Intelligibility IEP goals: 24 examples and how to measure them

Intelligibility is how much of a person's speech a listener understands. It is the outcome that matters most to the student, the teacher and the family. A student can have six sound errors and still be easy to follow, or two errors and be hard to follow. This page gives 24 goals that target intelligibility directly, then shows step by step how to measure it so the number holds up at the annual review. The numbers are illustrations.

Sound-by-sound goals are in the articulation goals examples pillar. Use intelligibility goals alongside them when a student has many errors, a motor speech disorder, or a rate or loudness problem.

When to write an intelligibility goal

Intelligibility goals fit students whose speech is hard to follow for more than one reason. Common profiles:

• Many sound errors or patterns. A preschooler with fronting, stopping and final consonant deletion.
• A motor speech disorder. Childhood apraxia of speech or dysarthria, where the errors are inconsistent or the voice, rate and rhythm are affected too. ASHA notes that speech in apraxia is often less intelligible to unfamiliar listeners.^[2]
• Rate, loudness or prosody. A student who talks fast, mumbles, or runs words together.
• A student who gives up. Some students understand they are not understood and stop talking. A repair goal helps here.

ASHA lists intelligibility ratings as part of a speech sound assessment, along with the error analysis.^[1]

How to choose the right intelligibility goal

Word and phrase goals

1. Given 20 short phrases, Jaden will say each so an unfamiliar adult who cannot see the pictures writes down the phrase correctly for 15 of 20. Baseline: 7 of 20. Template.
2. During a minimal-pair game with 10 pairs (such as "key" and "tea"), Rosa will say each word so the listener picks the right picture in 8 of 10 turns. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
3. Using 3 carrier phrases (such as "I want ___"), Jaden will say 20 phrases clearly enough that a listener understands 17 of 20. Baseline: 9 of 20. Template.
4. Given 15 long words from the science unit, Tom will say each so a listener names the word in 12 of 15. Baseline: 5 of 15. Template.

Weak: "Jaden will improve his intelligibility in words." Measurable: The first goal in this section. It names the listener, the task and the count.

Conversation intelligibility goals

1. In a 5-minute recorded talk about a picture, an unfamiliar adult will understand 75% of Jaden's words on 2 consecutive monthly samples. Baseline: 52% of words. Template.
2. During a 3-minute conversation on a known topic, Rosa will stay understandable to a peer, with fewer than 3 requests to repeat, on 4 of 5 samples. Baseline: 7 requests. Template.
3. In a 100-word conversational sample, Tom will raise his percent consonants correct from 61% to 75% by the annual review. Baseline: 61%. Template.
4. When ordering food at the school store, Ava will be understood by the cashier on the first try in 4 of 5 orders. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Rosa will be 80% intelligible in conversation." Measurable: The first goal in this section. The weak version has no listener, no task and no sample length, so "80%" cannot be checked.

Rate, loudness and prosody goals

1. When explaining a game, Tom will pause at phrase boundaries so a listener follows each step in 4 of 5 explanations, as rated by the listener. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
2. Using a 5-dot pacing board, Tom will tap one dot per word in 5-word sentences and be understood in 8 of 10 sentences. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
3. During small-group work, Ava will speak loud enough that a peer across the table hears her without asking her to repeat in 4 of 5 turns. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
4. Given 10 two- and three-syllable words, Jaden will put the stress on the correct syllable (such as baNAna) in 8 of 10 words. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.

Weak: "Tom will slow down his speech." Measurable: The first goal in this section, with a listener rating as the measure.

Repair strategy goals

Repair goals are often the fastest win. A student who can fix a breakdown keeps the conversation going while the sounds are still in progress.

1. When a listener says "What?" or looks confused, Rosa will repeat, rephrase or add a gesture in 4 of 5 breakdowns across 3 sessions. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
2. When a listener misses a message, Jaden will say it a different way (such as "It's red, you wear it on your head") in 3 of 4 breakdowns. Baseline: 0 of 4. Template.
3. When not understood after one repeat, Ava will show, point to or sign the word in 4 of 5 breakdowns. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
4. When speech breaks down twice on the same message, Tom will switch to his speech-generating device and finish the message in 4 of 5 breakdowns. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Rosa will use repair strategies." Measurable: The first goal in this section. It names the trigger, three repair options and the count.

Class and presentation goals

1. During a 2-minute class presentation, Tom will be understood by classmates, with 4 of 5 peers able to name the main point afterward, on 2 of 3 presentations. Baseline: 1 of 5 peers. Template.
2. During a prepared oral report, Jaden will use his target sounds and pauses so the teacher rates him 3 or 4 on a 4-point clarity rubric in 2 of 3 reports. Baseline: rating 1. Template.
3. Before a class discussion, Ava will choose 2 speech strategies from her list and use at least 1 during the discussion in 4 of 5 discussions. Baseline: 0 of 5. Template.
4. When reading a sentence aloud, Rosa will stress the key word to change the meaning (such as "I said the RED one") in 8 of 10 sentences. Baseline: 2 of 10. Template.

Weak: "Tom will speak clearly in class." Measurable: The first goal in this section. Peers naming the main point is a practical listener measure.

Self-monitoring goals

1. During a structured retell, Jaden will notice and fix his own unclear words in 3 of 5 errors across 3 sessions. Baseline: 0 of 5. Template.
2. After listening to a 2-minute recording of himself, Tom will rate how easy he was to understand on a 4-point scale and match the SLP within 1 point on 4 of 5 recordings. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
3. After listening to 10 of her own recorded words, Rosa will mark each as clear or unclear and agree with the SLP on 8 of 10. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
4. From a 2-minute recording, Ava will count the times a listener asked her to repeat and match the SLP's count within 1 on 3 of 4 recordings. Baseline: no match. Template.

Weak: "Jaden will monitor his speech." Measurable: The first goal in this section, with an error count and a time frame.

How to measure speech intelligibility

The method that holds up best in a school is a recorded sample scored by a listener who does not know the student. Use the same task every time.

1. Pick the task. A picture description or a retell of a short story works well, because you know roughly what the student is trying to say. Use a different picture each time but the same kind of task.
2. Record 3 to 5 minutes. Use a phone or tablet in a quiet room. Note who was present.
3. Choose the listener. An adult who has not worked with the student, such as a teacher from another grade. Familiar listeners understand far more and inflate the score. Use a different listener each time if you can, because listeners learn a child's speech.
4. Have the listener write down every word they understand. Mark a dash for each word they cannot make out. If they cannot tell how many words were in an unclear stretch, count syllables and estimate.
5. Calculate the percent. Words understood divided by total words attempted, times 100.
6. Report the conditions. "Unfamiliar adult listener, picture description, audio only, 5 minutes." The number means nothing without them.

A worked example

Jaden, age 5, describes a picture of a busy park for 4 minutes. A third-grade teacher who has never met him listens to the recording and writes down what she understands. Jaden attempted 118 words. She understood 61 and marked 57 as unclear. His intelligibility is 61 divided by 118, or 52% of words.

In February, a different unfamiliar listener scores a new picture task: 104 of 151 words, or 69%. In May, 117 of 156, or 75%. That meets the first conversation goal above. The team also notes that the number of words per minute went up, which means Jaden talks more as he becomes easier to understand.

For quick checks between samples, a single-word task works: 20 words, the listener writes what they hear, and you count correct items. It is faster but tends to read higher than conversation, so do not mix the two in one goal. The opportunity trial data sheet fits a 20-item probe, and rubric scoring covers listener rating scales. The speech therapy data collection guide shows where samples fit in a session plan.

Adapting by age

Many intelligibility goals sit beside phonological processes IEP goals or a rate goal from cluttering IEP goals. More templates are on the intelligibility topic page and the motor speech goals page. Run any draft through the goal checker.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Intelligibility goal hub
• Intelligibility in the IEP glossary
• Motor speech goals (speech language)
• Articulation goals (speech language)
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• Articulation goals examples: sound by sound, with data methods
• Articulation goals for 3 year olds: 20 play-based examples
• Fluency goals examples for students who stutter
• Articulation goals for 4 and 5 year olds: 20 examples

Sources

1. Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology, ASHA
2. Childhood Apraxia of Speech, ASHA

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.