Welcome back to school! If you are writing IEP goals in Texas, there are new requirements to be aware of.  

1. Each goal must include the timeframe, condition, behavior, and criterion.
2. Students need goals in content areas when the course content is modified. Goals are also required in content areas for which the student is removed from the general education setting, but the content is not modified.
   
3. Short-term objectives or benchmarks cannot be used as the mastery criterion for the annual goal. 

For more details, keep reading.  

First, each goal must include the timeframe, condition, behavior, and criterion. TEA has been advocating this model for some time, and now it is required in the rules.  

Timeframe: The time in which the student is expected to meet the goal, generally one year. 

Condition: What the student needs to meet the goal. The condition can refer to several different concepts, not all of which will be relevant to each goal. Consider including: level of independence (independently, with 2 verbal prompts), materials (a 2nd grade level narrative text, counting manipulatives), accommodations (extra wait time, student’s assistive technology device), and/or the setting (general education class, individual counseling session). 

Behavior: The skill the student will perform. Clearly, the term “behavior” does not always mean that the goal deals with following conduct expectations. Instead, the term emphasizes that the goal should target a student action that the teacher or service provider can observe. This formulation helps ensure the goal is concrete and measurable (reading 100 words correctly per minute, adding 2-digit numbers, responding appropriately to peer greetings) rather than intangible or immeasurable (understand multiplication, improve decoding skills, appreciate the consequences of their actions).  

Criterion: The level at which the student needs to perform the behavior to meet the goal, such as with 80% accuracy on 3 consecutive trials or in 3 out of 4 opportunities.   

Make sure your teams check for these components as they are drafting new IEP goals this year.  

Second, students need goals in content areas when the course content is modified. TEA advises that “content is modified when the depth and/or breadth of the curriculum is reduced to a level that no longer reflects the amount of learning that is expected for the subject or course.” This goal requirement applies whether the modified curriculum is provided in the general education setting or special education setting. Additionally, goals are required in content areas for which the student is removed from the general education setting, but the content is not modified.  

In both cases, the “behavior” in the goal should be aligned with grade-level TEKS. If the course content is modified, the goal should address how the content is modified. The modified curriculum might be explained in the “condition” part of the goal (given simplified vocabulary) and/or in the “behavior” part of the goal (by reducing the complexity or breadth of the standard). If the student is in a special education setting and the course content is not modified, the “condition” could include the behavioral or other supports the student needs, while the “behavior” will not simplify the standard.  

Two other considerations for writing academic goals. First, goals should address areas of critical need and should not replicate all of the curriculum or State standards. Second, goals should align with standards that address skills and concepts the student will work on all year (reading fluency, cause and effect, writing mechanics, math word problems), as opposed to specific knowledge that may be covered in a unit (the steps of photosynthesis, calculating perimeter, causes of the Boston Tea Party). Remember, teachers should take data on the goal all year in order to report on progress, so consider writing goals that target foundational skills that will be applicable across units. 

Finally, short-term objectives or benchmarks cannot be used as the mastery criterion for the annual goal. For instance, a goal that states “By next annual review, given a visual schedule, Student will complete the following objectives with 80% accuracy” and describes the actual skills and behaviors in the objectives would not comply with the new rules. Instead, benchmarks and objectives should be intermediate steps toward reaching the annual goal.  

Remember, goals are only as good as your PLAAFPs, implementation, and progress monitoring and reporting. Please reach out to our Special Education Team with any questions.