Data Based Decisions Are A Driving Force! Tips & Tricks for Parents Navigating the Special Education Process

Show Me The Data!

Welcome to Part 2 of our Multi-Part Series “Tips & Tricks for Parents Navigating the Special Education Process”. This part focuses on Data Driven Decisions and the positive impact they can have on the special education process. We will dive into… 

1. What is a data driven decision? 

2. How does data play a role in the special education process? 

What in the World is a "Data Driven Decision"? 

Think of it this way. You have been having health issues lately. Stomach pains after eating, off and on headaches, vision issues, and ringing of the ears. It is at the point that you are leaving work early, cancelling plans, and your day to day functioning is being impacted. You finally decide to go to your primary care doctor.  Your doctor hears what you say and prescribes you a cast for your arm and a neck brace. He tells you that this will help and to follow up in a few weeks, then dismisses you. How do you feel? Is your problem fixed? Of course not. 

What did you want to happen? Maybe you went in there thinking you needed blood work done, an ultrasound of your stomach, potentially a CT scan, but at the very least your ears checked, stomach examined, etc. Of course you did, that would make sense! Typically a doctor listens to your symptoms, makes a decision on what might be causing the problem, and then runs tests to confirm what they think. Eventually, the results will come back, the office will call you, and you might be put on a treatment plan. What is the treatment plan based on? The results, the symptoms, and the exam. THE DATA!

Make sure there is data for every decision made! It is your right as the parent to request it and receive it before any decision is made.

How does this relate to the Special Education Process?

You might be thinking, isn’t this an educational advocacy blog, not a medical blog. Yes of course, you are right. So how does this relate to the special education process? The doctor’s decision and protocol for your appointment was not a data driven decision. His decision to give you a neck brace and arm cast was based on what? Maybe an idea in his head. However, there was nothing confirmed or denied with actual factual information. No data was used. Typically, we expect our doctor to make decisions on our health and determine a treatment plan based on their expertise WITH the support of data (tests, labs, etc.). Your child’s education should be no different. 

From the jump, all decisions regarding the special education process need to be data driven. How can a decision be made that is appropriate for a child’s success if there is nothing to back up and support the decision? To put it simply, it can’t.

Initial and re-evaluation eligibility is determined based on data. Evaluations performed in different areas (achievement testing, OT, PT, speech and language, SEL, etc.) are determined based on areas of need for a child. A child shows need through general school diagnostic testing, behaviors, work production, and more. Evaluations are completed by service providers, the team meets to review, and then makes decisions based on the evaluations that were performed. If you believe your child is struggling in reading and there is no proof to show that a) your child does not need help or b) your child does need help- how can your team decide on whether or not your child’s disability is impacting them in the area of reading? It is the same as the doctors, do you want an arm brace to help your stomach? No! That would be unnecessary and makes no sense. So, why would you want your child to not receive services in reading when the proof the school provides is that they are doing well in math? 

IEP team decisions need to be based on data that is collected, in order to ensure the decisions are appropriate. Child first, data second, decisions last! Opinions are not data!!!!

The Need for Data Never Stops!

Data does not stop at determining eligibility for special education services. Data is continuously needed to support the writing of IEP goals, progress monitoring, continued services, and down the road if appropriate- exiting a child from special education. IEP goals should be written based on data which shows where the child’s baseline is (starting point) and what is an appropriate projected goal in 364 days (finish line). Objectives should be written as small little mileage points for a child’s race to the finish line, to check in on how they are progressing throughout the 364 days. If an IEP goal is not written with data or proof in mind, how can it be monitored and tracked?  You can’t. 

Data is magic! It provides real and true insight as to how a student is doing and what progress they are making. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on how the child is being instructed. If the data shows progress is being made, then the instruction is also working. So keep on going! 

The reality is, that data is a lot of work. However, just because it is a lot of work, does not mean that you are not within your rights to expect decisions to be made regarding your child to be based on it. 

Data needs to be collected continuously. The need for it never goes away.

Additional Tips & Tricks

1. Ask for rubrics! Executive functioning goals & SEL goals typically use rubrics as data points. These rubrics should be filled out multiple times throughout the school year to collect data to determine a child’s progress towards a goal. Without these rubrics filled out, it is impossible to know if a child is making progress.

2. Data is necessary for academics AND behaviors. Many times we have sat in meetings that it is stated a child is struggling to regulate. This statement is not enough. Without knowing the time of day this happens, what the student’s dysregulation appears as, what happened before the dysregulation occurred, how long did it last for, etc. it is impossible to try and work with the student on becoming more regulated, more often. A-B-C data, rubrics, observation write up’s are just a few ways data in this area can be collected. Additionally, the way this data is collected should be consistently done the same way, in order to ensure appropriate generalizations of the data can be made.  

3. Executive functioning data CAN be collected! Asking for data in the area of executive functioning can be a head scratcher at times. A good place to start is for schools to determine the biggest “obstacles” a student has in the area of executive functioning. This provides a strong baseline to determine what the rubric to monitor and track the student’s behaviors should look like. Parents, this is also a great question to ask schools in meetings! 

   
   

   This is one of the most powerful lines you can use in an IEP meeting!