IEP Progress Monitoring in Arkansas: What the C/D/M/N Codes Mean

Every quarter, Arkansas parents of children with IEPs should receive a progress report. Many receive a single letter — C — next to every goal, with nothing else. If you have been accepting "C" as an answer, you have been accepting inadequate reporting. Here is what Arkansas DESE requires and how to tell whether your child's progress reports are actually telling you anything.

What Arkansas Requires for IEP Progress Reports

Under IDEA and Arkansas DESE rules, the IEP must describe how the child's progress toward annual goals will be measured and when periodic reports will be provided. Arkansas districts are required to send progress reports at the same frequency they send regular report cards — typically quarterly, every 9 weeks.

That's the minimum. The IEP itself should specify how each goal will be measured (what data collection method), and the progress reports should reflect that measurement.

"Reflection" means actual data — not just a code. If the goal says progress will be measured by weekly curriculum-based measurement probes, the progress report should show the probe scores from this quarter. If the goal says progress will be measured by teacher observation, the progress report should show observation data.

Progress reports that contain only a status code with no supporting data are not providing you with meaningful progress information. They are checking a compliance box without meeting the substantive requirement.

The Four Arkansas IEP Progress Codes

Arkansas uses four status codes on IEP progress reports. These codes appear on the DESE IEP template.

C — Continued. The goal is ongoing. The student has made some progress during this reporting period but has not yet met the annual goal criteria. This is the most common code and, alone, tells you almost nothing.

A "C" should be accompanied by: the current performance level (data), how that compares to the baseline, and whether the current trajectory will result in goal mastery by the annual review date. "C" without any of this is a progress report that conveys no useful information.

If your child receives "C" on every goal for four consecutive quarters and then the same goals carry forward to the next IEP year, that is a sign either that the goals are insufficiently ambitious (meeting criteria should be achievable within one year), or that services are not effective, or that goals are not actually being targeted in instruction.

D — Discontinued. The goal was removed before it was mastered. This requires explanation. Goals are discontinued because the skill is no longer a priority, because the instructional approach changed, or because the team decided to redirect services. In some cases, discontinuation is appropriate. In others, it represents giving up on a goal the student still needs to work toward.

If you see a "D" on a goal and were not told at an IEP meeting that the goal was being removed, ask for a written explanation. Goal changes require IEP team discussion and, in many cases, prior written notice.

M — Mastered. The student met the goal criteria. Good news — and a signal that the next IEP should include a more ambitious goal in this area. Mastery should lead to a new, higher-level goal, not the same goal copied forward.

If your child consistently masters goals quickly and the team keeps writing the same level of goals year after year, the goals may not be sufficiently ambitious. The Endrew F. standard requires appropriately ambitious goals — goals designed for children who are expected to succeed, not merely survive.

N — Not Initiated. The goal has not yet begun. This code should always come with an explanation: why has the goal not been initiated? If it appears on a progress report more than a few weeks into the IEP year, something is wrong — either the service has not started, the provider has not been assigned, or the team forgot to actually begin working on this goal.

"N" codes in the middle or end of an IEP year represent potential service delivery failures. Document them and raise them at the IEP meeting.

How to Tell if Progress Data Is Sufficient

Ask yourself these questions about each progress report you receive:

• Does this tell me where my child is now relative to where they started (the baseline)?
• Does this tell me where my child needs to be by the end of the year (the goal target)?
• Does the current performance level, combined with the time remaining, suggest the goal is achievable?
• Is there actual measurement data, or just a code?

If the answer to any of these is no, the progress report is not adequate. You have the right to request the underlying data that supports each progress code — the specific assessment scores, observation counts, or other measurements.

What to Do When Progress Is Not Happening

If your child has been receiving "C" on the same goals for multiple consecutive reporting periods with no upward trajectory in the data, you have grounds to request an IEP meeting outside the annual review cycle.

At that meeting, you should ask:

• What services have been delivered this quarter? (Request service logs)
• Is the instructional approach working? What does the data show?
• Should the goal, services, or instructional strategies be changed?
• If progress has stalled, has the team considered a different approach?

An IEP that is not producing progress is not providing FAPE. You do not have to wait for the annual review to raise this concern. IDEA allows you to request an IEP meeting at any time.

If the district acknowledges that progress has not occurred but refuses to change anything, you have grounds for a state complaint or a request for compensatory education.

The Alternate Assessment Context

Students taking the Arkansas Alternate Assessment (DLM — Dynamic Learning Maps) have IEP goals written to DLM Essential Elements rather than standard grade-level objectives. Progress monitoring for these students may look different — DLM produces its own learning map data showing where the student is on the progression of each essential element.

If your child is on the DLM alternate assessment and you are receiving generic "C/D/M/N" codes without any reference to DLM learning map progress, ask for the DLM-specific data. The assessment framework is designed to show meaningful progress within alternate academic standards, and that data should be informing the progress reports.

The Arkansas IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a progress monitoring review guide — a structured set of questions to evaluate each quarterly report, a template for requesting underlying progress data, and guidance on how to raise a lack-of-progress concern at an IEP meeting before it becomes a compensatory education claim.

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