Leverage student data to improve IEPs

Key points:

Educators generate and collect students' Individualized Education Program (IEP) data daily. Due to the number of stakeholders involved in IEP development and implementation, student data sets may exist in case files, spreadsheets, or various software programs.

Some school leaders are fortunate to house their data in systems where IEP information can be ingested, disaggregated, and managed in a way that offers a clear picture. But more often than not, leaders need more time, better processes, and the right tool to manage data in a way that reveals critical insights.

technology has the power to bring together years of data related to students' IEPs, allowing educators to better understand how to serve individual students and where their programs make a difference.

The Limits of Manual IEP Interpretation

When you think about the steps involved in creating and implementing an IEP, the process requires a great deal of human intervention and interpretation. Educators set goals with students and families annually and then collect information that supports those goals in different ways throughout the year. Ideally, goals and plans vary from year to year.

All of this customization and adjustment creates a challenge for reviewers to determine whether or not students are demonstrating measurable progress in a given area. The processes for understanding the educational benefit of a particular IEP vary widely and, in many cases, include educators printing IEPs, collecting service records, performance and behavior data, and lining them up side by side to evaluate whether Students made significant progress in their goals. goals. This and similar processes are time-consuming and leave too much room for variability, oversight, and error.

By moving spreadsheets, forms, and other information to a web-based platform, districts can significantly streamline data collection and monitor multiple types of data over multiple years. Educators can better evaluate students' IEPs within a coherent framework, allowing for structured review and greater interrater reliability. District leaders can determine if the services students receive meet their needs. By taking a data-driven approach to individual IEP development and review, leaders can, with appropriate systems, aggregate IEP data to look for ways to better serve students with disabilities as a whole.

Benefit from an aerial view

Data reveals patterns that help educators adjust individual students' goals and services and can pave the way for improving district programs. Step well for districtsFor example, it allows educators to use aggregate data related to the district's IEP to help answer high-level compliance and procedural questions, such as:

• How are we doing with the IDEA indicators? Did we meet our programmatic goals this year? How do we compare to last year?
• How successful was our district in completing our IEPs on time? Is there any pattern?
• Can we address the root causes of the problems so they don't happen again?
• What other trends are we seeing that we can investigate to better prepare for the future?

As powerful as answering those questions can be in making systemic changes, there is a second path a district can take: By drawing on a sample of data spanning three years, educators can evaluate the quality, integrity and coherence of their IEP practices at both the student and aggregate levels.

Beyond providing insight into special education services from a compliance and project management perspective, beginning in early 2024, the right platform will showcase the educational benefit that participating in a program provides to students. These platforms can include a heat map that helps leaders observe patterns that may emerge across the district, measuring how well the district performed relative to:

• Evaluation areas
• Current levels
• Areas of need
• Goals
• Services
• Progress

A heat map analysis quickly shows leaders where they are succeeding and where they are failing. They can see if they are tailoring services to students' needs or if they are making year-over-year progress in a particular school, grade, or group of students. District leaders can adjust programs and reallocate their budgets using data-driven insights to address areas that require greater attention.

Districts cannot blaze a path forward if their educators are absorbed in manual processes that do not show the evolution of their programs over time. By investing in technology at the local level, district leaders can support their states' IDEA process and empower their special education leaders to obtain the information needed to inform programmatic and student improvements. Educators can then shift their focus from compliance and record-keeping to improving student outcomes.