Aligning IEP Goals to

State Standards
Part 3
Jennifer Jewell
Kristin Fehr
 Recap Sessions 1 and 2
 Remember:
› Standards are…………
› Standards are not…………
› Use Assessment to drive
Instruction.
Why align?
•For students to show progress in
academic content, they need
academic instruction.
•Well-aligned IEPs can promote
meaningful academic instruction.
•Align with state and grade level
standards to facilitate
progress.
•Align to help identify the skills
needed to progress in a specific
grade level curriculum.
 Illinois Guidelines

 Each IEP shall include: 1) A

statement of measurable annual
goals that reflect consideration of the
State Goals for Learning and the
Illinois Learning Standards…
 How do we use the standards to inform our
instruction as special education teachers?
 Grade level placement standards
 Careful planning
› Instructional supports
› Accommodations
› Assistive technology
Paradigm Shift
Students with disabilities are
general education
students first.
• Raise the bar for students with disabilities
by using students’ current grade level standards to
develop IEP goals
•Use assessment data to do this
• Collaboration between all educators is
imperative
 More on Alignment…..
Aligning IEP goals with general ed curriculum can be
especially challenging when the gap between general
ed and the student’s current academic skills is large.
 What if students are not
performing at grade level?
Important to identify students’:
› Starting points/baseline
› Level of discrepancy with peers
› Grade-level goal
› Next steps

38
 IEP Goals

Present
level General
of ed
Performance E Expectations
 Writing High Quality IEP Goals
 Measurable
 Progress monitoring plan identified
 Goal is aligned to grade-level standard
 Objectives may be seen as stepping stones to the
goal
 Objectives can reflect student’s rate of progress
toward mastery of the goal
Parking Lot Questions

•How familiar are you with the progression of

standards?
•How do you use different assessments to
gauge your students’ progress toward goals?
•How can you efficiently identify your students
PLOP for the purpose of determining the
access point to a particular standard to then
write an IEP goal that is aligned to a standard.
Writing IEP Goals Aligned to
Standards
1. Identify a standard
2. Unpack the standard
3. Identify present levels of performance.
4. Develop a goal based on the student’s
PLOP and the grade level expectation(s)
5. Write short-term objectives and
benchmarks.
6. Develop a plan to monitor progress
toward goals.
 Identify a Standard
 Math, Measurement and Data, Grade 2
 Tell and write time from analog and digital
clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and
p.m.
 This standard could be referenced as 2.MD.7
Unpack the Standard
2.MD.7
Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the
nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.

Verbs Nouns Skills Needed

-Tell time -Time -Define analog
-Write time -Analog clocks -Define digital
-Digital clocks -Define a.m.
-5 minutes -Define p.m.
-a.m. -Count by 5’s
-p.m. -Tell time to the
hour and half hour
-Write time in the
correct format
I’ve unpacked the standard, now
what?
Look at the student’s PLOP
Given the student’s PLOP with
regard to the standard, what is the
student’s access point that could be
a focus for an IEP goal?

Given ten digital and ten analog

printed representations of clocks,
Johnny will identify the time on the
clock verbally and by writing the
time in the correct format to the
nearest five minutes with 16/20
correct responses in 4/5 trials.
Let’s try another standard…
Step 1: Identify a Standard
RL6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn.
 Unpack the Standard
Identify the Verbs Identify the Identify theSkills
Nouns Needed
-Cite -Textual evidence -Reading
-Support -Analysis comprehension
-Analyze -inferences -Draw inferences
-Cite specific
examples
-Cite details to
support inferences
-Analyze the text
Identify the 6th Grade Student’s
Starting Point/PLOP

RL.4.1 RL.5.1 RL.6.1

Refer to details and Quote accurately Cite textual
examples in a text from a text when evidence to support
when explaining explaining what the analysis of what the
what the text says text says explicitly text says explicitly
explicitly and when and when drawing as well as
drawing inferences inferences from the inferences drawn.
from the text. text.
Creating a Goal and Objectives
With the 4th grade level and the skill progression in
mind, an appropriate goal for this students may be
something like:
The student will identify sequential details in a text
with 90% accuracy 4/5 trials.

The objectives for this goal would move along how the
skill progression is outlined in the 4th grade to 5th grade
standard and then eventually the 5th to 6th grade one.
Let’s look at the SAME standard
but at the 9th/10th grade level
RL6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn.
RL9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to
support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn.

Identify the Identify the Identify the

Verbs Nouns Skills Needed
6th -Cite -Textual evidence -Reading comprehension
-Support -Analysis -Draw inferences
-Analyze -inferences -Cite specific examples
-Cite details to support
inferences
-Analyze the text
9th/10th -Cite -Explicit textual evidence -analyze the text
-Support -strong, thorough -identify explicit textual
-Analyze evidence evidence
-Analysis -cite evidence
-inferences -draw inferences
-support inference using
several pieces from the
text
-Provide varying degrees
of support (evidence)
Example of Goal:
9th Grade Student performing at the 6th
Grade level

In a small group setting, when reading a passage at

the independent reading level (6th grade), the student
will use both explicit and inferential information to
draw a comprehensive conclusion about the passage
and be able to identify explicit and inferential
information that leads to that conclusion with 75%
accuracy as measured by informal assessment.
Another example:
Notice the PLOP was found via assessment
data
Sue is a 4th grade student who enjoys school and works hard in class. At this
time, she has not yet mastered all addition
and subtraction facts through 20. For those facts she has mastered, Sue is able
to add with regrouping (3.1.C). She is
beginning to master multiplication facts with factors of 1, 2, 5, and 10 (3.2.E).
When using curriculum based measures of
these multiplication facts Sue achieves an average of 50% accuracy.
By end of 4th grade students are expected to be able to solve single- and
multi-step word problems involving multi-digit
multiplication (CCSS 4.OA.A.2). Currently, when given a teacher created
assessment of single- and multi-step
word problems involving multi-digit multiplication she was able to solve 0 of
15.
We’ve identified the student’s starting point,
the next step is to write a measurable goal.

 When given a teacher created assessment of

single- and multi-step word problems
involving multi-digit multiplication, Sue will
increase her accuracy from 0 of 15 correct to
10 of 15 correct over three consecutive
assessments (CCSS 4.OA.A.2) as measured
by curriculum based assessment.
 Progress Monitoring Plan
 How often will be progress be monitored?
 Who will do the monitoring?
 What assessment tool will be used?
 Who will analyze the data?

Remember: data should be used to drive instruction

 Connecting Standards to IEP Implementation
for students with
Significant Intellectual Disabilities

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Essential Elements were

developed to build a bridge between content in the NILS and
academic expectations for students with the most significant
intellectual disabilities

Essential Elements are specific statements of the content and

skills linked to NILS with grade level specific expectations.
DLM Essential Elements
and IEP Goals

NILS - RL.4.1 – Refer to details and examples in text when

explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text

Essential Elements - RL.4.1 - Use details from the text to recount what the
text says

IEP Goal: Given a content area passage orally read to the

Student, student will use communication device and give 2
factual details answering who, what, where, or when about the
passage with 100% accuracy 4 out of 5 trials by June, 2015 (EE.RL.4.1)
 Things to Remember
 Use CCSS as a foundation
 Strategies to implement IEP goals should be
related to CCSS
 Standard does not equal the goal
 Align the standard with the student’s grade level
regardless of the performance/instructional level
 Teach students the grade level standard at their
performance/instructional level
Parking Lot Questions

•Are you writing IEP goals that are measurable

and aligned to standards?
•Are your objectives stepping stones towards
mastery of the goal?
•Are you identifying a progress monitoring
plan that frequently assesses student progress?
•Are you using the progress monitoring data to
drive instruction?
Resources
ISBE Guidance Document
(Attached: Downloads and Additional Resources)

-IEP Quality Project Website

https://iepq.education.illinois.edu/
Thank you!

jjewell@wcsea.us
kfehr@wcsea.us