A parent reads three goals in a transition IEP. "Zoe will explore careers." "Zoe wants to be a veterinary assistant." "After graduation, Zoe will work at least 10 hours a week at a veterinary clinic." Only one of them can be checked off someday. Which?
Telling a measurable goal from a hopeful sentence is a skill, and it makes transition meetings shorter and better. This guide offers a five-question test, shows how to apply it, and explains how annual goals and services fit underneath. It is general information, not legal advice, and states have their own forms.
What the rule and the states say
Section 300.320(b) requires measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments, in the areas of training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills.
North Dakota's Department of Public Instruction publishes a one-page explainer on what it calls measurable postsecondary goals. It says such goals answer three questions: where the student will work or do productive activities after leaving high school, where and how the student will keep learning or developing skills, and where the student will live and how the student will reach adult services, take part in the community, and have fun. It says the goals must be based on age-appropriate transition assessments that identify interests, preferences, and strengths, that they must be measurable, meaning they can be counted or measured, and appropriate for the student, and that they must occur after graduation.
A sentence formula
North Dakota's page also includes a formula from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition. In order, the sentence has four parts.
| Part | What goes there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| When | After high school or after graduation | "After graduation," |
| Who | The student's name | "Zoe" |
| Behavior | A countable action | "will work at least 10 hours a week" |
| Where or how | The setting or the support | "at a veterinary clinic" |
Put together, the third goal about Zoe is a clean example. The first two are not, and the test below shows why.
The five-question test
Ask these questions about each postsecondary goal.
- Can it be counted or measured? Could someone later check a box?
- Does it happen after graduation? Or is it a step during high school?
- Is it an outcome and not an activity? Does it describe where the student will be, not what the school will do?
- Is it based on assessments? Is there a link to what the team learned about the student's interests, preferences, and strengths?
- Is it appropriate for this student? Does it fit what the student wants and can do, with supports?
| Goal | Passes? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Zoe will explore careers." | No | An activity, with nothing to count |
| "Zoe wants to be a veterinary assistant." | No | A wish, with no behavior and no time frame |
| "After graduation, Zoe will work at least 10 hours a week at a veterinary clinic." | Yes | Countable, after graduation, an outcome |
| "Zoe will be referred to vocational rehabilitation." | No | A referral is an activity, not the result |
| "After graduation, Zoe will enroll in a veterinary assistant certificate program." | Yes | Countable and after graduation |
| "After graduation, Zoe will use the bus to get to work." | Yes, if based on a travel assessment | Countable and appropriate if the assessments support it |
The CPIR page makes the same point with its own examples: a goal that states a student will work a set number of hours at a type of employer is acceptable, while a goal about being referred for help with job placement describes an activity and leaves the outcome unclear.
What sits under a postsecondary goal
A postsecondary goal is the destination. Underneath it are annual IEP goals and transition services.
| Level | Example, invented |
|---|---|
| Postsecondary goal | After graduation, Zoe will work at least 10 hours a week at a veterinary clinic |
| Annual IEP goal | By the end of the year, when given a three-step task list, Zoe will complete assigned animal-care tasks with no more than one reminder in four of five shifts |
| Transition services | A school-year work experience at a shelter, a career class, and a job coach visit |
| Course of study | A biology course and a work-study period |
The CPIR page says an annual goal that supports a postsecondary goal should name a condition, a measurable behavior, criteria, and a timeframe, and that it should teach a specific skill. Services should connect to a postsecondary goal. Activities that do not lead to any goal are non-examples. See course of study for transition.
Which areas are required
The federal rule lists training, education, employment, and independent living where appropriate. States organize them differently. North Dakota's page says goals are required in the areas of education, training, and employment, that employment gets its own separate goal, and that an independent living goal is the IEP team's decision, based on the student's present levels, strengths, preferences, interests, and the environment the student will move into. Other states may group training and education into one goal. Look at your state's IEP form.
Checking your child's goals
Take the draft IEP and a pencil.
- Circle each postsecondary goal.
- Underline the behavior. Is it a real action?
- Look for "after graduation" or equivalent. Is the time stated?
- Find the assessment named or described. Is the link visible?
- Find the annual goal and services that support it. Do they lead there?
- Ask the student to read it aloud. Does it sound like them?
Measurability mix-ups
- Confusing a measurable goal with a long one. A short goal can be countable.
- Counting a step as the goal. Applying, exploring, and being referred are steps.
- Making a goal so narrow it breaks. "Will work at Store X" may fail if Store X closes. A type of job can be more durable.
- Forgetting the student. A goal the student does not recognize will not guide anything.
For examples by area, see postsecondary goals examples. For where the evidence comes from, see age-appropriate transition assessments. Terms are in the glossary.