The present study concerns Swedish teachers' practices with regard to individual development plans (IDPs), which are mandatory for all students in compulsory school. The conceptual points of departure are taken from Wartofsky's distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary artifacts and the concepts of inscription and translation. A total of 15 interviews were carried out with teachers at various stages of Swedish compulsory school grade levels. A typology of three qualitatively different ways of perceiving and working with IDP emerged. The ways in which teachers implement the use of IDPs--that is, their IDP practices--vary depending on perceived purpose and local contextual conditions. In the discussion section, it is argued that the creation of a typology as a way of categorizing practices should be viewed as a way of conceptually generalizing the empirical material. Finally, the results are problematized in terms of the possible implications different practices may have for students.