How to Read an IEP: New Jersey
Understanding Present Levels of Performance and Measurable Annual Goals
New Jersey IEP Guide: Present Levels of Academic Achievement & Functional Performance
What is the present levels section of an IEP?
This is one of the meatiest sections of the IEP! This is where the IEP team lists the students academic and functional levels of performance. This is where you start to get a sense of where the student is at– and this section sets up the goals. Like if a student has difficulty decoding, you would see it here– and then should see a goal about it later in the IEP.
Because IEPs are written on all areas of student need, present levels sections include information on the student’s physical, socioemotional, development, and communication baseline as well as on their academics. There is a lot of variation in how districts label the various parts of this section but in every single one you should learn about a student’s skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and their overall development. In most districts that means communication, motor skills, and socioemotional skills– but some districts jumble those together and so omit any areas where the student does not have a need. In California, that would have gotten you in trouble on a state audit but in New Hampshire it is pretty standard not to see anything about motor skills in an IEP– so there is some variation state by state.
Arizona, which combines this section with the student strengths, has a nice clean lay out for this section. Click read more to see how Arizona divided up this section in the sub-sections I talked about of communication, academics, and so on.
Now, take a look at this section of the IEP from the Fresno district in California. They too have a section for communication and motor skills, but academic and functional skills are one sub-section that also includes socioemotional stuff.
The IEP from Oregon has only two sub-boxes– one for academic performance and one for developmental and functional development. In NH (not shown), there are three boxes– one for academic performance, one for functional, and one for developmental– and no one really has a clue how to figure out what goes in the functional versus developmental boxes!
You can see that the amount of content in the boxes varies a lot as does their labels but somehow, every single IEP from every single district is trying to provide a holistic picture of the student’s skills.
The filled out examples on the left are helpful to look at to get a sense of how long this section can be– because when I say this is the meatiest section of the IEP, I mean it is the longest!
Where are the present levels in the IEP?
Typically, this is right after the student strengths section on the second or third page of the IEP. There are a few rebel districts that shift a lot of this information to the student goals section or hide it later in the IEP, but generally this is near the beginning of the IEP.
How do present levels sections of an IEP vary across states and districts?
Every single IEP has present levels of some form. They have to. Some include strengths in it, some don’t. Some divide them up by communication, academic, and so on. Some don’t. Some even put the present levels in the goals. But every district has them– and they should all cover similar content. The labels that districts use and the number of boxes does matter though– the boxes guide what folks write so you will see different emphases district to district with maybe a child’s motor present levels being addressed in one and glossed over in another based on whether there is a box that asks about motor skills specifically.
What does the IDEA law say about present levels?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act states that the IEP has to have a “statement of present levels of academic achievement and functional performance,” aka a PLAAFP. That means a statement of where the student is academically (aka reading, writing, and math) and functionally (communication, socioemotional, motor, etc).
What IDEA says in 34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(1)
(1) A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including—
(i) How the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general education curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for nondisabled children); or
(ii) For preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities;
This IEP comes from the Gloucester County school district. See the full IEP here.
Because the images are hard to read, a transcript is below.
PRESENT LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND CONSIDERATIONS WHEN DEVELOPING THE IEP
Initial or Most Recent Evaluations/Reports:
| Date | Evaluation/Report | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 09/18/2011 | Psychological Evaluation | Jonathan Full Scale IQ on the WISC-IV was 62 placing hi in the low range of intellectual functioning. |
| 09/15/2011 | Learning Evaluation Report | Educational achievement test scores were more than three grade levels below his current grade. Severe weaknesses persist in both language arts and math. |
Statewide and Districtwide Assessments Results:
| Date | Test | Subtest | Score/Type | Results/Outcome | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/18/2010 | NJ ASK6 – Mathematics | None | 46 (Raw Score), 64 (Scaled Score) | Partially Proficient | |
| 04/12/2010 | NJ ASK6 – Language Arts Literacy | None | 78 (Raw Score), 85 (Scaled Score) | Partially Proficient |
Standardized Test Results:
| Date | Test | Subtest | Score/Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/15/2011 | Wide Range Achievement Test-3 | Arithmetic (Numerical operations) | 33 Percentile | |
| Reading (Decoding) | 38 Percentile | |||
| Spelling | 31 Percentile | |||
| 09/18/2011 | Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – III | Full Scale | 71 Standard Score | |
| Performance | 73 Standard Score | |||
| Verbal | 70 Standard Score |
What do I look for in the IEP to know if it is good?
The present levels section should tell you what a student can do right now. That includes in reading. What level of text can they read? How is their decoding, fluency, comprehension? For areas where the student is working at grade level this might be as short as, “Juan is decoding and understanding tests at grade level according to classroom assessments.” Similarly, you should get useful information about the students’ knowledge of and skills in mathematics and writing. This should not just be test scores. It should be information that makes sense to a parent or a general education teacher. Jargon is a red flag. Often jargon and numbers means the case manager didn’t actually do assessments for the annual IEP– the numbers are often years out of date and a way to hide that no new assessments were done.
This section should also include more than academics. For example, there needs to be something in here about the student’s socioemotional well being and behaviors. If there are no concerns, awesome– it should say that. But in today’s world, how many kids with IEPs or kids in general are really totally fine? Not shy, not anxious, not disorganized at all? This section needs to include that information too– you want a complete picture of the student. If you don’t see that, then that’s a red flag.
Present levels also should include communication and motor skills information. If a student has concerns in these areas, those sections should be filled in by a SLP or OT or PT or APE teacher. If there are statements about concerns on any of those areas, that student should have services in those areas. If they don’t, that’s a red flag. If a student is in 5th grade and wiping out going down the stairs on the regular and that isn’t in the IEP, you want to know if a PT has screened the student. This is an area where you know you student/child– are all concerns reflected here and linked to services and goals? Or at least acknowledged with a note that there was a screening done?
Broadly, you need to see that all information in the present levels is current, intelligible to humans (not just numbers and jargon), reflective of the teams’ concerns, and linked to both goals and services. If there are a lot of concerns, you expect to see a lot of goals and services. If there aren’t a ton, then you expect to see that student on their own a lot in general education being successful.
When and how should I get help?
It depends on who you are. If you are a parent, you have the right to show the IEP to anyone you want to get their thoughts on it– and the right to bring someone who has “knowledge or special expertise regarding the child” to the IEP meeting. To learn more about parents’ rights in IEP, visit our page on the rights hidden inside district procedural safeguards.
If you are a teacher at the school and are worried about the quality of the IEP goals, feel out the case manager. If you hit resistance, try meeting with a service provider at the school an administrator, or a special education teacher that you are more comfortable with– but try the case manager first to get a sense of what is going on.
Here is what IDEA says in 34 C.F.R. § 300.321(a)(6) about bringing people to meetings:
‘‘(vi) at the discretion of the parent or the agency,
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and
What are the disclaimers?
This website is not a lawyer or an educational advocate. Nothing on this site is, nor is intended to be, legal advice. The information here is for informational purposes only.
If you are worried about your student or child’s IEP, please reach out to a real, live human.
Many law schools have free educational law clinics for special education. Many larger districts employ ombudsmen to bridge the gap between parents and schools. Many regions and states have parent centers that can help parents connect to other parents and find resources in their community. All of those are free, as is talking through the paperwork with a friend. Educational advocates are often paid professionals with special expertise who can also help. While we are happy to address general questions about the IDEA law or IEP process, please note that any communication via email is for informational purposes only and cannot be treated as legal advice. You can email questions to rose@spedhelper.org.
New Jersey IEP Guide: Measurable Annual Goals
What are the annual goals in an IEP?
This is one of the most, if not the most, important part of the IEP. This is where the IEP team lays out what the student will be working on with special education support over the next year. Generally, the goals written by the special education teacher fall into the reading, writing, math, and socioemotional buckets. So you might see a goal for reading comprehension, one for multivariable equations, and one for work completion or managing frustration. Related service providers, like speech and language pathologists or counselors, will also write their own goals so there might also be goals from them on communication, self-regulation, or other skills. Generally, looking at a student’s goals gives you the best sense of where the student is and the biggest thing the team thinks they need to work on.
Each goal will have two key parts– the goal itself, which should be measurable and easy to understand– and a baseline which says where a student is now. You might also see benchmarks, also known as objectives. These are ways to break down the goal for monitoring at report card intervals. Fun fact, if you didn’t know– special education teachers are responsible for reporting on each student’s progress towards each goal at report card intervals. So when you do report card (or they do, depending on the school), they are also writing narratives on every single goal. That’s one of the main reasons that special education teachers work to keep goals to a minimum– don’t assume that all of a student’s needs are covered by their goals. Instead, assume that the goals are the biggest needs and the special education teacher was refusing to do bonus paperwork for the lesser needs. In line with this, a lot of goals will also tell you how the parent will be notified of progress. Regardless of language, assume that when the report card goes home, parents are supposed to also get a goals’ progress narrative.
Where are the annual goals found in an IEP?
Goals are always after the present levels. In some districts, they are the last things in the IEPs. In others, they are in the middle, but they are always after the present levels.
How do goals vary across states and districts?
Every single district will have measurable annual goals and baselines. Some districts split up the baselines, like listing an academic and functional baseline. Some don’t. Some list the quarterly benchmarks in the IEP. Some don’t. Some districts use goal writing tools that write weird, generic goals. Some don’t. But because IEP goals are the heart of an IEP, every single district will have them– and will have the goal and the baseline in separate boxes.
What does the IDEA law say about goals?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal law behind special education, says that IEP goals have to be measurable, help the student move towards meeting grade level standards, meet the student’s other educational needs, and have benchmarks to ensure progress monitoring. The exact wording is below.
(i) A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to—
(A) Meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum; and
(B) Meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability;
(ii) For children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives;
(3) A description of—
(i) How the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals described in paragraph (2) of this section will be measured; and
(ii) When periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals (such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards) will be provided;
This IEP comes from the Gloucester County school district. See the full IEP here.
Because the images can be hard to read, a transcript is below.
ANNUAL MEASURABLE ACADEMIC AND/OR FUNCTIONAL GOALS
Area: READING
Goal: 1.
When presented with narrative text and/or specific informational text from Jonathan’s content area subjects on the end of the 4th grade level, Jonathan will answer questions about the text that test for understanding (e.g., asked to retell a story, indicate key ideas, identify specific details) with 8 out of 10 trials.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
1.1 When presented text, Jonathan will refer to details and examples when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
1.2 When presented text, Jonathan will determine the theme of a story or main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details, and summarize the text.
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 80% success | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
Area: WRITING
Goal: 2.
Given words selected by the teacher from his reading literature and content area subjects, Jonathan will spell them correctly upon request and in written assignments with 80% success.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
2.1 Jonathan will recognize and identify incorrect spelling in a given assignment.
2.2 Jonathan will use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words.
2.3 Jonathan will generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage > badge; boy > boil).
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 80% success | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
Area: WRITING
Goal: 3.
Jonathan will write an informational/explanatory text with facts, definitions and quotations to develop points, including text-supporting multimedia, linking words (e.g., another, for example, also, because) and to connect ideas, precise and domain-specific vocabulary, and a logical closing statement, all grouped within appropriate paragraphs and sections with 90% success with moderate assistance.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
3.1 Jonathan will write thesis statements which are grouped appropriately in paragraphs and sections, use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details and quotations to develop a point and provide closure to the text that clearly relates to the information presented.
3.2 Jonathan will use technology, print resources or original illustrations to provide images that support and enhance the text.
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 90% success with assistance | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
| 90% success with moderate assistance | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
Area: MATHEMATICS
Goal: 4.
Jonathan will demonstrate appropriate use of a calculator when presented with mathematical tasks with 90% success.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
4.1 Jonathan will be able to perform mathematical computations using a calculator.
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 90% success | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
Area: MATHEMATICS
Goal: 5.
Jonathan will write and interpret numerical expressions that record calculations with numbers with 80% success with moderate assistance.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
5.1 Jonathan will correctly translate simple verbal expressions into algebraic expressions.
5.2 When given an expression with parenthesis or brackets, Jonathan will solve it.
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 85% success with moderate assistance | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
Area: MATHEMATICS
Goal: 6.
Jonathan will solve numerical patterns using given rules and identify the relationships between the corresponding terms in the patterns with 85% success with moderate assistance.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
6.1 Jonathan will solve numerical patterns using given rules.
6.2 Jonathan will identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms in the numerical patterns.
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 85% success with moderate assistance | Teacher devised tests or worksheets |
Area: SPEECH / LANGUAGE
Goal: 7.
Jonathan will demonstrate language comprehension abilities in reading, social studies and science with 80% success.
Benchmarks or Short Term Objectives
7.1 Jonathan will continue to develop language concepts to support reading comprehension, science and social studies concepts.
| Criteria | Evaluation Procedure |
|---|---|
| 80% success | Portfolio materials |
What do I look for in the IEP to know if it is good?
So the big focus of this entire website is on how to write strong goals– that means that if you want a detailed answer to this question, click on the goals tab! But the short answer is that you want to see goals that make sense. You know your student or child. What are their biggest areas of need? IEP goals don’t cover everything– but whatever you think are the most pressing issues need to be in the goals. You also should see language that makes sense. You need to be able to read these and immediately know what the student needs to do and what they can do now. The goals drive special education supports so if they don’t make sense, it is likely the services your student/child receives won’t either.
When and how should I get help?
It depends on who you are. If you are a parent, you have the right to show the IEP to anyone you want to get their thoughts on it– and the right to bring someone who has “knowledge or special expertise regarding the child” to the IEP meeting. To learn more about parents’ rights in IEP, visit our page on the rights hidden inside district procedural safeguards.
If you are a teacher at the school and are worried about the quality of the IEP goals, feel out the case manager. If you hit resistance, try meeting with a service provider at the school an administrator, or a special education teacher that you are more comfortable with– but try the case manager first to get a sense of what is going on.
Here is what IDEA says in 34 C.F.R. § 300.321(a)(6) about bringing people to meetings:
‘‘(vi) at the discretion of the parent or the agency,
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and
What are the disclaimers?
This website is not a lawyer or an educational advocate. Nothing on this site is, nor is intended to be, legal advice. The information here is for informational purposes only.
If you are worried about your student or child’s IEP, please reach out to a real, live human.
Many law schools have free educational law clinics for special education. Many larger districts employ ombudsmen to bridge the gap between parents and schools. Many regions and states have parent centers that can help parents connect to other parents and find resources in their community. All of those are free, as is talking through the paperwork with a friend. Educational advocates are often paid professionals with special expertise who can also help. While we are happy to address general questions about the IDEA law or IEP process, please note that any communication via email is for informational purposes only and cannot be treated as legal advice. You can email questions to rose@spedhelper.org.
