What is in an objective?

Parents need to be more involved with their child’s education. It is therefore essential that parents understand what an IEP is and what is supposed to be in it. Most IEPs are not written well and the objectives stated in the IEP are usually not measurable.


*So what is in an objective? Simply put, an objective is what the child will be able to do and how it will be taught, when, where, and how the child is to be evaluated.

Writing well written objectives describes what the learner is expected to be able to do, conditions under which the performance is expected to occur, and the level of competence that must be reached or surpassed. The objective must specify what is to be taught and how, when and where it will happen, how well the child must be able to do it and how the child is to be evaluated. It is also crucial that the criteria 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)


Developing a prompt hierarchy (levels of prompting used to cue the student to do the target behaviors) should be specified as well as fading back prompts should be addressed.


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


Example:

Annual Goal: Student will write assignments in his agenda book.

Objectives: 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.

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.


Anyone should be able to read the objective and know exactly what the child will be doing, how well the child will be doing it, the degree to which the student is able to perform that skill independently, and how the behavior will be measured. Without this information how do you know if the child has mastered the objective?