IEP progress report comments for reading

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

A reading comment on an IEP progress report should quote the goal's own number, such as words correct per minute or words decoded correctly out of 20, then compare it with the aimline and state the next step. For example: "Liam reads 68 WCPM with 96% accuracy, up from 51, and is on pace for 85." The comments below are sorted by skill and by data pattern.

Reading goals give you better numbers than almost any other area, so reading comments have no excuse for being vague. A fluency probe gives words correct per minute and accuracy. A decoding probe gives words or sounds correct out of a set. A comprehension probe gives questions correct out of a set or a retell score. Put that number in every comment.

Each comment below quotes a number and compares it with the aimline, the line from the baseline to the goal. The students and numbers are fictional and are not benchmarks. For the full monitoring cycle, see the IEP progress monitoring pillar; for comments in other areas, see the IEP progress report comment examples.

Which number to report for each reading goal

Goal type	Report this	Skip this
Oral reading fluency	Words correct per minute (WCPM) and accuracy, median of the last 3 probes	Grade equivalent, reading level letter
Phonics and decoding	Words or sounds read correctly out of a fixed set, by pattern	"Knows most sounds"
Phonemic awareness	Items correct out of a fixed set (for example, 8 of 10 blends)	Overall test percentile
Sight words	Words read correctly within 3 seconds out of the target list	"Knows many sight words"
Comprehension	Questions correct out of a fixed set, or retell rubric points	Lexile change with no goal tied to it

Skip the grade equivalent. It is easy to misread and rarely matches the goal's measure. Report words correct per minute for fluency goals and the goal's own unit for everything else.

Fluency comments

Scored with oral reading fluency rules on unpracticed passages at the goal's level, and kept on the reading fluency data sheet. Goal wording: reading fluency goal templates.

Pattern	Comment
On pace	"Liam reads 68 words correct per minute with 96% accuracy on grade 3 passages, up from 51 in September. He is on the line he needs to reach 85 by the annual review. Instruction continues as is."
Ahead or met	"Goal met. Mia's last 3 probes were 92, 95 and 94 WCPM (goal 90), with 98% accuracy. The team will meet to set a new fluency target on grade 4 passages."
Flat	"Nate has read between 44 and 47 WCPM for 5 weeks (baseline 40), below the 53 he needs by now. Starting Monday, his group adds repeated reading with a fluency graph 4 days a week. We will review in 4 weeks."
Behind but growing	"Owen reads 58 WCPM, up from 45, but under the 63 needed at this point. He gains about 1 word per week and needs about 1.5. His intervention time increases from 20 to 30 minutes a day."
Slipping	"Pia's fluency dropped from 72 to 64 WCPM over 4 probes after passages moved to grade 4 in January. Accuracy fell to 91%. She will practice grade 4 multisyllable words daily, and we will review in 3 weeks."

Notice the last comment. A change in passage level is a change in the goal's conditions, and the drop it causes is expected. Mark it on the graph and explain it in the report.

Decoding comments

Scored as words or sounds correct out of a fixed set, with a percent accuracy or count. Goal wording: phonics and decoding goal templates.

Pattern	Comment
On pace	"Quinn reads 14 of 20 CVCe words correctly (70%), up from 6 of 20. She is on pace for 18 of 20 by May. Vowel teams start next quarter."
Ahead or met	"Goal met for closed syllables: Raj read 19 or 20 of 20 two-syllable closed words on the last 3 probes. He now starts vowel-team words, which were part of the second half of the goal."
Flat	"Sara reads 9 of 20 words with r-controlled vowels correctly, the same as 6 weeks ago (baseline 7). She mixes up ar and or. Instruction will add daily sorting of ar and or words with word building, 10 minutes a day."
Behind but growing	"Theo decodes 11 of 20 nonsense CVC words, up from 4, but under the 14 needed by now. Errors are mostly short e and short i. He will get an extra 3 sessions a week on these vowels."
Slipping	"Una's score on mixed short vowel words fell from 16 to 11 of 20 after winter break. Her last probe climbed to 13. We expect her back on pace within 3 weeks and will keep weekly probes."

Name the pattern in every decoding comment. "Reads 14 of 20 words" says less than "reads 14 of 20 CVCe words." Probes built from nonsense words show decoding without help from sight-word memory.

Comprehension comments

Scored as questions correct out of a fixed set on passages at the goal's level, or retell points on a rubric. Goal wording: reading comprehension goal templates.

Pattern	Comment
On pace	"Vera answers 6 of 8 literal and inferential questions correctly on grade 5 passages, up from 3 of 8. She is on pace for 7 of 8. Inference questions are still her main error."
Ahead or met	"Goal met. Wes scored 9 or 10 of 10 on the last 3 main-idea probes (goal 8 of 10). The team will discuss a new goal on summarizing informational text."
Flat	"Xavi retells grade 2 stories with 5 of 10 story elements, the same as in October (baseline 4). He leaves out the problem and solution. We are adding a story map he fills in before he retells."
Behind but growing	"Yara answers 5 of 10 questions correctly, up from 2, but below the 7 needed by now. She does better when questions are read aloud, so the team will check whether decoding is limiting her comprehension scores."
Slipping	"Zane's correct answers dropped from 7 to 4 of 10 when probes moved from narrative to informational passages. We will teach text features for 4 weeks and track both passage types separately."

The last two comments show an important habit. When comprehension is low, check whether the student can read the words. A student reading 40 WCPM on the probe passage is being tested on decoding as much as on understanding.

Phonemic awareness and sight word comments

Skill	Comment
Blending	"Ava blends 3-sound words orally in 8 of 10 tries, up from 3 of 10. She is ahead of pace. Four-sound words start next week."
Segmenting	"Ben segments 3-sound words into sounds in 5 of 10 tries, the same as last quarter. We are adding sound boxes with tokens, daily for 5 minutes."
Sight words	"Cora reads 32 of 50 target words within 3 seconds each, up from 12. She is on pace to read all 50 by the annual review."
Letter sounds	"Dev names 34 letter sounds correctly in 1 minute, up from 18, and is on pace for 45."

For blending and segmenting goals, see phonological awareness goal templates.

How to measure reading goals for these comments

Weekly probes are the norm for fluency and decoding goals, because these skills change fast enough to show on a weekly graph.^[1] Comprehension goals are often probed every week or every other week. Use the same passage level and question types all year so the scores can be compared.

To draw the aimline these comments refer to, see graphing IEP data with aimlines. For entries organized by goal type across subjects, see the IEP progress report examples. The measurement methods pages cover scoring for every other goal type.

Adapting reading comments by grade

Grade band	What to change
K to 1	Report letter sounds, blending and segmenting as items correct. Fluency in connected text may not be the goal yet.
2 to 3	Report WCPM with accuracy, and name the phonics patterns still causing errors.
4 to 5	Report WCPM on grade-level passages and comprehension as questions correct. Note multisyllable decoding.
6 to 12	Report comprehension and vocabulary in class texts. Keep fluency comments if a fluency goal remains.

The IEP states when these reports go to parents.^[2] The reading goal bank lists every reading skill with goal templates.

Frequently asked questions

Should I report a reading level on an IEP progress report?

Only if a goal is written in that measure. Most reading goals use words correct per minute, words decoded correctly or questions answered correctly. Report the goal's unit so the parent can compare it with the baseline and the target.

What is a good WCPM to put in a progress report?

There is no single good number. Report the student's median of the last three probes, the baseline and the value the aimline expects at this point. Whether the score is enough depends on the goal and the passage level.

How do I explain a drop in fluency scores?

Check for a change in conditions first, such as a harder passage level, absences or a new interventionist. Say what changed, show the numbers and state what you will do. If nothing changed, treat it as a data pattern to act on.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

Progress Monitoring: Data & Goal Setting, National Center on Intensive Intervention
34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, 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.