Developing Short-Term Instructional Objectives For Effective Implementation of Common Core State Standards

Standards-Based IEP Annual Goals Short-Term Instructional Objectives Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 2

A standards-based IEP is “a process and document that is framed by the State standards and that contains goals aligned with, and chosen to facilitate, the student’s achievement of State grade-level academic standards.” NASDSE Project Forum “Standards-based IEPs: Implementation in Selected States” (Ahearn, 2006) Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 3

Instruction (Skills Taught) General Curriculum (State Standards) Assessments (State Test) IEP Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 4

Describes the individual strengths and needs of the student in relation to accessing and mastering the general curriculum. The present level answers the question: “What is the student doing now?” Focus on needs that affect progress in the general education curriculum and ask…What prerequisite skills/knowledge does the student need to close the gap between his/her present level and the grade- level content standards? Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 5

Describe the skills the student demonstrates. Describe how the student performs compared to expectations in the general education curriculum (how wide is the gap). Describe the skills the student needs to learn this year in order to narrow/close the gap. Describe how the student performs in the classroom/school environment Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 6

Classroom assessments indicate that Jennifer can use details and examples to draw conclusions (R 4.3.4) from grade- level reading passages. She experiences difficulty synthesizing ideas from reading passages and drawing inferences (R 4.3). Jennifer’s difficulty with abstract reasoning may negatively impact her understanding and drawing inferences from text Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 7 Standards-Based Includes Assessment Includes Strengths and Weaknesses How Disability Impacts Learning Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

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Annual Goals Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 9

Statements that are observable and measurable based on a targeted standard linked to the grade level standard. Describes what the student can reasonably accomplish within a twelve month period Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 10

Identify student’s needs (academic and functional). Prioritize the student’s needs. Ask what are the main skill deficits keeping the student from being able to access and make progress in the general curriculum (accommodations, DI). Determine the standard that correlates with each prioritized need. Compare standard(s) with student’s areas of needs and the impact of the disability. Write the goal and corresponding objectives Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 11

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Ask Yourself…What is an STIO? Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 13

Short-Term Instructional Objectives (STIOs) Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 14

What are short-term instructional objectives? –Intermediate steps between the student’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and the measurable annual goal. –Short-term instructional objectives are the intermediate knowledge, skills and/or behaviors that must be learned for the student to reach the annual goal. –Short-term instructional objectives and benchmarks should be general indicators of progress that provide the basis to determine how well the student is progressing toward his or her annual goal and which serve as the basis for reporting to parents Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 15

Short-term instructional objectives are the intermediate knowledge and skills that must be learned in order for the student to reach the annual goal. Short-term instructional objectives break down the skills or steps necessary to accomplish an annual goal into discrete components Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 16

STIOs are useful components of an IEP by providing intermediate gauges of progress toward the overall goal. Students can have significant gains and the use of short- term objectives are an appropriate vehicle for monitoring not only the progress of the child, but also the effectiveness of specific strategies. STIOs can be used by the IEP Committee to gain adequate information for adapting or modifying strategies in a timely manner, thus allowing the student to make progress toward the annual goal Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 17

To outline intermediate steps between the child’s baseline data established in the PLAAFP and the annual goal. Key Question: What are the intermediate steps or major milestones needed to achieve the goal? Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 18

STIOs may be: –Sequential (crawl, then walk) or –Parallel (decode accurately and understand what is read) Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 19

In 36 instructional weeks using decoding skills and oral practice within a 3 rd grade passage, Joseph will read 70 words per minute with fewer than 10 errors. –By the end of the first nine weeks using decodable texts, Joseph will read and pronounce 30 frequently used words with 10 or fewer errors. –By the end of the first semester using decobable texts, Joseph will read and pronounce 60 frequently used words with 10 or fewer errors Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 20

By the end of the school year given a 4 th grade story prompt, Sue will write a three paragraph essay using transition words in sentences and between paragraphs with 5 or fewer errors. –In three instructional weeks with guided practice, Sue will correctly use transition words to connect simple and compound sentences with 75% accuracy Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 21

Short-term instructional objectives are written in the same manner as measurable annual goals. They are intermediate steps between the child's baseline data established in the PLAAFP and the measurable annual goal. Short-term instructional objectives break the goal into discrete components and are written in hierarchical order. They include the same components as the goal Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 22

Short-Term Instructional Objectives are intermediate steps which break annual goals into discrete, observable skill components. Like an annual goal, a short-term instructional objective consists of five components: Audience Behavior Circumstance Degree/Criterion Evaluation/Method of Measurement Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 23

STIOs must relate directly to the annual goal and provide a means of measuring progress toward the goal; however, they do not account for every skill or increment of instruction associated with the content standard. STIOs break down an annual goal into discrete skills that will help a student make progress toward achieving the annual goal (task analysis). STIOs are a logical breakdown of the major components of an annual goal Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 24

When written correctly, short-term instructional objectives provide teachers and parents with a roadmap and a clear mechanism to evaluate the child’s progress. Wright, P. and Wright, P. (2006). Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2 nd Edition. Hartfield, VA: Harbor House Law Press, Inc Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 25

Utilizing the content standard and PLP provided, develop an annual goal and identify STIOs Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 26

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Valecia Davis Division of Technical Assistance M. April Rice Division of Program Evaluation and Improvement Office of Special Education (601) Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal Operations/Office of Special Education 30