WRITING EFFECTIVE
IEP GOALS
ASD Special Education Goal Bank
2011
 Our objective for this presentation is to teach Special
Education staff to write measureable annual goals the
same way district-wide. The IEPPRO goal bank goals
that were written this summer can serve as a model for
other individual goals that may be written.
 Goals are part of writing the Individualized Education
Plan-Program (IEP). More importantly, writing good
goals that meet the specific child’s needs are critical to
the process.
 According to IDEIA and our Utah State Rules 2007,
“The IEP must include: A statement of measurable
annual goals, including academic and functional goals
designed to:
 (1) Meet the student’s needs that result from the
student’s disability to enable the student to be involved
in and make progress in the general education
curriculum; and
 (2) Meet each of the student’s other educational needs
that result from the student’s disability;
 (3) For students with disabilities who take alternate
assessments aligned to alternate achievement
standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term
objectives:” III.J.2.b
 Measurable annual goals are
statements that describe what a
student can reasonably be
expected to accomplish within
a 12-month period in the
student’s special education
program.
 Goals must be tied to the core.
 Goals must be stand alone statements.
 Goals should be skills and/or knowledge
that will be mastered, not an activity.
 Goals would not usually be a complete
task analysis.
 An effective measurable goal meets the following
requirements:
 Indicates what to do to measure accomplishment of the
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
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goal
Yields the same conclusion if measured by several
people
Allows a calculation of how much progress it represents
Can be measured without additional information and
within a 12 month period
Allows for consistency across grade levels, programs and
classrooms.
 IEP GOALS: FOUR COMPONENTS:
 Timeframe: specifies the amount of time in the goal
period, i.e. one year
 Conditions: specifies the manner in which progress
toward the goal is measured and involves the application
of skills or knowledge
 Behavior: clearly identifies the performance which is
being monitored; reflects an action which can be directly
observed
 Criterion: identifies how much, how often or to what
standards the behavior must occur in order to
demonstrate that the goal has been achieved.
 For example:
 Within one year, given a 4th grade story
prompt and 30 minutes to write,
_________ will write a three paragraph
essay using transition words in sentences
and between paragraphs with 5 or less
errors.
 Within one year, given a passage at 1st
grade level, ______________ will read
aloud 20 frequently used sight words with
90% accuracy over three trials.
 Within one year, given 20 fraction
problems using addition and subtraction
at a 4th grade level, ______________ will
solve with 85% accuracy.
 Within one year, when given a built-up
spoon ____________ will self-feed with
minimal spillage 4 out of 5 trials.
Timeframe
Condition
Behavior
Criteria
Within one year,
given a 4th grade
story prompt and
30 minutes to write
______ will
write
a 3 paragraph
essay using
transition words
in sentences and
between
paragraphs with 5
or fewer errors
Within one year,
when given a builtup spoon
_________ will
self-feed
with minimal
spillage 4 out of 5
trials.
What are Functional IEP Goals?
 The term is generally referred to skills or
activities that are not considered academic or
related to a child’s academic achievement.
Instead it is used in the context of routine
activities of everyday living.
 Examples: Social/behavior, emotional, and
communication skills.
 What to avoid:
 Vague, broad or general goals. Goals that state will
improve reading ability, will improve his/her behavior, will
do better in math should be stated much more
specifically.
 Goals that describe staff behavior rather than student
behavior: Dianne will have more opportunities to be
mainstreamed.
 Goals that name specific programs, locations,
methodologies, and/or people.
 Can you tell what to teach, where to start
and how to measure progress with the
student if you received an IEP with this
goal?
 Does the goal stand alone?
 We expect that as you write IEP goals
you will use this format.
 Remember:
IEP Goals are the cornerstone of the
IEP, and the IEP is the foundation of
a child’s special education program.