IEP Goal Banks & Writing IEP Treasure Map
I will never forget my first year as a special education teacher without IEP goal banks. I had recently returned to the public schools after being an early interventionist for infants and toddlers.
Now, I was no beginner to public school let alone special education. I’d been a kindergarten teacher for seven years. The other kindergarten teachers and I used to laugh that kindergarten was one step away from special education.
However, the year that I took over a self-contained class for kids with autism was the first year that my state rolled out the online IEP writing program.
So, first of all, I was ecstatic about this. I have doctor-worthy handwriting and had no desire to write IEPs out by hand. Unfortunately though, there were new boxes with confusing language and, not surprisingly, no trainings on how to figure this out.
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How do you write an IEP goal?
So, there I was trying to write my first IEP wondering to myself, “How do you write an IEP goal and the rest of the IEP?”
I had an extremely helpful school psychologist at that time who gave me a set of expired IEPs to look through them. This helped me wrap my head around the special education language and then translate topic boxes from the old form to the new topic boxes.
And I did it. Then, I wrote a pretty okay IEP, especially for my first one. But as special education teachers know, the IEP writing never stops. As the IEP writing goes, I had to do it again and then again and then again.
And each IEP goal and each IEP felt like a struggle. I realized that there had to be a better way. I came up with a system for how to write an IEP goal. My solution was using IEP goal banks.
Writing IEP Treasure Map and IEP Goal Banks
First, I made sure that every goal in my IEP goal banks set is measurable. This means that I can prove that the student is or is not able to complete the goal as written.
In this day and age, I can easily include video evidence in a child’s electronic portfolio. However, I do often lean towards a paper copy that is the student’s exact work. If the goal is behavior based, I utilize a frequency checklist from an observation form I’ve created.
I also make sure that this goal is specific. It is worded in a positive way. The goal also needs to be clearly stated and based on what the case conference committee has decided the student needs to work on the most.
Using the valuable information from the educational evaluation is crucial for IEP writing time. The school psychologist will have analyzed the student’s academic profile and highlighted the areas of strengths and weaknesses.
If the student has no weaknesses in ELA, then I will not be writing an English language arts goal. Not only does this make sense, it’s best practice.
If the student was found to have multiple behaviors that affect their learning then one or more behavior goals are warranted. Oftentimes, the school psychologist‘s evaluation states strategies for the learner. These can be included as supports within my goal.
What should a good IEP goal include?
Another crucial point when writing an IEP goal is to make sure that I’m focusing on one topic per goal. I’ve received IEPs for students who have moved into my district that have up to six things within one goal.
This could look something like this: Student will identify shapes, colors, numbers, greater than and less than, and geometric shapes with 80% accuracy in two out of three trials.
All of these items might be extremely appropriate for the student to work on. However, each area should be written as an independent goal.
If I am working on shapes, I need a shape and geometry goal. But, if I’m working on rote counting with a student then I need a separate counting goal.
If a student is working on math, they can have half a dozen math goals. Special education teachers don’t often do this because the documentation for all of that would be intense. However, clumping multiple things into one goal is not best practice.
Okay, now I’m gonna throw something out that might make my special education crowd a little nervous. When I’m writing IEP goals, I never put in “36 weeks this student will” or “by May of this school year student will…”
Writing Solid IEPs without Filler Language
I consider this just filler language because it’s trying to make the goal look longer and meatier. Did you notice that every IEP has an expiration date on it? That means that the goals should be accomplished by the end of that IEP. There is no reason to add that date or time to your IEP.
There are absolute exceptions to this, of course. First of all, if your special ed director says to do it, then you do it with no questions asked. If for some reason the family requests this, then again no questions asked. Just do it.
The other reason that I would add dates directly to the goal is if the goal truly needs to end before the IEP expires. I find this most likely to occur if a child is transitioning between grades or schools.
For instance, let’s say that a child needs to have organizational skills within their desk in elementary school. That goal needs to end when elementary school ends now. I would probably add a new goal for when junior high starts with a start date for the next year of school.
What are some examples of IEP goals?
Whenever I’ve attended IEP trainings where the topic is specifically discussing goal writing, the more fun presenters bring up how important it is truly think through the goals that I’m writing.
There’s a classic example about the importance of thinking the percentage of success through with your IEP goals. Here is the most common example.
Johnny will successfully cross the street independently in two out of three opportunities.
Well, this sounds lovely and I’m really excited to see that Johnny has this level of independence.
However, I’m a little concerned that in one of these opportunities, Johnny got hit by a car.
Keeping this in mind, I make sure that all goals are written in a way that reflects the student’s need for safety along with those around them.
If I’m Johnny’s special education teacher, I want to make sure that he crosses the street with 100% success every single time.
Measurable IEP Goals Examples
So, let’s go for a more typical issue. Acts of violence such as biting in the classroom is absolutely something that is common for me to write a behavior goal for.
I am not going to write a goal that says Susie will use her food teeth for food only. Instead I am going to write a goal from my IEP goal banks set that states, “Susie will use pro social forms of communication 100% of the time.”
Now 100% the time makes special educators nervous. However, within the notes of the IEP goal, I can write about Susie often biting others when she’s frustrated. I can also state that I’m going to give Susie some chewelry to put into her mouth or maybe schedule breaks.
We can also utilize I’m working for boards and visual communication boards for Susie. But my 100% of the time within the school means that under no circumstance am I okay with Susie biting others including herself.
What are some IEP goals for autism?
IEP goals for autism are plentiful. Many of these goals can look like goals for other students with IEPs.
I always start with my IEP goal banks set when I’m writing goals for kids with autism. If it’s behavior based, I look at what the problem is in the behavior. Checking the passed documents on the student’s portal lets me see the expired IEPs.
If the student has old IEPs, I’ll often review these so I can see what IEP goals have been mastered before. Just like before when I talked about looking through the school psychologist’s educational evaluation, this is a must when writing goals for kids with autism.
If a student with autism is gifted in English language arts then I will not be writing a goal for an area that is a strength.
However, let’s say the student is great in English language arts and is able to formulate long detailed responses. However, their OT skills are still emerging and they need assistance with the actual physical process of writing. I might have a goal for using voice dictation to answer questions.
Typical goals for kids with autism include staying on task, accepting and asking for help, and work completion.
Socially individuals with autism might also need to be taught things that other kids learn by watching. This could include following classroom rules like walking down the hall, keeping one’s hands to themselves, or raising their hand to talk in class.
Understanding Autism Through the IEP
There is a phrase often said for kids with autism. It goes like this.
Once you know one kid with autism, you still only know one kid with autism. Just because a child has autism doesn’t mean that there’s one specific goal that’s going to work for them.
I read about the child’s strengths and weaknesses. Next, I look through the evaluation and/or past IEPs. Finally, I do some formative assessments to help guide the planning for the student’s success.
Then I go through my trust IEP goal banks and look for a goal that is applicable.
Writing Measurable IEP goals and objectives pdf
Writing measurable IEP goals and objectives can be pretty straightforward for the core subjects like English, and math. However, when we get into the more challenging areas of behavior goals it gets a little trickier. More and more of our students are requiring behavior goals and support.
When I’m writing IEP goals, I’m looking to see if I can actually measure what I’m hoping to measure. I like to watch for on task behavior because I can easily document this on a frequency sheet.
Typically, I observe for at least 10 minutes. I document every 30 seconds to 60 seconds. As long as I have a good viewpoint where I can see the child’s work, I can usually tell this pretty easily.
While observing, I might see a child playing in their desk when the rest of the group is writing down an answer that they just solved during a class discussion with the teacher.
That’s recorded as an off task mark.
Even if the child picks up their pencil a few minutes later and writes the answer down later, at that moment they were off task. Of course, they would get an on task mark for the later time but not be erased for the time before.
Writing Legally Compliant IEPs
These observation sheets are kept in students’ portfolio as important pieces to their progress or lack there of. Since I’ve been in the special ed world for a while I know the importance of documentation in regards to special education law.
No matter if a student is involved in litigation with a school or not, every single goal should be documented at least quarterly. If I have a special education student who goes to trial, the first thing that will be asked for from me is supporting documentation for the child’s progress.
While I have had to participate in a few observations for students involved in special education litigation, I feel super fortunate that none of the students I have ever worked directly with have went down this road.
Regardless if it ever happens, I have everything ready to go to a judge or a lawyer to show them what I’ve been working on with that student. I absolutely recommend that you do the same.
IEP goals and objectives tracking
For each student every school year, I have a hanging file portfolio folder. This is in a locked file cabinet because it contains confidential information. This includes holding the student’s IEP signature pages, progress monitoring, current IEP, and any other portfolio pieces that are appropriate.
In my school district, we typically pass each folder on to the grade above us on the last week of school. This is pretty nice because documentation stays with a student. The collection gives me a chance to look back at pieces of the portfolio.
It’s also helpful because I only have to create folders for move-in students or students who have recently qualified with new IEPs. I have heard that the high school teachers aren’t a huge fan of these.
The folders get so thick and bulky that they’re hard to store. Best practice says it is totally fine to shred any documents that are older than six years.
IEP Goal Banks
I have an IEP goal banks collection for each subject that I refer to every time I write an IEP. Typically, I copy and paste out of the goal bank and tweak the goal as needed.
Special education trainers have told me that each student should have a unique goal. They have also said that when the state audits IEPs, the first thing that will be flagged is if every student has a similar goal from the same teacher of record.
Well I completely understand this except that I am writing my goals based on the state’s standards.
If I’m writing IEP goals based off of the state standards and if students show the same weakness in the same areas of math then it seems completely logical to me that their goals would be the same.
Truth be told I haven’t been audited for any IEPs in my career to know what would happen with goals the state considers to be duplicate goals.
Regardless, get yourself some quality IEP goal banks and save time while writing stronger SMART goals.
Check out the IEP Help Guide that Caroline uses EVERY SINGLE TIME she writes an IEP.
Looking for the IEP Goal Banks set that Caroline uses? Snag it by clicking here.
