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Special Education Topics & Related Information

Measurable Annual Goals

Each goal on an IEP should be related to enabling the child/student to be involved in or progress in the general curriculum, and should be related to meeting each of the child/student's other needs. As appropriate, for preschool children, each objective or benchmark should be related to enabling the child to participate in appropriate activities.  There is no requirement that a goal needs to be written for each service indicated on page 6 of the IEP.  

Measurable Annual Goals should...

  1. be supported by the PLAAFP. Baseline data should be included in the PLAAFP (goals must address a deficit)
  2. pass the “stranger test”. A teacher who is not familiar with the child/student should be able to read the annual goal and use it to develop lesson plans and assess whether the student has met the goal
  3. contain a timeframe (In 36 weeks of school, by the annual review date, etc.)
  4. contain conditions or the manner in which the progress towards the goal will be measured (given a 100 word paragraph, given a group of coins whose total value is less than $1.00, given an analog clock, when asked to work independently, on the playground, etc.)
  5. the behavior or the action that can be directly observed and is measurable (read aloud, state the value, tell the time to the nearest 5 minute interval, etc.
  6. contain a criterion, how much growth and the level of accuracy (with 95% accuracy, in 9 out of 10 trials, 2 times each day, 5 minutes out of every 10, 80% of any 15 minute observation, etc.)

The team IEP team should... 

  1. have a discussion about present levels of functioning should occur with data to establish an objective baselines
  2. document concerns and grouped together to identify themes or main areas (3-5 is a good number in most cases)
  3. establish a measurable goal that addresses each of the main areas of concern
  4. determine what services and supports are necessary for the student to reach those goals with a focus on building independence and placing the student in the least restrictive placement possible so the child/student has access to the general curriculum
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