The Importance of Keeping Data

I get it, with a swelling caseload, and barely enough testing time, the last thing you feel you have time for is keeping data! Data is so important though for both your students and even for your own professional liability!

Data is important for several reasons:

- It allows us as clinicians to monitor growth

- It helps us create realistic and achievable IEP goals

- Reminds us of materials that worked well and some that didn't work at all (who knew Bingo would be such a failure!)

- It protects us liability wise because it is an accurate description of what you did during the session and how the child responded to it.

- A great way to see excessive absences or missed sessions

- Monitors for Tiers of RTI

- Evidence to support declassification or decrease of services.

- Evidence for increase of service or change of classification.

And for a myriad of other reasons...

Well that's great Erica, but with what time am I taking all this data?

I hear you...sessions can be chaotic and pass in the blink of an eye! Between watching to see if Johnny cut out that square appropriately, to helping Billy clean up all the pipe cleaners he spilled onto the floor, it seems almost impossible. I have searched high and low for the perfect data trackers and even paid for some on Teachers Pay Teachers. None seemed to have exactly what I needed so decided to create my own! If it's too cumbersome to write in each box, I've made two other options which are perfect for quick data collection and articulation therapy! Find them on TpT by clicking the links!

If you find it too difficult to take data throughout the session, make sure you give yourself at least a minute to write up your data after each session or build it into your speech therapy session.

Wishing you the best of luck in your venture to become a super duper data tracker!