Data Collection Tips for Special Education Teachers
By Dustin Pearson, Special Education Instructor
Data collection for a special education instructor is one of the most important and time-consuming items you will complete. Developing a routine and system can make your job easier and more impactful. I am at the secondary level, so data collection for me may look a little different from someone at the elementary or PreK level. My purpose in this piece is to share a simple and practical way special education teachers can organize and collect data for their students. It will allow better organization, additional planning time, and time to serve students and teachers.
What is Data Collection?
Data collection is collecting work samples that are used to measure a student’s progress on their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) goals. Work samples can come from in-class activities, enrichment practice, and/or digital programs, just to name a few. The most important thing to remember about data samples is that they must align with the IEP.
For example: “Student will increase their reading comprehension by comprehending grade level vocabulary from a 60% baseline to an 80% mastery level in 3 out of 4 recording periods throughout the duration of this IEP period.”
The work sample collected can be selected grade-level vocab from a reading that requires the student to correctly identify vocabulary.
Organization
- I recommend that every special education instructor invest in some sort of box, file cabinet, crate, or container that works for you. I use an old milk crate and it has served me well.
- Utilize hanging folders or the next closest item to create an individual file or section for each student.
- Get a folder for each goal that will be measured for the student; (Reading Comprehension, Math Calculation, etc).
Utilization
Once your folders are marked for each student and placed in each student's folder, simply collect the data as you go. My school utilizes a great program for our IEPs that allows us to enter the data and is presented in a chart layout. I time-stamp the data and place it in the correct folder.
Why Organize Data?
A successful and long-term special education instructor has to have strong organizational skills. Organizing data by goal for each student will make your job easier. I have found that parents love seeing the samples their children have completed when we meet for their IEP meeting. It puts a visual with the data point.
While there are numerous ways to organize and utilize data effectively, this method has proved most helpful for me. Hopefully, a special education instructor who is just starting out or looking to be more efficient with data collection will also find this strategy effective.
Dr. Dustin Pearson is an 11-year special education instructor in suburban Kansas City Missouri. Dustin has connected with educators all over the world in the areas of leadership, curriculum, and teaching strategies.
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