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Functional goal

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A functional goal targets the everyday skills a student needs at school, at home and in the community, outside academic subjects.

Topic: The IEP document

In plain terms

Functional skills include communication, self-care, behavior, social skills, organization, mobility and independent living. IDEA requires the present levels to cover functional performance as well as academics, and goals can address either. Functional does not mean less important or only for students with significant disabilities: an organization goal for a high school student is functional too.

How it shows up in an IEP

Functional goals are often measured with task analysis, frequency, duration or opportunity-based data rather than percent accuracy on worksheets. They should be practiced and measured in the real routines where the skill is needed.

Example

A seventh grader's functional goal: "At the start of each class, the student will write the assignment and due date in a planner, in 9 of 10 class periods across two weeks, checked by the teacher."

Not the same as Standards-based IEP

Standards-based goals align to grade-level academic standards. Functional goals address everyday skills that standards do not cover. Read the definition of Standards-based IEP.

The rule

Federal reference: 34 CFR §300.320(a)(1).

Related terms

  • PLAAFP (present levels of academic achievement and functional performance)The PLAAFP is the IEP section that describes how a student is currently doing in school and how the disability affects progress in the general curriculum.
  • Task analysisA task analysis breaks a complex skill into a sequence of smaller, teachable steps that can be taught and tracked one at a time.
  • Community-based instructionCommunity-based instruction is teaching skills in the real places a student will use them, such as stores, banks, bus stops and workplaces.
  • Annual goalAn annual goal is a statement in the IEP of what the student is expected to achieve within one year in an area of need.
  • GeneralizationGeneralization is a student's use of a learned skill in new settings, with new people or materials, and without the original teaching supports.

On IEP Atlas

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