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Sometimes, an IEP team ends up developing, unmeasurable or non-specific goals in a child’s IEP. Needs and goals drive services, so their quality is key.
A common complaint from parents is “my child has had an IEP for a number of years but doesn’t seem to be making progress.” There may be a number of challenges to look at, but reviewing goals written into the IEP is one of the first things I do. Many times, the IEP goals are vague and not easily measurable. Unfortunately, because the goals are not what they need to be:
This cycle can go on and on, sometimes for years. It is frustrating for the student, and parents alike.
So, how should a goals be developed? What determines the type and how many goals a student should have?
A student’s special education needs drive the goal development process. The IEP team – teachers, parent, and student included, should talk about the student’s strengths and struggles in school. The team should also consider the most recent evaluation, progress reports, grades, and classroom assignments.
A student’s struggles represent needs, and can manifest as anything from a skill deficit in academics, to communication issues, or behavioral social emotional challenges, to name a few. Needs must be recognized and supported through meaningful, measurable goals.
Let’s consider a child with a learning disability in reading. It really isn’t precise enough to say that this student needs “a reading goal”. The student might struggle with several aspects of reading such as: fluency, decoding, or comprehension. Meaningful goals will target the student’s specific area of reading deficiency. More than one reading goal may be required to cover each area.
Each goal must be reasonably attainable within one year from the date of the goal creation. Each goal must also be measurable with clear methods to collect data.
In order to set these measurable targets, the IEP team must first understand the student’s present levels of performance.
Before an IEP team can draft goals to address a child’s needs, they must establish what the student can do now. This is called the Present Levels Of Performance. It may also show up on your child’s IEP as “present levels” or “baseline.” Regardless of the name, a team must understand what a child is currently capable of before evaluating what should be possible a year from now. These present levels should be just as detailed as the goals that are developed.
Present levels should be supported by data. Your child’s IEP team should provide specific, detailed, present level reports every school quarter. These reports are called progress reports and should be supported by data as stated in the goals.
Writing IEP goals that are specific to student’s needs AND are measurable is key to a child’s success in school.
For a child to receive appropriate special education services, we must fully understand their needs. We must have a detailed present level of performance. Each of those areas must then have meaningful, achievable, measurable goal targets so that appropriate services may be set.
This process can be frustrating and complicated. If you want some support in making sure the team creates goals that are meaningful and measurable for your child, please get in touch:
Leah Sansone, Round Table Advocacy
919-510-3180
Click HERE to review my special education services.
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