The annual goals help to clearly establish where the student is headed for the academic school year. The goals purpose is to give the student something to strive for as well as a way to measure student progress. In the IEP, the goals are measured by asking the following questions,” Where’s the child heading this year? What will he or she work on, both academically and in terms of functional development? What does the IEP team feel the child can achieve by the end of the year–again, academically and functionally?” (NICHCY, 2014) For a goal to be considered well written it must contain two components, it should be positive and describe a skill that can be measured and seen. According to the IDEA, a goal is, “A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to (A) Meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum; and (B) Meet each of the child’s other educational needs that result from the child’s disability”. (NICHCY, 2014) When creating an annual goal one must answer who, what, when, where and how. The annual goal links to the present levels statement by ensuring that the writing of measurable goals comes from the content presented in the present levels statement. The goals must be drafted to encourage child involvement and track progress in the general education classroom. However; the goals cannot be limited to only the general education classroom, they must also help the student meet other educational needs as well. Because the present level statement includes how the student’s disability affects his or her involvement in the general education classroom, the information drawn from this portion of the IEP will aide in creating goals that are aligned with helping student achieve academic and functional success. When creating goals for an IEP, there must be a direct correlation between present level performance and annual goals. Goals must answer the following question to be considered well written, “What can the student currently do? What challenging, yet attainable, goal can we expect the student to meet by the end of this IEP period? How will we know that the student has reached this goal? The goals should address every aspect of student involvement to achieve success. To develop successful goals for student achievement they must be skill based, measurable, and reflect the students individual needs based on their particular disability. Goal writing is considered one of the hardest steps of the IEP because the goals must be measurable and annual in time frame.
An example of a well written goal is:
Annual Goal: Maria will read second grade material at a rate of 60 - 80 words a minute with no more than 0 - 2 errors.
Objectives: By November 15, Maria will read first grade material at a rate of 60 - 100 words per minute with no more than 0 - 2 mistakes.
By April 15, Maria will read second grade material at a rate of 40 - 60 words per minute with no more than 3 - 5 mistakes.
By June 15, Maria will read second grade material at a rate of 60 - 80 words per minute with no more than 0 - 2 mistakes. Maria’s teacher records Maria’s reading and error rates throughout the year in order to measure her progress. (US Department of Education, 2014)
An example of a well written goal is:
Annual Goal: Maria will read second grade material at a rate of 60 - 80 words a minute with no more than 0 - 2 errors.
Objectives: By November 15, Maria will read first grade material at a rate of 60 - 100 words per minute with no more than 0 - 2 mistakes.
By April 15, Maria will read second grade material at a rate of 40 - 60 words per minute with no more than 3 - 5 mistakes.
By June 15, Maria will read second grade material at a rate of 60 - 80 words per minute with no more than 0 - 2 mistakes. Maria’s teacher records Maria’s reading and error rates throughout the year in order to measure her progress. (US Department of Education, 2014)