What can I do if my child’s IEP goals aren’t measurable?

You can ask the team to rewrite them, and you don’t have to wait for the annual review. Every IEP has to contain measurable goals and say how progress will be measured. In practice, a goal is easy to check when it names a starting number, a target, how it’s measured, and by when. Bringing a suggested rewrite helps.

What to do

Read each goal and look for four parts: where your child is now, the target, how it will be measured, and by when. Mark any goal that is missing one.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(2)–(3)
Check the present-levels section for where your child is now. If present levels give no current measure, it’s hard to tell whether the goal is being met.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(1)
Draft a version of each weak goal that fills the gap — for example, “4 of 5 trials, measured weekly with teacher probes, by the annual review.” It does not need to be perfect to be useful.
Ask the team to revise the goals. Changes can be made at a meeting, or by a written amendment if you and the school both agree.
34 CFR § 300.324(a)(4), (a)(6)

What the law says

Every IEP must include a statement of measurable annual goals, covering both academic and functional needs.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(2)(i)
The IEP must describe how your child’s progress toward each goal will be measured and when you will get progress reports.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(3)
After the annual meeting, you and the school can agree to change the IEP by written amendment instead of a full meeting, and you can ask for a revised copy.
34 CFR § 300.324(a)(4), (a)(6)
The team must revise the IEP as appropriate to address any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals.
34 CFR § 300.324(b)(1)(ii)(A)
If the school refuses a change you asked for, it must give you written notice explaining what it refused and why.
34 CFR § 300.503(a)(2), (b)

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Common questions

Is “will improve reading skills” a measurable goal?

No — it names a direction, not a destination. There is no starting point, no target, and no way to tell next spring whether it happened. A measurable version names the task, the current score, the target score, and the tool that will produce the number.

Will asking for rewritten goals upset the team?

Most teams take it as engagement, especially when you bring a draft rather than a complaint. Framing it as “help me understand how we’ll know this is working” keeps it collaborative, and a measurable goal helps the teachers too — it shows their work paying off.

What if the school says the goal is fine as written?

Ask how they would measure it: what number they would record, and how often. If they can answer, ask for that answer to be written into the goal. If they decline to change it, you can ask for the refusal in writing, with the reasons.

Can I check a goal before the meeting without sharing the whole IEP?

Yes. The goal checker looks at one goal at a time, needs no account, and stores no child data, so you can test the goals you are unsure about the night before.