Kristin Park, MS CCC-SLP
A while ago, I wrote a blog post about understanding your child’s IEP, or Individualized Education Plan. In that post, I mentioned all of the major parts of an IEP, including the Annual Goals. These are the functional, measurable goals and objectives that the student’s IEP team will monitor throughout the IEP cycle (typically one school year). Annual goals are designed to be reasonably achievable and are often broken down into short-term objectives.
That being said, annual goals are often wordy and complicated to the average reader of an IEP. Let’s break them down a bit to get a better idea of what they mean, and why they’re important.
How does the team determine the goals for each student?
Measurable annual goals must provide a clear description of the skills the student needs in order to access, participate, and make progress in the general educational curriculum. The goals must relate directly to the areas of need identified in the Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance section of the IEP. Areas of need are determined by analyzing multiple sources of information, including evaluations, classroom-based assessments, student observations, and input from parents.
How is the wording of an IEP goal chosen?
To make sure a goal is measurable, certain criteria must be met. This includes the condition, clearly defined behavior, and performance criteria.
- Condition = describes the situation in which the student will perform the behavior.
- Clearly Defined Behavior = describes the target behavior in measurable and observable terms, using action verbs to state what the student will do.
- Use of vague terms (such as understand, recognize, discover) that can not be directly observed or counted should not be used.
- Use of vague terms (such as understand, recognize, discover) that can not be directly observed or counted should not be used.
- Performance Criteria = comprised of three distinct components:
- Criterion level: indicates the performance level the student must demonstrate.
- Number: indicates the number of times behavior must be performed at criterion level to reach mastery.
- Evaluation schedule/method: indicate how frequently the student will be assessed and the method of assessment.
Following this general outline ensures goals are functional and measurable. A good IEP goal is written clearly enough that if a new teacher/therapist were to take over, they would understand exactly what the previous provider was working on with the student and they could pick up right where they left off.
Examples of IEP Goals
Next we’ll take a look at examples of poorly-written IEP goals and well-written goals.
Poorly-Written Goal: Annie will use correct speech to articulate her needs. | This goal is too vague. We don’t know what sounds Annie is working on, how to measure “correctness”, or when the goal is considered mastered. |
Well-Written Goal: Given wordless pictures, Annie will independently produce the /k/ sound in the initial position at word level with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive data collection probes, taken twice monthly. | Now we know that Annie is working on her /k/ sound, specifically at the beginning of words. She needs to score at least 80% or higher on 3 consecutive probes, which are taken twice monthly (or about every other session), to master this goal. The probes will use wordless pictures to elicit target sounds. |
Poorly-Written Goal: Nathan will learn to follow verbal directions. |
Well-Written Goal: Given a one-step verbal direction, Nathan will independently complete the direction in 90% of trials across 3 consecutive data collection probes, taken every other therapy session. |
Poorly-Written Goal: Brayden will use fluent speech in 100% of opportunities across all communication settings. |
Well-Written Goal: During one minute of observed conversation, Brayden will independently use a fluency strategy in 80% of opportunities (e.g., stuttering moments) across 3 consecutive conversations, observed twice monthly. |
Short Term Objectives
Often, annual goals are broken down into short-term objectives (STOs). STOs indicate the steps a student will take to reach an annual goal. They also serve as a measurement gauge to monitor a student’s progress and determine if the student is making sufficient progress towards attaining an annual goal.
As an example, let’s break down Annie’s goal into some short term objectives.
Annual Goal: Given wordless pictures, Annie will independently produce the /k/ sound in the initial position at word level with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive data collection probes, taken twice monthly. |
STO 1: During formal probes with no visual or verbal cues, Annie will independently produce the /k/ sound in isolation with 90% accuracy across 3 consecutive data collection probes, taken twice monthly. |
STO 2: Given wordless pictures and no more than 1 prompt/cue, Annie will produce the /k/ sound in the initial position at word level with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive data collection probes, taken twice monthly. |
Essentially, short term objectives can be thought of as stepping stones or building blocks to lay the foundation for the annual goal. As the student masters the STOs, they are progressing toward mastery of their overall goal.
In Summary
IEPs are comprehensive documents designed to guide the special education of an individual student. They can be thought of as educational roadmaps – showing the student’s journey thus far, the path ahead, and the end destination. When IEP team members, including parents, take the time to understand the various parts of an IEP, it benefits the student and ensures they’re all heading in the same direction.
