in IEP meetings can help the team think about ways to develop strengths and work on weaknesses. He takes a long time to solve problems and counts up and down to complete the task, not demonstrating an automatic recall of facts. Strengths-based ieps allow teachers and parents to identify student strengths and use them as a tool for success. Student strengths such as "helps partner with school work," "remembers to raise hand in class," and "tries to stay on task" are student strengths that can be observed and measured. He demonstrates the following skills both in a 1:1 setting and during small group activities. The case manager is really only going to develop the areas that they serve. Sample IEP Goal:By the end of the IEP period, when given a list of 40 multisyllabic words containing closed, open, consonant-vowel-e, and vowel team syllable types, the student will be able to decode 36/40 words correctly as measured by teacher records. Concerns/Needs section: Educational needs are identified as a result of both formal and informal evaluation. Self Criticism 3. Understood is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax identification number 83-2365235). For example, K avoids games that involve even a little bit of reading, resulting in some conflicts during weekly family game nights, which often involve board games. I focus too much on the details. Something that often takes many hits for a child with learning and attention issues. A well-written Description of Child section must include the following components. Concerns/Needs: Billy needs to continue to develop pre-academic skills in the areas of number concepts and shape recognition to a more consistent level. Wherever possible, use actual data, such as Standardized test Scores or percentile rankings. It also must address how the students disability is impacts functioning in the general education curriculum or in age appropriate activities. He participates in small and large groups, with occasional reinforcer/motivators such as M&Ms, Skittles, affection, tickles, and praise. That information is outdated by the time a students IEP is ready for an annual review, so school personnel will need to collect data prior to the IEP meeting. On recent MAP testing in fall of 2006 he scored 206 in reading, which is in the low range. Present Level of Performance Considerations: VISUAL Learning Style : ALL About Teaching Visual Learners & MORE, http://learningabledkids.com IEP Training Course. For example, a weakness with test taking suggests that you understand subjects better than your grades indicate. Linda does excellent with short-term expectations but needs multiple reminders on long-term expectations. A pattern I've noticed throughout my career is that I often feel I could have done more, even if objectively, I've done well. At a minimum, the PLAAFP statement must contain information that: The measure of the level of a students academic or behavioral performance before a change (e.g., instructional or behavioral practice or intervention) is implemented. Information about student performance on the MCAs and District test is critical to understanding the students present level. Heres what you need to know to help develop a strengths-based IEP for your child. There should be a direct relationship between the present levels of performance and the other components of the IEP. Starting with character strengths begins to paint a picture of how the student positively impacts the learning environment. Method: A measure of word recognition, the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), was administered by telephone to a representative population sample of 3,909 same-sex and opposite-sex pairs of 7-year-old twins. Listing your strengths and weaknesses is a beneficial exercise that helps to motivate a range of positive cognitive and behavioral changes. The first lists additional considerations for infants and toddlers, behavior, severe disabilities, and secondary transition-related issues. In the meantime, you dont have to wait for your childs school to change its IEP template. Jos follows classroom rules and expectations and actively participates in table groups. Steven has been shown a variety of ways to use charts, manipulatives and his fingers to aid in solving equations. JAVASCRIPT IS DISABLED. Versatility. We believe that adopting strength-based IEP writing practices is vital to reconstructing students with disabilities as capable contributors to their inclusive classrooms. Well email you our most helpful stories and resources. Use a strengths finder before the IEP meeting. For students ages three to five, the IEP should address all areas of concern and provide a clear picture of the students functioning. Please enable JavaScript on your browser to best view this site. Chris is currently reading at a DRA Level 20 at the second grade level, significantly higher than his testing last year (DRA of 14). His positive work habits show that he follows rules and routines, can ignore distractions, and is a self starter in classroom activities. Academic Standard:Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade-level reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Trustworthy 2. Be certain to consider your childs: For preschool children, the part of the statement describing how the disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum is different. Linda needs to learn the aspects of budgeting and managing a checkbook. An IEP is designed to be a "flow-on" document where the issues are identified up-front and the remainder of the document covers methods of dealing with them. To add to our list of overused-but-handy phrases: Think quality, not quantity. In this interview, Tamara McLean shares how personnel at her school collaborate to collect the information and draft PLAAFP statements (time: 1:06). Physical abilities (fatigue, sensory issues, etc.). Strengths-based IEPs are Essential Everyone knows the IEP meeting is taking place because the student has a disability that adversely affects their education. He is self-conscious about his reading difficulties and works hard to hide his reading struggles from his classmates. Three times out of four, the student needs to be able to correctly identify the main idea plus three details that support the main idea. . 4. Ways in which the students strengths can help address the identified areas of concern? IEP goals are built around what the student can do and how the team can use those abilities. The class has been working on addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. (You can also try a fun hands-on activity to help identify your childs strengths.). 4. Her writing composite is at the 69th percentile. This likely means asking students to help identify their strengths, interests and preferences. This weakness causes individuals to get only "parts" of information that they read or hear, but not the whole. K is currently reading 54 words correct per minute (wpm) on a 2nd-grade reading probe, which is slightly higher than the 2nd-grade fall benchmark of 50 wpm. 5 Essential Math Word Problems IEP Goals | Teach Tastic, Math IEP Goals For Special Education - Free Printable PDFs. So take your time in writing the PLAAFP, or present levels statement. Thus, if the statement describes a problem with the childs reading level and points to a deficiency in reading skills, the problem should be addressed under both goals and specific special education and related services provided to the child. All Rights Reserved. IEP goals should reflect state academic standards, and they should be SMART and strengths-based. Her/His __________ skills are a strength, as are her/his __________ skills. So if it is an O. T. skill, the O.T. Leaders embark on a journey to the bank of success. He recognizes the majority of the 10 basic colors, having difficulty with pink and yellow. Earlier in my career, this led to burnout and negative self-talk. The skills a good student brings to the work table usually include creativity, organization and problem-solving. TWO blankies!" Ouch. A student with weaknesses in visual, spatial, or sequential aspects of math may. How does the students disability affect her: Are the data being reviewed to determine whether the student is making progress: Based on observable (e.g., cursing or swearing) rather than subjective (e.g., being disrespectful) behaviors. Recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. Tamara McLean Her at grade level math skills are a strength, as are her social skills. They are transferrable to knowledge-based careers that require strong critical . Yes, there is enough information to determine annual goals and/or services and supports. He knows many of the mechanics rules. Using measurement tests is common in IEP goals for reading. Creative thinking abilities. Make sure to include a range of strengths, including knowledge-based skills, transferable skills, soft skills and personal traits to demonstrate your versatility. Grab your notebook, look at your childs strengths, and consider her struggles. Her math reasoning scores are at the 18th percentile. Follow instructions. For example, a 4th-grade student with a percentile rank of 27 has received a score that is higher than 27% of 4th-grade students nationwide; this students score can also be referred to as being at the 27th percentile.. But only the strengths-based goals use the students abilities and interests to help chart a path to progress. This student strength list can also be used during the development of student transition goals. Many teachers, especially new ones, find it challenging to, IEP writing strengths and weaknesses examples. Sam has a strong character, is eager to learn, and is curious about a new subject. . Sam will use his creativity and interpersonal skills to develop and lead his peers in a class vocabulary game with 90% accuracy in three out of four weekly opportunities.