The Quality of IEP Objectives and Their Relevance to Instruction for Students with Mental Retardation and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

Individualized education program (IEP) plans for students with mild mental retardation and behavior disorders who attended integrated elementary and secondary sch(X)ls were evaluated on the presence or absence of current, appropriate practices across the categories of generalization, functionality, and age-appropriateness. The !EPs were also analyzed by curricular area of emphasis. Students were observed in general and special education classrooms to discern the relationship, if any, between the written IEP and actual delivery of instruction. Results indicated that, although lEPs contained certain appropriate practices, their emphasis was almost solely on academic skills, to the exclusion of other important domains, such as vocational, recreation/leisure, and community integration. There was little indicated relationship between written IEPs and instruction.

Quality of Individualized Education Program Goals of Preschoolers With Disabilities

“…The low mean on the GFS III measurability item and the exclusion of items based on no variance (all goals rated 1) provide further support for the notion that the high number of goals and the generalization findings may be associated with vague and general outcome statements. This absence of criteria for successful performance is consistent with prior findings (Fuchs & Shinn, 1989;Lynch & Beare, 1990;Yell & Drasgow, 2000). Results also suggest that Portuguese preschoolers' IEP goals do not appropriately focus on skills needed for participation in naturally occurring daily routines.…”

“…As in prior research (Lynch & Beare, 1990), the most frequently observed indicators of the quality of goals were related to generalization. In our study, half the goals addressed skills that could be functional for children across various ability levels, including children without disabilities, and around one-fourth were related to skills that could be generalized across a variety of settings, materials, or people.…”

Responsive Teaching: Early intervention for children with Down syndrome and other disabilities

“…In contemporary early intervention practice, intervention objectives consist of the developmental behaviours and concepts that children have not yet mastered (Lynch & Beare, 1990;Pretti-Frontczak & Bricker, 2000;Weisenfeld, 1986). This is based upon the idea that children who have developmental problems or delays will 'catch up' as they learn and use these higher level developmental skills.…”

Improving Educational Planning for Students With Severe Disabilities: An Evaluation of School-Based Professional Learning

“…Boavida et al (2010) reported on the quality of goals in IEPs in Portugal and also found that setting measurable criteria for goals/outcomes was problematic, as did Lynch and Beare (1990) and Shriner et al (2013), who evaluated IEP objectives for students with mild disabilities. Sigafoos et al (1991) reported poor performance on setting observable goals with criteria and poor documentation of intervention procedures before training for people working with adults with disabilities.…”

“…The introduction of the school curriculum would appear to have ensured that the goals selected were age appropriate, as this was an area of strength not found in other studies of IEP goals (Lynch & Beare, 1990). Unlike Billingsley (1984), who had intended to evaluate long-term goals, as well as objectives, in the IEPs of students with severe disabilities, but who found the goals so vague and general as to 'preclude meaningful interpretation' (p. 192), we found goals across all years were generally clearly stated active behaviours.…”