Goal check
Test whether an IEP goal is actually measurable
One goal at a time gives a clearer answer than a whole page. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere. This page has no server to send it to.
This is information about what the regulations say, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for someone who knows your child. Special education law also varies by state. Your state parent center is free, federally funded, and will go through any of this with you.
Why "measurable" is the word that matters
Federal law requires an IEP to contain measurable annual goals. The word does a lot of work: a goal that cannot be measured cannot be failed, and a goal that cannot be failed cannot be the basis for changing anything when a year goes by without progress.
The five parts checked here are the standard components of a measurable objective, and the two that go missing most often are the criterion — the number — and the baseline.
What a strong goal looks like
Given a second-grade level passage read independently, by 12 May 2027, Sam will read aloud at 60 words correct per minute with 3 or fewer errors, across 3 consecutive weekly sessions, as measured by curriculum-based running records collected by the reading specialist. Baseline: 28 words correct per minute on 4 September 2026.
It is longer than most goals in most IEPs, and that length is the point. Every clause is there so that in May nobody has to argue about what was meant.
A note on tone
Asking for a goal to be rewritten is a normal request, and teams do it routinely. The email this tool generates is deliberately written as a request rather than a complaint, because the same people will be in the room again next year.