IDEA Child Outcomes Data Highlights for 2024–2025 (FFY 2024)
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What are the Outcomes?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds programs providing services designed to assist children with a range of delays and disabilities in achieving individualized developmental and functional goals. There are two types of programs. Part C Early Intervention is for children ages birth through 2, and Part B Preschool is for children ages 3 to 5.
States report data annually to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education on three child outcomes for Part C and Part B Preschool programs:
- Social Relationships, which includes getting along with other children and relating well with adults
- Use of Knowledge and Skills, which refers to thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and early literacy and math skills
- Taking Action to Meet Needs, which includes feeding, dressing, self-care, and following rules related to health and safety
How is Progress Measured?
The skills children master at different ages can be measured and described so that we can identify children who are developing too slowly. Children who are substantially behind their peers have developmental delays. OSEP has established five progress categories to convey developmental trajectories indicative of developmental delay. Categories a, b, c, and d represent some kind of delay in the early years, where category e illustrates typical development, with growth in outcomes and age in months in parity. States report annually to OSEP the percentage of children in each of the five progress categories (a–e).
OSEP Progress Categories as Developmental Trajectories
- e. Functioning like same-aged peers
- d. Improved functioning to that of same-aged peers
- c. Moved closer to functioning like same-aged peers
- b. Improved in functioning, no change in trajectory
- a. Did not improve functioning
From the progress category data, two Summary Statements are calculated for each outcome:
- Summary Statement 1 is the percentage of children who made greater than expected growth. The summary statement is calculated from the progress categories in the following way: (c + d) ÷ (a + b + c + d)
- Summary Statement 2 is the percentage of children who exited at or above age expectations. The summary statement is calculated from the progress categories in the following way: (d + e) ÷ (a + b + c + d + e)
National Child Outcomes Data for Children Exiting Part C and Part B Preschool in 2024–2025 (FFY 2024)
| Outcome | Part C, Summary Statement 1 | Part C, Summary Statement 2 | Part B Preschool, Summary Statement 1 | Part B Preschool, Summary Statement 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Relationships | 66 | 53 | 81 | 47 |
| Knowledge and Skills | 71 | 45 | 82 | 46 |
| Action to Meet Needs | 69 | 51 | 81 | 54 |
Note: Data are based on 45 Part C states and 42 Part B Preschool states. Only states with high quality data were included.
National Trends Over Time: Summary Statements by Program and Outcomes
Part C Early Intervention: Summary Statement 1, FFY 2020–2024
| Outcome | FFY 2020 | FFY 2021 | FFY 2022 | FFY 2023 | FFY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Relationships | 66 | 66 | 66 | 65 | 66 |
| Knowledge and Skills | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
| Action to Meet Needs | 70 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 69 |
Part C Early Intervention: Summary Statement 2, FFY 2020–2024
| Outcome | FFY 2020 | FFY 2021 | FFY 2022 | FFY 2023 | FFY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Relationships | 53 | 52 | 51 | 51 | 53 |
| Knowledge and Skills | 44 | 42 | 42 | 43 | 45 |
| Action to Meet Needs | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 |
Part B Preschool: Summary Statement 1, FFY 2020–2024
| Outcome | FFY 2020 | FFY 2021 | FFY 2022 | FFY 2023 | FFY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Relationships | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 81 |
| Knowledge and Skills | 79 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 |
| Action to Meet Needs | 79 | 79 | 79 | 80 | 81 |
Part B Preschool: Summary Statement 2, FFY 2020–2024
| Outcome | FFY 2020 | FFY 2021 | FFY 2022 | FFY 2023 | FFY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Relationships | 56 | 55 | 52 | 49 | 47 |
| Knowledge and Skills | 52 | 51 | 49 | 48 | 46 |
| Action to Meet Needs | 61 | 61 | 59 | 56 | 54 |
Conclusion
For Part C early intervention, the national average increased from FFY 2023 to FFY 2024 for the percentage of children making greater than expected growth in Social Relationships with no change in Knowledge and Skills and Action to Meet Needs. The percentage of children exiting at or above age expectations increased for Social Relationships and Knowledge and Skills with no change in Action to Meet Needs.
For Part B preschool, from FFY 2023 to FFY 2024, the national average increased for the percentage of children making greater than expected growth in Knowledge and Skills and Action to Meet Needs with no change in Social Relationships. The percentage of children exiting at or above age expectations decreased for all three outcomes.
Child outcomes data vary from year to year. Further analyses at the state and local levels are needed to understand these trends. Some state Part C and Part B Preschool annual performance reports provided key reasons for declines, including changes in populations served, state data collection methods, and other data quality issues.
For information on why these data differ from OSEP IDEA SPP/APR Indicator Analyses (see Additional National Child Outcomes Data).
Developed under cooperative agreement #H326P220002 (ECTA) and grant #H373Z240001 (DaSy) from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Contents do not represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
ECTA Project Officer: Project Officer: Julia Martin Eile.
DaSy Project Officers: Meredith Miceli and Alexis Lessans.