Phonics and decoding IEP goal examples

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

A measurable phonics IEP goal names the phonics pattern, says the words are unpracticed, and gives a criterion out of a fixed number of words. Example: given 20 unpracticed words with vowel teams ai, ay, ee and oa, the student will read 17 correctly on 3 consecutive weekly probes, up from 6 of 20.

Phonics goals are easy to write badly. "Will improve decoding skills" names no pattern. "Will read grade-level words with 80% accuracy" does not say which words or how many. And a goal measured on the same list the student practices every day only shows memory.

The 20 goals below are grouped by phonics stage. Each shows a fictional baseline, the condition, the criterion and how it is measured, with a link to the full template. The numbers are illustrations, not norms or targets. For the teaching routine behind these goals and a full scope and sequence, see phonics interventions for struggling readers.

How to choose the right phonics goal

Pick the stage from a decoding survey: the first pattern where the student reads fewer than about 9 of 10 real and nonsense words. Then pick the measure that fits the student's need.

Student profile	Sub-skill to target	Measure	Measurement page
Knows few letter sounds, cannot read CVC words	Letter sounds, CVC blending	Letter sounds per minute, words correct of 20	Rate per minute
Reads CVC words slowly, sound by sound	CVC fluency, continuous blending	Words correct per minute on a list	Rate per minute
Misreads sh, ch, th or blends	Digraphs, blends	Words correct of 20	Percent accuracy
Reads "cap" for "cape," skips endings	Silent-e, inflectional endings	Words correct of 20	Percent accuracy
Stalls on rain, boat, bird	Vowel teams, r-controlled vowels	Words correct of 20	Percent accuracy
Reads short words, guesses at long ones	Syllable division, word parts	Multisyllabic words correct of 20	Percent accuracy
Reads lists well, guesses in stories	Decoding in connected text	Percent of words correct in a passage	Oral reading fluency
Gives up on unknown words	Decoding strategy use	Opportunities out of 10	Opportunities

Letter sounds and CVC words

These goals fit kindergarten and 1st grade, and older students who are just starting to decode. Probe with letters and words the student has not practiced that day.

Goal 1: Letter sounds, timed (template). Baseline: 18 correct letter sounds per minute. Goal: Given a 1-minute probe of mixed lowercase letters, the student will say 40 correct letter sounds per minute on 2 of 3 weekly probes.
Goal 2: CVC blending (template). Baseline: 4 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed CVC words, the student will sound out and blend each word, reading 18 of 20 correctly on 3 consecutive probes.
Goal 3: CVC fluency (template). Baseline: 12 words correct per minute. Goal: Given a 1-minute list of real CVC words, the student will read 35 words correctly per minute on 3 of 4 weekly probes.
Goal 4: Continuous blending (template). Baseline: 2 of 10 words. Goal: Given CVC words starting with continuous sounds, the student will blend the sounds without stopping between them on 9 of 10 words across 3 sessions.

Weak: "The student will know all letter sounds." Measurable: "Given a 1-minute probe of mixed lowercase letters, the student will say 40 correct letter sounds per minute on 2 of 3 weekly probes."

Digraphs, blends and endings

These goals fit late kindergarten through 2nd grade, and older students who confuse sh and ch or drop endings.

Goal 5: Digraphs (template). Baseline: 8 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed words with sh, ch, th, wh and ck, the student will read 18 correctly on 3 consecutive weekly probes.
Goal 6: Blends (template). Baseline: 9 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed words with initial and final blends, the student will read 18 correctly on 3 of 4 weekly probes.
Goal 7: Blends and digraphs, timed (template). Baseline: 14 words correct per minute. Goal: Given a 1-minute list of blend and digraph words, the student will read 35 words correctly per minute, measured biweekly.
Goal 8: Inflectional endings (template). Baseline: 9 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed words with -s, -ed and -ing, the student will read the base word and ending correctly on 18 of 20 words in 3 consecutive probes.
Goal 9: The three sounds of -ed (template). Baseline: 7 of 15 words. Goal: Given 15 words ending in -ed, the student will read each with the correct sound (/t/, /d/ or /ed/) on 13 of 15 words in 2 consecutive probes.

Weak: "The student will read blends with 80% accuracy." Measurable: "Given 20 unpracticed words with initial and final blends, the student will read 18 correctly on 3 of 4 weekly probes."

Silent-e, vowel teams and r-controlled vowels

These goals fit 1st through 3rd grade, and many older students with reading disabilities. Mix real and nonsense words in the probe so you can see whether the student knows the rule.

Goal 10: Long and short vowel contrast (template). Baseline: 10 of 20 words. Goal: Given 10 pairs of short-vowel and silent-e words (such as cap and cape), the student will read 18 of 20 words correctly on 3 consecutive probes.
Goal 11: Silent-e words, timed (template). Baseline: 18 words correct per minute. Goal: Given a 1-minute list of silent-e words, the student will read 40 words correctly per minute on 2 consecutive weekly probes.
Goal 12: Long vowel teams (template). Baseline: 6 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed words with ai, ay, ee, ea, oa and ow, the student will read 17 correctly on 3 consecutive weekly probes.
Goal 13: r-controlled vowels (template). Baseline: 9 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed words with ar, or, er, ir and ur, the student will read 18 correctly on 3 of 4 weekly probes.
Goal 14: Flexing ea and ow (template). Baseline: 3 of 10 sentences. Goal: When reading sentences with ea or ow words, the student will try the second sound if the first does not make sense, reading the word correctly in 8 of 10 sentences.

Weak: "The student will decode vowel teams at grade level." Measurable: "Given 20 unpracticed words with ai, ay, ee, ea, oa and ow, the student will read 17 correctly on 3 consecutive weekly probes."

Multisyllabic words and word parts

These goals fit 3rd grade and up. Older students who can read one-syllable words but guess at long ones often need syllable division and affixes, which the What Works Clearinghouse guide for grades 4 to 9 recommends teaching directly.^[3]

Goal 15: Syllable division (template). Baseline: 7 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed two-syllable closed words, the student will divide each word and read it correctly on 18 of 20 words in 3 consecutive probes.
Goal 16: Prefixes and suffixes (template). Baseline: 8 of 20 words. Goal: Given 20 unpracticed words with taught prefixes and suffixes, the student will read 18 correctly on 3 of 4 biweekly probes.
Goal 17: Peeling off affixes, secondary (template). Baseline: 40% of 25 content words. Goal: Given 25 unfamiliar affixed words from science and social studies texts, the student will remove affixes and read 21 correctly on 2 consecutive monthly probes.
Goal 18: Multisyllabic words, timed (template). Baseline: 15 words correct per minute. Goal: Given a 1-minute list of multisyllabic words, the student will read 35 words correctly per minute on 3 consecutive biweekly probes.

Weak: "The student will use word attack skills on long words." Measurable: "Given 20 unpracticed two-syllable closed words, the student will divide each word and read it correctly on 18 of 20 words in 3 consecutive probes."

Decoding in connected text

List goals show the pattern is learned. Text goals show it carries over to reading. The What Works Clearinghouse guide for kindergarten to grade 3 recommends daily reading of connected text for that reason.^[2]

Goal 19: Taught patterns in decodable text (template). Baseline: 82% of words correct. Goal: Given an unpracticed decodable passage of 100 to 150 words with taught patterns, the student will read 95% of words correctly on 3 consecutive weekly probes.
Goal 20: Decoding strategy use (template). Baseline: 3 of 10 unknown words. Goal: When the student meets an unfamiliar word in text, the student will use the taught decoding routine without a prompt on 8 of 10 words across 3 sessions.

Weak: "The student will stop guessing at words." Measurable: "When the student meets an unfamiliar word in text, the student will use the taught decoding routine without a prompt on 8 of 10 words across 3 sessions."

How to measure progress on phonics goals

The IEP must state how progress on each goal will be measured.^[1] For phonics, that means a fixed probe given the same way every time.

Word list goals: 20 unpracticed words from the target pattern, read once. Record words correct out of 20 on the accuracy data sheet. Mark each error with what the student said, so you can see which part of the pattern is breaking.
Timed goals: a 1-minute list; record words correct per minute on a graph.
Text goals: an unpracticed decodable passage; record words correct and total words read, as on the reading fluency data sheet.
Strategy goals: 10 opportunities per session on the opportunity trial data sheet.

Probe weekly for intensive support. Repeated short probes graphed over time are what make a trend readable.^[4] Use a new set of words each week from a larger bank, so the student never sees the same probe twice in a row.

Short-term objectives for phonics goals

Step objectives through the stages, not only through the criterion. For Goal 12 (vowel teams):

By December, read 16 of 20 unpracticed words with ai and ay.
By March, read 16 of 20 unpracticed words with ai, ay, ee and ea.
By the annual review, read 17 of 20 unpracticed words with ai, ay, ee, ea, oa and ow.

The guide to short-term objectives covers when objectives are required. Paste any draft into the goal checker to catch a missing pattern, condition or criterion.

Adapting phonics goals by grade

Grade band	Typical stages	Condition wording	Goal set
Kindergarten and 1st	Letter sounds, CVC, digraphs, blends	"Given 20 unpracticed CVC words"	K to 2 phonics goals
2nd and 3rd	Silent-e, endings, vowel teams, r-controlled	"Given 20 unpracticed vowel team words"	Grades 3 to 5 phonics goals
4th and 5th	Vowel teams, syllable division, affixes	"Given 20 unpracticed two-syllable words"	Grades 3 to 5 phonics goals
Middle school	Syllable types, affixes, content words	"Given 25 affixed words from science texts"	Middle school phonics goals
High school	Content, career and functional words	"Given 20 words from a work manual"	High school phonics goals

For goals in other reading areas, such as fluency and comprehension, see the IEP goal examples for reading. All 85 phonics templates are on the phonics and decoding goals page.

Frequently asked questions

Should phonics IEP goals use nonsense words?

Nonsense words are useful in probes because the student cannot have memorized them, so they show true decoding. Mix them with real words, and use real words for most goals so the skill connects to reading.

How many words should a phonics probe have?

Twenty words is a practical size for a pattern probe. It is short enough to give in 2 or 3 minutes and large enough that one lucky guess does not change the score much. Timed probes use a 1-minute list instead.

What criterion should a phonics goal use?

Set it from the baseline and the growth you expect. For word lists, 17 or 18 of 20 words is common because decoding needs to be accurate to support fluent reading. For decodable text, many teams aim for 95% of words correct.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4–9, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Progress Monitoring: Data & Goal Setting, National Center on Intensive Intervention

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.