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Tool 31: Who Measures It, How Often, with What Tool - Three Questions Per Goal

THE RULE

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the IEP must contain a statement of measurable annual goals (34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(2)(i)). That is Tool 29 and Tool 30. This tool is about the sentence that comes next in the regulation.

The IEP must also contain “[a] description of - (i) How the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals ... will be measured; and (ii) When periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals ... will be provided” (34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(3); see 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(III)). The regulation gives one example of timing: quarterly or other periodic reports, “concurrent with the issuance of report cards” (34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(3)(ii)).

Two more rules sit behind that one.

The goals themselves must be built for your child. They must meet the needs that result from your child’s disability, and each of your child’s other educational needs (34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(2)(i)(A)-(B)). The team must consider your child’s academic, developmental, and functional needs (34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(1)(iv)). Need drives the goal. The label does not (34 C.F.R. § 300.304(c)(6)).

The district must ensure that each teacher and provider responsible for carrying out the IEP is informed of that person’s specific responsibilities (34 C.F.R. § 300.323(d)(2)(i)). The regulation does not require the IEP itself to name the data collector. Asking who will measure each goal is a practical way to test whether the plan can be implemented.

The IEP must describe how progress will be measured and when reports will be provided (34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(3)). It does not expressly require a named person, a fixed collection schedule, or a named instrument. Those details are strong practice questions: who measures it, how often, and with what tool?

WHY IT MATTERS

Some IEPs measure every goal with one sentence: “Progress will be measured by teacher observation.” It shows up under goals in reading, in math, in speech, in behavior. It is 7 words, and it commits the district to nothing.

Nobody is named, so nobody is responsible. No schedule is set, so no measurement is late. No instrument is named, so no number exists. At the annual review, the team reports that your child is “progressing gradually,” and there is nothing behind that phrase to check. You cannot argue with a feeling. You can argue with a number.

Compare: “Progress will be measured by the speech-language pathologist, using a 20-item articulation probe, given twice a month, scored as percent correct, and graphed.” Now a person owns it. Now a date exists. Now, if the line is flat in November, you can see it in November instead of hearing about it in June.

The measurement method is not a technicality. A specific method makes progress easier to check and discuss while there is still time to adjust instruction.