When writing an IEP, it is important to consider your student’s present levels of academic and functional performance (PLAFP). This includes a student’s approximate grade-level performance, as well as a more detailed summary of specific skills that a student can and cannot accomplish. Present levels should serve as a good source of information for both parents and other teachers.
When we carefully consider a student’s present levels, we ensure that the IEP goals, accommodations and/or modifications, as well as service time, are appropriate for that student. Additionally, if you are doing an IEP toward the end of the year, the present levels will help to guide instruction for the following year’s teacher.
So, what should be included in your present levels? Let’s take a look at some common goal areas and what should be included in the description of the present levels.
Phonics
Depending on grade level, a phonics present level should include the following:
- Letter sounds. What letter sounds does the student know and which ones are they struggling with?
- CVC words. Are they having trouble with any specific vowel or consonant sounds? Can they blend the sounds together to make a word?
- Blends, digraphs, vowel teams, and r-controlled vowels. Which ones can they decode successfully and which do they struggle with?
- CVCE words. Do they change the vowel sound to a long vowel sound? Which ones? Do they pronounce the silent e on the end of the words?
- Multisyllabic words. Can they sound and blend each syllable?
A clear summary should be included in the present level, answering the questions found above.
Reading Comprehension
When assessing for reading comprehension, a summary of how the student does with the following skills (depending on grade level), should be included.
- Sequencing (3 events, 5 events, etc., depending on grade level)
- Character identification
- Main idea
- Explicit questions (who, what, where, when)
- Setting
- Using graphs, charts, etc., for answering questions about informational text
- Inferential questions (why and how)
Math
Math present levels depend more on the grade level of the student. Students should be assessed on a variety of skills, beginning on their current grade level, then working backwards if necessary. Once a grade level has been established, the skills associated with that grade level’s standards should be summarized, as to what the student can and cannot do.
Writing
Like math, writing skills vary depending on grade level. However, some good skills to summarize in a present level include:
- Letter formation
- Spelling (appropriate to grade level)
- Punctuation (appropriate to grade level)
- Sentence writing
- Grammar (appropriate to grade level)
- Topic sentences
- Detail sentences
- Conclusions
An example of a well-written present level for reading comprehension is as follows:
“Stephanie was given a Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI) on March 3, 2022. She read a passage at the second grade level in XXX minutes, which makes her fluency rate 59 words per minute. The benchmark fluency rate for 2nd grade is XX words per minute. She had 17 miscues in the passage, mostly with proper nouns and multisyllabic words. Stephanie answered 2 out of 4 explicit questions correctly and 1 out of 4 inferential questions correctly. Stephanie was able to identify characters and the setting but struggled to sequence events. She was able to explain how a character was feeling but was unable to tell why they felt that way.”
Our editable Present Levels template guides you in writing your PLOP section, with sentence starters and fill in the blank sentences – making sure you never miss a step, or a beat. See it here.
Well-written present levels can help to ensure that IEP goals are appropriate and that appropriate accommodations are put into place. They can also be great sources of information for a teacher who is unfamiliar with the child. Summarizing the skills that a student can and cannot do will assist everyone in planning instruction!
Remember, everything starts with the Present Levels – so when you use strengths-based, student-centered language in the PLOP, it will overflow into the rest of the IEP.
Special education teachers don’t just write paperwork—they write possibilities. But when you’re buried in the details, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Inside The Intentional IEP, you’ll find the tools, trainings, and ready-to-use goals that take the guesswork out of IEPs—so you can focus on what matters most: turning student potential into real, measurable progress.