Writing Meaningful and Measurable IEP Goals

The Linked System

Misty D. Goosen, Ed.S.

Chelie Nelson, M.A. CCC-SLP

Which of the following is most likely not to be a skill that

would become a goal for a child? A) skills that

are a priority for the child’s family

C) skills not likely to develop without

intervention

B) skills that will enhance the child’s independence

D) skills that will be taught as part of the curriculum

Who wants to be an …

IEP expert?

Which of the following types of assessment is most helpful to

developing goals?A) Screening

Tests

C) Curriculum Based Assessments

B) Standardized Assessments

D) The assessment class final examination

Who wants to be an …

IEP expert?

Writing meaningful and measurable goals is …

A) Frustrating

B) Helpful for families

C) Something I will have to do

D) All of the above

Who wants to be an …

IEP expert?

Which of the following is not a helpful step to the process of writing

meaningful and measurable goals?

A) Gathering test scores

C) Selecting meaningful skills

B) Collaborating with the child’s family

D) Summarizing assessment results

Who wants to be an …

IEP expert?

Which of the following is not important to writing meaningful

and measurable goals?A) Addressing

functional skills

C) Be observable and measurable

B) Be based on standardized assessments

D) Be skills generalizable across settings

Who wants to be an …

IEP expert?

First Things First

Developmental Delay

Functional Assessments

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional PerformanceMeaningful and Measurable Goals

Early Childhood Disability

Definition: Developmental Delay means such a delay in one or more developmental areas for children aged three through age nine that special education and related services are required.

*It is at the discretion of the LEA to use this category for children three to five years only.

Questions in the Eligibility Process for ECD

1) Are the resources needed to support the child to participate in activities appropriate for children of the same age beyond those available through general education or other resources?

2) Is there evidence of a severe discrepancy between the performance of the child and his/her peers, or of a severe discrepancy between the child’s ability and performance in the area(s) of concern?

3) Is the presence of an exceptionality substantiated by convergent data from multiple sources?

Appropriate Activities:

Age appropriate developmental abilities or milestones that typically developing children of the same age would be performing or would have achieved.

For preschool, general education curriculum means age appropriate activities which may include early childhood standards.

Why is this important?

If we can answer specifically how a child’s disability is effecting his/her ability to participate in age appropriate activities we will have very functional information for writing our PLAAFP and Goals.

Standardized tests will provide little or no information here.

Good assessment practices will make it easier to write measurable (and functional) goals down the road.

Functional Assessments

Functional Assessments

Curriculum Based Assessments

Observations

Performance Based Assessments

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional

Performance (PLAAFP)

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

A summary statement which describes the student’s current academic achievement and functional performance in the areas of need as determined by an evaluation. IDEA 2004 changed from PLEP to PLAAFP. The Kansas Regulations have not been completely updated, and therefore some of the citations my reflect IDEA 97 language.

The change from PLEP to PLAAFP makes it clear that all aspects of a child’s performance are important and continues to establish the expectation for grade level performance in the regular education curriculum (for preschoolers appropriate activities).

The Purpose of the PLAAFP

To identify and prioritize the specific needs of a child and establish baseline performance in the general curriculum which is used to develop individualized, meaningful and measurable goals.

For preschool children this means the PLEP (*PLAAFP) should state how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities. KSA 72-987 (b) (1) (B).

The PLAAFP should:

Be stated in terms that are specific, measurable, and objective.

Describe current performance, not past performance.

Describe the student’s performance in general curriculum/appropriate activities.

Prioritize and identify needs that will be written as goals.

Provide baseline data for each need.

What else might go in the PLAAFP ?

In developing each child’s IEP, the team must consider:

Strengths of the child Concerns of the parents Behavior, if it impedes anyone’s learning

Communication needs of the child (Assistive Technology 34 C.F.R. 300.346(a))

PLAAFPs must include statements, as appropriate, regarding:

Health Vision Hearing Social /emotional status General intelligence Educational performance Communicative status Motor abilities Vocational skills/ transition

Example

Emily uses single words, signs, and a few two and three-word combinations to communicate her wants and needs at home and school. She initiates social interactions with her peers and labels objects in her environment. Her parents report that she has just begun to say, "I love you." Typically, children Emily's age use four to five word sentences to communicate their wants and needs. During a 20 minute play period with peers, Emily used 18 single word utterances (5 utterances also included a sign) and 1 two-word combination ("my shoe"). When two-word combinations were modeled for Emily, she imitated only the last word of the phrase. Emily's parents would like Emily's communication skills to increase, so that she might better express her wants, needs and

thoughts.

Writing Meaningful and Measurable Goals

Considerations for Meaningful Goals

Priority to the team Not likely to develop without intervention

Enhanced behavioral repertoire Address multiple areas simultaneously Match child’s developmental level May not be necessary to select skills that are part of daily occurrences

Meaningful and MeasurableGoals are:

Functional for the child Usable across settings, people, and materials

Observable and measurable Addressable within the child’s daily environment

Developmentally appropriate

Relationship between the PLAAFP and Annual Goals:

The PLAAFP and annual goals must have a direct relationship. Each area of need identified in the PLAAFP must be addressed somewhere in the IEP. Most will be addressed by annual goals, but they may be addressed in other ways.

Measuring Achievement:

The same criteria that was used to measure the child’s achievement in the PLAAFP must be used in the Annual Goal when documenting progress.

Measurable Annual Goal

A statement that describes what a child with a disability can reasonably be expected to accomplish within a twelve-month period in the child’s special education program. There should be a direct relationship between the annual goals and the PLAAFP.

Measurable Annual Goals must : Be related to meeting the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability or giftedness, to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general or advanced curriculum and meeting each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability or giftedness. K.S.A. 72-961 sec. 12(b)(2).

So What Test

The child will do X, Y, Z....so what? So what will the ability to execute these skills do for the child? If there is a good answer, the goals, are appropriate. If there is no good answer, then the goals are probably inappropriate.

The Stranger Test

Are the goals written so someone who did not write them could use it to develop appropriate instructional plans and assess student progress?

To Make A Goal Measurable Include These 4 Elements:

Time Frame - Specifies the amount of time in the goal period (e.g., 36 weeks, 12 months, 1 year).

Conditions - Specifies the manner in which progress toward the goal is measured and involves the application of skills or knowledge.

Behavior - Clearly identifies the performance which is being monitored; reflects an action which can be directly observed.

Criterion - Identifies how much, how often, or to what standards the behavior must occur in order to demonstrate that the goal has been achieved.

Example

Time Frame - By September 9th, 200X, Conditions - when given a directive, Behavior - Rex will follow a one-step

direction, Criterion - within one minute without help,

three times a day for two weeks.

Example

Time Frame - In 16 weeks, Conditions - while holding onto an adults

hand, Behavior - Kennedy will walk without

stopping to rest

Criterion - from the classroom to the playground, one time a day for 2 consecutive weeks.

Some Rules to Remember:

1. Goals which use participation as criteria or focus on a one-time event are not appropriate. Johnny will participate in the field trip.

Fred will participate in the holiday skit.

2. Annual goals must reflect observable behavior by the child that can be objectively measured.– Examples - look, give, name, say, jump, zip, point

– Non-examples - increase, know, understand, try

Some Rules to Remember:

3. Goals are not measurable if they do not contain objective conditions and criteria for success. – Thomas will improve his communication skills.

– Taylor will engage in problem solving with 85% accuracy.

– Katie will write her name to teacher satisfaction.

4. Measurable Annual Goals must be based on appropriate standards.– Two year old Sarah, will count from 1 to 100 with 80% accuracy.

– Sally will write all the letters of the alphabet when called upon by the teacher.

IDEA 2004 eliminated the requirement to include short-term objectives or benchmarks for each annual goal for all but a small group of students who take alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards.

Preschool children do not participate in state achievement testing, so on a federal level Short-Term Objectives (STOs)/Benchmarks are not required. Some LEAs may still require STOs/Benchmarks so follow your local policy.

Teams may still use STOs/Benchmarks, if they choose.

IDEA 2004 Short-Term Objectives & Benchmarks

Short Term Objectives

Measurable intermediate steps between PLAAFP and the Annual Goal

Include conditions under which skill is to be performed

Behavior to be observed Criteria for success Break down Annual Goal into discrete sequential components

Gauges progress toward Annual Goal

Example

Goal 1 By May 15, 200X, during play activities with peers, Emily will spontaneously use 15 or more two-word combinations to express her wants and needs during a 20 minute time period.

STO 1- By November 1, 200X, during play activities with peers, Emily will imitate 10 or more two-word combinations, when an adult directly models what Emily should say, to express her wants and needs, during a 20 minute time period.

STO 2 - By January 15, 200X, during play activities with peers, Emily will use 5 or more two-word combinations, when an adult models possible two-word combinations while Emily plays, during a 20 minute time period.

STO 3- By March 15, 200X, during play activities with peers, Emily will spontaneously use 5 or more two-word combinations to express her wants and needs during a 20 minute time period.

Benchmarks

Major milestones that describe content to be learned/skills to be performed

Established expected performance levels In developmentally appropriate order Coincide with progress reporting periods

Gauges whether the child’s progress is sufficient to achieve annual goal

Not to be confused with standards Not to be confused with district benchmarks

Example

Goal 4 - By May 15, 200X, when making pictures or art projects, Emily will cut out simple shapes with curved lines (circle and ovals) within 1/4 inch of the lines in 2 of 3 opportunities.

Benchmarks Snips edges of paper Cuts paper in two Cuts shapes with straight lines (squares, rectangles, triangles)

Example

PLAAFP: At 36-months, Abigail is working on developmental skills of early object use and functional play with toys/objects. Abigail is able to perform exploratory schemes (banging, shaking, throwing) as she plays with toys/objects. She applies the same schemes to all objects, and she does not demonstrate an understanding of the functions of toys/ objects. Abigail has learned to imitate her parents’ and other adults’ actions when provided with a model of combining two schemes to manipulate a toy in a functional play activity. Abigail’s parents want her to play with her toys without her requiring their constant attention and modeling of actions.

Example

PLAAFP: When given toys/objects, Abigail will perform 5 schemes with them (shake, roll, bang, throw, push). She does not combine schemes into a functional play sequence with toys/objects. Children between 18-24 months of age typically play with toys/objects by combining schemes to see a cause-and-effect relationship and to use objects according to their functions. By 36 months, children are beginning to engage in symbolic or pretend play.

Example

Annual Goal: In 36 weeks, when given the opportunity to play with 6-8 different toys/objects, Abigail will spontaneously link 4 discrete schemes according to the toys/objects intended functions 3 times per observation period across 5 consecutive play times.

Benchmarks:– Link 2 discrete schemes– Link 3 discrete schemes