Sharing specific, observed evidence during IEP meetings rather than staying silent or offering only general impressions.
At a glance
When: The team asks for your observations on a student's goal.
Remember: Goals get written around data. 'She's doing better' leaves the team guessing.
What strong practice looks like — and why.
The scenario you saw
The IEP team is meeting and you're asked to share your observations about a student's progress on a communication goal. What do you do?
Before you read on — what would you do here? Picture your move, then reveal how strong practice handles it.
You come prepared with the specific data the team can actually use: how often the student initiates communication without prompting compared to when you started, which settings and conditions produce the most attempts, which prompt levels produce success, and where they consistently abandon or switch strategies. You share patterns with numbers, not impressions — 'She initiates about four times during morning circle now, up from zero in September' is more useful to the team than 'she's been doing better.' Goals get written around data. The team can act on what you bring; impressions alone leave them guessing.
Why this works
IEP goals are written around data, so the most useful thing you can bring to the table is exactly what you're positioned to have: frequency and conditions, not impressions. 'She initiates about four times in morning circle now, up from zero in September' gives the team something to write a goal around; 'she's doing better' leaves them guessing. Staying quiet because it's 'not your place' withholds the most ground-level data in the room. Come with numbers, the settings that produce success, and which prompt levels work — that's what turns your daily presence into decisions the team can make.
What to look for
Recall is where it sticks — a few quick scenarios.
Reading is useful, but recall is where it sticks. Three short scenarios, low-stakes, no scoring — about 3 minutes. You can stop any time.
Start the practice set →Short on time? Start with the first one.
An IEP meeting is coming up for a student you support — and you're not sure whether to attend, what to bring, what to say, or what isn't your role.
IRIS Center (Vanderbilt)
Full walk-through of the IEP meeting process so paraprofessionals know where and when to speak up.