Choose a test-day strategy before a quiz
When to use this goal
For elementary and early middle school students who cry, refuse to start, or ask to go to the nurse when a quiz is handed out. Base the choice on what happens at the start of tests, not on test scores. The routine is shorter and more concrete than the pre-test routine for older students.
- Baseline
- For 4 or 5 quizzes, note what the student does in the first 3 minutes: starts, asks to leave, cries, or waits for an adult. Ask the student which strategies they already use and which they would like on the card; build the card with them.
- Tips
- Score an opportunity as met when the student uses a strategy and starts the first item within the time the class has to begin. The strategy can be any calming action the student picked, including movement or a fidget. Keep the card private and small if the student wants it that way.
- Limits
- This measures the start of a test only. A student may start well and stall later (see the restart and quiz-stamina templates). Quizzes come at irregular times, so data may be sparse in some weeks; practice quizzes can fill gaps if labeled.
Original IEP Atlas template based on general measurement principles; not copied from any goal bank. ID se-er-047.
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Goal
By the annual IEP review date, before a classroom quiz or unit test, with their test-day card on the desk, the student will choose one strategy from their test-day card (such as three slow breaths, squeezing a fidget, or reading a positive statement), use it, and start the first item independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 5 consecutive quizzes or tests, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected at each quiz or test.
Baseline: 1 of 5 opportunities.
- Condition
- Observable behavior
- Criterion
- Measurement method
Measurability check11 of 11 met
Met: Observable behavior. Stated as an action.
Met: Condition. Stated.
Met: Unit fits the behavior. Opportunities fits this behavior.
Met: Explicit criterion. Number and unit stated.
Met: Mastery rule and schedule. Both stated.
Met: Method produces the metric. Opportunity (trial) recording gives opportunities data.
Met: Review timeframe. Stated.
Met: Baseline and target compatible. Same unit, change in the right direction.
Met: Aligned with area of need. Still about Emotional Regulation.
Met: Level of support. Defined.
Met: Blanks filled in. Nothing left to fill in.
Checks structure and wording only. Whether the goal fits the student is the team's call.
Short-term objectives (optional)
When are objectives required?Required for students on alternate assessments (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)(ii)); some states require them for everyone.
Paste into your IEP system
Most district systems have a separate box for each part of a goal. Copy them one at a time, or all at once as labeled text.
- Area of need
- Social-Emotional & Communication - Emotional Regulation
- Baseline
- 1 of 5 opportunities.
- Annual goal450 characters
- By the annual IEP review date, before a classroom quiz or unit test, with their test-day card on the desk, the student will choose one strategy from their test-day card (such as three slow breaths, squeezing a fidget, or reading a positive statement), use it, and start the first item independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 5 consecutive quizzes or tests, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected at each quiz or test.
- Timeframe
- By the annual IEP review date
- Condition
- Before a classroom quiz or unit test, with their test-day card on the desk
- Behavior
- The student will choose one strategy from their test-day card (such as three slow breaths, squeezing a fidget, or reading a positive statement), use it, and start the first item independently
- Criteria
- In at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 5 consecutive quizzes or tests
- Evaluation method
- Opportunity-by-opportunity data
- Schedule
- At each quiz or test
Copied as plain text, with straight quotes and plain dashes.
Matching data sheet
Opportunity tracker. One box per opportunity in each session.
Opportunity tracker
Opportunities- Student label:
- Target:
- in at least 4 of 5 opportunities
- Mastery rule:
- across 5 consecutive quizzes or tests
- Collection schedule:
- at each quiz or test
- Method:
- Opportunity (trial) recording
- Data collector:
Goal: By the annual IEP review date, before a classroom quiz or unit test, with their test-day card on the desk, the student will choose one strategy from their test-day card (such as three slow breaths, squeezing a fidget, or reading a positive statement), use it, and start the first item independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 5 consecutive quizzes or tests, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected at each quiz or test.
Key: + demonstrated independently · P demonstrated with a prompt (note type) · − not demonstrated · NA no opportunity occurred
| Date | Activity / context | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | # + (of 5) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview shows 4 of 12 rows.
- Record up to 5 opportunities per session, matching the goal's denominator.
- Define in advance what counts as an opportunity so every data collector records the same thing.
- Count only + marks toward the criterion unless the goal specifies prompted responses.
The CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets, with formulas. Sheets print blank; no student data is stored.