A common complaint I hear from parents is “my child has had an IEP for __ years but hasn’t made any progress.”  One of the first things I ask parents is, “what do the IEP goals look like?”  What typically happens is parents end up with vague, unmeasurable goals in their child’s IEP.  Then because the goals are so vague, the student “meets” their goals on paper but without making any meaningful progress in the classroom.  This cycle can go on and on for years until parents get fed up and call a special education lawyer wanting to sue the district.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your child’s IEP goals were written properly the first time?  How many years of frustration could you save yourself and your child?  It’s not as easy to draft quality goals as one might think, and I must say that most IEP goals I see are garbage.  Yes, I said it.  The goals are garbage!  My goal in this blog post is to help educate parents, like yourself, so that you can tell the difference between a well-written goal and garbage and then how to fix it.

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Needs Drive Goals and Goals Drive Services

The first thing you need to know is “needs drive goals and goals drive services.” To identify your child’s individual needs, look at your child’s areas of weakness as compared to his/her strengths.  This includes your own observations, teacher observations, and the psycho-educational evaluation.  For each need you identify, make sure there is at least one goal that addresses it.

For example, your student with dyslexia and ADHD may struggle with basic reading skills, fluency, and spelling.  In addition, the student may have difficulty writing legibly with proper spacing, line orientation, and letter formation.  It simply isn’t precise enough to say this student needs a reading goal and a writing goal.  There is a lot that goes into “reading,” and you need to identify the aspects of reading with which your child struggles.  Reading involves being able to decode (or sound out) words utilizing phonics rules, memorization of words that simply don’t match any phonics rules, being able to read swiftly and accurately, and reading comprehension.  The same is true for writing.  Writing accurately involves proper letter formation, line orientation (letter height and orientation in the line), as well as proper letter and sentence spacing, capitalization, and punctuation.  Your child may struggle with one or more aspects of reading or writing, and each one needs its own goal.

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Present Levels of Performance

Before you can draft a goal to address each of your child’s needs, you MUST know what your child can do right now.  This is known as the Present Levels Of Performance (PLOPs).  It may also show up on your child’s IEP as “present levels” or “baseline.”  Regardless of the name, you must know what your child is capable of before your can evaluate what you want your child to be able to do a year from now.  You cannot begin to draft goals without Present Levels of Performance.

Present levels must be supported by data and should be as specific as your goals.  Present levels are often overlooked in the IEP, and COVID-19 school closures have exacerbated this problem.  Since many schools have either evaluated students virtually or simply relied on a record review to assess them, you may not have data to support your child’s present levels.  But DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.  It is impossible to craft goals without having a proper baseline.

Here’s an example of a “baseline” I recently saw in an IEP:  “Student can read many simple words.”  What does that mean? How many words? What is a “simple” word? What grade-level are these words? How complex are these words? You get the point.  This baseline provides almost zero information about what this student is capable of reading right now.

Present Levels must be based on objective data.  You should insist that your child’s IEP team provide you with a detailed baseline, supported by data from assessments.  Ask your team what the rubric is for your child’s grade level.  What phonics rules should the students learn this year to be on grade level (consonant blends, CVC words, vowel teams, etc.)? What sight words are they expected to know by the end of the year?  Once you have asked your IEP team what your child should be able to do at the end of the year, then ask what your child is able to do now?  Does your child know the consonant blends?  How many? What is your child’s accuracy level?  If your team doesn’t have the answers to these questions, they need to do additional testing.

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There Are No Dumb Questions

There are no dumb questions, especially in IEP meetings.  If you don’t understand what is being measured, why a goal is drafted a certain way, or how that goal will meet your child’s individual needs, speak up!  Not only are there no dumb questions, questions are your friend.  You should ask lots of questions, not only to help you understand your child’s needs but to help understand the school’s reasoning behind it’s testing and recommendations.

You do not have to accept any answer the IEP team provides at face value.  IEP meetings are designed to be a collaborative process, which can’t happen without your input.  You are an active member of the team, and your concerns and questions are valid.  If you don’t understand something, ask for clarification.  If you are told “that’s our policy,” ask to see the policy.  If you are told “that’s just what we do for all our SpEd students,” ask why the team why they use a one-size-fits-all approach to special education instead of addressing the individual needs of your child.

The bottom line is, ask questions! Ask a ton of questions.  You may be surprised by what you hear.

Now that you know you need a goal for each area of need and what your child’s Present Levels should look like, it’s time to start drafting goals.  In Part 2, we will take a deep dive into drafting meaningful, measurable goals.  If you have any questions about your child’s IEP goals or how to draft meaningful, measurable goals, I’m here to help.  Schedule your consultation today!

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