IEP Brief: Assessment Tools for Developing Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

This is a graphic of the AASC logo and IEP Briefs headline.

The present level of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) is the foundation of the IEP. Yell et al., (2021) asserted that a well-developed and well-written PLAAFP will provide the following information:
• the strengths of the student that enable the student to progress in the general curriculum,
• the weaknesses of the student that provide evidence of the need for special education,
• a description of how the student’s disability impacts their educational performance and access to the general curriculum, which is supported by the student’s weaknesses, and
• data to establish a baseline for goal development and needed services.

This brief contains implementation tips along with other resources to help gather data to write meaningful present levels of academic achievement and functional performance.