So it dawned on me – sure, we have heard of SMART goals but dang, do you actually know what that looks like on an IEP (individualized education plan)?

The Basics – SMART goals are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable/Achievable

Relevant/Realistic

Timely/Time Bound

 

What does that look like when it comes to the goals and objectives on your kid’s IEP.

95% of the IEPs I read (and I have read MANY) the goals are not SMART and the objectives are all over the place.

 Many current Goals and Objectives read like the below:

 Goal: Little Timmy will identify the main idea of a story with relevant details by mastery of the following objectives.

Objective: Little Timmy will annotate a passage.

Objective: Little Timmy will give the main idea of a story.

*Objective: Little Timmy will check for spelling errors.

 When I see the above, I am left with so many questions: Wait, what? *Does little Timmy know how to annotate a passage? *How does he know what the main idea is from this? *How is he giving the main idea of the story? *Is he telling someone? Is he writing it down? *How is it being “graded” for accuracy? *How is this supporting finding the relevant details? *What does spelling have to do with finding the main idea?! So many questions, so little time. *How does he get from one skill to the next?

This is how I would rewrite to allow us to understand how we are going to help Little Timmy make meaningful progress.

Goal: By the end of the IEP period (time), when given a grade-level nonfiction passage (specific), Little Timmy will identify the main idea and provide at least three details (specific/realistic) related to the main idea (specific) with 90% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials per marking period (achievable/time) as measured by a teacher created rubric (measurable).

Objective 1: With the support of a teacher, Little Timmy will annotate a passage by highlighting information within the text that answers the questions who, what, where, when and why with 80% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials per marking period as measured by teacher created checklist.

Objective 2: With the support of a teacher, Little Timmy will annotate a passage by writing 2-3 words next to each paragraph that gives a reminder to what the paragraph was about with 80% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials per marking period as measured by a teacher created checklist.

Objective 3: With the support of a teacher, Little Timmy will verbally summarize the passage utilizing his annotations to identify the main idea with 90% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials per marking period as measured by structured teacher observation/conference.

Objective 4: With the support of a teacher, Little Timmy will identify by utilizing his annotations, details that support the main idea of the passage by circling the detail with 90% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials per marking period as measured by teacher created rubric.

Objective 5: With the support of a teacher, Little Timmy will complete a graphic organizer or written response that states the main idea in 1 sentence and 3 supporting detail sentences by utilizing his annotations with 90% accuracy in 3 out of 4 trials per marking period as measured by a teacher created rubric.

 Each objective builds to the next to be able to reach the overarching goal. The teacher support is to TEACH the skill; this is not something that your child will know how to do innately – once they learn the skill itself, the objectives can shift towards independence and build to harder tasks like inferencing*

Goals and objectives should align to your kid’s needs. If your present levels say they know how to spell, you better not see anything related to spelling in a goal or objective. On the other hand, if the present levels say that organization is an area of concern, there best be a goal and objectives that will work on those skills.

Want someone to review your goals and objectives? Head over to my services page to see all the services that I offer. Or email me at dani@theaveragemomct.com