1
Gifted Network
Meeting:
PLEP-The Foundation
of an Effective GIEP
Timothy J. Runge, Ph.D., NCSP
Assistant Professor
Director, Center for Gifted Education
2
Legal Requirements
Regarding PLEP
3
Chapter 16
[http://www.pacode.com]

§ 16.32. GIEP.

(a) The GIEP team, in accordance with the
requirements of this chapter shall, based upon
the evaluation report, develop an initial GIEP
and arrive at a determination of educational
placement. Revisions to GIEPs, changes in
educational placement, or continuation of
educational placement for a student
determined to be a gifted student shall be
made by the GIEP team based upon a review
of the student’s GIEP and instructional activities,
present levels of educational performance, as
well as on information in the most recent
evaluation.
4
Chapter 16 Continued…
[http://www.pacode.com]

§ 16.32. GIEP.

(d) The GIEP of each gifted student shall be based on the GMDT’s
written report and contain the following:

(1) A statement of the student’s present levels of educational
performance.

(2) A statement of annual goals and short-term learning outcomes
which are responsive to the learning needs identified in the evaluation
report.

(3) A statement of the specially designed instruction and support
services to be provided to the student. For a student with disability
identified as eligible under 34 CFR 300.8 (relating to child with a
disability), this would include accommodations and modifications in
accordance with 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4) (relating to definitions of
individualized education program).

(4) Projected dates for initiation, anticipated frequency, location and
anticipated duration of gifted education.

(5) Appropriate objective criteria, assessment procedures and
timelines for determining, on at least an annual basis, whether the
goals and learning outcomes are being achieved.

(6) The names and positions of GIEP team participants and the date
of the meeting.
5
Legal Requirements

Chapter 16 has no timelines/permission
requirements for Present Levels of Educational
Performance (PLEP) testing

But Chapter 16 is strikingly clear that PLEP
forms the basis of developing a strong,
appropriate, (and defensible) GIEP

How can you program effectively if you don’t
have comprehensive, current PLEP?
6
Best Practices Regarding
PLEP
7
Best Practices

PLEP forms the basis for annual goals and short-term
learning outcomes

Must be updated each year

Must include information that clearly identifies
functional levels

Must be data driven

Variety of assessment tools should be used

PLEP testing should yield specific grade level results
for each academic subject

Should identify strengths and prioritize needs of the
student

PLEP should provide a cohesive and holistic picture
of the student
8
Appropriate and
Inappropriate Information
to Include in PLEP
9
Who Contributes to PLEP?
 EVERYONE





on GIEP Team:
Regular Education teachers
Gifted Education teacher
Parents
Student
Support Personnel (i.e., School Counselor,
School Psychologist, Administrator,
Extracurricular Advisor)
10
What to Include in PLEP

Ability and Assessment Test Scores









Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III:
Cog)
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV)
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB-5)
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC 2)
Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT)
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT)
Bilingual Verbal Abilities Test (BVAT)
Raven Progress Matrices
11
What to Include in PLEP

Group and Individual Achievement Measures

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III)

Woodcock-Johnson Test of Individual Achievement
(WJ-III: Ach)

Benchmark assessments (e.g., 4Sight, Study Island,
AIMSweb, DIBELS, Yearly Progress Pro, STAR, MBSP)

Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)

Terra Nova / California Achievement Test / Iowa

Curriculum-Based Assessments (more on this later…)
12
What to Include in PLEP

Grades

Report card grades (including mid-term / final exams)

Classroom performance (e.g., teacher comments,
project grades)

Progress on goals - Report on student’s progress on

Instructional levels – Establishes starting point for instruction
attaining annual Goals and short-term learning outcomes
established in previous GIEPs
during the time period covered by the GIEP. Use Results of
above-level testing, curriculum-based assessments, and other
measures to determine current level of functioning.

Iowa Acceleration Scale

Purdue Academic Rating Scale

CBA (more in a bit…)
13
What to Include in PLEP

Aptitudes, interests, specialized skills, products and evidence of
effectiveness in other academic areas

Scales for Identifying Gifted Students (SIGS) School Version Rating
Scale*

Gifted Evaluation Scale – 3 (GES-3)*

Gifted Rating Scale (GRS)*

IOWA Acceleration Scales 2*

Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary and Middle School
Students (SAGES 2)*

Test of Mathematical Abilities for Gifted Students (TOMAGS)*

Fisher Comprehension Assessment of Giftedness Scale (Multicultural
assessment of behavior, creativity)

Renzulli / Hartman Scale

Gifted and Talented Evaluation Scale (GATES)

Learning Styles Inventory

Creative Thinking Assessments
14
Scales for Identifying Gifted
Students (SIGS)





Ages: 5-18
Raters: School rating scale form and home
rating scale form
Length: 7 scales; 12 items per scale
Domains assessed: general intellectual ability,
language arts, mathematics, science, social
studies, creativity, and leadership
Product information link:
http://www.prufrock.com/productdetails.cfm
?PC=170
15
Gifted Evaluation Scale





Ages: 5-18
Raters: anyone familiar with the student (e.g.
classroom teacher, clinical personnel, other school
personnel)
Length: 48 items; 20 minutes
Domains assessed: intellectual, creativity, specific
academic aptitude, leadership ability, performing
and visual arts
Product information link: http://www.hawthorneed.com/images/gifted/samples/swf_files/h04150sb
.pdf
16
Gifted Rating Scale



Ages: 4:0- 6:11 & 6:0-13:11
Raters: teachers
Length: 5-10 minutes



Domains assessed



GRS-P: 60 items
GRS-S: 72 items
GRS-P: intellectual, academic readiness, motivation, creativity
and artistic talent
GRS-S: intellectual, academic, motivation, creativity, leadership
and artistic talent
Product information link:
http://www.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/enus/Productdetail.htm?Pid=015-8130-502&Mode=summary
17
IOWA Acceleration Scales – 2





Grades: K-8
Raters: Child study team consisting of child’s
parents, teachers, counselor or school
psychologist, an administrator, and a gifted
teacher or coordinator
Length: 1.5 - 2 hours
Domains assessed: assesses whether a child
should be accelerated
Product information link:
http://www.giftedbooks.com/productdetails.
asp?id=92
18
Screening Assessment for
Gifted Elementary and Middle
School Students





SAGES 2: K-3 & 4-8
Ages: 7-12
Length: 30-45 minutes
Domains assessed: aptitude and
achievement in mathematics, science,
language arts, social studies, and non-verbal
reasoning
Product information link:
http://www.prufrock.com/productdetails.cfm
?PC=128
19
Test of Mathematical Abilities
for Gifted Students (TOMAGS)
 Grades:
K-6
 Length:30-60 minutes
 Domains assessed: mathematical
reasoning and mathematical problem
solving
 Product information link:
http://www.prufrock.com/productdetails.
cfm?PC=84
20
What to Include in PLEP

Areas of strengths

Review of objective criteria

Student/teacher reflection

Rates of acquisition and retention

Ability to utilize a variety of higher level thinking skills/strategies

Ability to produce, create and elaborate ideas or concepts

Specialized skills, abilities or aptitudes

Awareness and appreciation for aesthetics

Developed and conversed sense of humor

Talents in the visual, written and performing arts

Talents in science and mathematics

Motivated and interested in learning experiences

Demonstration of leadership and interpersonal abilities

Diverse interests in philosophy and other principles

Advanced development, elaboration and usage of vocabulary
21
What NOT to Include in PLEP…
 Test
scores that are two or more years old
 Negative
statements in a student’s area
of strengths
 Jargon
 Insufficient
 Vague
information
statements
22
Some Words About CBA
23
What is Curriculum Based
Assessment (CBA)?
 “Direct
observation and recording of a
student’s performance in the local
curriculum as a basis for gathering
information to make instructional
decisions”
(Deno, 1987 as cited in Hintze, Christ, & Methe, 2006, p. 45).
24
Support for CBA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Students are directly assessed on the
curriculum that is being taught
Directly linked to instructional objectives
Provide reliable and valid measures of
student performance
Quick and easy to administer
Great for progress monitoring
Sensitive to student change
25
Criterion-Referenced CBA
(Blankenship, Idol, and colleagues)

Overarching goal- One, determine the specific
instructional level at which the student is performing and
two, determine the curricular materials that are
necessary to improve student learning

Stepwise Process:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Select items from across the curriculum or develop items to
match the curriculum.
Order items by difficulty and combine them within a single
test.
Create two or more test forms containing similar items and
administer on Days 2 and 3.
Student performance is compared to mastery criteria
According to Shinn et. al., (1989) – test formats tend to
approximate “teacher-made” tests
26
CBA – Math 6th Grade Example
27
Or Better Yet….
 PDE
SAS – Assessment Creator
http://www.pdesas.org/Assessment/Search
28
PLEP Examples
29
Example #1
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
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Example #2
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
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69
Integration of PLEP into
the GIEP and Educational
Planning
70
PLEP & GIEP
 Engages
parents and students in the GIEP
process
 Establishes a context for discussion by the
GIEP team
 Establishes a foundation for decision
making
 Establishes a foundation for specially
designed instruction
71
PLEP & GIEP
 PLEP
information must be present before
the GIEP can be created
 PLEP is the first section of a GIEP
 Goals and outcomes (second section of
the GIEP) must be based off PLEP and the
GWR prepared by the GMDT
 PLEP to be included in initial & all revisions
to the GIEP
 Good PLEP will result in a good GIEP
72
Writing the GIEP: Goals and
Outcomes
4
sections
A.
B.
C.
D.
Annual Goals
Short-term Learning Outcomes
Specifically Designed Instruction (SDI) to
be Provided to the Student
Support Services Needed to Assist the
Gifted Student to Benefit from Gifted
Education
73
Annual Goals

Should reflect PLEP statements

Should be responsive to the learning needs
identified in the Gifted Written Report (GWR)

Should identify focus areas for the student

Objective contains: Condition, Name,
Behavior, and Performance Criteria
(Accuracy and Fluency)
74
Short-term Learning Outcomes

Steps that lead to the completion of the annual goal

Objective Criteria - set the level, standard, grade,
performance, the percent of mastery or completion
expected

Assessment Procedures - tests or procedures that will be
used to measure the achievement

Timelines – when or how often the assessment will be made

Each short term learning outcome must relate to only one
Annual Goal
Short Term Objectives
1.
2.
3.
Objective
criteria
Assessment
Procedures
Timelines
75
Specifically Designed Instruction (SDI)
to be Provided to the Student

Adaptations or modifications made to general curriculum, instruction,
instructional environments, methods, materials, or a specialized curriculum for
students who are gifted

Must plan and implement varied approaches to content, process and product
modification in response to the student’s interests, ability levels, readiness and
learning needs

May be delivered in a variety of settings as determined by the GIEP team.
Could include (but not limited to):

Individualized pacing

Shadow studies

Mentorships

Independent study



Individualized
enrichment/acceleration

Development of higher order thinking
and problem-solving skills
Distance learning

Special activities
Course compacting

Projects

Should be provided for each annual goal

Should record projected starting date, frequency of activity, location, and
duration of activity
Projected date for
initiation
Anticipated
frequency
Location
Anticipated
Duration
76
Support Services

Other services needed to assist the student to benefit
from gifted education

GIEP team determines if the student will need any
support services

The service needs to be an integral part of an
educational objective of a student’s GIEP, without
which the GIEP cannot be implemented

The service must be needed to ensure the student
benefits from or gains access to a gifted education
program

Projected starting date, frequency of activity,
location, and duration of activity should be recorded
in GIEP
Projected date for
initiation
Anticipated
frequency
Location
Anticipated
Duration
77
Examples
78
Example #1
79
80
81
82
83
Example #2
84
85
86
103
References



http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_122
370_7395_509495_43/http;/pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/
cop_hhs/pde/single_web/programs/programs_d_g/gifted_education_forms/i
mages/sample_giep108_10_10.pdf
http://idea.ed.gov
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter16/chap16toc.html
104
Thank You!
Timothy J. Runge, Ph.D., NCSP
trunge@iup.edu
http://www.iup.edu/rural