How to Write Measurable IEP Goals
The difference between a wish and a goal is a number.
A measurable IEP goal states exactly what the student will do, under what conditions, to what criterion, and how progress will be measured. Vague goals can't be tracked — and untracked goals can't be defended in a meeting.
The anatomy of a measurable goal
- Condition: the setting or support — "Given a 2nd-grade passage…"
- Behavior: the observable skill — "…the student will read aloud…"
- Criterion: the performance level — "…at 60 words correct per minute…"
- Measurement and timeline: "…as measured by weekly oral reading probes, in 2 of 3 trials, by the next review date"
Weak vs. strong
"Will improve reading comprehension" can't be measured — improved from what, to what, measured how? "Given a short passage at her instructional level, will answer 4 of 5 literal and inferential questions correctly on 3 consecutive probes" tells everyone what to teach, what to probe, and what progress looks like.
How Spark helps
Spark gives every goal a category and a target mastery percentage, then tracks daily independent/prompted/unable data against it. Mastery trends update automatically, so when you walk into a progress meeting, the evidence is already graphed.
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