Does a student working on extended standards have to take the Alabama Alternate?
Yes. Students must take the assessment that corresponds to the standards being taught. If the student is being taught extended standards, they take the AAA. Students taught general education standards take the general education assessments for their grade of enrollment.

 

What academic IEP goals are required for students working on extended standards?
For Kindergarten through twelfth grade, IEP goals are required in the content areas of reading, math, science, social studies, and language arts.

 

Are goals in all five content areas also required for students who take regular state?
No. Students who take the regular state assessment and who are following the general education Course of Study must have goals for the academic content areas the IEP Team has identified as areas of need.

 

Is one goal for each extended standard required?
No. A goal is not required for each extended standard. The IEP Team decides how to address the student’s needs and how many goals to write. There must be goals for each content area, but there is no requirement for one goal for each extended standard.

 

If an IEP spans two grades, should standards from both grades be cited?
The IEP must include goals, special education and related services identified for the duration of the IEP. If the IEP covers two grades, the extended standards for both grades would be included. Remember that all students must be taught grade-level extended standards.

 

Is it okay to combine two standards into one goal?
If the extended standards relate to each other, it could be appropriate to combine two standards into one goal. For example, a goal that addresses reading in the content area of science could be developed in such a way to include both reading skills and science content in the same goal. It would not, however, make sense to put multiple standards into one goal if the standards don’t relate to each other in some way, other than being from the same subject area. Although related extended standards may be combined for IEP goals and for instruction, each standard is assessed separately on the AAA. Therefore, for state assessments, evidence must be gathered on each standard in all content areas being tested according to the student’s grade of enrollment.

 

Can the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance be the same?
No. Each Present Level must address the student’s current strengths and needs as they relate to the goal under development and the extended standards being considered by the IEP Team. Some strengths and/or needs may relate to more than one goal, therefore Present Levels may have some common information, but should not be the same from goal to goal.

 

If a AAA student is included in general education classes for science should the IEP be based on the Alabama Extended Standards?
Academic goals for AAA students must be based on the Alabama Extended Standards. Students taking the AAA must be taught grade-level extended standards regardless of whether their LRE is the general education class or a special education class. It is permissible, however, for AAA students who are included in general education classes to have academic goals based on extended standards along with other academic content identified by the IEP Team.

 

How do you write IEP goals for language arts and social studies?
The IEP Team should use the Alabama Course of Study for the student’s grade of enrollment and develop goals based on the content, but at a lower level of complexity.

 

How are functional skills addressed in the IEP?
It is most efficient to blend functional skills with academic skills. In other words, functional skills can be taught to some students along with academic skills. Some functional skills, however, will need to be taught separately. Students should have opportunities to practice functional skills during academic instruction.

 

Are benchmarks required for students who take the AAA?
Yes. IDEA requires benchmarks or short term objectives for students who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. This means students who take the AAA will have benchmarks for their IEP goals. Benchmarks indicate the interim steps a student will take to reach an annual goal. They also serve as a measurement gauge to monitor a student’s progress and determine if the child is making sufficient progress towards attaining an annual goal (NICHY, Building the Legacy: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 2004). Benchmarks for AAA students describe (a) intermediate steps that the student will take to reach the goal and/or (b) smaller steps of progress the student is expected to make toward the goal within specified segments of the year.

 

Do all students have to attempt the extended standards at complexity 3?
No. Complexity 3 is the same as the extended standard. Always begin by considering complexity 3. If the student is unable to work at complexity 3, consider complexity 2, then 1. Complexity 4 should be considered for any student who has achieved complexity 3 or above. The extended standards were developed at four levels of complexity to provide all students the opportunity to progress toward state standards while beginning at each student’s present level of performance. The IEP Team should discuss the student’s strengths and needs in relation to the extended standards for each subject and base the level of complexity on the student’s present level of performance.

 

What is the required academic content for students with significant cognitive disabilities?
After twelfth grade, when students stay in school to age 21, the IEP Team determines the reading and math content that can be used to address the student’s transition from high school to adult life. This selected reading and math content might be from the extended standards or it might be content not included in the extended standards. The IEP Team addresses reading and math content in the context of preparing the student for adult life and the post school outcomes of work and/or independent living.

 

What alternate assessment is used in place of the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing?
Most students, including students with significant cognitive disabilities, take the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing. If the IEP Team determines a student with a significant cognitive disability is unable to participate in the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing, the writing portion of the Brigance Inventory of Early Development (i.e., the Yellow Brigance) is used as an alternate.

The OWLS Written Expression (WE) Scale or the Test of Written Language (TOWL) may be used in rare instances as an alternate for students with disabilities who are unable to participate in the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing for reasons other than having a significant cognitive disability.

The Yellow Brigance is the only alternate writing assessment appropriate for measuring the prewriting skills of students with significant cognitive disabilities who are unable to take the regular state assessment.

 

May students working on extended standards use assistive technology?
Any student that qualifies for services under the IDEA is entitled to assistive technology if it is needed to assist the student in benefiting from special education.

 

Do students who are receiving Speech/Language services in the area of articulation need to?
Yes. Articulation goals should be related to academic standards in areas such as reading and language arts.

 

Why are the extended standards for the student’s grade of enrollment required?
NCLB requires students to be tested on grade-level general education standards or alternate achievement standards (extended standards) that are linked to the grade-level general education standards. The AAA is based on a body of evidence created with documentation of student performance on the extended standards. Teachers must teach and gather evidence on the grade level extended standards in order to test the grade-level extended standards.

 

Can students work at different complexities?
Yes. Students can work at different complexities on different standards. Students cannot, however, work at different complexities within a standard. All three pieces of evidence collected for a given standard must be from the same complexity.

 

What academic goals are required for students with disabilities?
All five core content areas (math, reading, science, social studies, and English/language arts);
After twelfth grade, when students stay in school to age 21, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team determines the reading and mathematics content that can be used to address the student’s transition from high school to adult life. This selected reading and mathematics content might be from the extended standards or it might be content not included in the extended standards. The IEP Team addresses reading and mathematics content in the context of preparing the student for adult life and the post school outcomes of work and/or independent living; In addition to academic goals, any other areas of need (e.g., behavior, self-help, communication, motor); and Transition goals for students age 16, or younger if appropriate.

 

What academic goals are required for students who are struggling in school, but who are not below grade level academically (e.g., students identified with emotional disability, orthopedic impairment or other health impairment)?
N/A, students who are not below grade level academically would not be taking the Alabama Alternate Assessment (AAA).

 

What grade level should be used for developing academic IEP goal(s)?
Goals based on extended standards in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science must be based on the student’s grade level of enrollment. There is some grade-level flexibility for academic goals based on the Alabama Course of Study Standards. Alabama does not have extended standards for social studies or English/language arts. For these academic areas the IEP Team should use the format from the extended standards to develop IEP goals. This involves looking at the course of study for the student’s grade of enrollment, or one or two years back, and developing goal(s) related to the content, but at a much lower complexity than what is presented in the general education course of study.

 

How can students be supported in general education classrooms?
Each student with a significant cognitive disability who is included in general education classroom(s) should be supported according to his or her needs. For example, some may need a paraeducator to provide support; some may need co-teaching; and some may need co-planning. The Alabama Extended Standards are the required course of study for students who take the AAA. When students working toward extended standards are included in general education classes for reading, mathematics, or science it is up to the special education case manager to ensure the extended standards are taught and the AAA evidence is collected. This does not mean the special education teacher must teach the extended standards. It is means the case manager must make sure the instruction and the documentation of mastery occurs.

 

How many goals are needed for each student?
The number of goals for all students, including those working toward Alabama Extended Standards, must be based on individual need.

** PLEASE NOTE:

It is problematic when there is an entire class, school and/or LEA where all students have only one (1) goal per subject. This type of trend in the number of goals is an indication students are not receiving individualized programs, as required by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Teachers may choose to write a goal for each extended standard in Reading, Mathematics and Science, although that is not required by the Alabama State Department of Education. An appropriate approach would be to prioritize the extended standards that will be used for writing goals by evaluating the student’s present level of performance and identifying the standards that will take the most effort and time to teach. For example, if there are five extended standards for a certain subject/grade, an IEP Team might pick the two or three standards that the student needs the most instruction to master to be addressed through goals. The IEP Team must make certain the number and variety of goals provides the student a free appropriate public education.

 

What should be included in IEP goals?
Who, Time Frame, Conditions, Behavior, and Criterion are the five components that are required in IEP goals.

**PLEASE NOTE:

Copying and pasting standards into the goal is not individualized and places the LEA in a very vulnerable litigious situation. In order for academic goals to be individualized, the present level and the goal must reflect specific information from the standards that the student can or cannot do. For instance extended standard M. ES 4.2: identify coins and their value including penny, nickel, dime, and quarter, requires the student to do eight different things. The present level might say the student: (a) can identify a quarter and a penny, but not a dime and nickel, (b) does not know the value of the quarter, dime, nickel, or penny, and (c) has low attention span and difficulty with comprehension. The goal will include the Who, Time Frame, Conditions, Behavior, and Criterion for the parts the student cannot do: identify dime and nickel, and identify the value of all four coins.

 

Which students are required to have benchmarks?
Benchmarks are required for students who take alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (i.e., the Alabama Alternate Assessment).

As used in this part, the term individualized education program or IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with Sec. Sec. 300.320 through 300.324, and that must include–

(ii) For children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives; §300.320(a)(2)(ii) Benchmarks break the measurable annual goal into discrete components that are short-term, measurable, intermediate steps or break the measurable annual goal into major milestones that the student is expected to reach within a specified period of time.

Benchmarks are required for all goals for students who take the AAA. This includes academic goals and functional goals, regardless of whether it is a testing year or not. There must be at least two benchmarks per goal.

 

What are interventions and why are they strongly suggested for students who are performing substantially below grade level on general education standards?
An intervention is an educational program, product, practice, or policy aimed at improving student outcomes www.ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc. Depending on a child’s age and challenges, evidence-based interventions are available to focus on specific areas of need.

Both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) require that schools use programs, curricula, and practices based on “scientifically-based research” “to the extent practicable.” This means that whenever possible, the educational interventions being used must be strongly supported by evidence from well-conducted research studies (National Parent Technical Assistance Center, 2011).

Teachers need to be armed with “evidence-based” programs, products, practices and policies that have been proven effective in improving outcomes for students with disabilities.

There are a few intervention programs for teaching reading and mathematics to students with moderate and severe disabilities. In addition, there are books with evidence-based strategies for teaching reading and mathematics to students with moderate and severe disabilities.

 

How should mastery for students with disabilities be addressed?
All pieces of evidence submitted for the AAA should show that the student has achieved mastery on the extended standard rather than demonstrate increments of progress toward the standard. When a student struggles to show mastery of an extended standard a different activity or a lower complexity should be considered.

 

Should the standard the student is working toward or the lower grade-level standard (if a lower grade-level standard has been chosen) be cited when referencing the standard in the goal?
Alabama Extended Standards for the grade level of enrollment must be used and those are the citations that would be used, including the extended standard number and the complexity.