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Academic domain

Phonics & Decoding IEP goals

Phonics and decoding goals target the sound-symbol skills a student needs to read unfamiliar words accurately. The strongest goals name the exact skill (CVC words, vowel teams, multisyllabic words), the probe used to measure it, and a criterion tied to accuracy and rate rather than a vague reading level.

Common measurability defects

  • Writing "will improve phonics skills" with no named skill, probe or criterion, so progress cannot be measured or graphed.
  • Scoring a teacher-made word list that changes every week, which makes data points impossible to compare across the year.
  • Setting a criterion such as "80% of the time" without stating the number of words, the number of probes or the measurement schedule.
  1. 01Grades K-2SLDCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B

    Baseline

    On 1st-grade DIBELS 8 Nonsense Word Fluency, scores 14 correct letter sounds (CLS) and 1 word recoded correctly (WRC) per minute (median of 3 probes). Names short vowels a, i and o in isolation but confuses e and u.

    Annual goal

    By [annual review date], when given a 1st-grade DIBELS 8 Nonsense Word Fluency probe, the student will blend and read VC and CVC nonsense words to produce 45 correct letter sounds and 12 words recoded correctly in one minute on 3 consecutive biweekly probes.

    Measured by: Biweekly DIBELS 8 NWF progress-monitoring probes at 1st-grade level, administered by the special education teacher. CLS and WRC are graphed against an aimline and reported to parents each grading period.

    Short-term objectives

    1. By the end of the first grading period, the student will produce 24 CLS and 4 WRC per minute on 2 of 3 consecutive biweekly NWF probes.
    2. By the end of the second grading period, the student will produce 33 CLS and 7 WRC per minute on 2 of 3 consecutive biweekly NWF probes.
    3. By the end of the third grading period, the student will produce 40 CLS and 10 WRC per minute on 2 of 3 consecutive biweekly NWF probes.
  2. 02Grades K-2Speech/LanguageCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.D

    Baseline

    In kindergarten, produces 8 correct sound segments per minute on DIBELS 8 Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (median of 3). Isolates the initial sound in 6 of 10 spoken CVC words, the final sound in 3 of 10 and the medial vowel in 1 of 10.

    Annual goal

    Within 36 instructional weeks, given 10 orally presented CVC words without picture support, the student will isolate and say the initial, medial and final phoneme of each word with at least 90% accuracy (27 of 30 phonemes) on 3 consecutive weekly probes.

    Measured by: Weekly 10-word phoneme isolation probe drawn from a fixed bank of 60 CVC words, scored by the special education teacher or SLP. Monthly DIBELS 8 PSF as a secondary indicator. Results graphed and shared each grading period.

    Short-term objectives

    1. By the end of the first grading period, the student will isolate initial and final phonemes in 16 of 20 positions across 2 consecutive weekly probes.
    2. By the end of the second grading period, the student will isolate initial, medial and final phonemes with 70% accuracy (21 of 30) on 2 consecutive weekly probes.
    3. By the end of the third grading period, the student will isolate all three phonemes with 80% accuracy (24 of 30) on 2 consecutive weekly probes.
  3. 03Grades 3-5SLDCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.C

    Baseline

    In 3rd grade, reads 18 of 40 (45%) unfamiliar two- and three-syllable words correctly on a syllable-type decoding inventory. Decodes closed syllables reliably but misreads vowel teams and r-controlled syllables. DIBELS 8 Word Reading Fluency: 19 words correct per minute.

    Annual goal

    By [annual review date], given a list of 40 unfamiliar multisyllabic words containing closed, open, silent-e, vowel team and r-controlled syllables, the student will apply syllable division and read at least 36 of 40 words (90%) correctly within 2 minutes on 3 consecutive biweekly probes.

    Measured by: Biweekly 40-word multisyllabic decoding probes from equivalent forms, scored for words read correctly and time to completion. Graphed by the special education teacher and reported at each grading period.

    Short-term objectives

    1. By the end of the first grading period, the student will read 25 of 40 multisyllabic words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive biweekly probes.
    2. By the end of the second grading period, the student will read 30 of 40 multisyllabic words correctly, including 6 of 8 vowel team words, on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
    3. By the end of the third grading period, the student will read 33 of 40 multisyllabic words correctly within 2 minutes on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
  4. 04Grades 3-5OHICCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.5.3.A

    Baseline

    In 5th grade, reads 22 of 40 (55%) unfamiliar words with common prefixes and suffixes (un-, re-, pre-, -tion, -ment, -able) correctly on a morphology decoding probe. Often guesses from the first syllable and omits suffixes.

    Annual goal

    By [annual review date], given 40 unfamiliar grade-level words containing common prefixes, suffixes and roots, the student will identify the morphemes and read at least 36 of 40 words (90%) correctly on 3 consecutive biweekly probes.

    Measured by: Biweekly 40-word morphology decoding probes on equivalent forms, administered 1:1 by the special education teacher with errors coded as prefix, root or suffix errors. Data graphed and reviewed with the general education teacher monthly.

    Short-term objectives

    1. By the end of the first grading period, the student will read 27 of 40 words correctly with no more than 6 suffix omissions on 2 of 3 probes.
    2. By the end of the second grading period, the student will read 31 of 40 words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
    3. By the end of the third grading period, the student will read 34 of 40 words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
  5. 05Grades 6-8IDCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.C

    Baseline

    In 7th grade, decodes single-syllable CVC and CVCe words with 85% accuracy. Reads 9 of 30 (30%) regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels on a decoding inventory, and reads 20 of 50 functional community words (exit, pharmacy, ingredients) on sight.

    Annual goal

    Within 36 instructional weeks, given 30 regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels presented in isolation, the student will read at least 24 of 30 words (80%) correctly on 3 consecutive biweekly probes.

    Measured by: Biweekly 30-word decoding probes on equivalent forms, scored by the special education teacher. A monthly functional word check (50 community words) is recorded alongside. Progress graphed and reported each grading period.

    Short-term objectives

    1. By the end of the first grading period, the student will read 14 of 30 two-syllable long vowel words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
    2. By the end of the second grading period, the student will read 18 of 30 words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
    3. By the end of the third grading period, the student will read 21 of 30 words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
  6. 06Grades 9-12SLDCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.4.3.A

    Baseline

    In 10th grade, reads 21 of 40 (53%) unfamiliar content-area words (photosynthesis, constitutional, denominator) correctly on a multisyllabic probe drawn from biology, civics and algebra texts. Reads common one- and two-syllable words accurately.

    Annual goal

    By [annual review date], given 40 unfamiliar multisyllabic content-area words, the student will use syllabication and Greek and Latin roots and affixes to read at least 34 of 40 words (85%) correctly on 3 consecutive biweekly probes.

    Measured by: Biweekly 40-word content vocabulary decoding probes built from the student's current course texts on equivalent forms, administered by the special education case manager. Data graphed and reviewed with content teachers each grading period.

    Short-term objectives

    1. By the end of the first grading period, the student will read 26 of 40 content-area words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
    2. By the end of the second grading period, the student will read 30 of 40 content-area words correctly on 2 of 3 consecutive probes.
Reading FluencyReading ComprehensionVocabularyWritten ExpressionSpellingMath CalculationMath Problem SolvingNumber Sense

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