Enhancing the Quality of Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Goals and Objectives

Abstract

Individualized service is a cornerstone of early childhood special education. A primary mechanism used to individualize services is the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Unfortunately, many studies report that IEP goals and objectives tend to be poorly written and question the individualized nature of the IEP. The purpose of this study was to validate a strategy for improving the quality of written IEP goals and objectives. A diverse group of early childhood special educators was trained on writing quality IEP goals/objectives and using a curriculum-based measure called the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System (AEPS) for Three to Six Years. Results indicate the quality of written IEP goals and objectives improved following the IEP goal writing training and use of the AEPS Test.