Special Education Indicator Target Setting
What is Special Education Indicator Target Setting?
A summary of the indicator target setting process, including final targets, is now available
here.
(Updated Jan. 2023)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) established a series of special education “indicators” to measure services and results for students with disabilities. The IDEA Annual Performance Report package requires states to set targets across indicators through the 2025-2026 school year. Ohio’s performance on each special education indicator is compared to the targets for annual federal reporting. Additionally, states must publicly report the performance of each district in the state in comparison to the targets.
- Targets must be rigorous, yet attainable.
- Targets must reflect broad stakeholder input.
- Targets for the final year (2025-2026) must reflect improvement over the state’s baseline data.
What is the department requesting from stakeholders for public comment?
The Department requested public comment on the proposed target options for each indicator. The public comment period closed on Nov. 5, 2021. Indicator fact sheets with proposed target options are available for each of these indicators. These fact sheets are further described below. For each indicator, stakeholders were encouraged to comment on which target option they preferred and why. Commenters were also invited to be part of a virtual stakeholder group that will hold a series of meetings between November and January to review all public input and finalize the targets across indicators.
How many targets must be set for the indicators?
The indicators are grouped into six clusters with varying numbers of targets:
Exiting Indicators:
Statewide Math & Reading Assessments Indicators:
Discipline & School-Age Environments Indicators:
Preschool Environments & Outcomes Indicators:
Family Involvement Indicators:
Dispute Resolution Indicators:
What is in the indicator fact sheets?
Each fact sheet is organized by the following guiding questions:
- What does this indicator measure? This section describes the what the indicator measures and how it is calculated.
- What are the data considerations? Data considerations provide the data source, a description of how the indicator has changed, if applicable, and relevant data notes that further describe what is and is not included in the calculation.
- How has Ohio performed over time? Data visualizations showing Ohio’s performance in recent years are provided for indicators with more than one year of available data. These visualizations are followed by a data table providing the numerator, denominator, percentage, and change in percentage from year to year.
- How has Ohio performed in relation to the targets? Data visualizations comparing Ohio’s performance to previous targets are provided to help identify new targets that are rigorous yet attainable. Some indicators have changed so substantially that prior targets are not applicable, and those fact sheets will not include this section.
- Proposed Targets. The Department has proposed two target options for each indicator as a starting place for stakeholder feedback. This section identifies the proposed targets and describes the rationale for each proposed set of targets, though stakeholders were welcome to propose a third option.
- What are the programmatic considerations? Programmatic considerations include current strategies underway, new upcoming initiatives, or state or federal legislation with the potential to affect Ohio’s performance on the indicator, directly or indirectly. This section helped stakeholders determine what targets might be attainable in the coming years.
What happens if Ohio does not meet the targets?
Each February, the Department reports Ohio’s performance to the U.S. Department of Education. If the state does not meet the target for the reporting year, the Department must provide a “slippage statement” describing likely reasons why the state missed the target and improvement strategies designed to make progress on the indicator.
Additional Resources
Questions can be sent to
specialedtargets@education.ohio.gov.
Last Modified: 10/24/2023 10:55:45 AM