In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case about a boy whose IEP goals kept coming back. The same basic goals carried over from one year to the next. The court read that as a sign he was not making real progress toward them.
The ruling in that case, Endrew F., has a line worth taping to your fridge. The court wrote that an IEP is not a form document. So if the present-levels section in front of you reads like last year’s, you are not imagining it. Your child isn’t broken. A copied paragraph is a paperwork problem, and paperwork gets rewritten.
TL;DR
- Good present levels describe what your child does today, with numbers and the test or task behind them. They also cover how it affects class work, your child’s strengths and your concerns.
- A vague or copied section matters because every goal in the IEP starts from it. In Endrew F., the Supreme Court said an IEP is not a form document.
- To get it rewritten, put the request in writing. Name what is missing, ask for current data, and ask the team to revise the section before or at the meeting.
Every goal in the IEP starts from this one paragraph. If the paragraph is vague, the goals will be too.
“– Laura Lurns
What present levels are for, and what a good one holds
This is U.S. federal law. Every IEP must include a statement of your child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. Those are the rule’s own words. That statement has to say how your child’s difficulty affects their progress in the general education curriculum, the same one other students learn from. The rule is 34 CFR 300.320(a)(1).
The next part of the same rule asks for “measurable annual goals.” Notice where the word measurable sits. It is on the goals, not on present levels. But a goal is measured from a starting point, and present levels are that starting point. The rule does not use the word numbers here. Numbers are simply what make the goals below it work, so they are fair to ask for.
Hold your child’s draft up to these six questions.
1. Is there a number? A sentence like “reads __ words correctly in a minute on a passage from class” tells you something. “Below grade level” tells you where, not what.
2. How was it measured, and when? Look for the name of the test or task and a date. A score from last fall is not a present level.
3. What does your child do now? Not a label. A description, such as which sounds they know and where they get stuck.
4. How does it affect class work? This is the part the law names. Does it say what happens in science when the reading gets long?
5. Are strengths there? The team must consider your child’s strengths under 34 CFR 300.324(a)(1).
6. Are your concerns there? The same rule says the team must consider your concerns. Consider is not the same as agree, but it means they belong on the table.
Present levels are also where school terms pile up. If the draft uses one you have not met, this plain guide to the types of specific learning disorders will help you decode it.
Why copied present levels produce a copied plan
Here is how it happens. The section gets written from last year’s file or a template. Adjectives fill the space where measurements belong. “Works hard. Benefits from small-group instruction. Struggles with reading comprehension.” None of it is wrong. None of it gives a goal a starting line.
Our view is that this is a paperwork failure, not a people failure. A team writing many IEPs from one template ends up with the same sentences each year. But the result lands on your child. A goal with no real starting point has no way to show progress, so the same goal comes back next year.
The Supreme Court spoke to this directly in Endrew F. The court said an IEP is built only after careful thought about a child’s present levels, needs and potential for growth. It said a school must offer an IEP “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances”. It also said every child “should have the chance to meet challenging objectives”.
The law also builds in a check. The team reviews the IEP at least once a year. It revises the plan as needed to address any lack of expected progress toward the goals. So a goal that repeats unchanged is a signal that the plan needs another look. It is not proof that your child failed it.
Thin present levels shape the accommodations list too. A common belief is that more accommodations always mean more help. We would ask a different question about each one: is this support building the skill, or replacing the expectation that it gets built? Sometimes either answer is the right one. Present levels with real numbers are how you tell which one you are looking at.
When a parent hands me a present-levels page, I look for three things first: a number, a date, and one sentence about what the child does well. If all three are missing, the goals underneath are built on a guess. Once the team writes down where the child is today, I see the goals get smaller and sharper, and progress gets much easier for everyone to see.
Key Takeaways
Present levels are the starting line for every IEP goal. Good ones give numbers, how and when they were measured, and how the difficulty affects class work.
The team must consider your child’s strengths and your concerns. Ask for both to appear in the present levels, in plain words.
A goal that repeats unchanged year after year is a signal to revisit the plan, not proof that your child failed it.
A goal that repeats year after year is a reason to change the plan, not a verdict on your child.
“– Laura Lurns
What to do this week: the rewrite request
Mark the gaps. Go through the six questions above with a pen. Circle every one the draft leaves out. That list is your request.
Put it in writing. Email is fine. Keep it short and friendly, with no blame. You are a member of the IEP team under 34 CFR 300.321(a)(1), so you are asking as a colleague. Here is wording you are free to copy:
“Dear [team], I have read the present levels section in [child]’s draft IEP. I would like it revised before we set the goals. Please add these. Current scores or work samples for [skill], with the test or task and the date. A description of what [child] does now. How this affects [his/her] work in the general curriculum. [Child]’s strengths. My concerns, which I have listed below. Could we review a revised draft before the meeting, or set aside time at the meeting to revise it together? Thank you.”
If the meeting has already happened, ask in writing for a meeting to review the present levels. After the annual meeting, the law also lets you and the school agree to change the IEP in a written document without a meeting. Both sides have to agree. Ask for a copy of the revised IEP with the changes.
Ask how progress will be measured. The IEP must say how progress toward each goal is measured and when you will get reports. Check that those lines match the new present levels.
If your review is coming up, send the note now. The team needs time to gather current data.
You want a plan built on your child, not on last year’s file. A system that fills in forms instead of looking closely at children is the problem here, not you and not your child. A goal that repeats year after year is a reason to change the plan, not a verdict on your child. Nobody will ever advocate for your child as hard as you will.
When reading is hard, we look at more than reading. The sounds, the page, holding words in mind. Our assessment asks about all of them. It is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, a professional evaluation is the route for that. The roadmap that comes back names what to build first. Start with the All Access assessment.
Common questions from parents
What does PLAAFP stand for?
Do present levels have to include test scores?
Is it too late to fix present levels after the IEP is signed?
Does the school have to do what I ask?
My child’s goals are the same as last year. What does that mean?
