How we research and review our guides
Methods advice should come with its sources and a date. Here is how ours is made.
Where the information comes from
Guides lean on primary sources: the federal special education rules in 34 CFR Part 300, guidance and technical assistance from state education agencies, federally funded technical assistance centers, and research summaries. Every guide ends with the sources we opened for it, and the sources page collects them. We cite a page only after reading it.
How a guide is written
- We start from a question a teacher or family actually has: how do I set this baseline, how many points is enough, how do I graph this.
- We read the top search results for that question to see what is well covered and what is thin or contradictory.
- We read the rule or agency page itself and write from it, separating what the rule requires from what research and practice suggest.
- We flag anything that depends on a publisher, a district, or the student, and say where to look it up instead of guessing.
- Examples are invented, labeled as illustrations, and never describe a real student.
How often guides are re-checked
Each guide is re-read against its sources at least every six months, and sooner when we learn that a rule or a linked page has changed. The date near the top of each guide is the date of the last review.
What we will not do
- We do not give legal, psychological, or educational advice, and we do not interpret any student's IEP or scores.
- We do not publish norms, cut scores, or benchmarks that belong to a publisher or a state. Those change, and the publisher's page is the place to read them.
- We do not run ads, take payment for placement, or sell anything on this site.
- We do not want student information. Please never send us documents or details that identify a student.
Who writes the guides
Guides are written by our editorial desk. You can read about the writer on the author page. The writer is not an attorney, a school psychologist, or a statistician, which is why every guide points back to official sources and to your own team.
Corrections
If something is wrong, out of date, or unclear, write to contact@goaldatanotebook.com and name the guide and the sentence. We correct errors on the page and update the review date.
Goal Data Notebook is independent and is not affiliated with any school district, state agency, assessment publisher, or advocacy organization.