You're sitting at your daughter's IEP meeting. It's time to go over present levels and your Chelsea's English teacher provides this feedback: "Well, Chelsea is such a great kid. She is kind to others and always asks for help. She has a D in my class, but I know she can get her grade up. She should come see me more after school." While this sounds sweet and super positive, you still have NO IDEA how Chelsea is doing in English!
Truth: Teachers are not trained to speak about student's progress when they go into IEP meetings. But, it's not the teacher's fault! No one tells teachers how to report progress on their students. Teachers automatically talk about behavior, or "coming to see them for help". Teachers, like most humans, tend to report on observable data based on their last memories. Typically this type of feedback is not as useful as how your daughter is actually doing in ENGLISH.
What I Suggest: Ask targeted questions for each teacher. If you can, have these pre-prepared. In Chelsea's case, it would have been nice to know: why is she failing? And, are her writing skills on grade-level? If not, why? What can be done at home, and in school? And, what about reading? But, remember, teacher's are going off their latest memory of your child. So make sure you ask for data to back up their statements. Going off gut is not sufficient enough for you to know, and for the teacher to know what needs to be done to support your child's skills.
Reply to this post if you'd like a checklist inventory targeted on getting feedback on Reading, Writing, Academic Skills, Executive Function & Attention, and Math.
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