A goal says: "given a grade-level passage, the student will answer 4 of 5 comprehension questions in three of four weekly checks." The data sheet says: "Comp: good." One of those can be reported to a family and compared with last quarter. The other cannot.
The difference is whether the sheet was built from the goal. This guide shows how to do that for the common types of goals.
Start from the goal
The IEP has to state measurable annual goals and how progress toward them will be measured, and when the family will get periodic reports. So each goal already contains instructions for the data sheet. Read the goal and underline four things:
- The behavior. What the student will do.
- The level. How well, how often, how independently.
- The condition. The task, material, or setting.
- The schedule. How often you will measure it and by when the goal should be met.
The sheet should have a column or field for each of those.
Match the layout to the measure
| What the goal measures | What to record | A layout that works | A common slip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy on trials | Correct and total trials, cue level | One row per session with columns for correct, total, and cue | Recording only a percent |
| How often something happens | A count for a fixed period | A tally box and the length of the observation | Comparing counts from observations of different lengths |
| How long something lasts | Start and stop times | One row per episode with duration | Estimating instead of timing |
| How quickly the student starts | Time between the cue and the response | Latency in seconds per trial | Mixing in prompts that restart the clock |
| How independent the student is | Level of prompting for each opportunity | A prompt key, such as independent, gesture, verbal, physical, with a code per trial | Changing the key between sessions |
| Quality on a scale | A rating against a described rubric | The rubric printed on the sheet, with the score and the date | Using the scale without a written description of each level |
| Whether a skill appears in natural settings | Opportunities observed and times used | A short observation checklist with settings | Counting only the best session |
A worked example
Goal: "In structured language tasks, the student will use past-tense verbs correctly in 8 of 10 opportunities for three consecutive weekly checks, with no more than one cue."
| Date | Task | Correct | Total | Cue level | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 12 | Picture description | 4 | 10 | Verbal x4 | Baseline probe |
| Sept 19 | Picture description | 5 | 10 | Verbal x3 | |
| Sept 26 | Story retell | 6 | 10 | Verbal x2 | New task type |
| Oct 3 | Picture description | 7 | 10 | Verbal x1 | |
| Oct 10 | Picture description | 8 | 10 | None | First check at target |
The sheet shows the baseline, the task, the count and the total, and the cue level. It keeps the task type because a change from picture description to story retell is a change in conditions. The target on the sheet matches the goal: 8 of 10, with no more than one cue, for three weekly checks in a row.
Put the goal in the header
A sheet is easier to read at a glance if the header holds:
- The goal wording, copied exactly from the IEP.
- The baseline and its date.
- The target and the date the goal is expected to be met.
- The measure and how often it is taken.
- The cue or prompt key.
A reader should not have to open the IEP to know what the numbers mean.
Counts and totals, not just percents
A percent hides how many chances there were. Four of five and eighty of one hundred are both 80 percent, but the first can swing by 20 points on a single trial. When you write "8 of 10," a reader can judge the weight of the number. This matters when progress reports go to families, and when the team looks at whether a goal is on track.
Reporting progress
The IEP says when families receive progress reports and how progress is described. Your data feed those reports. A short report that includes the goal, the starting point, the latest result, and one sentence about what changed is easier for a family to read than a list of numbers. If the data show slower progress than expected, tell the team. The IEP has to be reviewed at least once a year and revised for lack of expected progress, and you do not have to wait for the annual meeting to raise it.
Common mistakes
- Changing the measure partway through. If a goal is measured as correct out of ten trials, do not switch to a rating scale in November. If the measure needs to change, raise it with the team so the goal can be rewritten.
- Collecting data on a different skill. A sheet that counts total words spoken cannot show progress on a goal about a specific sound.
- Unlabeled conditions. Put the task, setting, and cue level on every entry. A number without its conditions cannot be compared with another day.
- Gaps with no explanation. A missing week is information. Write why: absence, testing, or schedule change.
- Rounding up. Report the count you recorded, not the count you hoped for.
Storing sheets
A data sheet with a student's name is an education record under FERPA and should be stored where your district says. Sheets that list several students need extra care. See group session notes without naming other students and FERPA and session notes.
Before you start the year
- Open each goal and underline the behavior, level, condition, and schedule.
- Choose the measure that matches the goal's own wording.
- Build or choose a sheet that records exactly that, with a header.
- Take the baseline and write it down with its date.
- Decide how often you will review the trend, and put it on your calendar.
To line up minutes with outcomes, see tracking IEP service minutes. Unfamiliar terms are in the glossary.