Understanding Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs) in Education

A new grade 4 student arrived at the school, in the middle of the school year. There wasn’t any data from her former school. There wasn’t much information to tell us if she struggled with reading, writing, or math, what her strengths were, or where to get started.  The teacher’s investigation brought her to me, because she was a struggling reader, reading a year and a half below where she should be.  We were going to start finding out her Present Level of Performance.

Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs) are a critical component in developing an Individualized Education Plan for older students with reading struggles. A PLOP provides a comprehensive snapshot of a student's current abilities, challenges, and how their disability impacts their educational experience. 

In this blog, we'll break down two key elements of PLOPs, highlighting strengths, areas of need, and the impact of learning struggle.

In a period of 6-9 months, my specialized reading groups work with a number of students with different reading needs.

🎯 Some are there for the very least amount of time, about 8-12 weeks. Their learning struggle was pinpointed, clear goals were set, and those goals were met. The next step for them is to move out of the reading group and back into the classroom, where we will monitor their consistent reading progress.

🎯 Some students stay longer, about 6 months. Their progress is more challenging. By the end of their time in the reading group, they'll move closer to their grade level and will be supported in the classroom instead of leaving the classroom to attend my intensive reading groups. They will be closer to where they need to be as readers, no longer dangerously low.

🎯 Then, there is about 10% (If I have 20 students, around 2 of them) who have bigger reading challenges that affect their success in the traditional classroom. These students will stay in the intensive reading group for 9 months and then continue after that. These readers are 2 or more grade levels behind or have learning needs that can't be met in the classroom.

What they have in common is that they all have their own action steps based on realistic goals created from reading data collected. Each student has specific and measurable goals. The goals are not big and broad, such as “to be on grade level” or “to read on the same level as others their age.” Goals match their current level of performance, and they are measurable and achievable.

Most readers learn to read at their own pace, picking up skills and strategies that work well for them. This doesn't happen the same way for every reader. It's estimated that almost 40 percent of children struggle with reading. But the good news is that with early intervention, most struggling readers do overcome their challenges.

A parent I work with was told, "It's extremely important to start intervention as soon as you can—the older a child is, the tougher it will be for them to learn how to read." This is true, but it's not the first piece of the puzzle. Starting an intervention, such as a boxed curriculum or online program, isn’t efficient or effective because you don’t have all the information yet to create clear and specific goals.

The first step is to collect specific data to find out their present level. Within that level, what exactly does the reader already do, and what exactly aren’t they doing? This doesn’t necessarily take a lot of time. It’s not hard to do. In fact, it can be done in about 30 minutes. This data will give you an initial picture to start with, avoiding wasted time on random interventions.

The mistake I see struggling readers make is trying to solve reading issues by watching YouTube videos or buying a subscription to a reading program. They rarely work. Why? Because the struggling reader missed the part about finding their present reading level. 

A PLOP (Present Level of Performance) provides a comprehensive snapshot of a student's current abilities, challenges, and how their reading struggle impacts their educational experience. In this blog, we'll break down the key elements of PLOPs, highlighting strengths, areas of need, and the impact across three (of the many) domains.

The present level of performance isn’t just about reading. There are several domains that can affect confidence and success, and this data is needed before implementing strategies or buying courses. All this data is also necessary for further assessment to determine deeper medical needs that are keeping the reader in a struggle zone. 

In a PLOP, there are three domains in learning that are commonly looked at (there are many more, but these are my top three):

• Academic achievement
• Functional skills
• Learning characteristics

Academic Achievement

Academic reading achievement encompasses what the student can do in relation to their current grade level or curriculum. For instance, I’ve worked with many students who excelled in certain subjects, like math or science. I remember one student in particular who could problem-solve above the current grade level. Another student struggled to read but had a knack for memorizing and applying facts in science and social studies. She had great reading comprehension when concepts were presented by audio or when read to by the teacher. For these struggling students, their strengths formed the foundation on which their learning was built.

Identifying areas of academic need helps in setting realistic and targeted goals for the student's reading progress. This might include difficulties in certain subjects or skills that the student struggles to grasp. For example, I worked with a sixth-grade student who needed support in developing her writing skills, particularly in generating ideas and organizing her thoughts. Interestingly, she could read back her own writing to me, but when presented with someone else’s writing, she struggled to read fluently.

The impact of struggles on academic achievement can vary widely. It might affect how a student processes information, retains knowledge, or engages with the curriculum. Anxiety and stress around their struggle affects processing, retention and how a student will interact with content.  

What can we do?

Parents and educators who continue to see a learning struggle can easily start an informal data collection strategy.  Collect data simply by observing the behaviors of the struggling reader throughout the learning day and jotting notes in a journal. Just watching them and writing down observations when they struggle can make a huge difference in how fast we can determine the right strategies to try next. This power of informal observation is an important first step.

In the classroom, I had a notebook just for this purpose. The parents and I were collecting data for a student not yet diagnosed with dyslexia. Our informal observations helped lay a faster foundation for the experts to move forward with a diagnosis. We were able to expedite the process by identifying where the struggle was, how often we saw it, and what it looked like.

Functional Skills

Functional skills cover a broad range of abilities, including communication, behavior, emotional well-being, and life skills, such as time-management. Identifying strengths in these areas can highlight the student’s capabilities beyond academic performance.

A student might have excellent verbal communication skills, allowing them to express their needs and participate in discussions effectively. They may also exhibit strong social skills, making them well-liked among peers. Functional skills might include challenges with self-regulation or essential life skills, such as time management. The inability to complete assignments on time can create more gaps for the student if left unchecked.

Let’s take a student who might struggle with time-management. Affects from this problem, as I’ve seen time and time again in older students, is a constant flow of negative feedback at school or in situations where time is a factor. This, in turn, can affect a student’s ability to communicate with confidence, behave positively, or manage emotions, all of which are critical for learning (reading) success. 

Learning Characteristics

Learning characteristics are all about how a student learns best, including their cognitive abilities, learning style, and strengths. For example, a student might be a visual learner, benefiting from diagrams and visual aids. They might also show strengths in logical reasoning or creative thinking.

Identifying areas of need involves understanding the challenges a student faces in the learning process, such as attention, memory, or processing speed. For example, a student might need help with attention and focus, particularly in a noisy or distracting environment. They might also struggle with retaining information from lectures.

The impact of a learning struggle around learning characteristics (how a student learns best) can influence how a student accesses the curriculum and the strategies they need to succeed. For example, a student with a learning need might require extra time on tests or assignments to process and respond accurately.  

In the case of one amazing student I know, who is neurodiverse, the teacher and I are learning that she needs strategies to manage sensory overload in busy environments.  What looked like a reading struggle because she couldn’t focus, and wasn’t understanding what she was reading, turned out to be a simple fix and we implemented another strategy that worked for her—she read with comprehension using noise-canceling headphones, simply needing a quiet environment. 

Understanding and addressing the Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs) is essential for creating effective and individualized education plans for students who struggle with reading. By recognizing strengths, identifying areas of need, and understanding the impacts a struggle can have,, educators can provide targeted support that enables every student to reach their full potential.