From evaluation scores to present levels that drive goals

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

To move evaluation results into present levels, summarize each score in plain words, say what it means for class work, then add a classroom probe in the unit the goal will use. Standard scores show how far the student is from peers. Probes give the baseline. Present levels need both, linked by an impact statement and a named need.

An evaluation report can run 25 pages. The present levels section has room for a paragraph per area. The job is not to shrink the report. It is to pull out what the team needs to write goals, then add the one thing most reports lack: a baseline in the goal's unit.

The team must consider the results of the initial or most recent evaluation when it develops the IEP.^[1] When it reviews existing data for a reevaluation, it also decides what is needed to describe the student's present levels of achievement and related developmental needs.^[2] So the evaluation is an input to present levels, not a replacement for them. For the full structure of the section, see present levels of performance.

What you need before you start

The final evaluation report, with score tables.
Classroom probes in each area the team expects to target, or time to take them.
The previous IEP's present levels and last progress report.
Teacher and parent input.
The reevaluation and annual review dates.

The steps and the time each takes

Step	What you do	Time per area
1	Pull the scores that answer the referral question	10 minutes
2	Translate each score into plain words	5 minutes
3	Find the pattern across scores	10 minutes
4	Add a classroom baseline in the goal's unit	15 to 30 minutes over 3 days
5	Write the impact on class work	5 minutes
6	Name the need that becomes a goal	5 minutes
7	Check the dates	5 minutes per student

Step-by-step

Step 1: Pull the scores that answer the referral question

Not every subtest belongs in present levels. Pick the composites and subtests tied to the areas of need, plus any strength that will matter for instruction. If the referral was about reading, the reading composite, word reading, fluency and phonological processing scores come forward. A spatial reasoning score of 112 may come forward too, if it suggests visual supports will work.

Step 2: Translate each score into plain words

Most achievement and cognitive tests report standard scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Give the score, the percentile rank and a plain sentence. "A standard score of 79 is at the 8th percentile. That means 8 of every 100 students the same age scored at or below this level." Parents understand the second sentence. Few understand the first.

Skip the grade equivalent. A grade equivalent of 2.6 does not mean the student reads like a second grader in month six, and families hear it that way. If your district requires it, add a caution beside it.

Step 3: Find the pattern across scores

One low score is a fact. A pattern is a finding. Line up the scores and look for what moves together. Low word reading, low fluency and low phonological processing, next to average listening comprehension, tells a clear story: the student understands language but cannot get the words off the page fast enough. Write that story in one or two sentences.

Step 4: Add a classroom baseline in the goal's unit

A standard score can't track monthly progress. It changes slowly and is normed for once-a-year use at best. The goal needs a unit you can measure every week or two, such as words correct per minute or problems correct on a probe. Take at least three short probes on different days and report the median. Curriculum-based measurement is built for this. The guide to collecting baseline data covers the details.

Step 5: Write the impact on class work

Connect the scores and probes to a real class task. Name the class, the task and what happens. "In science, he finishes about half of the assigned reading in the 20 minutes given." The impact statement examples show this sentence in two dozen areas.

Step 6: Name the need that becomes a goal

End each area with the skill to teach. "Santiago needs to decode multisyllable words with vowel teams and r-controlled vowels accurately and fluently." That sentence is what the goal targets, and the baseline from Step 4 is where it starts.

Step 7: Check the dates

Note when the evaluation was done and when the next one is due. Use the IEP due date calculator for this. Enter the last annual review date and the last evaluation date. It shows the next annual review and the triennial reevaluation deadline from federal timelines, with a setting for how your state counts a year and how far ahead to start scheduling. It can export the dates to a calendar, and it does not save what you enter. If the triennial falls within the coming IEP year, say so in present levels, so the team knows the scores will be refreshed. Reevaluations happen at least once every 3 years unless the parent and school agree one is not needed.^[3]

Worked example: Santiago, grade 5

Santiago is fictional. His reevaluation was completed on October 6, 2026. The scores below are illustrations.

Measure	Score	Percentile	Plain words
Word reading (norm-referenced)	79	8th	Well below most peers his age
Reading fluency (norm-referenced)	74	4th	Far below most peers
Phonological processing composite	81	10th	Below most peers
Listening comprehension	98	45th	Average
Math calculation	96	39th	Average

Classroom probes, October 7 to 15: on three unpracticed grade 5 passages, he read 68, 74 and 71 words correct per minute, a median of 71, with 91% accuracy. On a 30-word list of two- and three-syllable words, he read 14 correctly.

Present levels, reading: "Santiago's October 2026 reevaluation shows average listening comprehension (standard score 98, 45th percentile) and well-below-average word reading (79, 8th percentile) and reading fluency (74, 4th percentile). On three grade 5 passages in October, he read a median of 71 words correct per minute with 91% accuracy. He read 14 of 30 multisyllable words correctly, with most errors on vowel teams and r-controlled vowels. He understands grade-level text when it is read aloud. In science and social studies, he finishes about half of the assigned reading in the time given. Santiago needs to decode multisyllable words accurately and read grade 5 text more fluently."

Goal it supports: "By October 2027, given an unpracticed grade 5 passage, Santiago will read aloud at 105 words correct per minute with at least 96% accuracy, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by curriculum-based oral reading fluency probes." The target is an illustration; set yours from the student's growth rate and the team's judgment. Track it on the reading fluency data sheet, and see oral reading fluency for scoring rules.

What did not come forward: the full cognitive profile, the testing behavior notes and the eligibility discussion. They stay in the report, which the IEP can reference.

Common mistakes

Weak: "Santiago scored a 79 on word reading and a 74 on fluency." Better: "Santiago's word reading (79, 8th percentile) and fluency (74, 4th percentile) are well below most peers, while his listening comprehension is average."

Weak: "Reading grade equivalent: 2.6." Better: "On grade 5 passages, he reads a median of 71 words correct per minute."

Weak: Pasting the full score table into present levels. Better: Three to five scores that explain the need, with a pointer to the report.

Weak: "Goal: Santiago will raise his word reading standard score to 90." Better: A goal measured with probes you can give every two weeks, since standard scores are not built for progress monitoring.

Weak: Reporting only weaknesses. Better: Naming the average listening comprehension, which tells teachers that audio text and oral discussion will work.

Templates and tools

Write the finished statement in the PLAAFP template. If the team struggles to read the report, the guide on how to read a psychoeducational report explains each section. Draft goals from the library, such as phonics and decoding goals, then paste the draft into the goal checker to catch a missing criterion or method. The evaluation entry in the glossary covers the legal terms.

Frequently asked questions

Should standard scores go in present levels?

Yes, a few of them, each with a percentile and a plain-language meaning. Pick the scores that explain the need. Then add a classroom probe, because standard scores cannot show progress from month to month.

Can an IEP goal be written to raise a standard score?

It is a poor choice. Standardized tests are given rarely, practice effects limit retesting, and scores move slowly. Write the goal in a unit you can probe every week or two, such as words correct per minute.

What if the evaluation is more than a year old?

Keep the scores but label their date, and lean on fresh classroom probes for the baseline. Check when the next reevaluation is due so the team can plan for updated scores.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.324: Development, review, and revision of IEP, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
34 CFR §300.305: Additional requirements for evaluations and reevaluations, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
34 CFR §300.303: Reevaluations, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

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.