 When determining eligibility for an Individualized Education Program (IEP), it's crucial to consider how trauma can significantly affect a student's learning and overall well-being. Understanding the connection between trauma and a student's qualification under the learning disability category is vital. This blog explores the key points that IEP teams should consider when trauma is a potential factor in a student's educational journey.
In wrapping up, let's remember that we're all in this together, working to ensure the best for our students. When it comes to the complex question of how trauma affects eligibility for an IEP, a compassionate and informed approach makes all the difference.
The journey may have its ups and downs, but with care and consideration, we can make a world of difference in their lives. Here's to supporting every student's unique needs, one IEP at a time! Happy Teaching! Miss Rae Related Blog...
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10/21/2023 0 Comments Demystifying Fluid Reasoning:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Key to Empowering Students with Learning Disabilities Unlocking the Potential: A Deep Dive into Fluid Reasoning and Tailored Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities. Explore the transformative power of Fluid Reasoning in enhancing problem-solving, its influence on reading and math skills, and uncover customized accommodations to support students. Dive into proven methodologies to optimize their educational journey today. In the realm of teaching students with learning disabilities, understanding the concept of Fluid Reasoning becomes paramount. This cognitive ability empowers students to think logically and solve challenges in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the depths of Fluid Reasoning, its impact on a student's cognitive development, its applications in the classroom, assessment methods, and strategies to accommodate and support students with lagging Fluid Reasoning skills. Understanding Fluid Reasoning: Fluid Reasoning embodies the capacity to apply logic and reasoning to uncharted territories, unburdened by prior experiences. It encompasses nonverbal, sequential, quantitative, and categorical reasoning. Consider a scenario where you face a new project demanding unfamiliar skills – this is where Fluid Reasoning comes into play. It equips individuals to recognize patterns and correlations among seemingly unrelated elements, enabling them to craft innovative solutions. Fluid Reasoning in the Classroom:
Assessment of Fluid Reasoning: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) employs Fluid Reasoning as one of its five components for assessing a child's intellectual capabilities. This assessment focuses on detecting the child's aptitude for recognizing underlying connections between visual elements, and their ability to apply reasoning consistently across novel situations. Impact on Reading and Math: Fluid Reasoning plays a noteworthy role in both reading and math. It aids in drawing general conclusions from specific information, which is pivotal for effective reading comprehension. Furthermore, its connection to mathematical activities spans across all age groups, highlighting its significance in grasping mathematical concepts. Effective Accommodations for Fluid Reasoning Challenges: Students grappling with Fluid Reasoning difficulties may exhibit struggles in pattern recognition, drawing conclusions, transferring skills, and comprehending cause-and-effect relationships. To support these students, consider these accommodations: Setting Accommodations: (These accommodations focus on a change in the student’s environment)
Presentation Accommodations: (These accommodations focus on how the information will be provided to the student)
Response Accommodations: (These accommodations focus on how the student will provide information)
Timing/Scheduling Accommodations: (These accommodations focus on altering time allocations or the schedule, such as a specific time of day, extra time, etc.)
Click HERE to download these accommodations now! Methodologies to Support Lagging Fluid Reasoning Skills:
Fluid Reasoning stands as a pivotal cornerstone in the educational journey of students with learning disabilities. As educators, by understanding the intricacies of Fluid Reasoning and employing effective strategies, we empower our students to surmount challenges and unlock their intellectual potential. Through tailored accommodations and dedicated methodologies, we create an inclusive and nurturing learning environment, fostering growth and success. Happy Teaching! Miss Rae Related Blogs...
 Related Resource...  Miss Rae's Room How to Write Special Education Progress Reports Special Education progress reports typically accompany a student’s report card, each time it is distributed during a school year. The purpose of the Special Education progress report is to report progress toward a student’s individualized IEP goals and objectives. But how do you write them? Easy! In 5 simple steps! 1- State what the student is currently working on… Jaden participates in the SPIRE reading program to support his decoding skills. Jaden recently completed the first level of the program, which includes short vowels, consonant digraphs, and diphthongs. 2-Report progress towards the goal… IEP Goal: By the end of the IEP period, Jaden will increase his reading level from a composite DIBELS score of 200 to 340 (or higher). As of January 2022, Jaden achieved a composite score of 315 on DIBELS. 3-Report progress towards each objective… IEP Objective: By the end of the IEP period, Jaden will be able to accurately decode phonetically regular CVC, CCVC, and CVCC words in text and in isolation in 4 out of 5 opportunities. Jaden can decode phonetically regular CVC words in text and in isolation in 4 out of 5 opportunities with automaticity. Jaden is able to decode phonetically regular CCVC words in text in 2 out of 5 opportunities and in lists 4 out of 5 opportunities. Jaden is able to decode phonetically regular CVCC words in text in 2 out of 5 opportunities and in lists 3 out of 5 opportunities. This data is based on texts read at Jaden’s independent reading level and word lists of 10 from the SPIRE reading program. 4-State how services were delivered… Services were delivered consistently. 5-State whether the student is expected to meet the annual goal by the end of the IEP... It is expected that Jaden will achieve his annual goal. If a student has met an annual goal early, we report that they met the goal and should call an IEP Team meeting to propose new goals or to propose to dismiss the goal area. If it is not expected that a student will meet their annual goal, an IEP Team meeting should also be called to discuss the reasons for this and to determine next steps. Let’s put it altogether…       Check out my Instagram to learn more of my tricks and tips for being a Special Education Teacher! Happy & Healthy Teaching! PEACE, Miss Rae Related blogs...
  10 Positive Affirmations for Special Education Students l Miss Rae's Room Affirmations are proven methods of self-improvement because of their ability to rewire our brains. Using positive affirmations with students can help us help students to keep focused on their inner goals and to calm their nervous systems to focus on social and academic success! Positive Affirmations are short positive statements targeted at a specific set of negative beliefs. "I can learn." "I matter." "I am safe." They are used to reprogram our subconscious minds, to encourage us to believe certain things about ourselves or about the world and our place within it. When we use affirmations with students, we are rewiring students' brains. We're teaching student brains a new way to think about the world. We are helping to change student brain processes, leading students to see different things and have different thoughts. We eliminate negative ways of thinking and essentially change a student's mindset so much that they get what it is you affirmed!  10 Positive Affirmations for Special Education Students l Miss Rae's Room And the benefits continue! Self-affirmation has been shown to have powerful effects on learning! Research suggests that it can minimize the anxiety, stress, and defensiveness associated with threats to our sense of self while keeping us open to the idea that there is room for improvement. You know-learning!  10 Positive Affirmations for Special Education Students l Miss Rae's Room Grab these affirmations +++40 more HERE!  And guess what? Affirmations are a great way to support Special Education Teachers too! Read more about using DAILY POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS for YOU HERE! Happy & Healthy Teaching! PEACE, Miss Rae Related Blog... Related Resource...  10 Positive Affirmations for Special Education Teachers l Miss Rae's Room Daily positive affirmations teach our teacher brains Sixty-one percent of the teachers said their work was always or often stressful. 58 percent of teachers described their mental health as “not good” for at least seven of the previous 30 days. Positive Affirmations are short positive statements targeted at a specific set of negative beliefs. They are used to reprogram our subconscious minds, to encourage us to believe certain things about ourselves or about the world and our place within it. Basically, they help to create the reality we want!  10 Positive Affirmations for Special Education Teachers l Miss Rae's Room Affirmations are proven methods of self-improvement because of their ability to rewire our brains. Using positive affirmations can help us to keep focused on our inner goals! Daily positive affirmations teach our teacher brains a new way to think about our teaching world! We eliminate negative ways of thinking and essentially change our teaching mindset!  10 Positive Affirmations for Special Education Teachers l Miss Rae's Room  And guess what? Affirmations are a great way to support your students too! Read more about using DAILY POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS with STUDENTS HERE! Happy & Healthy Teaching! PEACE, Miss Rae References: AFT, 2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey Related Blog... Related Resources...
 20 Special Education Words You Need to Know l Miss Rae's Room Special Education Teacher Blog       How to Write IEP Goals Using DIBELS l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog  To learn more about DIBELS and get the assessment materials, click HERE!  
 Check out the DIBELS benchmark goals to help you determine how far from grade level your student is by clicking HERE! 
 You might want to pause for a moment here and click HERE to read about how I choose my students' IEP goal areas AND click HERE to learn my formula for writing SMART IEP goals! Now, check out these examples of IEP goals using DIBELS! 
Happy & Healthy Teaching! PEACE, Miss Rae Related Tool for Teachers... Related Blogs...
How do I choose IEP goals for my students? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog
You did the assessments. You have the data. But how do you decide if the lagging skills should be a goal area, an accommodation, or a modification?
Let me tell you! Here's how I decide if a lagging skill should be a goal area, an accommodation, or a modification! I start by asking... What areas of the curriculum are impacted by the student's disability? Then, I go through each item I listed and ask... Can we put an accommodation or modification in place to remove this hurdle to the curriculum? OR Is this a hurdle that requires Specially Designed Instruction? Now, I review my list and... 1-Add accommodations to the IEP -be specific & choose appropriate accommodations for the student's disability 2-Hurdles that need Specially Designed Instruction are your goal areas! Example:
Hurdles: Fluency, Comprehension
Classroom Accommodation(s): Text to Speech for content area materials This Classroom Accommodation will support the student's ability to access the grade level material in the classroom, but this lagging skill also requires Specially Designed Instruction SO it may also need to be an IEP goal area, in this student's case. IEP GOAL: By the end of the IEP period, STUDENT will achieve a benchmark score of 16 (or higher) of the DIBELS' subtest MAZE. IEP OBJECTIVE: STUDENT will a score of 96 (or higher) on 3 consecutive administrations of the DIBELS' Oral Reading Fluency - Accuracy. 
Example:
Hurdles: Written Expression
Classroom Accommodation(s): Speech to Text, Exemplars of Writing Assignments, Word Banks for Content Area Vocabulary This student's evaluations demonstrated that the student had the skills in the area of Written Expression; however, the student was not always demonstrating these skills in the classroom. Based upon assessment and observation data, the Classroom Accommodations of Speech to Text, Exemplars of Writing Assignments, Word Banks for Content Area Vocabulary will support the student in overcoming the hurdle in the area of Written Expression. This student would not require Specially Designed Instruction in Written Expression so no IEP goal needed for Written Expression!
Click HERE to grab a pdf of this chart for your own teaching!
And once you choose your goal areas, check out my blog post on how to write SMART IEP goals! Happy & Healthy Teaching! PEACE, Miss Rae 
How do I choose IEP goals for my students? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog
Related Blogs...
 What does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog What does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers? Without data, you are just a teacher with an opinion. Am I right? So let’s start with the data! Research shows that... 30-60% of students will to read fluently via any reading approach 40-70% of students require explicit phonological awareness training and foundational skills instruction to read fluently 10-15% of students must receive a structured literacy-based approach Do you know what’s great about this data? Well, the Science of Reading tells us that a structured literacy-based approach is the best approach to teaching reading. And guess what? A structured literacy-based approach includes… explicit phonological awareness training and foundational skills instruction.  What does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog Seeing a connection between the Science of Reading and Special Education yet??? A structured literacy-based approach emphasizes highly explicit and systematic teaching of all important components of literacy, from decoding and encoding to reading comprehension and written expression. A structured literacy-based approach also emphasizes oral language abilities essential to literacy development, including phonemic awareness, sensitivity to speech sounds in oral language, and the ability to manipulate those sounds. Oh hey, Special Education Teachers, does this type of teaching sound familiar? This is exactly the type of instruction recommended for teaching students with Dyslexia! So what else does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers?  What does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog Well, the Science of Reading Says that advanced phonemic awareness skills are required for proficient reading. But teaching phonemic awareness in isolation is certainly not enough to remediate students with Dyslexia. Phoneme awareness does not naturally develop in children as spoken language does. Explicit instruction is necessary for most students, particularly for those with Dyslexia. But... Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when connected with letters in the context of a synthetic phonics approach. This instruction is called Synthetic Phonics. But what is Synthetic Phonics?  What does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog Synthetic phonics is a method of teaching where words are broken up into the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Students are taught how to break up words, or decode them, into individual sounds, and then blend all the way through the word. So what does the Science of Reading have to do with Special Education Teachers? It has everything to do with Special Education Teachers! Happy and Healthy Teaching! PEACE, Rae Related Blogs
A Quick & Easy 8 Step Formula
How to Write SMART IEP Goals: Easy to follow formula by Miss Rae's Room
Wait! Before you start reading this blog, if you have NOT chosen your goal areas yet, read THIS blog first!
Special Education Teachers love their jobs, right? Sure! We love working with students with disabilities, getting to teach them and watch them grow and achieve from our instruction. That is the best part of the job. But... we don't always love the paperwork. Do you do everything you can to avoid writing IEP goals? Copy papers... Offer to cover someone's recess duty... Actually take that bathroom break... Special Education Teachers will do anything we can to avoid the paperwork part. And we all dread it. Special education teachers groan and mumble that they have to go do it as they procrastinate by chatting with a fellow educator. Writing an IEP can feel downright overwhelming. But this does not have to be the way! IEP goal writing does not have to be stressful. It's actually quite simple once you get the hang of it - oh, and you obviously have the ever-important, all-knowing data! But that's easy for me to say as I sit here writing this blog and not an IEP. Confession time - I don't actually ever dread writing an IEP, and that is because I use my super simple SMART IEP Goal Formula. 
How to Write SMART IEP Goals: Easy to follow formula by Miss Rae's Room l Teaching Reading to Special Education Students Blog
Today, I am going to share with you this simple formula that will forever change the way you feel about writing IEP goals and objectives. After reading these steps and applying this formula to your own goal writing, I can promise that you will start saying how easy goal writing is.
And when other Special Educators are jealous of you, send them my way! 
How to Write SMART IEP Goals: Easy to follow formula by Miss Rae's Room l Teaching Reading to Special Education Students Blog
STEP ONE - Identify the goal areas
Start with the BIG picture!
What is the student's qualifying disability? Students qualify for Special Education services when they have a qualifying educational disability that impacts the student's ability to effectively make progress without the student receiving Specially Designed Instruction and/or related services like Speech or Occupational Therapy. Under IDEA, or AKA the Special Education law, there are 13 educational disability categories: -Specific Learning Disability -autism -deaf-blindness -deafness -emotional disturbance -hearing impairment -intellectual disability -multiple disabilities -orthopedic impairment -other health impairment -speech or language impairment -traumatic brain injury -visual impairment (Note: States can choose how they want to assign disability categories, as long as they cover all of the federal disability terms and definitions. You should check with your state mandates for their educational disability areas.) Once you have identified the educational disability that is impacting the ability of the student to make effective progress in the general education classroom, you must then ask the next question - What impact does the disability (or disabilities in some cases) have on the education of the student? The skill areas that you identify are most likely to be the goal areas. Let me explain! For example, let's say a student has been identified with a Specific Learning Disability in Reading. Specifically, the student's decoding skills are about 2 years below grade level. This causes the student to be unable to read grade level materials across all content areas. Evaluations have shown that the phonemic awareness and phonics skills of the student are lagging. While the student was unable to read grade level expectations on evaluations, the student demonstrated strong reading comprehension skills at their independent reading level. The student also has strong listening comprehension skills. However, we just said that the student cannot read grade level material because of their educational disability. So does this mean that the student needs a goal for Mathematics or Social Studies or Science? The simple answer here (based on our example) is no. The better question here is - can an accommodation be put in place to remove the hurdles of the curriculum for a student, allowing the student to independently access the grade level material? In looking at the example I gave you, the lagging skills of my fake student are in phonemic awareness and phonics. An accommodation of text to speech or access to audiobooks would allow the student to “read†the grade level material - independently! So, for this student, the goal areas would be phonemic awareness and phonics skills. ​You can read more about how I choose my goal areas HERE! Make sense? Okay, so our next step is to write the goal! For this step we will use the SMART acronym: SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-Oriented, Time-Bound SMART is a well-established mnemonic acronym that we can use to plan and achieve all kinds of goals, including IEP goals. STEP TWO - SMART = Specific
Specifically, what does the student need to achieve in order to improve the identified lagging skill areas?
First, think BIG, and then, narrow it down to the specific skill that is required! Look at that qualifying educational disability again. How is the disability impacting the ability of the student to access the general education curriculum? What standards or skills are required? Look at the student's current abilities - or present levels of data. What are the steps needed to achieve the grade level standards? What are the lagging skills needed to achieve the grade level standards? This will be your goal or goal areas! Remember our student example? We already identified the goal areas of phonemic awareness and phonics. For our purposes, we will just write the phonics goal. Here is the current performance of our student example: -Zoe is at a 2.5 grade level. This is her annual review. At this meeting, we will be writing her IEP for one year from now. -Zoe's score on the DIBELS subtest Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, was a score of 23, placing her in the strategic support range. -Zoe is able to read grade level high frequency words, based upon the Fry Sight Word Lists, with 95 percent accuracy. -On the Quick Phonics Screener, Zoe fell in the late first to early second grade level. Areas of weakness included words containing v-e syllables, words containing stable final syllables (i.e. /tion/, /ture/), and words containing long vowel teams (i.e. /ea/, /ai/) When IEP goals are Specific, they target the individual student's needs in the academic content areas and functional performance areas. These goals should be specific in their descriptions of the knowledge and skills that will be taught to the student and achieved by the student. SMART IEP Goal Step 2: Zoe will achieve grade level performance in the area of phonics. STEP THREE - SMART = Measurable
How will progress toward the goal be measured?
If my goal was that Zoe will improve her phonics skills, how will I know that she has improved? What curriculum-based measures will you utilize to assess progress towards the goals? This is one of the many reasons why progress monitoring is SO important. With continual progress monitoring, educators are able to pinpoint areas of weakness that are hindering progress towards goals. Once lagging skills have been identified, instruction can be provided to target those skills. With continued progress monitoring, it is the hope that each lagging skill will become an independently applied skill, and with each gained skill, a student will be one step closer to his/her goal. In our example, we expect Zoe to achieve grade level accuracy in the area of phonics. We know that she is currently not achieving this based upon her current performance: -Zoe's score on the DIBELS subtest Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, was a score of 23, placing her in the strategic support range. So when we look at what we expect Zoe to be able to achieve - achieve grade level accuracy in the area of phonics - we must ask ourselves how we will know that she has achieved this, or what measurement can we use to know that Zoe has achieved this goal? When we look at Zoe's current performance she achieved a score of 23 on the DIBELS subtest Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly. DIBELS is a reliable measurement tool so why reinvent the wheel? But now how do we know when Zoe has achieved grade level performance in phonics based on this measurement? We can use the measurement tools benchmarks! Most assessments already have these benchmarks set, and many of them have grade level equivalents. SMART IEP Goal Step 3: Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly. STEP FOUR - SMART = Achievable
This is our halfway mark in writing the goal. So this is where we need to pause and do some checking in. Does this goal represent progress that is realistic for this student to make?
So, here is our goal so far: Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly. In order to make sure this is a realistic goal for Zoe to be able to achieve, I want to first check in on her cognitive capacity - does Zoe have the cognitive ability to achieve this goal? Your school psychologist can help you with this if needed. Once I know that Zoe's cognitive profile does not inhibit her from making expected progress, I will need to determine how many steps Zoe will need to take from her current performance to achieve this goal. To do this, we review our current performance once again! In Zoe's case, an error analysis on her DIBELS and other assessments such as the Quick Phonic Screener will give us information on what is holding Zoe back from meeting grade level expectations. I would suggest looking at the 3 most recent assessments to see which errors are consistent across evaluations and holding her back. I will then compare the identified errors with a scope and sequence of instructional skills. For example, let's say my school uses the Fundations curriculum for phonics. I would look at Zoe's errors in comparison to this scope and sequence. What I would be looking for here is whether Zoe's identified errors will get her to the goal we set. During this process, I make a list of the steps that the student will need to make in order to achieve the goal. Think of these as expected benchmarks along the path to achievement of the goal. Lastly, I will return to the benchmark expectations of DIBELS. If Zoe's current performance score is a 23 on the subtest Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, will deliberate and explicit instruction of the identified errors result in Zoe achieving this goal? If yes, then we are good! If no, then, we may need to adjust our goal, but first, we should ask some questions. While Zoe's cognitive profile may not have shown any major red flags for not being able to achieve this goal, that does not mean that she does not need any accommodations to achieve it though! We want to specify under what conditions we will expect Zoe to achieve these results. Think - are there any hurdles to the curriculum goal that we would need to remove and replace with the assistance so Zoe is able to meet this goal? Think - in what context or setting will the skill be measured? Will Zoe participate in a small group? Will Zoe be provided staff support in the general education classroom for this goal? AND/OR What supports (if any) does the student need to achieve this goal? What supports will the student need to transition to independently accessing the general education grade level curriculum? Does the student need a graphic organizer? Adult support? Cues? In order to get Zoe closer to grade level, she will receive specialized instruction of lagging skills and strategies, increasing her ability to independently access the general education curriculum. Skill and strategy instruction will be required for Zoe to close the achievement gap AND learn how to function independently and successfully with Zoe's disability. By the end of this process, you will have a list of steps that the student will need to take in order to achieve this goal. Don't throw this list away! SMART IEP Goal Step 4: Given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly. STEP FIVE - SMART = Results-Oriented
What results do you expect the student to demonstrate to know mastery has been achieved?
IEP SMART goals should be results-oriented. We already determined a reliable and valid measurement tool. But let's say that Zoe meets her goal of a score of 40 on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly on Monday in September. That is awesome! Yay for Zoe! But do we just call a TEAM meeting for Tuesday to discuss Zoe meeting the goal? Well, not exactly. What accuracy toward the goal will be needed to demonstrate mastery? And does one time meeting this accuracy mean that the student has met the goal and is ready to move on? Our IEP SMART goal should be Results-Oriented in that it is focused on results and making sure those results stick! Our goal should ensure that the student met mastery of the identified goal. To make sure that our data is reliable and results-oriented, we can assess students multiple times. Consecutive (3 or more) administrations of the evaluation that yield the same (or greater) results are reliable and results-oriented. Important Note: IEP goals are not based on district curricula, state or district tests, or other external standards but rather, they are individualized for the specific needs of the student. IEP goals are not based on district curricula, state or district tests, or other external standards but rather, they are individualized for the specific needs of the student.
SMART IEP Goal Step 5:
Given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment. STEP SIX - SMART = Time-Bound
Every goal needs a target date. This gives us a deadline, which helps us to focus on priorities. A Time-Bound IEP SMART goal is one that has a defined beginning and end.
In what timeframe, will the student achieve this goal? Remember that this timeframe also needs to be realistic for the student. IEPs are typically written for a one year time period So 'by the end of the IEP cycle' is typically the answer to this question. If the IEP start date is going to be 4/1/2040, then, the goal can be set to be achieved by 4/1/2041. SMART IEP Goal Step 6: By the end of the IEP period, given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment. STEP SEVEN - Complete the IEP Goal Sentence Frame
Here is the evolution of our own example SMART goal:
S - Zoe will achieve grade level performance in the area of phonics. M - Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly. A - Given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly. R - Given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment. T - By the end of the IEP period, given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment. For our purposes today, I have created a goal that make sense in a sentence as we have been adding each step. But here are a few sentence frames options for SMART IEP goals: SMART IEP Sentence Frame #1:
How to Write SMART IEP Goals Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Special Education Students Blog
SMART IEP Goal Step Seven Example:
Zoe will improve her phonics skills by achieving a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, given direct instruction in a small group, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment by the end of the IEP period. SMART IEP Sentence Frame #2:
How to Write SMART IEP Goals Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Special Education Students Blog
SMART IEP Goal Step Seven Example:
By the end of the IEP period, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) in a small group setting as measured by the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment and given direct instruction SMART IEP Sentence Frame #3:
How to Write SMART IEP Goals Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Special Education Students Blog
SMART IEP Goal Step Seven Example:
By the end of the IEP period, given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) as measured by the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly and on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment. STEP EIGHT - Write the benchmark objectives
Now, it's time to write the objectives!
​ Think of the objectives as the stepping stones needed to achieve the goal! What specific skills are required for the student to achieve the goal? Hold up, wait a minute. Do you remember reading something very similar a few minutes ago? Well, you did! Remember that list that I said not to throw away in Step 4? Those are your objectives! Look at what Zoe needs to be able to achieve, based upon her current performance, to be able to achieve the goal we wrote: -Zoe will be able to decode words containing v-e syllables with 80 percent accuracy. -Zoe will be able to decode words containing stable final syllables (i.e. /tion/, /ture/) with 80 percent accuracy. -Zoe will be able to decode words containing long vowel teams (i.e. /ea/, /ai/) with 80 percent accuracy. Ta Da! And there you have it! An IEP SMART goal with SMART objectives that were a cinch to write!
SMART IEP Goal:
By the end of the IEP period, given direct instruction in a small group, Zoe will achieve a score of 40 (or greater) on the DIBELS subtest measure(s) of Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), Words Recoded Correctly, on at least 3 or more consecutive administrations of the assessment. Objectives: -Zoe will be able to decode words containing v-e syllables with 80 percent accuracy. -Zoe will be able to decode words containing stable final syllables (i.e. /tion/, /ture/) with 80 percent accuracy. -Zoe will be able to decode words containing long vowel teams (i.e. /ea/, /ai/) with 80 percent accuracy. Grab these steps in an easy to follow SMART IEP Goal Formula
SMART IEP Goal Formula by Miss Rae's Room
And for those really busy months, grab these pre-made Reading-focused IEP Goals.
IEP Goals & Objectives for Reading by Miss Rae's Room
SMART goal setting can be used in your instruction too! Start using goal setting with your students. And I mean this for both academic goals and IEP goals. Have your students set a goal for a reading test or for the number of words they will be able to read in a minute. But also have your students write their own IEP goals.
Partner with your students to write their IEP goals.
Partner with your students to write their IEP goals. Follow these same steps together to set student goals.
Students can present their own proposed IEP goals at IEP meetings. They can also do their own progress monitoring! SMART IEP goal setting can be used to further drive your instruction and student progress by applying it to student conferences. The data drives the goal setting, and when you conference with students, you can focus on goal development using data and reflection on the data, goal review, and goal achievement celebration. AND for an added bonus (and to take something off of your plate), students can present this data at parent-teacher conferences! IEP are roadmaps for students that should lead towards independence. The goals should provide the direction towards a state of independence!
IEP are roadmaps for students that should lead towards independence. The goals should provide the direction towards a state of independence!
~ By Miss Rae Related Blog...
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