Week #9 - Assess, Plan, Teach, Assess Model

   Once a student is admitted into the Program for the Visually Impaired, it is time to utilize all of the assessments to create an Individualized Education Plan. The vision goals for this plan must be measurable and specific to the educational needs of the student. For example, student A is a second grader diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity. Her diagnosis is supported by a medical eye report, and the school TVI has completed her Functional Vision Assessment and Learning Media Assessment, which has determined that A will need instruction in Braille. An example goal would be: student A will increase her stamina to read braille with 90% accuracy for 10-minute intervals.

   Now that the goal is established, the TVI will plan instructional activities that will help A reach that specific braille reading goal. Books in braille that are relevant to the student's classroom requirements will be utilized in order to assist A in keeping up with classroom demands. This will also provide A with the opportunity to utilize her braille reading skills in a real-world setting. Daily student A will spend one hour with her resource TVI to receive specific instruction in braille and weekly the TVI will informally assess student A's accuracy. A's classroom teacher will assess comprehension skills displayed by A after she reads a passage in braille by asking questions specific to the reading passage. A's progress will be charted by her TVI, but her classroom teacher will be consulted weekly to assure that A is keeping up with the reading demands in her class.

  At the end of the 6th week of instruction, the TVI will assess student A's braille literacy skills in order to determine if the goal was appropriate and relevant to A's classroom needs. If student A displays consistent progress that also has improved her classroom performance, instruction will continue as planned. If student A is showing no sign of improvement in her reading stamina and accuracy in braille, then the TVI will need to adjust her instruction according to what student A's needs appear to be from the assessment. Student A's IEP goal remains the same, but how that goal is to be reached will need to be modified so that Student A will start to make progress towards it. The TVI will need to change her instructional activities so that Student A will gain the braille skills she needs in order to improve her accuracy and increase her braille-reading stamina.

   This pattern of assess, plan, teach, and assess will continue throughout the school year so that the TVI can keep record of  how Student A is progressing towards her IEP goal.  At the end of the school year, during the yearly IEP meeting, the goal will be reviewed and determined to have been met or not met. Then the goal will be modified to reflect what the next step in the student's plan should be. Student A's assessment performance will determine the new IEP goals for the following school year.