If the IEP were a house, the present levels would be the foundation. Goals, services, supports, and placement all sit on top of it. If the foundation is cracked, the rest of the house wobbles, and nobody notices until the first storm.
Yet most parents skim this section, because it is full of language like "demonstrates emerging skills" and "performs below grade-level expectations." Let's make it make sense.
So what are "present levels"?
They are the school's description of where your child is right now: what they can do, where they struggle, and how their disability affects learning. You may see the acronym PLAAFP, which stands for Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance. Same thing.
A good present levels section answers three questions:
Where is my child?
How do we know?
How does that compare to other kids their age?
Green light: what a strong one looks like
The team looked at current data: evaluations, progress monitoring, and classroom observations.
Your child's strengths and needs are clearly described.
The team explains how the disability affects access to learning and participation.
You understand how your child's skills compare to a same-age peer without a disability.
That last one matters more than people realize. If your fifth grader is reading at a first-grade level, the IEP should say so, plainly. Hearing it might sting. But a clear picture lets the team write goals that actually close the gap.
Stop sign: three red flags
1. Copy and paste. Sometimes the present levels look suspiciously like last year's. Same sentences, new date. If your child changed (and kids always do), the paragraph should too.
2. It doesn't match the child you know. Eli's mom, Maya, read that her son "knows one letter." At home, Eli points out letters on every cereal box, street sign, and license plate in a three-mile radius and tells you what they are. That is not a small gap. That is a sign the school is not seeing what Eli can do, or is not measuring it in a way that shows it. When what you read does not match what you see, say so.
3. Only test scores. Standardized tests are useful, but they are a snapshot taken on one day, in a testing room. A strong present levels section also has classroom data: work samples, observations, progress monitoring. Scores plus real-life data tells the whole story.
Rest area: what to ask
These questions are polite, powerful, and hard to argue with:
"Can you show me the data points behind that statement?"
"What does this skill look like in class? Can you share an example?"
"I've noticed this about my child. Can we include it?"
That middle question is a quiet superpower. A lot of IEP language is written in "education-ese," and parents honestly do not know what it looks like in a classroom. Asking for an example is not a sign you are confused. It is how you find out whether the statement is real.
No turn
Be wary of "We can't share the data" or "We didn't have time to collect any." Parents are allowed to see data about their own child.
U-turn: when the data is thin
If the data is not there, you do not have to fight. Try:
"Let's plan a short data collection period so we can have current data for these goals."
Two weeks of real data beats a month of guessing.
The caution sign to remember
Before you leave this section, ask yourself: Are these present levels specific and current enough to write goals we can actually measure? If not, pause here. Everything after this is built on it.
If you remember one thing: if the foundation is shaky, fix it before you build anything on top.
Want the whole map? Download the free IEP Roadmap checklist and check out our IEP Parent Training.
If you would like someone to look over your child's IEP with you, learn about our IEP Advocacy services. I offer a free 15-minute consultation if you want to talk it through.
Casey Gressmen, MBA, MEd, BCBA, LBA, is a licensed special education teacher and board certified behavior analyst and the founder of Phoenix Rising Behavior and Academic Consulting.
