SMART Goals
Goals written in your child’s IEP should be SMART goals, but what is a SMART goal? Specific, Measurable, Attainable (other variations include action-oriented or active), Realistic (other variations include relevant or results-driven), and Timely. It doesn’t matter which version of the acronym your district uses, the bottom line is that the goals clearly develop a path to achievement. Still confused? Not surprising! The IEP team may have developed a reading comprehension goal for your child. Instead of saying “Susie will demonstrate improved reading comprehension” the team should address all of the requirements for a SMART goal. For example, “Susie will independently read and demonstrate comprehension in 75% of attempts”. It is specific because it tells us what will do, it is measurable because you know what is expected, it is attainable provided that Susie enters the IEP year with the appropriate reading level, it is realistic again provided that Susie is able to read on her own, and it is timely because it establishes a time for completion of the goal. Using this guideline will be very helpful not only to you but to the staff as well because the expectation is very clear. It’s also really helpful when you have the next IEP meeting because you will be able to see exactly how much progress was made toward the goal to help determine what the next goal should be. Maybe 2 books would have been more realistic for Susie, or maybe 5. In either case, it will be clear based on the observations how well the goal is written and how much progress has been made.