Grade Appropriate Checklists
Ninth Grade
- Contact a guidance counselor and design a college preparatory class schedule.
- Develop a clear understanding of the nature of your disability and how it affects learning.
- Take courses or participate in groups that promote skills in time management, studying, assertiveness training, stress management, and exam preparation.
- Prepare for all classes.
- Explore career options (interest inventories, career fairs, discussion with school personnel and parents).
- Develop skills for academic independence (time management, study skills, note taking and so forth).
- Participate in extracurricular activities (athletic and non-athletic).
- Continue to remediate and/or compensate for basic-skill deficits.
- Determine what types of courses are necessary for admission to college (keep in mind, modified courses may not be acceptable for admission to some postsecondary institutions).
- Investigate assistive technology tools (communicative devices, unique computer needs, TTY, and so forth).
Tenth Grade
- Continue academic preparation and remediation/compensation strategies, and identify any assistive technology needs.
- Identify interests, aptitudes and accommodation needs.
- Continue to develop self-advocacy skills (asking for help, communicating needs to instructors, and so forth).
- Meet with guidance counselor to discuss college and college requirements.
- Find out if the schools you are interested in require or recommend that candidates take the ACT or SAT exams. If they do, make preparations to take the appropriate exam.
- Find out about documentation required by ACT/SAT in order to receive testing accommodations.
- Attend college fairs.
- Visit colleges and other postsecondary education training options.
- Gather information about college programs and about services offered for students with disabilities and make certain you understand their requirements for documentation of disability.
- Identify application deadlines for postsecondary support programs.
- Investigate eligibility requirements and services available through the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.
- Participate in volunteer and paid work experiences.
- Determine need for technology training and assessment.
Eleventh Grade
- Continue academic preparation and remediation/compensation strategies, assistive technology needs, and self-advocacy skills.
- Focus on matching interests/abilities and career goals to appropriate postsecondary education choice.
- Identify appropriate postsecondary choice.
- Take ACT or SAT with or without accommodations.
- Establish tentative career goal.
- Identify people to write recommendations for you.
- Invite Department of Rehabilitation Services counselor and other appropriate adult agency representatives to IEP meeting for discussion and planning of post high school options.
- Tour postsecondary campuses and be sure to include the disability services office.
- Investigate services offered by postsecondary setting and determine which settings match individual needs and goals.
- Learn to use public transportation options.
- Obtain picture identification or driver’s license.
- Obtain documentation of disability from current assessment (within two years of graduation date) because colleges require current assessments.
- Check with the learning institution(s) of your choice regarding requirements for disability documentation.
Twelfth Grade
- Strengthen self-advocacy skills (your legal responsibilities change after the age of 18).
- Prepare transition packet for disability documentation including: current and past evaluation reports, transcripts, test scores, current IEP, medical records, writing samples and letters of recommendation.
- Role-play interviews.
- Talk with students who are receiving services at colleges and other postsecondary training setting about their experiences.
- Schedule an interview and tour with your schools of interest. Be sure to include the disability services office on each tour.
- Prepare applications.
- Determine need for assistive technology and assessment.
- Once you have chosen your top schools, begin the process of applying for accommodations through the school’s disability services office.