Writing Measurable Goals

I travel to a lot of districts to teach educators how to use Datability Web and, even though my goal is to teach features, I inevitably get asked the question, “How do I write a good goal for (fill in the blank)?. Truth be told, it’s something I struggle with as well. As special educators, we usually understand what our children need but it’s often hard to put it into a measurable bite-sized nugget. Personally, I subscribe to the S.M.A.R.T methodology, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. A quick google search will bring up many videos on this methodology. I think the key is to get granular with what you’re trying to teach and figure out the real issues that you’re trying to correct. For example, is your student’s inability to do algebra really because they are unable to solve for x or is it because they don’t have the time management skills necessary to study. And don’t even get me started on essay writing….  As professionals, there’s really no way we should ever have a “Student will write an essay” goal on an IEP. What can’t they do? Is it the planning or is it pulling information? Break down the skill of writing an essay into a task analysis (look up the term) and score each part. Anyway, rant over. I’d love to hear your ideas so feel free to comment and definitely check out www.databilityweb.com and sign up for our free trial.