IEP goals for subject-verb agreement: 16 examples for speech and writing

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

A subject-verb agreement IEP goal names the verb forms targeted, whether they are spoken or written, and what the percent is out of. For example: given 12 sentences with a blank for is, are, was or were and a picture for each, the student will write the verb that matches the subject with at least 90% accuracy on sentences on 3 of 4 weekly probes.

Subject-verb agreement errors ("the dogs is barking," "she walk to school") show up in both speech and writing, and they often belong to two different people on the IEP team. The SLP sees them as part of a language goal. The teacher sees them as a grammar error in writing. A good set of goals makes clear which forms are targeted, in which mode, and how the two connect.

The 16 goals below cover spoken agreement, written probes, harder structures, and carryover into conversation and essays. Written goals link to the writing mechanics goal bank; spoken goals link to the syntax and morphology goal bank. For the writing area as a whole, see the pillar guide to IEP goals for writing.

Disorder, difference or second language

Before writing any agreement goal, check whether the pattern is a disorder at all. Several dialects of English, including African American English, have their own consistent agreement rules, such as "she walk" or "they was." Those are dialect features, not errors of language learning. Students learning English as an additional language also make agreement errors that follow the rules of their first language and fade with exposure.

ASHA's practice portal on spoken language disorders describes language disorder as a difficulty with language form, meaning or use, and its guidance on assessment stresses considering the student's language background.^[1] An agreement goal fits a student whose errors are inconsistent with their own dialect and their peers, or who also has difficulty with other grammar forms. For a student who uses a dialect consistently, the goal, if any, is about switching to standard written English for school writing, taught as an added register, not a correction. For students learning English, see English learners with IEPs.

How to choose an agreement goal

What you observe	Goal type	Measure
Omits is, are, -s in speech across contexts; other grammar forms also missing	Spoken agreement (SLP)	Percent of obligatory contexts in elicited speech
Correct in speech, errors in writing	Written agreement probes	Percent of subject-verb pairs on a probe
Correct with simple subjects, errors when a phrase separates subject and verb	Tricky subjects	Percent of sentences on a probe
Correct on probes, errors in conversation or essays	Carryover	Percent of obligatory contexts in samples

An obligatory context is a place where the form must appear for the sentence to be correct. "The two boys ___ running" has one obligatory context for "are." Counting contexts, not words, gives agreement goals a clean denominator.

Spoken agreement goals

These goals are usually written by the SLP and measured in therapy, with pictures or prompts that create obligatory contexts. They target the verb forms that carry agreement in English: is and are, was and were, third-person -s, and do or does.

Goal	Baseline
Use is, are, was and were to match the subject: Given 10 pictures of single and multiple people or things and asked to describe them, the student will produce is or are (and was or were for past events) matching the subject independently with at least 80% accuracy on obligatory contexts for is, are, was or were, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	30% of contexts
Mark third-person singular verbs with -s: Given 10 pictures of people doing routine actions and asked "What does he or she do every day?", the student will produce the -s ending on verbs with a singular third-person subject independently with at least 80% accuracy on obligatory contexts, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	20% of contexts
Use is or are with -ing to describe actions: Given 10 action pictures and asked "What is he doing?" or "What are they doing?", the student will describe the action with is or are plus the verb with -ing independently with at least 80% accuracy on obligatory contexts for present progressive, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	20% of contexts
Form questions and negatives with do and did: Given 10 picture prompts that require a question or a negative sentence with do, does or did, the student will produce each with do, does or did matched to the subject and tense independently with at least 80% accuracy on items requiring do-support, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	30% of items

Weak: "Will improve grammar in speech."

Measurable: "Given 10 pictures of single and multiple subjects, will produce is or are matching the subject in at least 80% of obligatory contexts across 3 consecutive sessions."

Written agreement goals

These goals check whether the student chooses the agreeing verb on paper. Probes give a fixed set of sentences, so the percent is out of a known number.

Goal	Baseline
Identify the subject and the verb in sentences: Given 10 simple sentences at the student's independent reading level, the student will underline the subject once and the verb twice independently with at least 90% accuracy on sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	4 of 10 sentences (40%)
Write sentences with subject-verb agreement: Given 10 sentences with the verb missing and two verb forms to choose from, the student will write the verb form that agrees with the subject independently with at least 90% accuracy on subject-verb pairs, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	5 of 10 pairs (50%)
Use is or are and was or were: Given 12 sentences with a blank for is, are, was or were and a picture for each, the student will write the verb that matches the subject, using is or was for one and are or were for more than one, you and we, independently with at least 90% accuracy on sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	45% of sentences
Use has, have, does and do in sentences: Given 20 sentence frames with a singular or plural subject and a missing present-tense verb (has or have, does or do, goes or go, or a verb with -s), the student will write the form that agrees with the subject independently with at least 85% accuracy on present-tense verbs, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	9 of 20 verbs (45%)

Weak: "Will use correct verb forms in writing."

Measurable: "Given 20 sentence frames with singular or plural subjects, will write the agreeing present-tense verb for at least 85% of verbs on 3 of 4 weekly probes."

Finding the subject comes first. A student who cannot pick out the subject cannot check whether the verb agrees with it, so the subject-and-verb identification goal often serves as the first objective.

Goals for tricky subjects and verb forms

Agreement gets harder when words come between the subject and the verb ("The box of crayons is on the shelf"), when the subject is compound, and when helping verbs carry the agreement.

Goal	Baseline
Agreement when a phrase splits subject and verb: Given 15 sentences with a phrase or clause between the subject and verb, or a compound subject, the student will underline the subject, cross out the words between it and the verb, and write the agreeing verb independently with at least 85% accuracy on sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.	50% of sentences
Say has and have with past participles: Given 10 questions such as "Have you ever...?" about pictures or a checklist, the student will answer with has or have plus the past participle independently with at least 80% accuracy on present perfect responses, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	30% of responses
Use the right verb after has or had: Given 15 sentences with has, have or had and a verb in parentheses, the student will write the past participle after the helping verb independently with at least 85% accuracy on verbs, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	35% of verbs
Find and fix the grammar error in a sentence: Given 10 spoken sentences, about half with an error in a taught structure (tense, agreement, pronoun, plural), the student will judge whether each is correct and fix the ones that are not independently with at least 85% accuracy on sentences judged and corrected, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	50% of sentences

Weak: "Will use agreement with complex subjects."

Measurable: "Given 15 sentences with a phrase between subject and verb, will mark the subject, cross out the phrase and write the agreeing verb in at least 85% of sentences on 3 of 4 biweekly probes."

Carryover goals for conversation and writing

Probe accuracy that never reaches real speech or writing does not help the student much. These goals measure the form where it matters.

Goal	Baseline
Catch and fix own grammar slips: During a 5-minute conversation with the SLP in which the SLP marks 5 slips of the target form, the student will notice a slip and restate the sentence with the form included independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each session.	1 of 5 opportunities
Carry the target grammar form into class talk: During class speaking turns in a 20-minute lesson, observed by the SLP or classroom teacher, the student will use the target grammar form in spoken answers where the sentence requires it independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, on 3 of 4 consecutive weekly observations, as measured by direct observation collected weekly.	2 of 5 opportunities
Include the target grammar form in retells: During a recorded retell of a short, unfamiliar picture story, transcribed by the SLP, the student will use the target form in each obligatory context independently with at least 80% accuracy on obligatory contexts in the transcript, in 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly samples, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.	35% of contexts
Write sentences free of grammar and usage errors: In independent writing samples of at least eight sentences, the student will write sentences free of grammar and usage errors independently with at least 85% accuracy on sentences written, across 3 consecutive biweekly writing samples, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.	50% of sentences

Weak: "Will generalize grammar skills."

Measurable: "During a recorded retell of an unfamiliar picture story, will use the target agreement form in at least 80% of obligatory contexts in the transcript on 3 of 4 biweekly samples."

How to measure agreement goals

Count obligatory contexts. In a probe, the contexts are set by the items. In a language sample or a writing sample, mark every place the form was required, then count how many were correct. A language sample of 50 utterances often contains enough contexts for the common forms.
Score one form at a time. If the goal targets is and are, do not count -s errors against it. Note other errors separately if you want them for planning.
Use the right data sheet. Probes go on the accuracy data sheet. Therapy data with set opportunities fit the opportunity data sheet.
Share one definition. When the SLP and the teacher both report on agreement, agree on which forms count and whether dialect features are scored. Write it on both sheets.

The IEP must describe how progress on each goal will be measured.^[3] For agreement goals, that means naming the forms and the context: elicited speech, conversation, a probe or the student's own writing.

Short-term objectives for agreement goals

A typical progression from first lesson to carryover:

Underline the subject and verb in 90% of simple sentences.
Choose the agreeing verb from two options on 90% of probe items.
Write the agreeing verb when a phrase separates subject and verb on 85% of items.
Use the agreeing form in 85% of sentences in independent writing samples.

ASHA's practice portal on written language disorders notes that spoken and written language problems often occur together and that intervention can address both.^[2] Shared objectives across speech and writing let one set of data serve both providers. Run the final goals through the goal checker.

Adapting by grade

Targets are illustrations, not norms.

Grade band	Typical agreement target	Typical context
Preschool to grade 1	Is and are, third-person -s in speech	Pictures, play, short retells
Grades 2 to 3	Was and were, has and have, do and does in speech and simple written sentences	Picture probes, sentence frames
Grades 4 to 5	Agreement with compound subjects and phrases between subject and verb	Written probes, paragraphs
Middle and high school	Agreement in essays and formal writing; checking with an editing routine	Own writing, conventions rubric

Related writing goals are in IEP goals for capitalization and punctuation and IEP goals for editing and revising. For more spoken grammar goals, see language goals examples and the syntax entry in the glossary.

Frequently asked questions

Is subject-verb agreement a speech goal or a writing goal?

It can be either or both. If the errors appear in speech and in other grammar forms, the SLP usually owns a language goal. If speech is correct and only writing shows errors, the teacher owns a writing goal. Many students need one of each with shared objectives.

Should dialect features count as agreement errors?

Not as signs of a disorder. Dialects such as African American English have consistent agreement rules of their own. For school writing, a team may teach standard written English as an added register, but it should not score dialect features as a language deficit.

What is an obligatory context?

A place in a sentence where a form must appear for the sentence to be correct. In 'The cats ___ hungry,' are is obligatory. Counting obligatory contexts gives agreement goals a clear denominator in probes, language samples and writing samples.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

Spoken Language Disorders, ASHA
Written Language Disorders, ASHA
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.