Assessment, Eligibility, and IEP Development
Domain 2: Assessment, Eligibility, and IEP Development
This domain tests the evaluation-to-IEP cycle: pre-referral supports, comprehensive assessment, eligibility determination, present levels, annual goals, services, and transition planning. The exam favors defensible, team-based decisions grounded in multiple data sources.
Core rules
- Use multiple measures: standardized tests, curriculum-based measurement, observations, work samples, and parent/teacher reports. Never base eligibility on a single score.
- Assess in all areas of suspected disability, including academic, functional, and developmental domains.
- The IEP must include a PLAAFP (present levels of academic achievement and functional performance) that is specific and data-based. Goals flow from the PLAAFP.
- Annual goals must be measurable: condition, behavior, criterion, and timeframe. Progress monitoring must be stated.
- Transition planning is required by IDEA no later than age 16; Minnesota begins earlier. It must be based on age-appropriate transition assessments.
- The IEP team includes parents, general education teacher (when appropriate), special education teacher, LEA representative, and the student when appropriate.
Worked example
A student reads 40 words correct per minute (wcpm) on a grade-level passage; the class median is 90 wcpm. A weak goal is improve reading. A defensible goal is: Given a grade-level passage, the student will read 75 wcpm with 95% accuracy across 3 consecutive probes by May 15. Reasoning: baseline (40), target (75), condition, behavior, criterion, and timeframe are all present, and progress can be graphed.
Traps
- Writing goals that are not measurable or lack a baseline.
- Using one assessment to determine eligibility.
- Writing vague present levels such as below grade level.
- Forgetting transition assessment or student invitation.
- Treating the IEP as a lesson plan rather than a legal commitment.