A comprehensive, well-written Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance statement, or PLAAFP, is the foundation of your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and is used to determine appropriate goals, services, supports, accommodations, and placement.

The Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee, including you (the parent or guardian of the child), can begin the process of developing a high-quality PLAAFP statement by holding a discussion that centers on four essential elements: your child’s needs, effect or impact of their disability on progress in the general education curriculum, baseline information for monitoring their progress, and appropriate goals and/or services.

The ARD committee should address these important questions at the annual ARD meeting:

  • What are the disability-related challenges affecting your child’s progress and participation in the general education curriculum, extracurricular and other non-academic activities? If your child is in preschool, how does your child’s disability affect their participation in appropriate activities?
  • At what academic and functional levels is your child performing right now? Where is your child’s starting point? (Functional performance includes motor activities, lipreading, sign language, behavior, and social skills.)
  • What strategies, accommodations, and assistive technology (AT) have already been successful for your child’s learning? Has your child had an AT evaluation?
  • What are the grade-level academic standards for your child’s grade? How do their skills compare to those standards?
  • Does your child have any inappropriate behaviors or lack of social skills for their age and developmental level?
  • How does your child perform in non-school environments? (Information provided by family)
  • What does your child think is working or not working during the school day?
  • Is there any other information that can provide a complete picture of your child?

School data and answers to these questions create the PLAAFP statement in the IEP each year.

The PLAAFP statement should give a snapshot of your child at a particular time and place. It will describe the levels at which they are currently working academically and functionally. This includes a description of their strengths and needs. Areas the ARD committee should consider include:

  • Academic
  • Communication
  • Functional
  • General Intelligence
  • Health
  • Motor or physical
  • Sensory (such as vision and hearing)
  • Social, emotional, and behavioral
  • Extracurricular and other non-academic activities
  • Transition to postsecondary adult living (beginning at age 14)

The PLAAFP statement will include information gathered from various sources including:

  • Ending levels of performance on last year’s goals
  • Any new special education assessment results
  • Performance on district and statewide assessments, including identification of skills and knowledge already attained in relation to academic grade-level standards
  • Classroom grades and observations, including behavior data
  • Information from your child and you (you have important information to share about your child and you and school professionals may see your child in different ways in different environments and situations)
  • Interests and strengths, including non-curricular areas (these can provide valuable information about your child’s abilities, potential for learning, and possible motivators)
  • Any strategies, accommodations, behavior plans, or assistive technology devices or services that have already shown success

The information in the PLAAFP section of the IEP should be written in brief, clear, specific, and accurate statements with enough information to describe your child’s current skill levels in objective, measurable terms. The information in the PLAAFP is used to determine what your child can achieve in one year. If scores are reported, they should either be self-explanatory or explained.

The PLAAFP statement will lead to the development of annual goals, accommodations, modifications, and other IEP services. All IEP goals should be connected to the PLAAFP statement. Being knowledgeable about the PLAAFP statement and the IEP process can help you be an effective part of the ARD committee and help your child work toward higher achievement.