Keeping Up With Student Information & Data in the Resource Room

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have talked about all the different forms I use to keep up with my students’ information and data. You also know that I promised y’all (and myself) that I would turn all of that information into a blog post! I hope you are able to use some of these ideas in your own classroom to make life a little easier. I’ve used my dog’s name on all the documents – not a real student, of course. She loves being the star.

IEP Binder

I like to start with my IEP Binder. IEPs are basically a special education teacher’s roadmap, so storing printed copies in a 3-inch binder makes me feel extra prepared and on top of things. This binder travels to and from school with me pretty often – especially during peak IEP season. Inside the binder I have alphabet dividers to organize by student’s last name. On top, in a sheet protect0r, I have a student information list. This is kind of like a dashboard for me because it has most of my students’ important information on one page. Under the Reading and Math headings, I actually usually put the grade level the students are working on in each subject (half of my students are on regular grade level, half of my students are on an adapted curriculum.) CM means that I’m their Case Manager.

Behind the Student Information List is a very simple IEP at a Glance (pictured below), the actual IEP, and an All About Me page (also pictured below.) I like to keep the All About Me page in the binder in case I need to add more information to the “Preferences and Interests” section whenever I’m writing an IEP and need to look back on that for inspiration.

Services Provided Binder

This is a 1/2-inch binder that holds approximately 180 Services Provided logs. I like to print all of them out at the beginning of the year to hold me accountable for filling them out. I do not have to turn these in to anybody, and nobody else really even sees them. They are important, though, because I can make sure I’m seeing all of my students for their required amount of time, and that I’m working with them on all the right skills.

In the very back of this binder, I also keep a few copies of a parent communication log. This is also not a requirement for me at my school, but I just like to keep track of when I’ve talked to parents. This can come in handy for two reasons: 1. if you think you told a parent something but you can’t quite remember, and 2. to encourage you to reach out to parents more often!

Student Goal Binders

For all of my students, I create binders that hold worksheets that target their IEP goals. I separate the worksheets with dividers. If we have free time, I will tell the students to go work in their binders independently. In the event I’m not able to do progress monitoring activities with them in time, I can look back in their binders to see how they’re doing with the skill. Which brings me to progress monitoring!

Progress Monitoring Documents

I usually progress monitor once or twice a month. It can be difficult carving out time to do this among everything else we have to do, but it helps to go ahead and mark days off on your school year calendar! I also keep these forms for every student in one folder for quick, convenient access. In each box I write the date, activity, percentage correct, and a level of independence code.

Behavior goals need to be monitored much more often, so I keep forms that look more like a calendar in a separate folder for my students that have behavior goals. At the end of each month I file away those pages and replace them with new ones for the upcoming month. The data for these forms mainly come from behavior charts that are run by the general education teacher.

How Do I Remember Everything?!

I dont!! Seriously, we have SO MUCH information to keep straight in our minds! After constantly forgetting to update something, I finally created a checklist. I keep this in a sheet protector taped to the wall behind my desk. As I get new students (or have an annual IEP meeting) I write on this list with a dry erase marker. Whenever everything is done, I erase it and get ready for the next new kiddo.

Resource Teacher Starter Kit

If you are interested in utilizing these forms in your resource room I’ve made them & more available in my Resource Teacher Starter Kit. There are editable versions, which are the ones I used to create these examples. There are also versions that are print only if you prepare to print and write on things.
I’d love to hear about your tips & tricks for organizing paperwork in the resource room! If you have any questions about anything I’ve mentioned, please never hesitate to ask!