Skill assessment can be time consuming, no matter how many students you have. Collecting resources, giving assessments, recording data points there has got to be an easier way!
Progress monitoring is used to assess students’ academic performance, social-emotional behavior, validate their rates of improvement or progress toward goals, and determine how they are responding to instruction. Student learning is evaluated on a regular basis to provide useful feedback about performance to both students and teachers. In many Special Education classrooms, progress monitoring assessments are completely individualized to specific students and their IEP goals.
Progress monitoring assessments are given to all students in the Fall, Winter, and Spring to identify those who are not meeting standards. These are given in order to assess students’ progress towards their IEP goals and can evaluate the overall effectiveness of the intervention so that adjustments can be made.
If the student is meeting or exceeding the expectation, the teacher continues to teach them in accordance to their IEP. If a student is unable to meet expectations according to their IEP objectives, goals are re-evaluated in order for the student to target improvement in challenging areas. The teacher might change the method being used, the amount of instructional time, the grouping arrangement, or some other aspect of teaching.
Progress monitoring is an important tool for teachers. There is no perfect intervention program or instructional strategy, so progress monitoring gives teachers a way to see which students their instruction is working for and which students may need something a little different. By using this objective, efficient means of gathering data, teachers can adjust their instruction to best meet the needs of their students.
When creating and collecting your assessment resources for the year, be sure to include assessments for each skill that you typically assess for the students on your caseload.
When you’re creating your Progress Monitoring tool bank, be sure to include assessments that can be recycled and reused. You can save time and resources by using task cards, laminated lists of words for students to read from, manipulatives, audio/video assessments, etc.
If your students are accustomed to navigating technology, online assessments can save you hours of grading. Do some research and find your 'go-to' online platform that will work for your students and their IEP goals.
As you know, Progress Monitoring is much more than passing out assessments. You also have to consistently record these data points to show evidence of progress towards goals. Organizing and streamlining this on an online platform will save you hours of searching for folders and student information.
Put these tricks to use and see how much more streamlined you can make your PM&A process! We can’t wait to see what you can accomplish with all the time you save. Grab your spot for a free TARA walkthrough today and save even more!
Because when teachers come first, students win...and teachers stay.