What are Selected Standards?
Taken as a whole, content standards delineate a broad range of expectations for a particular grade level. A selected standard specifies content that is critical to the student with a disability and his or her progress through the curriculum. For more information on selected standards and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) handbook, please call 916-444-3216.
Why Use Selected Standards when Writing Annual Goals and Objectives/Benchmarks?
Selected standards are academic content standards specifically identified as goals and objectives on the IEP.
What Selected Standards Look Like
• Focus the IEP on the general education curriculum
• Provide a positive direction for goals and interventions
• Allow special and general educators, parents and administrators (members of the IEP team) to communicate using common terminology
• Improve consistency across the classroom, district, and state
• Promote the use of assessments that are aligned to standards
• Satisfy general education curriculum requirements of IDEA
• Provide a framework for individualized instructional planning and progress reporting
• Focus on the curriculum elements that will help students prepare for the state STAR assessments (California Standards Test [CST]; California Alternate Performance Assessment [CAPA], California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey [CAT/6], Aprenga 3 [for Spanish-speaking English learners])• Facilitate transition into adult life
• Fulfill requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) , which states that all students receive access to state standards and make adequate yearly progress
Why are Annual Goals and Objectives/Benchmarks Important?
Annual goals and short-term objectives/benchmarks in an IEP allow tracking of progress in school and help determine if a student’s educational program is appropriate.
—from 34 CFR § 300.320(a)(2)(i)
Instruction must relate directly to IEP goals and objectives/benchmarks. Goals and objectives/benchmarks also help to form and guide a student’s specific instructional plan. However, an IEP is not designed to be a daily instructional plan.
Parents, as an IEP team member, should participate in developing appropriate IEP goals and objectives/benchmarks. The proposed regulations follow federal regulation 34 CFR § 300.322(c).The goals and objectives/benchmarks define what kind of special education program and related services the school district must provide. The school district must provide the programs and services necessary to meet the goals and objectives/benchmarks in a student's IEP. If a child needs a particular kind of special education program or service, the school district will provide the program or service if it is necessary to meet an IEP goal or objective/benchmark.
—from 20 USC § 1414(d)(1)(A)(iv)
In summation, goals and short-term objectives/benchmarks determine appropriate special education services and areas of instruction. Goals and objectives/benchmarks must be linked to present levels of performance/measurable behaviors and address the unique student’s needs, including involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.