The ABCs of IEPs - Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals in the IEP

By Sheila Wolfe - IEP Services

In this article, we will examine setting S.M.A.R.T. goals in the IEP (Individualized Education Plan). SMART goals are S: Specific, M: Measurable, A: Attainable, R: Relevant, and T: Time-bound. When evaluating the goals in your child’s IEP, use this acronym to determine if the goal is appropriate. Make recommendations for changes if you see that a goal lacks one of the “SMART” elements.

S: Specific. The IEP must list the Present Levels of Performance (PLOP) of the student so that goals can be written to advance the student’s skills to that of their peers or to the extent the student can advance in their ability. Each PLOP statement should be specific and based on data. In addition, each goal must also be specific regarding the skills the student will be learning and to the maximum extent possible, how the skills will be taught. Some examples are listed in the next paragraph.

M: Measurable. Individual goals must be measurable to be valid. Simply saying a student will “improve” a skill is not sufficient. In addition, it is equally inappropriate to say the student will “deduce” a behavior. The goal must state the criteria for mastery of that skill. It is generally accepted that 80% proficiency is considered mastery. Example 1: Steve will deduce the incidents of inappropriate behaviors through a token system, which rewards appropriate behavior. (This goal is not measurable — or specific.) Example 2: Steve will utilize appropriate coping skills from a list of practiced options when feeling any type of anxiety or irritation in eight out of 10 opportunities with the support of a token system to provide positive reinforcement. (This goal is measurable – and specific.)

A: Attainable. While it is true that every student is unique, it has always been my contention that if the instruction is appropriate, a student should advance academically/developmentally by one year for each year’s instruction (or that should be where we set the bar in the beginning). For example, if Steve has a reading comprehension level of a beginning second-grader, the goal in his IEP should be written to advance him to the level of a beginning third-grader by the end of the IEP year. Obviously, parents and schools often agree that a student is not capable of this level of progress in a single school year and lower the bar to something attainable by that student.

It is often necessary to provide extended school year services to make goals attainable. Many students with special needs require additional educational time to make meaningful progress. Some students are impacted by behavioral needs that limit the amount of instruction they can tolerate in a typical school day. All factors need to be evaluated when determining the appropriate methodology, setting, and duration of instruction necessary to achieve meaningful progress.

R: Relevant. This is the most obvious of the SMART ingredients. For a goal to be relevant, it must address one of the student’s established needs or deficits. These areas of need can include academics, behavior, social skills, fine motor skills, sensory dysregulation, emotional needs, gross motor skills, expressive, receptive and/or pragmatic language skills, daily living skills, or anything else determined to be an area of delay for the student.

T: Time-bound. At each annual case conference, goals should be set for the following calendar year. The term of the IEP is from the date of the Annual Case Conference to one year later. Therefore, each goal should be written to progress the student as much as possible over that year’s instruction. Goals are then measured according to the timeline set in the IEP for progress monitoring. For example, reading fluency, this should be every two weeks, while reading comprehension should be monthly. Progress reports are also due at specific times during the year as indicated by the IEP. In addition, goals may be written with benchmarks embedded to further specify the rate of progress we expect to see at specific dates to make sure the goal will be achieved by the end of the IEP period. This helps the Case Conference Committee determine if instruction needs to be intensified/changed or a goal needs to be adjusted.

Writing SMART IEP goals ensures a clear picture of what a school is responsible for teaching a student and what the student is expected to learn while providing a method to measure if the teaching/learning is happening on the expected schedule of progress. If your student’s IEP contains Specific, Measurable, Attainable,Relevant, Time-bound goals, you will have everything you need to hold the school and your child accountable for their part in the learning plan.

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