Your Child’s Present Level of Performance : Set the Bar

Don’t be in the dark about the brightest part of your child’s IEP!
Do you know what is your child capable of doing?
Do you KNOW your child’s Present Level of Performance when it comes to his reading, writing, math, and general ability to function in the classroom?

Your Child’s Present Level of Performance statement is the “CAN DO” section of your child’s IEP.

By reading this section, you will learn:

• What information should be included in your child’s Present Level of Performance (PLOP) statement?
• What are the 3 types of data that should be included in your child’s PLOP statement?
• How do you construct an objective, positive Present Level of Performance statement for your child?
• Four steps to writing an objective, positive Present Level of Performance statement for your child.

What does a PLOP statement say?

Let’s start by looking at a good Present Level of Performance Statement similar to one you would write for your child.  Read this sample PLOP statement and note the positives as they might relate to your child:

“Y.C. is a bright, outgoing child who socializes easily with other children. She is able to read on grade level and eagerly participates in classroom activities, loves drawing, and enjoys looking at photographs in books. Y.C. has a visual learning style and is an active child. Conversely, Y.C. struggles with mathematics and has not mastered addition or subtraction facts. She tests at a 1.0 grade level on the WIAT Mathematics Computation section. Y.C. is energetic and distractable. She is fairly easy to get back on track for brief periods, but requires constant redirecting. Visual aids can be used to keep her attention on learning tasks.”
If this were your child’s IEP, team members would know to take advantage of your child’s great visual abilities, an energetic nature, and social skills when actively teaching mathematical computation skills.  If teaching is based upon your child’s strengths, his learning is more likely to be successful.

Let’s head over to the Next page to learn about the specific elements of the Present Level of Performance section of your child’s IEP.