Standards Based IEPS

This week, I went to a 1 of 2 week training on Standards Based IEPs.

The reason I signed up for this training was because I had NO idea how to do this for my setting 3 students. Currently, Standards based IEPS are geared towards students who are taking the MCAs. Since I have the DCD Severe/Profound program, my students are exempted from the MCAs and take an alternative test called the MTAS. After learning that our district was required to write this, I was in panic mode, because how do you write a standards based IEP for students who are 1) WAY below grade level standards 2) do not participate in the MCAs and 3) want to continue to work on what the kid DOES need, such as functional skills.

Some of my questions were answered on Friday.
1) I learned that test strands of the MTAS are now listed on the DOE website. With these test strands, it shows what "standards" the students are tested on and SHOULD be worked on throughout the school year
**ok so I know what standards to teach in class, but is it beneficial to "teach to the test?!"

2) I was told that students who take the MTAS and either pass/exceed expectations for 2 years in the a row are exempted from the MCA and required to SWITCH to the MCA Modified. This is different from what I learned at staff development where I was told that students were to take the MCAs and fail it twice before taking the MCA modified.

3) I learned that we don't need to write "grade level" standards as the goals/objectives, but rather a goal that is in the same "strand". I was getting frustrated, because I thought if I had an 8/9th grade student, I HAD to write a standard at that level and basically set up my kids for failure. Instead, we would write a goal that was a "prerequisite" for that standard skill. For example, if a 8th grade standard was "reading paragraphs", I could write a goal that was "identifying sight words", because a student NEEDS to know how to do that before they can read paragraphs.

Hopefully this Friday, we can learn HOW to write these goals and apply it to our students.

Until next time....

<3