A math reasoning goal counts what your child decides around the arithmetic: which operation fits, what is asked, whether the answer can be right. A goal you can check names the problem type and tools in hand, the step scored, the rate that means met, and when the count reaches you. 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“In 5 of 6 stories, the student will say whether the pile grows or shrinks before counting, marked every Tuesday.”
Strong“Hearing a toy story once, the student will say whether the pile grows or shrinks before counting, in 5 of 6 stories, marked every Tuesday.”
Without the setup, a prediction made with toys in hand counts like one from words alone. The predicting never gets taught; the sheet says it was.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“With a calculator, the student will write a two-step problem’s operations in order before any keypress, counted monthly.”
Strong“With a calculator, the student will write a two-step problem’s operations in order before any keypress, in 7 of 9 problems, counted monthly.”
Nothing fixes how many setups count, so one correct pair closes the goal. The student keeps picking operations from a keyword, marked met.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“After solving a ratio problem, the student will say in one sentence why the operation fits, for 6 of 8 problems.”
Strong“After solving a ratio problem, the student will say in one sentence why the operation fits, for 6 of 8 problems, reported each term.”
No term is named, so the sentences pile up undated. You learn in May the explanations were never scored past October.
IDEA requires the IEP to say how progress is measured and reported: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3).Weak“Given a linear-function word problem, the student will demonstrate understanding of slope, in 5 of 6 problems, graded each semester.”
Strong“Given a linear-function word problem, the student will say what the slope means in the story, in 5 of 6 problems, graded each semester.”
A nod and a full sentence both count, so the mark says nothing. Slope stays a formula, never a rate on a bill.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Each disability moves the goal to one part: the words, the tool, the steps, or how the answer comes out.
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.
