Research Institute on Progress Monitoring: Creating a Seamless and Flexible System for Monitoring and Promoting Access to and Progress within the General Education Curriculum

Research Institute on Progress Monitoring

U.S. Department of Education/Office of Special Education Programs

2003-2008

$4,920,000

The long-range goal of our Research Institute is to develop a system of progress monitoring that can be used to evaluate the effects of individualized instruction on access to and progress within the general education curriculum. The objective of this project, which is the next step toward attaining our long-range goal, is to develop a seamless and flexible system of progress monitoring that can be applied across students, grades and curricula. The central hypothesis of the research is that the systematic evaluation of individual progress will result in more successful access to and progress within the general education curriculum for students with significant cognitive and developmental disabilities. The rationale that underlies the investigation is that systematic progress monitoring will result in improved decision-making regarding the effectiveness of instruction. Improved decision-making, in turn, will result in improved educational experiences for students with significant cognitive and developmental disabilities, which will ultimately lead to improved student growth and outcomes.