A communication goal counts messages that reach a listener, in whatever mode carries them: speech, sign, pictures or a device. A countable one names the listener, the mode your child uses, the move earning credit, the number for met, and the report date. You can check any goal against that list tonight: open your child’s IEP to the goal page, read one goal, and then find your child’s disability below for what it changes.
“A statement of measurable annual goals … [and] [a] description of … [h]ow the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured, and when periodic reports … will be provided.”
34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i) and (a)(3)
The rule’s own example of a periodic report is quarterly, issued with report cards: four updates a year.
Every strong goal below passes all three.
Weak“By pointing, signing or naming it, the student will request a snack, on 8 of 10 snacks, charted weekly.”
Strong“By pointing, signing or naming it, the student will request one of two pictured snacks, on 8 of 10 snacks, charted weekly.”
Nothing says two pictures were shown, so a grab at a held-out item counts. A year passes with the student never choosing between two things.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“During partner work, the student will ask a classmate for help in a full sentence, logged monthly.”
Strong“During partner work, the student will ask a classmate for help in a full sentence, in 4 of 5 sessions, logged monthly.”
With no count, one clear request in a month of silence reads as met. Help asked for once is scored, and the student waits for it after.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“When a listener looks lost, the student will use repair strategies, on 5 of 6 tries, logged each month.”
Strong“When a listener looks lost, the student will restate the message in new words or add a picture, on 5 of 6 tries, logged each month.”
Nobody can count “use repair strategies,” so the mark records the adult’s mood. The fix for a breakdown goes untaught, so the student quits trying.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“In a project group, the student will voice one disagreement and its reason, by speech or device, on 3 of 4 groups.”
Strong“In a project group, the student will voice one disagreement and its reason, by speech or device, on 3 of 4 groups, reported each quarter.”
With no date for the count to come home, it lives in a binder. Graduation arrives with one fall note as the year’s record.
IDEA requires the IEP to say how progress is measured and reported: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3).Each disability below moves one thing: the mode carrying the message, the listener receiving it, or the interruption between.
These pairs are written for the skill, not for your child: they do not replace the data the team starts from, or advice from someone qualified in your state.
The review reads every page you upload, flags each goal missing a baseline, measurable criteria, a target or a timeline, and quotes the wording with its page.
Check my IEP goals — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Prefer to run the three tests yourself? The goal checker walks them line by line.
