Progress Notes Are Power!: Tips & Tricks for Parents Navigating the Special Education Process

Multi-Part Series of Advocates Tips for Parents Navigating the Special Education Process 

Let's explore how progress notes are magic and discuss the power they hold!

Welcome to Part 1 of A Multi-Part Series “Tips & Tricks for Parents Navigating the Special Education Process” This part features the magic behind progress notes and the power they hold! We will dive into… 

1. What is a progress note? 

2. Progress Note Reporting

3. IEP Goals versus Benchmarks or Objectives

4. Advocate Recommendations for Progress Notes 

Progress Notes Are Power…So What Are They? 

First off, what is a progress note? Under IDEA which speaks on “reporting progress” towards IEP goals it is legally required of an IEP to provide a description of how a child’s progress will be reported to parents and how often. Let’s break this down… 

• Sally (your daughter) is in third grade and she has a math and reading goal. Her goal in math is that Sally will be able to solve word problems (this is a basic example). This is what we want Sally to do by the end of the IEP period, in a year’s time.  Near this goal, there are objectives or benchmarks, which might state something along the lines of “By April, Sally will solve addition problems within 20 with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials.”

• This means that when April comes along, Sally’s progress report should indicate whether or not she is able to solve addition problems within 20 with 80% accuracy. 

  • If there is more information than this…fantastic! If this benchmark or objective is not mentioned, then we might want to do some head scratching and pull up our email to request a meeting. 

    
    

IEP Goals VS Objectives/Benchmarks…I still don’t get it! 

The main difference between an IEP goal and a benchmark or objective can be thought of as training for a triathlon. If our IEP goal is to complete a triathlon but we have never run a race, then we need to break this down. Our benchmarks or objectives need to be the stepping stones to the BIG GOAL.

First, we want to be able to run the amount needed to run in the triathlon.

Then, we want to be able to bike and run the amount needed.

Finally, we want to be able to run, swim, and bike all together at once.

If 6 months before the triathlon, we are not on track, will we be able to complete our goal? Maybe, maybe not. We can’t just pretend that one day we will wake up and be able to complete this monstrosity of an athletic event without hitting those milestones.

Your child’s progress towards their IEP goal is just like this with slightly less “physical training”! 

We might all want to be Rocky Balboa but the reality is we have to set goals, monitor progress, and then decide is the goal going to be met and adjust if needed. Your child's IEP is the same way.

Additional Tips & Tricks 

• Many school districts use online platforms to report progress notes. Online platforms might send parents or families a notification indicating a progress note has been posted. If you do not have access to the platform, you will not be able to access the progress note. 

• Keep copies of progress notes! Our advocates recommend asking for hard copies of progress notes to be sent home, this is well within your rights! If you have the ability to access the notes, print them and add them to your child’s binder of paperwork. 

  • Why you might ask? Down the road if your child’s school is looking to decrease services but there have been multiple progress notes that state there is a lack of progress, then why diminish services that weren’t supporting your child’s progress in the first place. In fact, your child might be entitled to MORE service time or additional goals because of this. 

• It is okay if there is progress on one goal and not another goal. This indicates that your child is making progress in one goal area but not another. This does not mean you are not within your rights to question the lack of progress in one goal area just because they are making progress in another area. 

• Progress notes are not only for academic goals. All service or goal areas (PT, OT, Speech, SEL, Executive Functioning, etc.) are required to report progress. If there is a goal, there needs to be a progress report.