Writing Measurable Goals and Objectives

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Writing Measurable Goals and Objectives

• Presented By
• Student Support Services
• 12/02/04

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Article 7

• 511 IAC 7-27-6 An individualized education
  program shall contain the following
• A statement of measurable goals that describe
  what the student can be expected to accomplish
  within a twelve (12) month period, including
  benchmarks or short term objectives, related to
• Meeting the students needs that result from the
  students disability to enable the student to be
  involved in and progress in the general education
  curriculum
• For early childhood education students, as
  appropriate, to participate in appropriate
  activities and
• Meeting each of the students other educational
  needs that result from the students disability.

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Accountability

• 511 IAC 7-27-8
• The Public Agency shall
• Provide special education and related services in
  accordance with a students individualized
  education program and
• Make a good faith effort to assist the student to
  achieve the goals and objectives or benchmarks
  listed in the students individualized education
  program.
• (Section B)
• The public agency, teacher, or other person may
  not be held accountable if a student does not
  achieve the growth projected in the annual goals
  and benchmarks or objectives. However, the
  public agency may establish an accountability
  system for staff or public agency performance.

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Designing An Effective Program Requires That We
Understand How To

• Determine long-term outcomes and their
  relationship to curriculum.
• Design an effective IEP that is clearly
  understood by all.
• Determine a data collection system that allows us
  to continually reassess overall programming
  effectiveness.
• Adopt instructional approaches that have proven
  effective over time.

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Can We Talk?

• Lets talk about what you want the child to
  achieve.
• Dont ask what should we be doing.Ask, what is
  the desired outcome.

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???????????

• Does each goal reflect something that is
  important for students to do and/or does it
  promote students participation in the general
  education curriculum?
• Do certain goals build on/acknowledge student
  strengths?

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Goals Should Consider The Total Student

• Including
• Social Skills
• Behavioral Needs
• Academic Needs/Strengths
• Individual Needs/Strengths
• Community Living
• Employment skills
• Communication
• Personal management
• Etc.

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Consider These Goals

• Jimmy will successfully cross the road in 4 out
  of 5 attempts.
• Susie will not hit others and will use hands
  appropriately
• Bobby will say hello to classmates as he walks
  down the hall with 100 accuracy.
• Nancy will speak in correct sentences during 30
  minute intervals, twice weekly.
• Joey will demonstrate compliance through the
  school day.
• Beverly will walk up stairs by alternating feet
  twice a day.
• Jill will stand on one foot for 30 minutes daily.

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Are the words that we use in an IEP
measurable/observable?

• Jill will improve reading comprehension.
• Jimmy will comprehend a story.
• Jill will follow classroom rules
• Adam will demonstrate appropriate classroom
  behavior.
• Bob will interact appropriately with peers.
• Teresa will increase fine motor skills.
• These goals are not measurable

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Just an aside..

• If you are ever in a situation where you must
  defend an IEP, a hearing officer will evaluate
  student progress by the IEP goals.
• The determination or progress is based solely on
  IEP goals that allow the teacher to gather data.
• Must be able to prove that goals are measurable
  and attainable.

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• How could you re-write goals/objectives to make
  them measurable and observable?

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Can these goals be measured realistically?

• Throughout the day, Susie will follow directions.
• Bobby will interact with classmates during recess
  100 of the time.
• Kim will spell words correctly on all
  assignments.
• Joe will complete all assignments in class.
• Karen will bring all materials to class.
• How would you gather data?

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Are related services and communication goals
embedded?

• During speech, Katelyn will practice pragmatic
  communication skills.
• Joey will respond to wh questions.
• Suzie will walk a straight line in the hall.
• John will complete sensory activities during OT.
• Communication and Sensory needs should occur all
  day long.

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Are the goals written so everyone in the
conference can understand them?

• Lingo..Jargon
• In preparation for ISTEP, the PT will work with
  the TOR to improve Sallys GM skills to increase
  endurance.
• We are sometimes guilty of talking in special ed.
  Code that is foreign to parents.

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Consider the context or conditions under which
the goal will be worked on

• During science class.
• In the hallway.
• During lunch and passing periods.
• In a community job placement.
• During recess or unstructured time..

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Positive Examples

• Bobby will correctly calculate addition
  combinations to 18 during math class once a week.
• During Science class, Eric will correctly answer
  10 questions during the 9 week grading period.
• While in the school cafeteria, Adam will stand in
  line and wait his turn 4 out of 5 days.
• While in language class, Marianne will correctly
  copy her spelling words from the board once
  weekly.
• When moving between classes, Susie will speak in
  a normal voice with 1 verbal reminder during a 4
  week observation.

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Academic Goals

• Measurable
• Observable
• Important
• Clear Context
• Briefly discuss a goal/objective that meets this
  criteria.

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If Social Skills are a difficulty, consider the
following

• Social Skills need to be taught as purposefully
  as academic skills.
• IEP goals will have to be written which address
  social competencies in specific contexts.

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Social Competencies

• Measurable?
• Observable?
• Important?
• Context?
• Talk with your group about a social goal that
  meets these criteria.

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Behavioral Goals

• Should be written in the positive and should be
  observable/measurable.
• Poor Example
• Jimmy will quit tantrum behavior.
• Bobby will not swear.
• Sara will not kick others.
• Kim will be compliant during the day.
• Goals should not focus on what the child will
  stop doingbut on what the child will start
  doing.
• Must identify a replacement behavior or the child
  will find their own replacement behavior.

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Behavioral Issues

• Goals should teach alternative skill.
• The goal should be established via conducting a
  functional behavior assessment.
• Measurable
• Observable
• Important
• Context

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IEPs

• Consider Number What is reasonable number to
  address within a year?
• Should not be unobtainable, but should push the
  student to the edge should lead to some
  successes.
• Will not cover everything the student is working
  on.
• Should be a living document that is revisited and
  reconsidered.
• And again, focus should be on outcomes, not the
  process.

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Do Your Goals and Objectives

• Reflect age appropriateness?
• Identify educational experiences that are the
  same or similar as general education students?
• Identify broad enough and important enough skills
  to be useful across more than one setting?
• Lead to significant outcomes for the student in
  developing critical life skills? (communication,
  academic, social, emotional skills)
• The reality of our lives is that we are
  interdependent.

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Do Your Goals and Objectives

• Have immediate utility for the student?
• Address issues of interdependence as well as
  independence?
• Reflect the students learning needs?
• Reflect the students changing needs as he/she
  grows and matures?
• Reflect the family and student values?

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Consider this..

• We may need to write goals/objectives that focus
  on promoting generalized skills across multiple
  settings, under multiple conditions, and with
  multiple people. May need to write maintenance
  goals also.

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• A system should be in place to ensure that IEP
  goals/objectives are addressed on a regular basis
  and across the day.
• Data collection is used to determine progress
  toward goals.
• Address goals daily. Professional judgment is
  not sufficient.
• (Hand-out)

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Data Collection

• Data Driven Data is collected for the purposed
  of accountability and to make ongoing
  instructional decisions.
• Data collection reflects criteria stated in IEP.
• Data should flow naturally from instruction when
  possible.
• Data collection system should provide opportunity
  to collect a sufficient amount of information
  without interfering with the flow of instruction.
• Data must not only be collected, but must also be
  summarized.
• (Hand-out)

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• Once IEP goals are determined and a data
  collection system designed, instructional
  approaches should be identified.