Monitoring ResourcesAccountability Programs : Minnesota Department of Education

Monitoring Resources

Goal Writing Tutorial:K-12


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Goal Writing Tutorial: K-12

The following is one method for writing measurable goals and instructional objectives.

Goals and objectives in a student’s IEP focus on the skills and behaviors the student needs to learn in order to be involved and progress in the general curriculum.

Goals are broad statements which describe what a student can reasonably be expected to accomplish within a twelve month period of time in a special education program.

Each goal includes these components (present level may be implied):

• Direction of change

• Skill/behavior to be changed

• Expected annual ending level of performance

Direction of change

Skill or behavior

Present level (may be implied)

Expected level of achievement

The student will:

increase

decrease

maintain

academic skill

behavior

FROM: __________

TO: __________

EXAMPLES:

      

The student will decrease

talking out behavior

FROM: 5 times per hour

TO: talking out one time per hour.

The student will increase

written language skills

FROM: writing only phrases

TO: writing a complete simple sentence, with initial capitalization and ending punctuation.

The student will maintain

attention span using strategies for concentration

  

AT the current level of all 5’s on his/her daily point chart.

Objectives are measurable*, intermediate steps leading to the attainment of the goal. They describe the student’s behaviors. Objectives must include criteria for attainment and there must be at least two objectives per goal.

Objectives contain the following components:

• conditions for evaluation

• skill/behavior to be performed

• criteria and procedures for attainment

Conditions for evaluation

Skill/behavior to be performed

Evaluation criteria, procedures

Circumstances under which behavior is to be performed:

environment

specialized instructional materials/equipment

assistance

observable

verifiable

What will be used to measure performance?

method

instrument

course of action

EXAMPLES:

    

When in a group setting:

the student will verbally participate in conversation.

in 9 out of 10 trials, as measured by daily chart.

After reading a story of his own choosing:

the student will give an oral book report.

summarizing the content of the story, with accuracy measured by teacher checklist.

When given fifteen 3-digit addition problems and no calculator:

the student will compute them.

with no more than 3 errors, in 2 out of 3 trials.