IDEA Child Outcomes Highlights for FFY2017

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 to 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:

1. Social relationships, which includes getting along with other children and relating well with adults
2. Use of knowledge and skills, which refers to thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and early literacy and math skills
3. Taking action to meet needs, which includes feeding, dressing, self-care, and following rules related to health and safety

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. The solid line on the graph (line e) illustrates typical development. The other lines represent some kind of delay in the early years. States report annually to OSEP the percentage of children in each of the five progress categories (a to e).

OSEP Progress Categories as Developmental Trajectories

1. Did not improve functioning
2. Improved in functioning, no change in trajectory
3. Moved closer to functioning like same-aged peers
4. Improved functioning to that of same-aged peers
5. Functioning like same-aged peers

From the progress category data, two summary statements per outcome are calculated:

• 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)

Note: Data are based on 48 Part C states and 45 Part B Preschool states. Only states with high quality data were included.

The data show that large percentages of children continue to show greater than expected gains, and large percentages of children continue to leave the programs with age expected skills.

There has been little year-to-year change in the numbers, which speaks to the stability of the data.

Although there is stability in the national data, we continue to see fluctuation of the numbers within states. The number of states submitting high-quality data has more than doubled since 2008, but states are still building the capacity to collect valid and reliable data.