How to Collect Data Using Task Boxes in Special Education

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Task boxes can be used to collect two different kinds of special education data: skill data and independence data.

Skill data measures whether a student can accurately complete the academic, functional, or fine motor skill inside the task.

Independence data measures how much support the student needs to start, complete, and finish the task.

Skill Data vs. Independence Data: What's the Difference?

A student might complete a task accurately and still need adult support to start, continue, or finish. Another student might work through the entire routine independently but make errors along the way. Those are two different kinds of progress.

How to Collect Skill Data With Task Boxes

Skill-specific data is probably the type of task box data you're already most familiar with.

You're looking at the actual skill inside the task: matching, sorting, counting, identifying letters, completing patterns, functional reading, or another targeted skill.

What you record depends on the skill and the student's goal, but you might collect:

• number of correct responses
• number of incorrect responses
• correct responses out of total opportunities
• percentage of accurate responses
• level of prompting, if prompting is relevant to what you're measuring

For example, if a task includes 10 number-to-quantity matches and the student completes 9 correctly, you have a clear measure of skill accuracy: 9 out of 10 correct.

Decide what you’re measuring before the student begins. Otherwise, it’s easy to watch a student complete a task, think, That went pretty well, and realize afterward that you didn’t record the information you actually needed.

How to Collect Independence Data With Task Boxes

Sometimes the skill isn’t your biggest question. You may already know the student can match the pictures. What you need to know is whether they can complete the work without you running the whole process.

When I'm looking at independence, I'm thinking about the entire work routine:

You might track whether the student:

• gets or identifies the correct task
• begins without an adult prompt
• stays with the task
• completes the task without assistance
• asks for help appropriately when needed
• knows when the task is finished
• puts finished work in the expected location
• moves to the next part of the routine

You don’t need to track every part of the routine at once. Choose the part you’re actually trying to improve.

If you’re constantly saying, ‘Okay, get started,’ then starting independently might be the data worth collecting. If students complete the work but immediately ask, ‘What do I do now?’ then the finish routine may be what you want to watch.

What Should You Record?

Keep it simple enough that you’ll actually use it.

For skill data, record the task or skill, the number correct out of the total opportunities, and any notes that matter.

For independence data, record the part of the routine you’re watching and the amount of prompting or support the student needed.

The goal isn’t to collect more data. It’s to collect the data that answers the question you actually have.

Can You Use Task Boxes for IEP Progress Monitoring?

Yes, task boxes can provide repeated opportunities to collect progress-monitoring data—but the task and the data you record need to match the IEP goal.

Start with the goal. What exactly are you required to measure? Then make sure the task gives the student an appropriate opportunity to demonstrate that skill.

Putting an activity inside a task box doesn't automatically make it appropriate for progress monitoring.

Start with the goal—not the task box.

Why Familiar Task Boxes Can Make Data Collection Easier

One reason I liked collecting data with task boxes in my own classroom was familiarity.

My students already knew the materials and understood the general work routine. Instead of introducing a completely unfamiliar activity every time I wanted information, I could sometimes observe student performance in a format they already understood.

That doesn't mean familiarity automatically makes the data valid or that a familiar task should replace the assessment method an IEP goal requires.

It simply means the format doesn't always have to be new for you to learn something useful about student performance.

Want Task Boxes You Can Actually Put to Work?

You don't need to build a new activity every time you need students to practice a skill.

Inside the Task Box Club, you'll find a large library of structured task boxes you can choose based on the skills your students are working on—so you can spend less time creating materials and more time actually using them with your students.