[blindkid] IEP Goals

Carlton Anne Cook Walker carltonwalker at gmail.com
Mon Aug 13 18:32:55 UTC 2012


Lynda,

In addition to Chantel's suggestions, here are some comments I have (in
bold):

Reading:

Given a 200 word passage of non-fiction text  *[In what medium --
uncontracted literary braille, contracted literary braille, Nemeth braille
(for scientific texts), ** enlarged print, auditory output**?]* at 7th
grade level *[How often?]*, Isaac will read it initially with a speed of
175 wpm *[Oral or silent? -- the numbers are quite different depending upon
the method used.]* with comprehension at 80% *[How will this be measured?
 Will there be a written or oral test of comprehension?  How many
questions?  Will the comprehension test assess facts or ideas -- in other
words, how much synthesis of the material is necessary to pass the
comprehension test, and is that level is proficiency reasonable, given the
cold, one-time read?]* in 2 consecutive trials within an 8 week period as
documented by the classroom teacher and recorded in the grade book.

Writing:

Given a list of topics *[What kinds of topics?  Age appropriate/seventh
grade topics?  Topics that are  How often?  In what format -- **uncontracted
literary braille, contracted literary braille, Nemeth braille (for
scientific texts), ** enlarged print, auditory output**?]*, Isaac will pick
one to research and write a five *[Exactly five?  What about a minimum of
five.]* paragraph *[How many sentences per paragraph?]* paper with three
resources *[Is there a type of reference that is approved?  Has Issac
received instruction in good versus poor resources?]* cited using
conventional guidelines *[What convention?  APA, MLA, etc.?  This needs to
be defined.]* for each of 2 consecutive 9 week time periods as documented
by the classroom teacher  *[Does the classroom teacher understand braille
well enough to do this?  Maybe we are looking only at the ink-print output
and don't care whether proper braille is used (for example, there are
braille rules that, if not followed, will not appear in an ink print
document BUT that indicate a deficit in braille understanding that needs to
be addressed  by the TVI).]* and recorded in the grade book. *[This goal
makes no reference to HOW Issac will write the paper (brailler, slate and
stylus, enlarged print, PDA/notetaker, QWERTY computer, etc.) OR to the
QUALITY of the paper produced (Are any writing conventions expected? Which
ones -- spelling, grammar, paragraphing, capitalization, underlining,
punctuation, **braille contractions used correctly, etc.?)  All of these
items need to be explicitly mentioned.  If necessary, conventions and level
of proficiency could be addressed by a rubric (which should be attached to
the IEP) and a minimum score on said rubric.]*

Math:

Given 3 word problems *[In what format -- uncontracted Nemeth Code,
contracted Nemeth Code,** enlarged print,** auditory output?]* in each of 5
trials *[How often are these trials to take place?]*, Isaac will use Nemeth
notation and variables to independently write an equation *[To what degree
of precision?  Are we looking at zero errors in notation?  in spacing? This
needs to be expressed explicitly.]*, create a table or graph *[If
appropriate]* to correctly solve *[This causes some concern because it is
also testing his mathematics computatio**nal skills, not just his Nemeth
skills.  If this is what is being tested, that's fine.  But understand that
multiple things are being included in this goal -- reading the word
problem, using Nemeth notation, spacing the Nemeth equation appropriately,
using correct variables, creating tables and/or graphs (and is this goal
grading him on the "correct" creation of a table or graph, and is there
such a thing when used solely for problem solving?), and, as noted above,
mathematical computation.]* all three problems in 4 out of the 5 trials as
documented by the classroom teacher *[Does the classroom teacher understand
Nemeth Code well enough to do this?]* and recorded in the grade book.


I know I seem nit-picky, but goals should be written in such a way that
ANYONE could pick up the goal and administer it.  If Issac were to transfer
to my district, I would have no idea how to implement this IEP.  I would
guess from the third goal that Issac can write in Nemeth Code, but nothing
in these goals indicates that he reads it.  The writing goal doesn't tell
me in what form I should expect the paper from Issac - and whether I need
to keep tabs on his use of braille writing rules.


Hope this helps,

Carlton

-- 
Carlton Anne Cook Walker
Attorney at Law
213 North First Street
McConnellsburg, PA    17233
Voice: 717-658-9894
Twitter: braillemom

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