Special Education
What makes a good IEP goal?
A good IEP goal is SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound — naming the condition, the observable behavior, and the criteria for mastery.
A good IEP goal is SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. In practice it has four parts:
- Condition — the situation or support ("Given a graphic organizer…").
- Behavior — the observable, measurable skill ("…the student will write a paragraph with a topic sentence and two details…").
- Criteria — the standard for mastery ("…in 4 of 5 opportunities…").
- Timeframe — by when ("…by the end of the IEP period").
Avoid unobservable verbs (understand, improve) and vague targets (will get better at reading). A strong goal can be measured by any adult, ties to a grade-level standard or functional need, and points at a skill the student will actually use. Add short-term objectives that scaffold toward it.
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