Present levels of performance (PLAAFP): what to include, with examples

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

Present levels of performance, or PLAAFP, is the part of the IEP that says what the student can do now in academics and daily functioning, and how the disability affects progress in the general curriculum. A useful statement has four parts: strengths, current data, impact and needs. Every annual goal takes its baseline from it.

The present levels statement is the first real section of an IEP, and everything after it leans on it. Goals take their baselines from it. Services and accommodations need a reason, and the reason should be written here. When a parent asks why their child gets 30 minutes of math support, the answer should be in the present levels.

This page covers the four-part model with a quality test for each part, six short statements by area with the goal each one supports, and a table of where the data comes from.

What is a PLAAFP?

PLAAFP stands for Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance. States and districts use other names for the same section: PLOP, PLEP, PLP, or simply "present levels." The job does not change with the name. It describes the student as they are today, in numbers where possible, so the team can plan the year from a known starting point.

The federal rule requires every IEP to include a statement of the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. That statement must include how the disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum. For preschool children, it describes how the disability affects participation in appropriate activities.^[1]

A second rule tells the team what to weigh when it builds the IEP: the child's strengths, the parents' concerns for their child's education, the results of the most recent evaluation, and the child's academic, developmental and functional needs.^[2] Those four items line up closely with what a good present levels statement holds. The same regulation requires the team to review the IEP at least once a year, so present levels are rewritten at least annually.

The Supreme Court's 2017 decision in Endrew F. held that an IEP must be reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances.^[3] Present levels are where those circumstances are written down. Without them, nobody can judge whether the goals are ambitious enough. The glossary entry on Endrew F. summarizes the case.

Academic achievement and functional performance meaning

The two halves of the name cover different ground.

Academic achievement is how the student performs in school subjects: reading, writing, math, and content areas such as science. It is usually measured against grade-level standards with probes, classroom assessments, work samples and state tests.

Functional performance covers the skills a student uses to get through the day that are not academic subjects. The regulations do not define the term, so teams read it broadly: communication, behavior, social skills, self-care, motor skills, organization, mobility and, for older students, work and independent living. A student can be at grade level in every subject and still have functional needs that belong in an IEP.

	Academic achievement	Functional performance
Covers	Reading, writing, math, content areas	Communication, behavior, self-care, motor, social, organization, work
Typical data	Probes, work samples, curriculum tests, state tests	Observation counts, task analysis, duration, opportunity data
Compared with	Grade-level standards	What same-age peers do in the same setting
Example need	Decode two-syllable words	Ask for a break instead of leaving the room

Functional areas are where present levels most often go vague, because there is no test score to copy in. The functional performance present levels examples show how to put numbers on daily living, routines and self-care.

The four parts of a strong present levels statement

Every area the IEP addresses should have all four parts. Use the quality test in the third column on your own draft before the meeting.

Part	What it says	Quality test	Sign it is weak
Strengths	What the student does well, and what conditions help	Could a teacher plan a lesson around it?	"Is a sweet, friendly child"
Current data	A number, the task, the conditions, the date and the source	Could someone repeat the measure next month and compare?	"Reads below grade level"
Impact	How the disability affects access to and progress in grade-level work	Does it name a real class task and what goes wrong?	"The disability affects all areas"
Needs	The skills to teach and the supports to provide	Does each need lead to a goal, service or accommodation?	"Needs to try harder"

Strengths

Strengths are not compliments. Write them as things you can see: "reads sight words from the grade 2 list with 95% accuracy," or "works for 15 minutes when the task is broken into steps." A strength written this way tells the next teacher what to build on. The student strengths examples turn common vague praise into observable performance.

Current data

This is the part goals depend on. Give the score, what the student was asked to do, under what conditions, and when. Use the same unit the goal will use. If the goal will be measured in words correct per minute, the present level must report words correct per minute. A single probe is not enough; take at least three and report the median. The baseline the goal names comes straight from this sentence.

Impact

The impact statement explains why the gap matters in class. "Because Tomas decodes about half of the multisyllable words in grade 5 science text, he cannot read the textbook sections assigned for homework without an adult" says more than "his disability impacts reading." Tie it to a specific task and setting. The impact statement examples cover 24 versions across areas.

Needs

Needs are the bridge to the rest of the IEP. Each need should point to something later in the document: a measurable annual goal, a related service, an accommodation, or a support for staff. If a need appears here and nowhere else, either the need is wrong or the IEP is missing something.

Parent input belongs in the statement too, in the parents' own concerns. The guide on capturing parent concerns shows how to record them so they lead somewhere.

Six short PLAAFPs and the goals they support

Each example below is a short present levels statement for one area, followed by the goal it supports. The numbers are invented to show the format. They are not norms or targets.

Reading: decoding multisyllable words

Present levels: "On three lists of 20 two- and three-syllable words in October, Tomas read a median of 9 correctly (45%). He reads one-syllable words with vowel teams at 90% accuracy. He tries to read long words as a whole and guesses from the first letters. In grade 5 science and social studies, he cannot read the assigned sections without an adult reading them aloud. Tomas needs a routine to break long words into syllables and read each part."

Goal it supports: Given a list of 20 unpracticed multisyllable words, Tomas will read 16 of 20 correctly on 3 of 4 biweekly probes. The template is decode multisyllabic words using syllable types.

Math: subtraction with regrouping

Present levels: "On four 10-problem sets of two-digit subtraction in September, Keisha solved a median of 4 correctly. She solves all problems without regrouping correctly. On problems that need regrouping, she subtracts the smaller digit from the larger one in each column. She completes grade 3 math warm-ups at about half the pace of her class. Keisha needs to recognize when to regroup and carry out each step."

Goal it supports: Given 10 two-digit subtraction problems that include regrouping, Keisha will solve 8 correctly on 3 consecutive weekly probes. See add and subtract two-digit numbers with regrouping.

Writing: complete sentences

Present levels: "In five writing samples from content classes in October, 11 of Dev's 26 sentences (42%) were complete and correctly punctuated. The rest were run-ons joined by 'and' or fragments that began with 'because.' He spells most grade 6 words correctly and has strong ideas when he explains them aloud. Teachers often cannot follow his written answers in science, so he loses credit for content he knows. Dev needs to write complete sentences and fix run-ons in his own work."

Goal it supports: In his own writing samples across content classes, Dev will write complete, correctly punctuated sentences in 80% of sentences across 4 consecutive monthly samples. See write complete sentences without run-ons or fragments.

Behavior: leaving the work area

Present levels: "Across 10 school days of frequency data in September, Rosa left her assigned area during independent work a median of 4 times per day. ABC notes show 34 of 41 events came within 2 minutes of a written task being handed out. She stays in her area through hands-on and partner tasks. Each time she leaves, she misses 5 to 15 minutes of instruction. Rosa needs a way to ask for a short break when written work feels too hard."

Goal it supports: When given a written task, Rosa will ask for a break using her break card instead of leaving her area in 8 of 10 opportunities across 2 consecutive weeks. See ask for a break instead of leaving the task.

Communication: speech sound production

Present levels: "On a 20-word probe in October, Aaron produced /r/ correctly in 4 of 20 words with /r/ in the initial position (20%). He produces /r/ correctly in 9 of 10 imitated syllables. Classmates ask him to repeat himself when he answers in group work, and he has started to answer with one word. Aaron needs to produce /r/ in words and then in phrases."

Goal it supports: Given picture cues, Aaron will produce initial /r/ correctly in 18 of 20 words across 3 consecutive sessions. See produce the target sound correctly in single words.

Daily living: the arrival routine

Present levels: "On a 7-step arrival routine checklist across 8 mornings in September, Lily completed a median of 3 steps without a prompt. She hangs up her coat and greets staff on her own. She stops after unpacking and waits for an adult to tell her the next step. She often starts the morning lesson 10 minutes late. Lily needs to complete the full routine using a picture checklist."

Goal it supports: Given a picture checklist, Lily will complete 7 of 7 arrival steps without adult prompts on 4 of 5 consecutive school days. See complete the morning arrival routine.

In each pair, the number in the present levels becomes the baseline, the need names the skill, and the conditions carry into the goal. That is the alignment test. When it fails, the goal has no starting point.

Where present levels data comes from

Good present levels pull from more than one source. Use recent data, ideally from the last 4 to 6 weeks, measured the way the goal will be measured.

Area	Data sources	Measurement page
Reading fluency	Timed passages read aloud, screening scores	Oral reading fluency
Decoding and spelling	Word lists, spelling inventories	Percent accuracy
Math computation	Timed computation probes	Rate per minute
Written expression	Writing samples scored on a rubric	Rubric scoring
Behavior	Counts across days, ABC notes	Frequency recording
Engagement	Momentary or partial interval checks	Interval recording
Starting tasks	Seconds from direction to start	Latency recording
Communication	Probes, language samples, opportunities in class	Opportunities
Daily living and routines	Step-by-step checklists	Task analysis
Classwork	Share of assigned work finished	Work completion

Add the sources that do not produce a goal unit but still belong in the statement: the most recent evaluation, state test results, grades, teacher reports, parent input and the student's own view. A standard score from an evaluation tells you how the student compares with peers. A probe tells you where to start the goal. Present levels usually need both.

PLAAFP vs baseline, evaluation report and annual goal

These terms get mixed up in meetings. The table separates them.

Term	What it is	How it relates to present levels
Present levels (PLAAFP)	The IEP statement of current performance, impact and needs	The whole section
Baseline	One number: current performance on the goal's exact task	Sits inside present levels; the goal repeats it
Evaluation report	The full assessment written for eligibility or reevaluation	A source; summarize its results, do not paste it in
Annual goal	What the student should do by the next annual review	Built from a need named in present levels
Accommodation	A change in how the student accesses work or shows learning	Justified by the impact statement

Where present levels appear and who writes them

Most IEP forms put present levels near the front, after student information and before goals. Some states split them into one box per area; others use one narrative. Check your state or district form, because the layout varies even when the federal rule is the same.

The case manager usually drafts the section and assembles it. Each provider writes their own area: the SLP writes communication, the OT writes fine motor and self-care, the general education teacher reports on class performance. Parents add their concerns and what they see at home. Students, especially older ones, should add their own view. The team reviews the draft at the meeting and can change it there.

Share the draft with parents before the meeting when your district allows it. A parent who reads present levels at the table for the first time cannot respond to them well.

How long present levels should be

Long enough to hold the four parts for each area the IEP addresses, and no longer. For most areas, that is four to eight sentences. A student with needs in six areas will have a longer section than a student with one, and that is fine.

Cut test scores that do not lead anywhere. Cut history that no longer describes the student. Keep every number a goal or service depends on.

Present levels guides in this series

How-to guides

How to write a PLAAFP, step by step, with a worked example from blank page to finished statement
Capturing parent concerns in the IEP

Examples by area

PLAAFP examples for reading
Present levels examples for math
Present levels examples for writing
Present levels examples for behavior
Present levels examples for speech and language
Present levels examples for OT and fine motor
Present levels for transition-age students
General PLAAFP examples that lead to goals, covering fluency, paragraphs, word problems, task initiation and asking for help

Examples by part

Comparisons and templates

After present levels: goals

The next section of the IEP turns needs into goals. Start with how to write measurable IEP goals, and if a need has no number behind it yet, read how to collect baseline data first. When the goal is drafted, paste it into the goal checker to see if any part is missing. The goal bank has templates for every area in the examples above, and the guides on writing IEP goals follow the IEP in order.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between PLAAFP and PLOP?

There is no real difference in the job. Before the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA, the law said present levels of educational performance, which is where PLEP and PLOP come from. The current wording names academic achievement and functional performance. Many states and teachers still use the older names.

Do present levels need test scores?

They need current data, which can include test scores but should not stop there. Pair any standard score with what it means for class work, and add classroom probes measured in the unit the goal will use. A standard score shows how the student compares with peers; a probe gives the goal a baseline.

Who writes the present levels in an IEP?

The case manager usually drafts and assembles the section. Each provider writes the area they serve, the general education teacher adds class performance, and parents and the student add their concerns and views. The full team reviews and can change the statement at the meeting.

How often are present levels updated?

At least once a year, when the IEP is reviewed. Update them sooner when the team amends the IEP for a real change, such as a new evaluation, a goal that was met early, or a new need. Present levels copied forward from last year describe a student who no longer exists.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
34 CFR §300.324: Development, review, and revision of IEP, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 580 U.S. 386 (2017), Supreme Court of the United States

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.