Getting What Your Child Needs · Progress Monitoring

IEP Goals That Aren’t Working: How to Ask for a Review

If your child has been working toward the same IEP goals for multiple quarters with little meaningful progress, something is wrong, with the goals themselves, the services supporting them, or both. IDEA doesn’t require you to wait until the annual review to address this. Here’s what to do.

What Does “Goals Aren’t Working” Actually Mean?

There are two different problems that can look like the same thing:

1. The goals are appropriate but progress is stalling, the child isn’t making expected gains despite services. This suggests the services need to change.
2. The goals are set too low, the child is meeting them consistently but isn’t closing the gap with grade-level peers. This suggests the goals need to be more ambitious.

Identifying which situation you’re in matters because the fix is different in each case.

How to Read Progress Reports Critically

Progress reports are supposed to tell you how your child is progressing toward each IEP goal, measured by the method specified in the IEP. In practice, many progress reports are vague and uninformative. Here’s what to look for:

• Actual numbers, not just categories: “Making progress” is not data. “Currently at 62% accuracy; goal is 80%” is data.
• Trend over time: Is the number moving? A child who has been at 60% accuracy for three consecutive reporting periods is not making progress.
• Connection to grade-level expectations: Meeting a goal that was set below grade level is not the same as closing the gap with peers.

If progress reports don’t include measurable data, request the actual data the school is collecting. Under IDEA, you have the right to this information.

When Can You Request a Review? (Answer: Any Time)

You do not have to wait for the annual IEP review to raise concerns about goals and progress. You can request an IEP meeting in writing at any time. Send an email to the case manager stating that you’d like to schedule a meeting to review progress data on current goals.

Specifically reference the goals you’re concerned about and the data (or lack of it) that prompted your request. This creates a record and signals that you’re tracking the situation seriously.

Questions to Ask About Goals at the Review Meeting

• “Can you show me the data collected on this goal since the last IEP meeting?”
• “What does the trajectory of this data tell us about the effectiveness of current services?”
• “If we project this rate of progress forward, when would [child] reach the goal? Is that acceptable?”
• “Is the instructional method being used to address this goal evidence-based for children with [disability]?”
• “What would need to change in services for us to expect meaningfully better progress?”

If Goals Are Too Low: Requesting More Ambitious Goals

A child who consistently meets IEP goals but is falling further behind peers is not receiving an IEP that meets the Endrew F. standard. Under IDEA, goals must be designed to enable progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances, not just measurable growth of any kind.

When requesting more ambitious goals, bring data showing the gap between your child’s performance and grade-level expectations, and ask specifically: “Is this goal designed to close the gap, or to document some progress?”

If Goals Are Appropriate but Services Are Insufficient

Sometimes goals are well-written but the services behind them, too few minutes, wrong setting, unqualified provider, aren’t adequate to support progress. In this case, focus on the service side: request more intensive or more frequent services, ask about the qualifications of whoever is delivering instruction, and request evidence for why the current delivery model was chosen.

See also: how to request more IEP services.