Measurable goals on an IEP

[tridlette]

I am kinda new to IEP's on the special ed. side. I am baffled by this.

I just opened up the mail... Michael's IEP for special ed. They point out repeatedly that he has an IQ of 138, and has proficiency in math and reading beyond high school level. We know he has a very slow processing speed, and therefore the gap between potential ability and actual success is HUGE! He isn't passing his gifted ed. classes, so we want to give him remedial help.

Here is the "measurable annual goal":
Michael will seek assistance from the Itinerant teacher to maintain satisfactory grades within the general curriculum.

How is that measurable? He is expected to achieve 80% of that goal. how? define 80% please.

1st short term objective/benchmark is "Michael will notify his classroom teachers to assist with mainstream classes."
Expected level of achievement: 80%
Method of evaluation: report card grades, monitor progress in general curriculum.


2nd short term objective/benchmark: "He will record daily assignments in his agenda"
Expected level of achievement: 80%
Method of evaluation: Periodic checks by itinerant teacher.

The final part of the page says:

How goals will be measured: Monitor progress in general curriculum, report card grades.
How goals will be reported: IEP prgress reports, preport card grades.

Goal Specific Specially Designed Instruction: Monitor progress in general curriculum. (is this really suppose to pass as specially designed instruction?)

THAT IS HIS IEP. That is it. All of it.

I don't see where we accomplished ANYTHING except generating a lot of paper work for me to file.

Can anyone tell me what I am missing, what I should be expecting, or demanding that is more specific? I thought that a measurable goal would be measurable.

And I thought that instruction would be designed SPECIFICALLY for him and his needs.

I FEEL DUMB! WHAT AM I MISSING?

[mothercat]

I feel dumber than you ..the last time Jared had an IEP they said at an IQ of 129 he didn't qualify for help and if he couldn't write to either teach him at home or let him type...that was the whole IT..no one ever said a word about goals or anything like that they also said tat he couldn't have another IEP for three years...that was why we got the 504 ...which they said was just a waste of paper. Atleast he gets more with it...like using his quick pad but there is still little if any monitoring.
You know I have thought many many times about homeschooling and the benefits but the expense was more than we could afford ... I have wished we could have many times. Oh well. Two more years.
When you find out tell me too! ;D

[savvymom1]

I don't have it in front of me, so I'm depending on recall here--my dd 8th grade has an LD in math and in reading comprehension. She is an excellent speller and has a good vocabulary, but often cannot understand what she reads.

I think we have a more detailed plan than you guys do. At least the semester review is broken into many more areas. They all mention the special support staff as a means for achieving goals. She is allowed to recognize when she needs help and to seek it out. Luckily she often does this.

Her IEP is broken down in to several different parts. She recently brought home a recap of last semester's goals;
1. Math; there are four areas the plan concentrates on and she made an S (for satisfactory) on all four.
2. Reading comp.- again four areas of improvement are outlined and the recent report said she has all S's.
3. The last category is for behaviors. This is one I really like to keep tabs on. Specific goals are mentioned (not saying inappropriate things to teachers or classmates, etc.) She is doing OK in this area too.

On the one hand, this sounds encouraging. On the other, I think there is so much room for more improvement. I don't know if our more detailed report is really telling us more than you know about your child. At least it makes me feel like they are aware of goals and are trying to achieve them.

Hang in there. Perhaps you can request a more detailed plan. Tell them this is too vague and general. Surely they will be helpful. Good luck!

Judy