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I.E.P. Math goals

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Since I asked about reading goals and found people thought the proposed goals were weak thought I would get input on the math goals. The student is currently finishing up 3rd grade.

Child will improve his math problem solving skills to a 4.5 level
-will be able to identify the needed information after reading a math word problem
-will be able to decide the operation needed to solve a problem (+,-,x,/)
-will be able to correctly solve a math word problem after setting up the math problem.

Child will improve his basic math skills to a 4.5 level
-will be able to solve one digit by two digit multiplication
-will be able to solve division facts 0-9
-will be able to use graphs and tables to answer questions

On the WIAT his math reasoning score as 106, his numerical operations score was 95.

Do these seem like reasonable goals? are they specific enough?

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/09/2002 - 12:09 AM

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Your goal statements and objective statements need to be stated in measurable terms. What will you use to determine that the child has reached the 4.5 grade level? Example: Child will improve his basic math skills to a 4.5 grade level as measured on the Key Math test. The objectives need to be measurable as well. This can be done by adding a statement of the percent of accuracy over a given number of examples. I hope this helps.
Louise

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/09/2002 - 5:39 PM

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Hi,

The goals seem realistic, based on the students scores.I am a third grade teacher, looping with my LD kids to 4th grade. Currently I am writing IEP’s for 4th grade too.
In the fourth grade students are working on other skills than multiplication and division. I would look at the 4th grade teacher manual at the skills taught in 4th grade. Some skills I have found have been Geometry, Fractions, decimals, comparing numbers to the billions. It is different based on curriculm, but I know fractions are a big 4th grade skills.

Hope this helps,
Alana

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/09/2002 - 8:29 PM

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These two goals are specific and meaningful.

-will be able to solve one digit by two digit multiplication
-will be able to solve division facts 0-9

They’re also pretty basic, beginning Grade 4 level.

The others are much too vague and could be twisted to mean almost anything. What does it mean to do problem-solving on a 4.5 level? What book will he be using? Will he be using a calculator? Will he have “help”? On what test will he be graded? Depending on the answers to these questions, this could mean anything from non-functioning with the teacher doing all the work, up to high school level with someone interpreting the demands excessively strictly.

Similarly how is he to use graphs and tables and what kind of questions will be asked? Some graph/table questions can be answered by kindergarten children (Who has the most apples?) and some are upper high-school or college level (What’s the average rainfall for January?).

It’s not that these goals are wrong, they actually seem fairly reasonable; it’s just that they are lacking in detail and are much too open to interpretation.

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/10/2002 - 8:02 PM

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Thank you all for your wonderful responses. The IEP went well as the teacher was receptive to the input. The measure will by the Keymath test, this is where his baseline scores were derived. The accuracy level is to be 80 percent. Thanks again.

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