Developing An IEP

Developing an IEP is easy once you get the hang of it. I have done it for my son every year and you can too. All it takes is a little practice. Here are some steps to get you started.


1. Prioritize what you want your child to be able to do. What is important. Make a list of what you think your child should be able to do in one year. Be sure to obtain copies of all new test results that were done on your child before the IEP meeting so you can use the data to make goals and objectives from and also how to evaluate your child (what tests to use to evaluate their progress). A good point of reference is to get your child on grade level in all subjects.


2. Break the problems down into small parts (goals).

Instead of a goal that says, Student will turn in their homework on time which is too vague and broad, ask yourself just what are we trying to get the student to do? As an example, the following types of goals will come to mind:

-Student will be able to write down homework assignments in his agenda book.

-Student will have teacher check agenda book to see if homework assignment is written down correctly.

-Student will have parent sign agenda book to verify that they understand what the child is to do.

-Student will keep homework in his binder in the proper folder.

-Student will turn in homework to the teacher on time.


It is important that the parents and educators pick five or six goals that are the most important to address in the IEP. Writing more than this may become overwhelming for the student.


3. Break goals into objectives.


The short-term objectives could be written as follows:

-Given direct instruction/teaching, examples, demonstration/modeling, and practice in writing down assignment(s) in his agenda book that are presented in written form on the classroom chalk board, Student will write assignments in his agenda book in the proper place daily with 80% accuracy, given prompts (5 second wait) and praise that is gradually decreasing.

-Given direct instruction/teaching, examples, demonstration/modeling, and practice on when and how to ask the teacher to check and sign his agenda book, Student will ask the teacher to check and sign his agenda book daily with 80% accuracy, given prompts (5 second wait) and praise that is gradually decreasing.

-Given direct instruction/teaching, examples, demonstration/modeling, and practice on when and how to ask their parent to check and sign his agenda book, Student will ask their parent to check and sign his agenda book daily with 80% accuracy, given prompts (5 second wait) and praise that is gradually decreasing.

-Given direct instruction/teaching, examples, demonstration/modeling, and practice in putting homework in his binder in the proper folder, Student will put homework in his binder in the proper folder daily with 80% accuracy, given prompts (5 second wait) and praise that is gradually decreasing.

-Given direct instruction/teaching, examples, demonstration/modeling, and practice on when and how to hand in homework to his teacher on time, Student will hand in homework to his teacher on time daily with 80% accuracy, given prompts (5 second wait) and praise that is gradually decreasing.


4. The criteria (it describes how well the child must do the behavior) must be specific and meaningful to measure objectives.

Criteria Examples

Percentages (80%)
Number of trials (4/5 opportunities)
Number of times the behavior should be preformed per day (5 times per day)
Specified time frame for performance (for a minimum of 10 minutes)


5. A prompt hierarchy should be specified in the objective to define how prompts will be faded back to promote independence.

System for Fading Back Prompts

Physical cues/assistance
Combinations of cues (multi-sensory cues, tactile and visual cues, visual and verbal cues)
Verbal cues
Visual cues
Manual sign/Gestural cues
Expectant waiting/Expectant time delay
Independent/Initiated


One way is for the IEP to specify different criteria and prompt levels over the course of a year.

One month objective: 80% consistency, verbal prompts (example: write in your agenda book, what is your homework for tonight, etc.)

Six month objective: 80% consistency, manual signs/gestures or visual cues.

Full year objective: 80% consistency, independent performance/initiation.

Evaluation: Daily monitoring charts.


6. Specify how the child will be evaluated and when to see whether or not he has mastered the objective. The data collection schedules need to fit the behavior addressed in the objective and they need to be specified within the IEP.

*Do not let the IEP Team put Teacher Observation, Teacher Judgment or Teacher Made Test for evaluation. No data is kept and it falls on the discretion of the teacher whether or not the student has actually mastered the objective. If no data is collected how do we know if the child can do it?

Evaluation Examples
Specified Test (WISC-III, WIAT, State Assessment Tests, PSAT, Vineland, etc.), Monitoring Charts, etc.


Data Collection Schedules Examples
Daily (throughout the day, each occurrence)
Once per week
Bi-weekly
Once per month


Here is a an example of a Daily Monitoring Chart
*Remember: Goals and objectives MUST be measurable so you can tell if the child is making progress.