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How an IEP Goal Bank Can Help Educators


An individual educational plan or IEP is a document for students of all ages who can’t follow the pre-set curriculum. Its purpose is to prepare students for classes, help them acquire the necessary skills, and get them ready for an independent life. 

A team of educators and parents can rely on instructions from an IEP goal bank, where measurable goals are stated. I’ll explain how these banks can help educators, some examples of IEPs, and more in this post! 

How an IEP Goal Bank Can Help Educators

Well-developed IEPs maximize students’ chances to achieve schooling goals and help educators stay on track with the plan. It’s always best to create an individual plan for every student, as each of them has different needs, interests, and abilities. And taking a peek at the IEP goal bank can be a good starting point.

Generate Ideas for IEP Goals

Structuring IEP goals for individual students can be tricky. Considering that parents and educators participate in this, coordinating their opinions to work in the best interest of the child/teen is a big challenge. 

IEP goal banks offer a large number of already structured goals according to the SMART method. These goals are divided into categories, and each goal can be additionally adapted to students’ needs.

What Is the SMART Method?

The structure of goals in IEP will depend on the student for whom it’s intended. Still, there’s a general set of rules that educators should adhere to when setting these goals, known by the acronym SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant (or realistic), and time-constrained.

  • Specific: IEP goals should be detailed enough to relate to a specific student and include a specific set of actions. That leaves no room for speculation and different interpretations of IEP.
  • Measurable: Goals should have criteria based on which the student’s progress will be measured during IEP implementation. These criteria should be expressed in percentage or as ‘in X out of Y’ and put in a specific setting where they can be measured at any moment. 
  • Achievable: Achievable goals consider the student’s abilities, needs, and limitations, and they’re adapted to the perceived state, leaving room for tolerable errors.
  • Relevant: Goals should be set by priorities, including all parties that participate in IEP implementation.
  • Time-Constrained: Realistic goals should be set in a realistic period. Each goal comes with a time frame during which it should be achieved or, at least, some progress made. 

Find Commonalities for Easier Transition

IEP goal banks can be of great help to educators, especially when they get a new student or come to a new work environment that uses a slightly different framework. 

In the example of a new student, IEP goal banks provided by parents and previous educators can help new educators get into the meat of the matter. By checking out the bank, they can figure out the previous working method and adapt their approach to it, keeping the student’s best interest in mind.

Improve Working Method

In addition to giving inspiration for goal designing, IEP goal banks can provide educators with ideas on how to improve their work. By accessing a large number of pre-set goals, they can see some procedures, techniques, and measuring methods they can implement into their work.

IEP Goal Bank

Examples of IEP Goal Bank for Particular Areas

I’ll explain the use of the IEP goal bank in an example for Dominick, a second-grade student. These are goals that educators can use while working on the student’s writing expression, behavior, and social skills an average second-grader should have. 

IEP Goal Bank for Writing

By May 1st, Dominick will make necessary capitalization corrections in sentences where incorrectly capitalized names of people and geographic features are given, with an accuracy of 75% in eight out of ten consecutive trials. 

By May 10th, Dominick will make up to four sentences using subjects and predicates with proper syntax and combine them into meaningful content, in 75% of cases, as measured by observation.

By the end of the second semester, when given a writing assignment, Dominick will write two paragraphs with complete sentences using appropriate vocabulary, capitalization, and punctuation marks, with no more than five errors, in four out of five cases, as measured by observation.

IEP Goal Bank for Focus on Tasks

By May 1st, when given a task, Dominick will start working on it within two minutes with no more than 2 verbal prompts in 8 out of 10 cases, as measured by observation.

By May 15th, when given a task, Dominick will start working on it within one minute with no more than one verbal prompt in 8 out of 10 cases, as measured by observation.

Dominick will ask and take a break when he needs it, using appropriate language and gestures, and get back to the task independently after the break, in 8 out of 10 cases over four consecutive weeks, as measured by observation.

IEP Goal Bank for Social Skills

In the classroom setting, Dominick will greet peers and initiate a conversation with them in 6 out of 8 consecutive cases for three consecutive weeks.

During conflict situations with peers, Dominick will apply problem-solving methods without aggression and insulting words, without the teacher’s help in 75% of cases, over three consecutive weeks.

When given a group assignment, Dominick will be assertive and offer help to peers after sensing the need while taking care of his interest in 4 out of 5 consecutive cases during two weeks.

IEP Goal Bank for Life Skills

You can read more about the life skills IEP goals here.

IEP Goal Bank for Executive Functioning

Learn more about executive function IEP goals for your students here.

IEP Goal Bank for Vocational Skills

Click here to learn more about vocational skill goals here.

Other Benefits of an IEP Goal Bank

Here are more benefits of IEP goal banks:

  • Goals in IEP goal banks follow current practices and standards and are always up-to-date, so educators implement the best methods into their work.
  • It’ll be easier for teachers to follow multiple students with similar IEP goals and even create groups where these students will work together toward their IEP goals.
  • With everything in one place, educators can stay organized and on top of their IEPs for every student. This will also ease communication between all parties involved.
  • No excessive paperwork.

Wrap Up

The IEP goal bank is of great help for educators to work in the student’s best interest. It helps them stay organized and up-to-date with the newest methods used in IEPs so that students can get the most benefits from these programs.

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