Examining the Quality of Individualized Education Program (IEP) Goals for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the quality of Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals for students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using an empirically based rating instrument. One hundred twenty-five IEP goals for 49 students with TBI were coded using the Revised IEP/IFSP Goals and Objective Rating Instrument (R-GORI; Notari). Using this dichotomous measure, we analyzed the quality of IEP goals across six areas: observability, measurability, functionality, generalizability, application in daily tasks, and clarity of goals. On average, students had three IEP goals (range: 1–8). The average goal quality score was 3.74 (range: 1–6). While most of the goals were measurable, only a few contained details about how the goals could be generalized beyond the specific educational or therapeutic environment. These findings highlight variability in the quality of IEP goals, which may have implications to the therapeutic environment and child outcomes.