How Do I Take Data?
What comes to mind when you hear someone say “where’s the data?”, or “come back when you have data!”? Like many educators, you might first think of situations where you do not receive support until you can provide data for what you are seeing and needing in your classroom. Unfortunately, data is often used as a tool through which to justify a lack of resources in education. However, data can also be a powerful tool through which to gain resources for students and to help demonstrate student success.
What data am I responsible for taking as a general education teacher?
To find this out, first go back to the student’s IEP you are taking a look at and visit the service matrix. Check to see if your student has any service minutes that are delivered in general education. If so, you will be responsible for taking the data on any goal areas for which the SDI is taking place in your classroom. (Please Note: IEPs and IEP-related documents vary between countries, states, and school districts. IEPs in your district may label things differently or be laid out in a different order or format. Do not take any of the following information as legal advice, and always check in with specialists in your own district if you have questions!) Let’s take a look at a couple of examples and what you might do to support the IEP team’s data for progress reports and writing the student’s next IEP.
Example 1 - Reading Goal
A common example of differentiated reading instruction that you might find in a student’s IEP is that they receive 30 minutes daily of reading instruction in special education and 30 minutes daily of reading instruction in general education. This will typically mean that the student will receive 30 minutes of SDI in a small group or 1:1 setting either pushed into your room or pulled out of your room, and then 30 minutes with the rest of your class during your reading block. For examples of ways you can implement student reading goals into your classroom instruction, take a look at Implementing IEP Goals. If you are supporting instructional time on a student's academic goals within your classroom, try to keep dated examples of their work over time and jot down notes on what you observed while they were working to share with their case manager when it is time for progress reporting or writing a new IEP. Having examples of what they have worked on independently related to their academic goals is wonderful data for IEP teams to have when considering options for moving forward with students’ goals.
Example 2 - Social Emotional Goal
Another example you might find is having social emotional or behavioral service minutes divided between a dedicated social group and time in general education. These minutes for social emotional or behavioral services in general education are typically not a dedicated instructional time, they are taking into consideration the interactions you have with your students throughout the day. Asking them to repeat a question to a peer, to wait and have the next turn, and to share how they are feeling when they request a break are all examples of facilitating those minutes in real time. Taking data on social emotional, adaptive, or behavioral goals can often be more formal than on academic goals, where primarily keeping work examples is the best way to witness progress over time. If your student has a behavior that is impacting your classroom, consider taking extensive data over the course of a week to share with the IEP team and consider options for moving forward.
How do I take and report data on what I am seeing?
To review, if a student has minutes served in general education in any of their goal areas, you will need to take data on their goals and on what you are seeing in the classroom related to their progress and/or any new concerns in their goal areas. Depending on the structure of your school and particular case manager and IEP team, the process for taking and reporting this data might look like a variety of things. Some case managers will create a shared document or spreadsheet for you to contribute within, some might use an online form to have you input progress, and some might provide physical data sheets. If there is a method that works best for you, please advocate for that and see how you can collaborate to share information and support your students.
For examples on what paper or online data sheets or forms might look like, check out the data sheets and reporting forms in Resources For General Education Teachers. These are all free and copyable and/or printable, so please utilize whatever might be helpful for you!