What are some ways to involve students in student-centered transition planning?
Page 5: Evaluating Progress Towards Goals
Another way students become more active participants in the transition planning process is by monitoring and evaluating their progress toward their IEP goals. Though, again, this responsibility should only be assigned with a given student’s individual needs and abilities in mind, typically students can accomplish this task in a relatively simple and straightforward manner. By participating in this evaluation process, students can:
- Learn to set appropriate goals
- Monitor their level of achievement
- Make decisions based on their performance
Research Shows
Though self-determination is an important component of goal attainment, students who receive special education services typically possess fewer self-determination and goal-attainment skills than do their peers without disabilities. However, when taught the relevant skills, students with disabilities who are self-determined set goals and take action to attain those goals by developing a plan, acting on that plan, evaluating their progress, and making adjustments as needed.
Before students can monitor and evaluate their progress toward meeting their goals, teachers must first break down the long-term transition goals developed during the IEP meeting into more manageable short-term goals. The number and type of goals to be monitored should be determined by the student’s strengths, abilities, and interests. Teachers can help students to monitor progress toward achieving their goals with the help of an instructional planning tool such as Take Action, developed by the Zarrow Center. The table below shows how Donzaleigh and her teacher use the Take Action tool to help her achieve her long-term goal: Donzaleigh will initiate communication with customers (e.g., asking whether she can help them, thanking them when they check out) at least 80% of the time.
| Take-Action Components | Descriptions | Lead-In Statements | Donzaleigh’s Examples |
| Short-term Goal | Every long-term goal should be divided into manageable tasks and activities that can be completed within a few weeks. This will help ensure that students stay motivated through frequent small successes. | One thing I need to do to meet my goal is… | …to learn new strategies to talk to customers at the fabric store. |
| Objective | The objective describes what the student wants to achieve for the week and specifies the frequency with which an activity or a task must be completed. | I’ll be happy with my progress this week if I… | …initiate conversations with three customers at my job placement. |
| Motivation | Motivation is what drives the student to achieve the long-term goal. Motivation should maintained so that student remain engaged until the goal is mastered. | I want to do this because… | …I want to get a job in the fashion industry. |
| Strategy | A strategy is the method or methods the student uses to meet the objective | I will use strategies such as.… | …watching my co-workers interact with customers and viewing customer-service videos. |
| Schedule | The schedule outlines the specific days and times the student will implement the strategy. | I will do this on… | … Tuesday and Thursday afternoons when I work. |
| Support | A support is an individual accommodation or modification that will help the student meet the short-term goal. | I will need… | …my co-workers to allow me to shadow them when they are interacting with customers and my supervisor to provide opportunities to practice. |
| Feedback | Feedback is information about a student’s performance, which might be provided visually, orally, or in writing. | I will know how I’m doing by… | …meeting with my supervisor each week. |
Activity
Recall that Jeremy is a ninth-grade student whose long-term goal is:
Jeremy will visit a minimum of six different animal-related work environments throughout the year (e.g., a veterinarian office, a pet shop, an animal shelter, a zoo). After each visit, he will create a list of his likes or dislikes about that environment.
The interactive table below breaks down Jeremy’s short-term goal. Help him complete his transition planning tool by filling in the blanks.
| Take-Action Components | Lead-In Statements | Jeremy’s Examples |
| Short-term Goal | One thing I need to do to meet my goal is… | …identify three places related to working with animals to visit. |
| Objective | I’ll be happy with my progress this week if I… | |
| Motivation | I want to do this because… | |
| Strategy | I will use strategies such as.… | |
| Schedule | I will do this on… | |
| Support | I will need… | |
| Feedback | I will know how I’m doing by… | |
There are multiple responses for this activity. Below are some examples of appropriate responses.
| Take-Action Components | Lead-In Statements | Jeremy’s Examples |
| Short-term Goal | One thing I need to do to meet my goal is… | …identify three places related to working with animals to visit. |
| Objective | I’ll be happy with my progress this week if I… | …spend an hour and a half investigating different work options (e.g., working as a zoo keeper, a vet, a dog groomer). |
| Motivation | I want to do this because… | …I want to get a summer job working with animals. |
| Strategy | I will use strategies such as.… | …using the Internet to identify places to visit and reading descriptions about these places. |
| Schedule | I will do this on… | …Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 30 minutes during Mr. Longoria’s class. |
| Support | I will need… | …time and access to the computer to search for places to visit and Mr. Longoria’s help to narrow my search for places close by. |
| Feedback | I will know how I’m doing by… | …checking with Mr. Longoria on places I identify. |
At pre-determined intervals (e.g., weekly, every few weeks), the teacher and student should meet to discuss how much progress he has made toward meeting his short-term goal. If the student meets the short-term goal, it is time to move on to the next. If the student did not meet the goal, the student and teacher should determine why. This might be because the student was sick, the necessary supports were not in place, or the original objective was unrealistic. Whatever the case, once the teacher and student have figured out why the goal was not met, they can brainstorm what to do differently during their next attempt.
For example, Donzaleigh and Mr. Longoria meet to discuss her progress. Donzaleigh reports that, because her co-worker was out sick for part of the week, she was only able to shadow her for one day, less than originally planned. With this in mind, they decide to give it another week so that Donzaleigh will have more time to shadow her co-worker. They further discuss other strategies to help her meet her short-term goal, such as role-playing with peers.
The student will work on a series of short-term goals, one building on the next, until she eventually achieves the long-term goal, or the team recognizes that the long-term goal needs to be revised. The information students collect throughout the evaluation process can be used to create visual displays of progress for IEP meetings as well as to design new transition goals. Student involvement in evaluating transition goals will help make the IEP meetings and transition process meaningful for students, even as it builds valuable skills they can apply to future school and life experiences like finding a place to live or buying a car.
Did You Know?
Teachers should allow students to make some decisions on their own, even if teachers feel that those decisions will not necessarily help them to meet their goals. Learning from mistakes is part of the process and will help students to develop their problem-solving and decision-making skills.
