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Choose details that support a topic sentence

Unreviewed draftK-2, 3-5Percent accuracy
Student reference

Use a generic label rather than a student's name. Review goals within your school's approved IEP system.

Current baseline

Sample numbers are illustrative. Set the baseline and target from the student's own assessment data and team judgment.

Condition

Setting, materials, or situation, such as a passage level or a work period.

Observable behavior

Something an adult can see, count, or time. Avoid “understand,” “improve,” or “know.”

Level of support

Say exactly what support counts, such as “with one verbal prompt.” Leave “independently” if none.

Criterion

Percent of attempted items answered correctly.

Measurement method

Scoring completed student work (permanent products) against a defined answer key or checklist.

Mastery rule
Timeframe and monitoring

You can type a date, such as “By May 15, 2027”.

Match the schedule to the skill. Fluency often uses weekly probes. Writing rubrics may be scored every few weeks.

Live goal preview

By the annual IEP review date, given a topic sentence and a list of 10 sentences, some related and some unrelated, the student will sort the sentences by marking each one that supports the topic sentence and crossing out each one that does not independently with at least 90% accuracy on sentence-sorting decisions, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.

Baseline: 50% accuracy.

  • Condition
  • Observable behavior
  • Criterion
  • Measurement method
Add objectivesMatching data sheet

Measurability check10 of 10 met

All structural checks are met.

  • Met: Observable behavior. The behavior is stated as an action.

  • Met: Condition. The goal states when or under what conditions the behavior occurs.

  • Met: Unit fits the behavior. Percent accuracy is a reasonable way to quantify this behavior.

  • Met: Explicit criterion. The success criterion is stated with a number and unit.

  • Met: Mastery rule and schedule. Mastery rule and collection schedule are stated.

  • Met: Method produces the metric. Work-sample analysis can produce percent accuracy data.

  • Met: Review timeframe. The goal includes a timeframe.

  • Met: Baseline and target compatible. Baseline and target use the same unit and show change in the intended direction.

  • Met: Aligned with area of need. The wording still relates to Paragraph Organization.

  • Met: Level of support. The level of support is defined.

What this checks: the goal's structure and wording, using fixed rules: observable behavior, condition, criterion, method, mastery rule, timeframe, baseline/target consistency, and support. It can't judge whether the goal is appropriate, ambitious enough, or legally sufficient for a particular student. That requires assessment data and the IEP team.

About this template
Level guidance
Fits students whose paragraphs drift off topic or include unrelated sentences, as a building block before independent paragraph writing. Use present levels and reading level, not grade, to choose the sentence sets; read them aloud if decoding would interfere.
Baseline considerations
Give two or three unpracticed sets. Each of the 10 sentences is one item, scored correct when it is kept or crossed out correctly. Because half the items could be guessed, check whether errors cluster on unrelated sentences that share words with the topic.
Usage notes
Include unrelated sentences that are on a nearby topic, not just obviously silly ones, so the task requires judgment. Move to a writing goal once the student sorts reliably; this skill should then be checked in the student's own paragraphs.
Known limitations
This is a recognition task. Accurate sorting does not guarantee that the student will generate relevant details when writing. With two choices per item, chance performance is about 50%.
Source
Original IEP Atlas draft (AI-assisted) based on general measurement principles; not copied from any goal bank. Template ID wr-par-003.

Short-term objectives (optional)

When are objectives required?

Federal IDEA regulations require benchmarks or short-term objectives only for students who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)(ii)). Your state or district may require them more broadly.

Build objectives by

Matching data sheet

Accuracy tracker. Your goal is scored as percent correct, so the sheet records number correct and number attempted.

Accuracy tracker

Percent accuracy
Student label:
 
Target:
with at least 90% accuracy on sentence-sorting decisions
Mastery rule:
in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes
Collection schedule:
weekly
Method:
Work-sample analysis
Data collector:
 

Goal: By the annual IEP review date, given a topic sentence and a list of 10 sentences, some related and some unrelated, the student will sort the sentences by marking each one that supports the topic sentence and crossing out each one that does not independently with at least 90% accuracy on sentence-sorting decisions, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.

Accuracy tracker
DateTask / materials# correct# attempted% accuracycorrect ÷ attempted × 100Support levele.g., independent, 1 verbal promptNotes

Preview shows 4 of 12 rows.

  • Score only items the student attempted unless the goal defines a fixed set of items. Use the same denominator every session.
  • Percent = numerator ÷ denominator × 100. Round to one decimal place.
  • Record the support actually provided, even if the goal is independent performance.

The CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets with formulas for the calculated columns. Sheets are blank: IEP Atlas doesn't store student data.

Preview
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