Auditory skills hierarchy for IEP goals

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

The auditory skills hierarchy describes four levels of listening: detection (is there a sound), discrimination (same or different), identification (which one) and comprehension (what it means). Listening IEP goals target the student's current level and the next one, under stated conditions such as distance, noise and whether the speaker's face is visible, with a closed or open set.

The auditory skills hierarchy is a framework teachers of the deaf, SLPs and auditory-verbal practitioners use to plan listening instruction for students with hearing aids or cochlear implants. It breaks listening into four levels, each building on the last. A student who cannot yet detect a sound will not understand a sentence, and a goal written at the comprehension level for that student cannot be met.

The levels are not strict stages. Students work at several levels at once, with easier material at higher levels and harder material at lower ones. A student might comprehend familiar phrases in quiet and still need discrimination practice with similar consonants. ASHA's guidance on hearing loss in children describes how hearing technology and listening instruction work together.^[1]

The 12 goals below follow the four levels. Baselines and criteria are illustrations. Templates link to the auditory skills goals page.

The four levels of the hierarchy

Level	Question the student answers	Example task	Typical response
Detection	Is there a sound?	Drop a block in a bucket when a Ling sound is heard	Play response, hand raise
Discrimination	Are these the same or different?	Tell a long sound from a short one, or "bat" from "bad"	Same or different, point
Identification	Which one is it?	Pick the picture named from a set of 4	Point, repeat, sign the word
Comprehension	What does it mean?	Follow a direction or answer a question heard	Act, answer, retell

Two other ideas shape every goal:

Closed set or open set. A closed set limits the choices, such as 4 pictures. An open set allows any answer, such as repeating a sentence. Open set is harder. Write which one the goal uses.
Listening conditions. Distance, background noise, and whether the student can see the speaker's face all change the result. Listening without visual cues, sometimes called audition alone, is harder than listening plus speechreading.

The daily Ling six sound check uses detection and identification of six speech sounds that span the speech frequencies. It is both a device check and a listening probe.

Choosing the right level

If the student...	Level to target	Measure	Data sheet
Shows inconsistent awareness of sound, even with devices on	Detection	Opportunities	Opportunity data sheet
Notices sound but cannot tell similar sounds apart	Discrimination	Percent accuracy	Accuracy data sheet
Tells sounds apart but cannot name which word was said	Identification	Percent accuracy	Accuracy data sheet
Identifies words but misses meaning in sentences or class talk	Comprehension	Percent accuracy or opportunities	Accuracy data sheet
Does well in quiet but not in class	Comprehension in noise	Opportunities	Opportunity data sheet

Before any listening goal, check the devices. A failed probe with a dead battery measures the battery. Schools must make sure hearing aids worn in school are working properly.^[2] The hearing aid check data guide shows how to log checks.

Detection goals

Detection is the base. Young children and new cochlear implant users often start here. Teach a clear play response so the student can show what they heard.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
1	With devices on in a quiet room, the student will show a response to 5 everyday sounds, such as a door knock or a phone ring, on 8 of 10 presentations across 3 sessions.	3 of 10	Show a response to everyday sounds
2	Given the 6 Ling sounds at 3 feet without visual cues, the student will drop a block in a bucket for each sound heard on 5 of 6 sounds on 4 of 5 mornings.	2 of 6	Detect speech sounds with a play response
3	When their name is spoken from 6 feet behind at conversational level, the student will turn toward the speaker within 3 seconds on 8 of 10 trials.	3 of 10	Turn toward own name

Weak: "The student will respond to sound."

Measurable: "When their name is spoken from 6 feet behind at conversational level, the student will turn toward the speaker within 3 seconds on 8 of 10 trials."

Discrimination goals

At this level the student hears that two sounds differ, without having to name them. Start with big differences, such as long versus short, then narrow to single sounds.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
4	Given pairs of long and short sounds without visual cues, the student will show same or different correctly on 8 of 10 pairs on 3 consecutive sessions.	5 of 10	Tell long sounds from short sounds
5	Given pairs of words with 1, 2 or 3 syllables, the student will point to the word with the matching syllable count on 9 of 10 trials in a closed set of 3.	5 of 10	Tell apart words by syllable count
6	Given pairs of words that differ by one consonant, such as "pin" and "bin," the student will say same or different on 8 of 10 pairs in quiet on 3 of 4 probes.	4 of 10	Tell apart words that differ by one consonant

Weak: "The student will discriminate sounds."

Measurable: "Given pairs of words that differ by one consonant, such as 'pin' and 'bin,' the student will say same or different on 8 of 10 pairs in quiet on 3 of 4 probes."

Identification goals

Identification asks the student to name or pick what was heard. Closed sets come first. Grow the set size, then move toward open set.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
7	Given 4 toys, each linked to a sound such as a cow's moo or a car's beep, the student will pick the toy that matches the sound heard on 8 of 10 trials.	4 of 10	Pick the toy that matches a sound
8	Given a closed set of 6 pictures of familiar words, the student will point to the word spoken without visual cues on 9 of 10 trials on 3 consecutive probes.	5 of 10	Identify words from a picture set
9	Given 10 recorded everyday and warning sounds, such as a fire alarm or a microwave beep, the student will name or sign 8 of 10 correctly.	4 of 10	Name everyday and warning sounds

Weak: "The student will identify words by listening."

Measurable: "Given a closed set of 6 pictures of familiar words, the student will point to the word spoken without visual cues on 9 of 10 trials on 3 consecutive probes."

Comprehension goals

Comprehension is the goal of all the levels below. It covers directions, questions, conversation and classroom talk. Add noise and distance last, after the student succeeds in quiet.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
10	Given a spoken request with 2 key words, such as "Give me the red cup," from a closed set of objects, the student will carry it out on 8 of 10 trials without visual cues.	4 of 10	Carry out a request with two key words
11	After hearing a sentence in quiet without visual cues, the student will answer a who, what or where question about it on 8 of 10 trials on 3 of 4 probes.	5 of 10	Answer questions about a sentence heard
12	After hearing a 5-sentence passage read at 3 feet, the student will answer 4 of 5 questions about it on 3 consecutive probes.	2 of 5	Answer questions about a passage heard

Weak: "The student will understand what they hear in class."

Measurable: "After hearing a 5-sentence passage read at 3 feet, the student will answer 4 of 5 questions about it on 3 consecutive probes."

For listening comprehension goals for students with typical hearing, see listening comprehension IEP goals. The skills overlap, but the conditions and supports differ.

How to measure progress

Most listening goals use percent accuracy on a set of 10 trials, or opportunities for classroom behavior. Record on the accuracy data sheet.

Write the conditions at the top of each probe:

Devices: which ones, and whether they were checked that morning.
Distance: in feet.
Noise: quiet room, classroom hum, or a set noise level.
Visual cues: face visible or covered. Many teachers use a speech hoop or a screen that blocks the lips but not the sound.
Set: closed set with how many choices, or open set.

Change one condition at a time. A student who moves from 3 feet in quiet to 10 feet in noise in one step will look like they regressed. Paste drafts into the goal checker to catch a missing condition.

Writing objectives along the hierarchy

Objectives can step through one level by changing a single condition. For goal 8:

Closed set of 3 pictures, with visual cues, 9 of 10.
Closed set of 3, without visual cues, 9 of 10.
Closed set of 6, without visual cues, 9 of 10.

The same goal could then move to open set the next year.

Adapting by age

Age or grade	Typical levels	Example
Preschool	Detection and early discrimination	Play response to Ling sounds
K to 2	Discrimination and closed-set identification	Picks named picture from 6
3 to 5	Identification and sentence comprehension	Answers questions about a sentence heard
6 to 12	Comprehension in noise, phone, lectures	Follows class discussion through a remote microphone

Students who use ASL as their first language may still have listening goals if the family chooses, but listening goals never replace language goals in the student's main language. See IEP goals for deaf and hard of hearing students for language goals in ASL and English, and speechreading goals for combining vision and listening. The low-incidence disabilities guide explains who owns each section.

Frequently asked questions

What are the four levels of the auditory skills hierarchy?

Detection, discrimination, identification and comprehension. Detection is noticing a sound; discrimination is telling two sounds apart; identification is naming which sound or word it was; comprehension is understanding meaning.

Who writes listening goals for a student with hearing loss?

The teacher of the deaf or the SLP usually writes them, often both together. The educational audiologist advises on devices and listening conditions.

What is the difference between closed set and open set?

In a closed set the student chooses from a limited number of options, such as 4 pictures. In an open set any answer is possible, such as repeating a sentence heard. Open set is harder and comes later.

Should listening goals be measured with the speaker's face hidden?

For goals about listening alone, yes. Use a speech hoop or screen that blocks the lips but not the sound. If the goal is about listening plus speechreading, leave the face visible and say so in the goal.

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Sources

Hearing Loss in Children, ASHA
34 CFR §300.113: Routine checking of hearing aids and external components of surgically implanted medical devices, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

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.