Focused Monitoring

The process of approving and monitoring special education programs and services in NH public schools has undergone a significant change. With 2006-2007 as a pilot year, the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHDOE) began using a Focused Monitoring model in 2007-2008 in place of the former cyclical approach to visiting school districts.  The state’s Focused Monitoring process brings together requirements and expectations of two major federal acts, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Educational Disabilities Act (IDEA) 2004, in the alignment of state and local efforts and resources toward improved student outcomes.

A committee representing all constituent groups in NH education (parents, teachers, specialists, administrators and special education advocacy groups) chose a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) that has been used to select districts showing the greatest need for assistance and resources relating to that indicator.  That KPI is the achievement gap between students with disabilities and their typical peers.  The 2007 results of the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) were used as the measure for selection of the 2008-2009 Focused Monitoring districts. 

Each school district selected to participate in Focused Monitoring receives ongoing technical assistance to help it narrow its achievement gap.  Each district is asked to form an achievement team representative of its total educational community: parents, special educators, general educators and administrators.  Throughout the year, this team will collect and analyze student achievement data gathered from state and district assessments, classroom assessments and teacher observations of student work.  In-depth analyses of these data will enable the team to arrive at a set of achievement gap findings and to develop an action plan to address the findings. 

Compliance will be centered on a review of the IEPs of randomly selected students to ensure that IEP development and implementation meet state and federal regulations. 

What Are The Expected Outcomes Of The Focused Monitoring Process?

• A systems approach to narrowing the achievement gap between typical students and students with disabilities
• Educational decisions based on student performance data
• Compliance connected to students’ educational benefit
• Increased parent involvement in the special education program approval process
• Significant change in how special education services and curriculum, instruction and assessment are delivered to students with disabilities
• Closer collaboration between special educators and general educators

Focused Monitoring Manual