Although IEP baselines are critical, they are often overlooked in IEP writing. SMART is a well-known acronym that represents the aspects of a well-written goal: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic/relevant, and time-based. However, some districts still write goals that cause us to ask, “How are we going to measure this?” An example we have seen recently is “Jane will be more attentive during class.” This is clearly not measurable.
Many parents already know this, and push districts to clarify goals. Some districts write SMART goals with little to no prompting from parents.
One area where we see significant challenges is writing accurate IEP baselines. For example, sometimes we see baselines such as “John can write several sentences with a lot of teacher assistance.” This is vague. How many prompts are needed? What does several mean? How long are the sentences? What do we mean by a lot of teacher assistance?
How can a runner know her distance and pace if she does not know where and when she started the run?
A SMART version of a goal for this baseline might be “Using a graphic organizer, John will independently write a paragraph containing 7 sentences (at least 4 words per sentence) with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and teacher records.” John is learning to write, so this may very well be what takes him to the next level.
IEP baselines are the starting point of measuring progress. We cannot meaningfully measure progress unless we have a clear idea of where a student is now. If we want Jacob to sit in circle time without getting up for 10 consecutive minutes with a maximum of 2 verbal prompts, then we need to know how long Jacob can sit in circle time now and how many prompts he needs.
Some school professionals seem to welcome this input, and almost all acknowledge that it is the correct way to write IEP baselines and goals.
As parents, we understand. As advocates, we can help.