Also known as the PLP or the present level of academic and functional performance (PLAAFP), the present level of performance is the portion of your child's IEP that details how he is doing academically at the moment.

An assessment which should be done freshly and thoroughly each year, a PLOP should include a detailed description of your child's current abilities and skills, with attention to his weakness and strengths and how these will affect his education.

In addition to academic concerns (intellectual functioning), the PLOP looks at a child's current physical condition, including the status of any disabilities and mobility status, and social performance ranging from relationships with adults and other children to the development of skills which will be needed for independence.

Why the PLOP Is Important

An accurate and complete PLOP is essential for determining appropriate goals for your child. After all, if you and your child's teachers can't agree on where a child is starting from, how can you determine where he should go? That said, the PLOP is often neglected or too vague to be helpful in the way it is designed to be.

A notation of "as is" is unacceptable.

The people involved in your child's special education such as teachers and therapists should contribute their observations about your student's performance level in academic and non-academic areas. This can be determined by a portfolio of your student's activities and notes about your student's interpersonal skills.

Also, test scores should be included as appropriate to further document his current ability.

While sometimes given less prominence in the report, a parent's concerns about how to enhance their child's education is an essential portion of a good PLOP.

Overall, the PLOP is a very important step in describing a child's academic, physical, and social needs which will need to be addressed in special education during the current year.