Examining the
Relationship of Quality
IEPs to Student
Progress
A Reflective Process to Promote
Reasonable Calculations for Educational
Benefit
25 Industrial Park Road, Middletown, CT 06457-1520 ·
(860) 632-1485
Connecticut State Department of Education · Division of
Educational Programs and Services
January 27, 2006
What is “Educational Benefit”?
Determine with a Neighbor
What does this term mean to
you?
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What is Educational Benefit?
 Instruction that is reasonably
calculated to enable the child to
achieve passing marks and
advance from grade to grade
Judge Rehnquist
BOE v. Rowley decision, June 28,1982
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Educational Benefit
 Educational Benefit can be measured by…





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Passing marks
Advancement from grade to grade
Progress toward goals and objectives
Improved scores on district/statewide
assessments/ alternate assessment
Passing the high school exit exam
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IDEA ‘04
The IEP must include…
 “a statement of the special education and related
services and supplementary aids and services,…to
be provided to the child,…
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
to advance appropriately toward attaining
the annual goals;

to be involved in and make progress in the
general education curriculum … and to
participate in extracurricular and other
nonacademic activities…”
SERC
Section 614 (d)(1)(A)(i)(IV)
5
Focused Monitoring
 “The primary focus of Federal and
State monitoring activities…
 improving
educational results and
functional outcomes for all children
with disabilities”
Section 616 (a)(2)
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Why Procedural Compliance is Not
Enough?
“You can be in compliance
with all 755 required items
and not be achieving results
for students with disabilities.”
Alan Coulter
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Current Underlying Concept
 Compliance Consists of Two Interrelated
Elements:
Educational Procedures
+
Educational Benefit (Results)
BOE v. Rowley, decision, June 28, 1982
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www.hdc.lsuhsc.edu
8
How is Educational Benefit
Obtained?
“instruction… should be
reasonably calculated to enable
the child to achieve passing marks
and advance from grade to grade”
Judge Rehnquist
BOE v. Rowley decision, June 28,1982
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Assessing for
Educational Benefit
A Process for Districts to Examine IEPs
Educational Benefit Analysis
 Reviewing IEP documentation for a 3-year
cycle
 Analyzing the relationship among needs,
goals, and services
 Comparing progress across annuals
 Looking for patterns in the planning process
 Discussing if the IEP was reasonably planned
to result in educational benefit
 Reviewing the child’s progress
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Steps for the Process
 STEP 1
Chart what is recorded in the IEPs about
needs, goals and objectives, services and
progress.
 STEP 2
Analyze the needs, goals and services within
each IEP for alignment.
 STEP 3
Compare across each IEP to determine
progression of progress (or lack of progress).
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STEP 1
 Jigsaw the documentation of each IEP
 Look for…
 Present
Level of Performance (p 3)
 Goals & Objectives, Accommodations &
Modifications (pp 4 & 8)
 Services (p 5)
 Progress made on annual goals (p 4)
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STEP 1
 For each IEP

Record what is written on the IEP.
 Information must be present in the IEP
 Information is verbatim as much as possible
 Short-hand and abbreviations are ok, but
paraphrasing or summarizing is not

Color Coded
 Green- what is written in IEP


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Blue-strengths
Red-supporting documents (psy. evals)
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Present
Levels
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Domain
Services
Progress
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Present
Level
Services
Progress
Present
Levels
Concerns
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Concerns
Progress
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
comp of
read
material
from 3.2 to
5.0
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Given
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
Services
Progress
Goals, Objectives,
Accommodations,
& Modifications
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
comp of
read
material
from 3.2 to
5.0
Learning
center
3.75
hrs/wk
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Service
Given
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
Progress
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Progress
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
comp of
read
material
from 3.2 to
5.0
Learning
center
3.75
hrs/wk
S
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Progress
Given
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
S
S
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Progress
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
comp of
read
material
from 3.2 to
5.0
Learning
center
3.75
hrs/wk
S
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Given
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
S
S
STEP 2
 For each IEP
 The
group will determine the alignment
between each component
 The recorder will draw circles and
arrows to show alignment
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Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Progress
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
comp of
read
material
from 3.2 to
5.0
Learning
center
3.75
hrs/wk
S
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Given
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
S
S
STEP 3
 Comparing each IEP
 The
group will determine if there was a
change from the previous IEP to the
next IEP
 The recorder will note the changes
using 0, +, or –
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Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
Learning
comp of
center
o No change3.75
from prior
read
year
material
hrs/wk
+ Increased
complexity
from
3.2 to
5.0 or progress
- Given
Decreased complexity
passage
or progress
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
Services
Progress
Present
Levels
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Progress
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Comp. is
sig. below
grade
level
Improve
comp of
read
material
from 3.2 to
5.0
Learning
center
3.75
hrs/wk
S
+
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Given
passage
KTEA Reading 2.1 G.E.
state 2
Oral Readingdetails
Inventory
2.5 G.E.
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
S
S
Present
Levels
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning
Comp. is center
sig. below
sig. below
comp of
grade
read grade level
3.75
level
material
hrs/wk
from 3.2 to
5.0
+
Given
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
Progress
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning
Academic/
sig. below
comp of
Cognitive
+ center
grade
read
3.75
Language
level
material
hrs/wk
Arts:
Improve comp of
from 3.2 to
read material from
5.0
+
KTEA
2.5 to 4.0
Given
Reading
passage
3.4 G.E.
state 2
Oral
details
Reading
Given
Inventory
passage
3.2 G.E.
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
Progress
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning
sig. below
comp of
+ center
grade
read
3.75
level
material
hrs/wk
from 3.2 to
5.0
+
KTEA
Given passage state
Given
Reading
O
2 details
passage
3.4 G.E.
state 2
Oral
details
Reading
Given
Inventory
passage
3.2 G.E.
ans
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
Progress
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning
sig. below
comp of
+ center
grade
read
3.75
level
material
hrs/wk
from 3.2 to
5.0
+
Given
O
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
Given
3.2
G.E.passage ans
correctly 6/6 W
quest
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
-
Progress
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning O
sig. below
comp of
+ center
grade
read
3.75
level Learning
material
hrs/wk
center
from 3.2 to
3.75 hrs/wk
5.0
+
Given
O
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
-
Progress
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning O
sig. below
comp of
+ center
grade
read
3.75
level
material
hrs/wk
from 3.2 to
5.0
+
Given
O
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
-
Progress
S
S
S
Present
Levels
Academic/
Cognitive
Language
Arts:
KTEA
Reading
3.4 G.E.
Oral
Reading
Inventory
3.2 G.E.
Concerns
Goals/
Objectives
Services
Comp. is O Improve
Learning O
sig. below
comp of
+ center
grade
read
3.75
level
material
hrs/wk
from 3.2 to
5.0
+
Given
O
passage
state 2
details
Given
passage
ans
correctl
y 5/6 W
quest
-
Progress
S
S
S
Keeping Track
∆
+
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