A reading comprehension goal measures what your child does with a passage once the words are read: retell, main idea, inference, or summary. A measurable one names the text and how it reaches your child, the move counted, the number that means met, and when it comes home. 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“After hearing a short story once, the student will retell its first, middle and last events, counted every Friday.”
Strong“After hearing a short story once, the student will retell its first, middle and last events, in 4 of 5 tries, counted every Friday.”
Nothing says how many tries count, so a single good retell is the evidence. Progress gets reported all year while the student still retells one event.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“The student will name a passage’s problem and how it was solved, in 8 of 10 passages, logged monthly.”
Strong“Reading a grade-level passage alone, the student will name its problem and how it was solved, in 8 of 10 passages, logged monthly.”
Without the condition, nobody knows whether the passage was read alone or heard. A score earned with an adult reading counts as reading alone, and the help ends.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“Using a two-page science article, the student will demonstrate comprehension, in 6 of 8 articles, scored quarterly.”
Strong“Using a two-page science article, the student will write one inference and copy its source sentence, in 6 of 8 articles, scored quarterly.”
Two adults cannot count “demonstrate comprehension” the same way, so the score is an opinion. Passing marks pile up while inference is never taught or measured.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).Weak“Reading a section of a current textbook, the student will state its argument and one reason, on 5 of 6 sections.”
Strong“Reading a section of a current textbook, the student will state its argument and one reason, on 5 of 6 sections, reported quarterly.”
With no reporting date, the count exists only when someone remembers it. You hear “making progress” in spring with nothing dated since September behind it.
IDEA requires the IEP to say how progress is measured and reported: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3).A disability changes what the goal names: how the passage arrives, how the answer leaves, or what competes with it.
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.
