Achievable and Ambitious: Writing IEP Goals That Truly Drive Progress

One of the most common concerns I hear from parents is this:

“My child is meeting their IEP goals… but they don’t actually seem to be catching up.”

On the flip side, I also hear:

“The goals feel impossible. My child has never been able to do this.”

Both concerns are valid—and both point to the same underlying issue: IEP goals must strike a careful balance between being achievable and expecting adequate progress over an entire annual year.

Achievable Does Not Mean Minimal

IEP goals should be attainable, but that does not mean they should represent the bare minimum. A goal that a student can meet in the first few months of the IEP year does not reflect meaningful progress across twelve months of instruction.

When goals are written too conservatively, students may technically “meet” them year after year without closing gaps or building toward greater independence. This can create a false sense of success while a child continues to fall further behind their peers.

Annual Goals Should Reflect a Full Year of Growth

An annual IEP goal should be written with the expectation that consistent instruction over an entire school year will result in measurable growth. That means goals should be informed by:

• The student’s current baseline data

• Progress (or lack of progress) on prior IEP goals

• The intensity and frequency of services being provided

• What is developmentally reasonable with appropriate supports

If a student is receiving specialized instruction, the question should always be:

“Is this goal ambitious enough given the support the school is providing?”

The Power of Linking Goals to Standards

Even when a student is working significantly below grade level, IEP goals should still be linked to academic standards—even if those standards are from a lower grade.

Why does this matter?

Standards reflect the skills that general education students are expected to master. By anchoring IEP goals to standards:

• You ensure instruction remains purposeful and relevant

• You avoid isolated or repetitive skill work that doesn’t generalize

• You maintain a clear trajectory toward broader academic expectations

Linking a goal to a standard does not mean the student must perform at grade level. It means the skill being targeted is connected to the same learning framework used for all students.

Using Previous IEP Data to Drive Better Goals

One of the most overlooked pieces of the IEP process is previous years’ data.

Before new goals are written, the team should review:

• Whether prior goals were mastered

• How quickly progress occurred

• What supports were required

• Whether progress plateaued or regressed

This data should directly inform how the next goal is written.

When a Goal Was Not Mastered

If a student did not fully master a goal from the previous IEP year, that does not mean the skill should simply be repeated without change.

Instead, the team can keep the same skill while increasing expectations, such as by:

• Increasing the required accuracy (for example, from 60% to 80%)

• Decreasing the level of prompting (from verbal prompts to visual prompts, or from prompts to independence)

• Increasing consistency across settings or materials

This approach respects where the student currently is while still expecting forward progress.

When a Goal Was Mastered Too Quickly

If a student masters a goal early in the IEP year, that is a signal that the goal may not have been sufficiently ambitious. In those cases, the next IEP should reflect a higher level of complexity, independence, or generalization—not simply a repeat of the same target.

Striking the Right Balance

Strong IEP goals live in the space between realistic and rigorous.

They:

• Are grounded in data

• Expect growth across an entire year

• Align to standards (even if below grade level)

• Build independence over time

• Prevent students from stagnating year after year

When goals are written thoughtfully, they become more than compliance paperwork—they become a roadmap for meaningful progress.

As advocates and parents, asking the right questions about goals is one of the most powerful ways we can support students in accessing a truly appropriate education.

Written by: Madison Nigh