IEP data collection and Goal Writing
Andrew Childers

IEP Data Collection

• Data from Performance Tasks: Goals that are written to measure a student's performance on particular tasks can be measured and recorded by comparing the total number of tasks/probes and the correct number of tasks/probes. This can even work for reading accuracy: the child reads 109 of 120 words in a reading passage correctly: the child has read the passage with 91% accuracy.Other performance task IEP goals: Ex:John Pupil will correctly add 16 of 20 mixed two digit addition (with and without regrouping) problems in three of four consecutive trials.
• Data from specific tasks: When a goal includes the specific tasks a student should complete, those tasks should actually be in the data collection sheet. If it's math facts (John will correctly answer math facts for addition with sums from 0 to 10) the math facts should either be checked off, or a place should be created on the data sheet where you can write the facts that John got incorrect, in order to drive instruction. Ex: Donny Schoolkid will correctly read 80 percent of first grade Dolch High Frequency Words three of four consecutive trials. See a Data Sheet for this Goal.
• Discrete trial teaching: is the basic instructional technique used in Applied Behavior Analysis. Once a specific skill is identified and operationalized, there are several ways to record success. Since trials are generally multiple probes of since skills, when you collect data you want your data to reflect several things: Correct responses, Non-responses, Incorrect responses, and Prompted responses. Usually a goal is written in a way to name what each response will look like: Ex:"John will touch a letter from a field of three."
• Frequency Goals: This is a pretty straight forward measure. This form is a simple schedule with time blocks for each 30 minute period over a five day week. You simply need to make a tally mark for each time the student exhibits the target behavior. This form can be used to both create a baseline for your Functional Behavioral Analysis. There is space at the bottom of each day to make notes about the behavior: does it increase during the day? Are you seeing particularly long or difficult behaviors? Ex.Johnny Crackerjack will reduce self injurious head banging to fewer than three episodes per week over two consecutive weeks.
• Interval Goals: Interval Measures are used to observe declines in target behavior. They are also used to create a baseline, or pre-intervention data to indicate what a student did before an intervention is put into place. Ex: Colin Pupil will reduce self stimulatory behavior (hand flapping, foot tapping, tongue clicking) to fewer than 2 per hour interval as observed by staff, three of four consecutive trials.

Goal Writing

• Social Stories: Social Stories are a tool for teaching social skills to children with autism and related disabilities. Social stories provide an individual with accurate information about those situations that he may find difficult or confusing. The situation is described in detail and focus is given to a few key points: the important social cues, the events and reactions the individual might expect to occur in the situation, the actions and reactions that might be expected of him, and why. The goal of the story is to increase the individual’s understanding of, make him more comfortable in, and possibly suggest some appropriate responses for the situation in question
• Comic Strip Conversations: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have trouble interpreting social situations and understanding speech as quickly as most social interactions require. A comic strip conversation is a conversation between two or more people using simple illustrations in a comic strip format. They show children how to behave in a socially acceptable manner and conform to social standards. The effectiveness can be enhanced by incorporating a child's favorite cartoon character into the illustration.
• Social Scripting/ Computer Conversations: The use of social scripts can provide the child with visual information and strategies that will improve his understanding of various social situations. In addition, the Social scripts can teach the child appropriate behaviors to exhibit when he is engaged in varied social situations. The repetitious "reading" of the Social script makes this strategy effective for the child with Asperger's Syndrome.
• Story‐mapping: These activities basically walk the child through the process of any experience. This technique has been very successful when utilized consistently for introducing children with Autism to new activities and outings. For example if a child were to have a doctor’s appointment these activities basically walk the child through the process of visiting the doctor’s office. You can use photographs from the clinic, the elevator and the doctor's office to help prepare your child for what they will see and do on that day.
• Individual visual schedule: Visual schedule systems are an easy way to provide students with consistent cues about their daily activities. They provide a structure that allows a student to anticipate what will happen next, reduce anxiety by providing the student with a vision of his/her day and promote calmness between transitions. They are especially important for National Association of Special Education Teachers NASET | Examples of IEP Goals and Objectives ‐ Suggestions for Students with Autism 4 students who have a profile that includes difficulties with the understanding of oral language and directions

Implementation

• Implementing IEP data collecting will help grasp a better understanding of my student through tracking performance task, specific task, and discrete teaching. Goal writing could help my students feel comfortable with understanding what objective they need to complete through social stories or comic strips and use one of their favorite characters to get through to them increating effective classroom goals.