High-Leverage Practices: Crosswalk

This crosswalk shows points of alignment in practices and standards between high-leverage practices (HLPs) and the Council for Exception Children's (CEC's) Initial Practice-Based Professional Preparation Standards for Special Educators. This document provides the crosswalk through two charts, one organized by HLPs and the other organized by CEC Standards Components.

Download PDF

Share

High-Leverage Practices 

High-Leverage Practices in Special Education 

Related Professional Standards for Educational Leaders

Promoting Principal Leadership for the Success of Students With Disabilities
1) Leading a group discussion 
Teach social behaviors (9) 
Teach cognitive and metacognitive strategies to support learning and independence (14) 
Use strategies to promote active student engagement (18) 

Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs
2) Explaining and modeling content, practices, and strategies 
Teach cognitive and metacognitive strategies to support learning and independence (14) 
Teach social behaviors (9) 
Use explicit instruction (16) 
Provide intensive instruction (20) 
Teach students to maintain and generalize new learning across time and settings (21) 
Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs
3) Eliciting and interpreting individual students’ thinking 
Use strategies to promote active student engagement (18)
Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior (22) 

Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) 

Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs 
4) Diagnosing particular common patterns of student thinking and development in a subject-matter domain
Systematically design instruction toward a specific learning goal (12) 
Adapt curriculum tasks and materials for specific learning goals (13) 

 

 Ensure instructional practice that is intellectually challenging, is authentic to student experiences, recognizes student strengths, and is differentiated and personalized (4d) Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs
5) Implementing norms and routines for classroom discourse and work 
Establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment (7) 
Teach social behaviors (9) 

 
Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) Cultivate and reinforce student engagement in school and positive student conduct (5e) Ensure that students with disabilities (SWD) have opportunities to learn with their nondisabled peers to the greatest extent possible 
Support teachers as they create productive and inclusive environments in their classrooms and throughout the school 
6) Coordinating and adjusting instruction during a lesson Provide scaffolded supports (15) 

Ensure instructional practice that is instruction during a lesson intellectually challenging, is authentic to student experiences, recognizes student strengths, and is differentiated and personalized (4d) 

Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs 
7) Specifying and reinforcing productive student behavior 
Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior (8) 
Conduct functional behavioral assessments to develop individual student behavior support plans (10) 

 

 Develop student policies and address student misconduct in a positive, fair, and unbiased manner (3d) Cultivate and reinforce student engagement in school and positive student conduct (5e) Promote inclusive social environments that foster acceptance, care, and sense of value and belonging in adult-student and student peer relationships 
8) Implementing organizational routines Establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment (7) 

Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) 

Support teachers as they create productive and inclusive environments in their classrooms and throughout the school
9) Setting up and managing small group work
Establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment (7)
Teach social behaviors (9)

 

 Create and sustain a school environment in which each student is known, accepted and valued, trusted and respected, cared for, and encouraged to be an active and responsible member of the school community (5b) Promote inclusive social environments that foster acceptance, care, and sense of value and belonging in adult-student and student peer relationships
11) Talking about a student with parents or other caregivers
Organize and facilitate effective meetings with professionals and families (2)
Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed services (3)

Create means for the school community to partner with families to support student learning in and out of school (8e) Create partnerships with families of SWD and engage them purposefully and productively in the learning and development of their children in and out of school
12) Learning about students’ cultural, religious, family, intellectual, and personal experiences and resources for use in instruction
Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed services (3)
Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs (4)
Recognize, respect, and employ each student’s strengths, diversity, and culture as assets for teaching and learning (3b) Engage families to provide insight about their children’s specific disabilities that allows teachers to better understand their needs, make educationally sound instructional decisions, and assist in interpreting and assessing student progress
13) Setting long- and short-term learning goals for students
Identify and prioritize long- and short-term learning goals (11)
Use assistive and instructional technologies (19)
Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) Communicate high academic expectations for all students, including SWD; promote high-quality, intellectually challenging curricula and instruction; and provide opportunities for students with disabilities to achieve within the general education curriculum using a multi-tiered system of support
14) Designing single lessons and sequences of lessons  Systematically design instruction toward a specific learning goal (12)

Ensure instructional practice that is intellectually challenging, is authentic to student experiences, recognizes student strengths, and is differentiated and personalized (4d)

Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs
15) Checking student understanding during and at the conclusion of lessons Use student assessment data, analyze instructional practices, and make necessary adjustments that improve student outcomes (6) Ensure instructional practice that is intellectually challenging, is authentic to student experiences, recognizes student strengths, and is differentiated and personalized (4d) Promote appropriate, clear, and valid monitoring and assessment systems in which teachers receive meaningful information about how students respond to instruction and information is relevant to instructional improvement
16) Selecting and designing formal assessments of student learning Use student assessment data, analyze instructional practices, and make necessary adjustments that improve student outcomes (6) Employ valid assessments that are consistent with knowledge of child learning and development and technical standards (4f) Promote appropriate, clear, and valid monitoring and assessment systems in which teachers receive meaningful information about how students respond to instruction and information is relevant to instructional improvement
17) Interpreting the results of student work, including routine assignments, quizzes, tests, projects, and standardized assessments
Collaborate with professionals to increase student success (1)
Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs (4)
Interpret and communicate assessment information with stakeholders to collaboratively design and implement educational programs (5)

 

Use assessment data appropriately and within technical limitations to monitor student progress and improve instruction (4g) 

Promote appropriate, clear, and valid monitoring and assessment systems in which teachers receive meaningful information about how students respond to instruction and information is relevant to instructional improvement
18) Providing oral and written feedback to students Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior (8, 22) Promote instructional practice that is consistent with knowledge of child learning and development, effective pedagogy, and the needs of each student (4c) Ensure that evidence-based approaches to instruction and assessment are implemented with integrity and are adapted to local needs
19) Analyzing instruction for the purpose of improving it Use student assessment data, analyze instructional practices, and make necessary adjustments that improve student outcomes (6) Use assessment data appropriately and within technical limitations to monitor student progress and improve instruction (4g) Deliver actionable feedback about instruction and other professional practice through valid, research-anchored systems of supervision and evaluation to support the development of teachers’ and staff members’ knowledge, skills, and practice (6e) Promote appropriate, clear, and valid monitoring and assessment systems in which teachers receive meaningful information about how students respond to instruction and information is relevant to instructional improvement Work collaboratively with classroom teachers to help them develop their capacity for effective instruction 

 

Resources:    

Council of Chief State School Officers & CEEDAR Center. (2017). PSEL 2015 and promoting principal leadership for the success of students with disabilities. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved from: http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PSELforSWDs0…

McLeskey, J., Barringer, M-D., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., Jackson, D., Kennedy, M., Lewis, T., Maheady, L., Rodriguez, J., Scheeler, M.C., Winn, J., & Ziegler, D. (2017, January). High-leverage practices in special education. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children & CEEDAR Center. Retrieved from: http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/portfolio/ccsc-2017-high-leverage-pract…

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional standards for educational leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/2015/ProfessionalStandardsforEducational…

Teaching Works. (n.d.). High leverage practices. Retrieved from: http://www.teachingworks.org/work-of-teaching/high-leverage-practices

Last Updated:  7 October, 2020

© 2025 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). All rights reserved.