Collecting data on several students during group instruction
By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated
Short answer
To collect data on several students in one group, plan each student's scored turns before the lesson, put everyone on one group data sheet, and rotate which students you score closely each day. Score only individual responses, never choral ones. Take a short probe per student at the start, then teach. Total each row right after the group ends.
Group instruction is where most IEP data goes missing. You are teaching four students with four different goals, and the clipboard ends up blank or filled in from memory after the last bell. The fix is planning: decide before the group starts who gets scored on what, how many times, and in what order.
This guide walks through one small group from planning to the end-of-day totals, using one sheet. For the full set of data methods, see the IEP data collection guide. For coding each individual trial, see how to take trial-by-trial data.
What you need before you start
- Each student's goal and its measure: trials, opportunities, intervals, task steps or a rubric score.
- The number of scored responses each student needs per session.
- A group data sheet: 3 to 6 students per page, 1 or 2 goals each, with trial boxes, interval boxes, tallies or timing fields to match each goal.
- A prompt code list everyone in the room uses, such as the codes in the prompt hierarchy examples.
Step by step
Step 1: List each student's goal and measure
Write one line per student: name or initials, the goal in a few words, and the measure. Mixed measures in one group are normal. A reading group might have two students on decoding trials, one on a fluency probe and one on an on-task interval goal.
Step 2: Set the scored turns per student
Decide how many scored responses each student gets. Ten trials per student is a common default. In a 30-minute group of 4, that is 40 scored trials, which takes about 10 minutes if you rotate quickly. The rest of the group time is teaching.
If 10 per student is too many, score fewer students per day instead of fewer trials per student. Five trials makes each one worth 20 percentage points, and the graph jumps around.
Step 3: Build the group sheet
On the group data sheet page, type each student's name or initials and their goal. Pick how each goal is measured, and the sheet draws trial boxes, interval boxes, a tally box or write-in fields to match. Use "Same goals for every student" when the whole group works on the same skill. Print one page per session.
Step 4: Rotate focus students
With 5 or 6 students, you cannot score everyone well every day. Pick 2 focus students per session and score them on every planned turn. Everyone else gets a quick note or nothing. Rotate so each student is a focus student 2 to 3 times a week.
| Day | Focus students | Others |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | A, B | Brief notes |
| Tuesday | C, D | Brief notes |
| Wednesday | A, E | Brief notes |
| Thursday | B, C | Brief notes |
| Friday | D, E | Brief notes |
Each student gets 2 scored sessions a week. That is enough for a weekly graph point.
Step 5: Score individual responses only
Choral responses are good teaching but bad data. When the group says the answer together, you cannot tell who knew it. Score only turns where one student answers alone: name the student before the question, use individual whiteboards, or have each student point to an answer card.
Whiteboards work well in groups. Ask a question, everyone writes, everyone shows. You can mark all 4 students' boxes in one glance, so every student gets a scored trial on every question.
Step 6: Probe first, then teach
Spend the first 1 to 2 minutes per focus student on a short unprompted probe, such as 5 words to decode. Then teach the group with prompts. Graph the probe. Teaching responses with your models and cues will run higher and do not belong on the progress graph.
Step 7: Total each row right after the group
Before the next group arrives, total each row: independent correct out of trials scored. It takes about 1 minute. Waiting until 3:30 means trying to read your own shorthand from six groups ago.
Time each step takes
| Step | First time | Each session after |
|---|---|---|
| List goals and measures | 15 minutes per group | None |
| Set scored turns and the rotation | 10 minutes | None |
| Build and print the group sheet | 10 minutes | 1 minute to print |
| Probe focus students | 3 to 4 minutes | 3 to 4 minutes |
| Total the rows | 2 minutes | 1 minute |
Worked example: Maya's decoding group
Maya is a fictional 2nd grader in a 4-student reading group run by her resource teacher. Her goal: read 18 of 20 CVCe words correctly on 3 consecutive probes. The other three students have a short-vowel decoding goal, a sight word goal and an interval goal for staying on task.
The sheet. One page, 4 rows. Maya's row has 10 trial boxes for CVCe words. The sight-word student has 10 trial boxes. The short-vowel student has 10 boxes. The on-task student has 10 interval boxes at 1 minute each, scored by the para.
Monday (Maya is a focus student). The teacher shows 10 CVCe cards to Maya alone during the first 2 minutes while the others warm up on whiteboards. Her row reads: + + − + + − + + + −. That is 7 of 10 correct. Errors were "cape," "hide" and "note," each read with a short vowel.
Teaching block. The group practices silent e with word building. The teacher marks whiteboard answers for all 4 students as teaching data in a corner of the sheet, not in the probe row.
Wednesday (Maya is a focus student again). Her probe is 8 of 10. Errors were again long o and long i words.
Week summary. Maya's two probes, 7 and 8 of 10, cover the 20-word goal set across two sessions. That is 15 of 20 for the week, or 75%, against a target of 18 of 20. Long o and long i are the pattern. The plan for next week adds 5 minutes of o_e and i_e words. The other three students also have two scored sessions each, from the same 4 sessions of group time.
The phonics and decoding goal templates have the goal wording if you need it.
Common mistakes
- Weak: Trying to score all 6 students on every response. Better: Score 2 focus students closely and rotate.
- Weak: Scoring choral answers. Better: Name the student first, or use whiteboards so every answer is individual.
- Weak: Different sheet for each student, shuffled on the table. Better: One group sheet per session with a row per student.
- Weak: Graphing teaching responses with prompts. Better: Graph the short unprompted probe.
- Weak: Filling in totals after school. Better: Total each row before the next group comes in.
- Weak: Fewer trials per student so everyone fits. Better: Keep 10 trials and score fewer students that day.
Using a para in group data collection
A para can score one goal while you teach, often an interval or a frequency goal that runs during the whole lesson. Give the para one row, the definition and the codes. Agree on what counts before the first session, and check your marks against each other once. The guide to paraprofessional data collection covers training.
If you run many groups, IEP Atlas Pro can fill in the group sheet with your students and their goals, and a group session records each student's data live. A para can also enter data from a phone through a data-entry link that shows only first names or initials and goal names, and each entry shows who collected it and stays flagged until you mark it reviewed. Paper works just as well for a single group.
Frequently asked questions
How do I take data on 5 students at once?
Do not try to score all 5 closely in every session. Pick 2 focus students per day and score them on every planned turn, then rotate so each student gets 2 or 3 scored sessions a week. Use whiteboards or answer cards so many students can respond at once.
Can I count choral responses as data?
No. When the group answers together you cannot tell which student knew the answer. Use choral responding for practice, and score only individual turns: name the student first, or have every student write or point to an answer.
How many trials per student in a group session?
Ten scored trials per student is a common default. If time is short, score fewer students that day rather than fewer trials per student, so each graph point stays stable.
Use it in IEP Atlas
- Group data sheet
- Free IEP data sheets
- Data sheet in the IEP glossary
- Opportunity trial data sheet
- Phonics and decoding goals (reading)
Related guides
- IEP data collection: methods, sheets and schedules that hold up
- How to take trial-by-trial data during instruction
- How to choose a data collection method for an IEP goal
- Digital vs paper IEP data collection
Sources
- Progress Monitoring: Data & Goal Setting, National Center on Intensive Intervention
Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.