Reevaluation Reports, the Data Review

I. Remember, there is a reason for writing an RR every 2 or 3 years:

The IEP team must decide if it has enough data to determine:

  1. The student’s educational needs;
  2. The present levels of academic achievement and related developmental needs of the student;
  3. Whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the student to meet the measurable annual goals in the IEP and to participate as appropriate in the general education curriculum; and whether the student continues to need special education and related services.

II. The first six boxes of the RR

Box 1. Physical condition, social, or cultural background, and adaptive behavior relevant to the student’s disability and need for special education:

Aspects of student’s life that impact current educational performance

-What is recognized educational disability? (cite ER)

-Are there any other disabilities diagnosed by outside agencies? (cite report)

-Any confirmed life events that impact education (medical conditions, social or behavior concerns). (cite source)

Comment on proficiency with English language and impact of that skill on learning.

Box 2. Evaluations and information provided by the parent (or documentation of LEA’s attempts to obtain parental input):

Any information from outside evaluations that have been conducted since the last RR/ER should be reviewed here. Diagnosis, school-relevant recommendations, and any other relevant information should be included in the review. There should be evaluations for all students involved with MH/MR and/or who have TSS/Moblie Therapy services.

Best to use a school or district-wide form for parental feedback, and include those results in this section.

If there is no information, list the THREE attempts to get information from the parent. Detail what the attempts were to reach parents (phone, email, certified mail) and the dates.

Box 3. Aptitude and achievement tests:

Testing results from ER and any other individually administered test (do not put 4Sight or PSSA in this section). Cognitive levels, Achievement levels in at least the area in which the student in classified (i.e., if classified as specific learning disability in basic reading, make sure basic reading scores are included). It does not hurt to include all the achievement levels. Any KTEA or other achievement results should also be included.

These levels are rather important in answering the three questions at the beginning of the RR, so don’t be afraid to ask the school psychologist or other to help explain what all the numbers in the ER mean.

Box 4. Current classroom based assessments and local and/or state assessments:

Assessment performance on tests and measures related to the disability should be reviewed. For example, if a student has an SLD in basic reading, what are his/her test scores in reading and ELA? If the student is OHI or MR, include scores from all academic areas. Rather than list each score, review and write out how they are doing (student is failing 35% of tests in English class). The more specific the better, so if the student is learning to decode words but still lacks fluency, demonstrate such through commentary on the assessment results.

PROGRESS MONITORING DATA!!!!!!!!!!!! For every goal in an IEP, progress toward that goal must be measured. This data should be reviewed in this section. Comment on the IEP goal and the students growth toward that goal. Be sure to comment on whether or not the student met the goal or is on track to meet the goal.

PSSA results that were not reported in the last ER/RR (so last two or three years, depending) should be included. Present these in a way that is easy to understand and also interpretable. It is best to present both the level (Below Basic, Basic, etc.) and the standard score (1040 or whatever). Many students remain in the same level over a number of years, but their standard scores actually improve.

Benchmark and/or Common Assessments should be referenced in this section. Multiple years of data can be used if needed.

All behavior assessment, including FBAs and the data collected as part of any behavior plan, should be included in this box. Treat the behavior concern in the same way you would treat a reading concern.

Box 4 is probably the most important part of the first half of the RR, but also the most different compared to previous requirements. Please ask for help in how to access this data, understand this data, and present this data if you need it.

Box 5. Observations by teacher(s) and related services provider(s), when appropriate:

This should include observations from different areas within the school, classroom teachers, related service providers (Speech/Language, etc.), school counselors, administrators, etc.

Observations should comment on areas of strength (computer skills, social skills, etc.) as well as areas of need (time on task, social skills, etc.).

Box 6. Teacher recommendations:

What strategies, instructional supports, SDIs have worked for the student? For example: student derived great benefit from the Read 180 program as is demonstrated in his reading progress monitoring data and 4Sight growth.

What other strategies, supports, SDIs might be helpful for the student (student appears to enjoy computer time, and thus, an incentive plan that uses computer time as a reward might be considered).

III. #7, DETERMINING FACTORS Check Yes or No

The point of this box (which should be checked No) is to demonstrate that any academic delay is not due to lack of instruction. When writing about reading and math, make the point that the student was taught with solid instruction and intervention. List the tools used for both (reading & math series or texts, intervention programs, etc.).

For Reading, list the research based interventions that have been used to supplement the curriculum and the specific area in which those interventions focus (example, student received Rewards program, a research based program that focuses on basic reading skills.). Also list the text or series used to teach reading, if applicable.

For Math, same as reading.

This section must be done for all students, not just SLD students.

STOP

With all of the information collected, the full IEP team including parent should meet and determine if there is enough information to answer the three questions at the top, 1) what are needs, )2 what are levels, and 3) what adjustments need to be made to reach IEP goals and be proficient with State Standards.

IV. One More Thing

Summarize Box’s 1 to 7 in the three areas for Strengths and Needs, performance in general ed curriculum, and recommendations. Save for some recommendations, all this information should come directly from earlier in the report.