"Controls anger." "Reduces outbursts." "Uses coping skills." These are common in behavior goals, and each is missing something. What will the student do? How will we know? Over how long?
This page separates the two documents, then shows how to write a goal that works with a BIP.
Two documents, two audiences
IDEA requires an IEP to include measurable annual goals, and a description of how progress toward them will be measured and when reports will be given. A BIP is not described in those terms. Colorado's guide says IDEA does not define it, and describes it as strategies and supports employed by the school team: a set of instructions for staff.
| Element | In a behavior goal | In a BIP |
|---|---|---|
| What the student will learn or do | Yes | Yes, as replacement skills to teach |
| How it is measured, and the target | Yes | Yes, in the data plan |
| What adults change before the behavior | No | Yes |
| How adults respond | No | Yes |
| Reinforcement system | No | Yes |
| Staff training and fidelity | No | Yes |
| Crisis steps | No | Only if needed |
| Reported to parents with progress | Yes | Often, through the same reports |
A goal is about the student. A plan is about the adults.
What a good behavior goal contains
NCII's guide says the goal should focus on a replacement behavior. Its example: "Miranda will increase the frequency of raising her hand in class." Its nonexample: "Miranda will decrease the frequency of loud outbursts in class." The reason is that the goal should describe what the student will learn to do. NCII adds that teams can still monitor the behavior of concern, which also lets them give families more timely information.
Utah's goals guide lists the parts of a goal as a condition, a target skill or behavior, and a criterion. For behavior it says to include a baseline measurement in the present levels, to determine when the behavior occurs and what its function might be, and to identify a replacement behavior that matches the function. It offers a "potato test": a meaningful goal does not describe something a potato could do, such as sitting quietly with hands to self.
Colorado's guide gives five components: the learner, the skill, the target behavior to decrease, the conditions, and the criteria with a timeline, and says best practice is to include both a goal for increase and one for decrease and to track both.
Wording that measures
Utah's guide notes that percent-based measures should not be used if the occurrence of the behavior is open-ended. "Raise his hand 80 percent of the time" is not measurable. Defining the opportunities fixes it: "in 8 of 10 teacher questions." For more measurement choices, see the data hub, for example data sheets for BIP progress.
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| Will control anger | When told "not now" by an adult, Kai will say "okay" or ask for a break within 10 seconds, in 8 of 10 opportunities for four weeks |
| Will reduce outbursts | Outbursts lasting longer than two minutes will fall from about 5 per week to 1 or fewer for six weeks |
| Will use coping skills | When a task is hard, Mina will use her break card instead of leaving the room, in at least 4 of 5 days for three weeks |
Notice that each version has a condition, an observable action, a number, and a time frame. They also name the skill first, with the decrease as a secondary measure.
How the two connect
The goal gives the BIP a target and a yardstick. The BIP gives the goal a route. When you write a goal, ask what adults will need to do for it to be reachable, and put those steps in the plan. When you write a plan, check that each teaching strategy leads to a goal. A plan that teaches a skill with no matching goal has nothing to measure. A goal with no plan behind it asks the student to change alone.
Colorado's guide also says the behaviors written into an IEP's BIP should be directly linked to the disabling condition, and that district conduct policies apply to behavior that does not align with the student's disability. Ask your team where that line sits in your district.
One student, one goal, one plan (invented)
Dev leaves his seat during independent work an average of 8 times a week. The team's hypothesis is that the function is to avoid long written tasks.
- Goal in the IEP: When given a writing task of more than 10 minutes, Dev will use a break card instead of leaving his seat, in at least 8 of 10 tasks for six weeks. Leaving his seat without permission will fall from about 8 per week to no more than 2.
- Plan steps for adults: split long tasks in two, practice the card with Dev before the lesson, respond to the card within 10 seconds, and give less attention when he leaves without it.
- Data: a tally of card use and of departures, 9 to 11:30, reviewed every Friday.
The goal can be read by a parent in ten seconds and measured by a paraprofessional with a tally. The plan tells the adults what to do on a Tuesday morning. Neither does the other's job.
Reporting progress on a behavior goal
Section 300.320 requires the IEP to describe when periodic progress reports will be provided, such as quarterly or with report cards. A behavior goal that has a number and a baseline makes that report easy: "Dev used the card in 6 of 10 long tasks this quarter, up from 0. Departures fell from 8 to 4 per week." Say what the plan is doing next. A family reading that sentence knows where things stand and what comes next, which a phrase like "making progress" cannot tell them.
Examples, in order
See behavior IEP goals examples for wording across ages and skills, and replacement behaviors examples for the skills the goals describe.
Common mix-ups
- Putting adult actions in the goal. NCII lists a goal about an adult behavior, such as fewer teacher prompts, as a common problem.
- Writing only a decrease goal. The replacement skill needs a goal too.
- Using subjective terms. "Improve motivation" cannot be counted.
- Leaving out the baseline. There is nothing to measure growth against.
- Copying the same goal year after year. Update the number and the condition.
Terms are in the glossary.
Where your form decides
Whether goals sit in the IEP, the BIP, or both, and how progress is reported, depends on your state and district. If your IEP form has a section for behavior goals, use it, and make sure the BIP and the goals tell the same story.