IEP Case Study
Student: Tiffany Jones
Date of Birth: 3-25-96
Student ID #: 1212
Grade: 3
IEP Date: 1-5-04
Tiffany Jones is a third grade student at Wildwood Elementary School. She was first referred to the school Pupil Assistance Team (PAT). After reviewing reports from her classroom teacher and parents and doing classroom observations, the team recommended a referral for assessment for eligibility for special education services. She was determined to have a learning disability. This primarily affects her reading. She has grown increasing frustrated due to her inability to keep up with her class in the third grade reading book.
She performs at grade level in math and handwriting. She is able to spell most of the words in a second grade spelling text and can identify all letters. She knows most consonant sounds and the some vowel sounds. Her sight vocabulary is approximately 100 words. She reads on a second grade level.
She gets along well socially with her classmates and does not exhibit any major behavior problems, although occasionally she cries when she becomes frustrated during a reading lesson. These behaviors have increase in the past month.
Her family is concerned about her and have asked for help with ways they can assist her at home. English is the primary language spoken in the home.
Assessment Report Information:
Tiffany has passed the vision and hearing screening tests. She rarely misses school and a medical history report reveals no evidence of a physical problem.
Social Worker Report
Tiffany’s mother expressed her concern regarding Tiffany’s difficulties with reading. Although she used to be interested in books, she will no longer pick up a book to read. She enjoys being read to but becomes very defensive if she is asked about the story or asked if she would like to read to her younger sister. However, she often volunteers to help her sister with her math.
Mrs. Jones stated that when she or her husband offered to help Tiffany with her homework, she gives up quickly or refuses help completely by saying, “It doesn’t matter if you help me, because I can’t read anyway.” They are concerned about her self-image and self-confidence.
Mrs. Jones stated that she had a normal pregnancy with Tiffany and no complications during pregnancy. She was the first-born and has one sibling, a six year old sister. Appropriate developmental milestones were reached in motor and verbal skill development. Tiffany experienced the usual childhood diseases without complications. Mrs. Jones said her daughter has been very healthy since birth.
Psychological Report
Classroom Observation
Tiffany was observed in her third grade classroom on December 20 for an hour. Tiffany was participating in a reading group. Each child took turns reading orally and answering questions. When called upon to read, Tiffany made obvious omission and substitution errors of both single words and phrases. She correctly answered two out of five questions related to comprehension. While others in her group were working, Tiffany looked around and got out of her seat twice. During a 15 minute small reading group session, Tiffany was “off-task” a total of 9 minutes.
Intelligence Test
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised (WISC-R)
The results of Tiffany’s WISC-R performance show that she is functioning within the average range of intelligence. Her scores on the subtests varied considerably, with two subtests (Arithmetic and Picture Completion) above average. There was scatter among each of the verbal subtests and the performance subtests.
Within the verbal area, her numerical reasoning ability was above average and her general fund of information, as well as her concept formation ability were adequate. Tiffany’s ability to differentiate essential from non-essential details was very well developed.
Achievement Test
Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT)
Tiffany’s achievement test scores show that she is behind in the basic skill areas of reading recognition, reading comprehension, and spelling. Her performance was average in the areas of mathematics and general information.
Recommendations from results of Reading Assessments:
1. Tiffany’s reading program should include development of basic phonic and word attack skills.
2. Although one of Tiffany’s skills is word recognition, she is still below grade level and her program should continue to develop her sight vocabulary.
3. Tiffany’s program should incorporate visual and auditory materials when presenting directions and in teaching strategies.
4. As tiffany’s word attack and word recognition skills improve, further evaluation should be done in the area of reading comprehension.
Summary:
Tiffany currently is performing with a large discrepancy between her intellectual ability and her academic achievement. Her performance on a standardized individual achievement test shows she is at least a year below her present grade level in the basic academic areas of reading recognition, reading comprehension, and spelling. In the areas of mathematics and general information, Tiffany appears to be functioning well. She is also easily distracted in a classroom situation and is not attending well to her school work.
Further thoughts:
1. What if English was Tiffany’s second language? Would the goal be different? Why or why not?
2. What if Tiffany was hitting her classmates and refusing to do her classroom work? What else would be needed?
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