During a typical school year, educators collect an abundance of information to plan and deliver targeted instruction. This usually includes student attendance, classroom grades, and New Jersey Student Learning Assessment performance, as well as qualitative data such as parent reports and observational insights. For students receiving special education services, these pieces of information, along with diagnostic assessments and evaluations, are vital as educators monitor student progress toward Individualized Education Programs (IEP) goals, determine student placement, and provide highly targeted, individualized instruction and interventions.

As a result of the COVID-19 school closures, the practice of monitoring student progress has taken on greater importance for students with IEPs since their instruction and related therapy services (occupational, speech, etc.) have been disrupted by the pandemic. Understanding students present progress toward their IEP goals is crucial for teachers as they address academic and skill regression during the past year. However, COVID-19 has complicated the monitoring of student progress as teaching and learning are now happening in a new, virtual environment. District leaders, teachers, and child study teams have had to think outside the box to measure student learning, monitor student progress, and develop tools that are adaptable for a variety of learning settings.

As school and district leaders rise to these challenges, and teachers innovate and adapt their practices to the virtual classroom, consider the following suggestions to support virtual progress monitoring districtwide, schoolwide, and classroom-wide.

As a teacher or school district administrator, this means:

As a parent, this means:

As a school board member, this means:

COVID-19 is forcing districts to rethink the way they serve students. These unusual times are necessitating that schools reimagine the traditional school experience and modify practices to support students in virtual or hybrid learning environments. For more best practices on virtual progress monitoring, read our recent blog post: 4 Best Practices for Progress Monitoring during Virtual Learning.

About Public Consulting Group

Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) is a leading public sectorsolutions implementation and operations improvement firm that partners with health, education, and human services agencies to improve lives. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Boston,Massachusetts, PCG has over 2,500 professionals in more than50 officesworldwide. PCG offers education consulting services and technology solutions that help schools, school districts, and state education agencies/ministries of education to promote student success, improve programs and processes, and optimize financial resources. To learn more, visitwww.publicconsultinggroup.com/education/.

Our work reflects our deep educational expertise and the capacity to implement change within schools. Our products and services help school and district leaders improve outcomes and equity for all students and help educators make effective decisions by transforming data into meaningful results. Click here to learn more about PCGs EDPlan Progress Track solution.

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Virtually monitoring progress and collecting information during remote education for students with disabilities - NJ Spotlight