Transition & Postsecondary Skills IEP goals for Intellectual Disability
343 transition & postsecondary skills templates across 9 skills: independent living, transition-related skills, vocational & work readiness, community access & travel, career exploration, job seeking & applications, personal finance & money management, self-determination, postsecondary education readiness. Each opens in the builder with a matching data sheet.
343 templates · 9 skills · 3–5, 6–8, 9–12 · How we write and review goals
Top skills
The 8 most relevant skills, with sample goals. Numbers are illustrative; set targets from the student's own baseline.
Independent Living Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Cook a stovetop meal from a picture recipe
Cooking from a recipe
By the annual IEP review date, given a picture recipe for a one-pan meal the student chose (such as scrambled eggs and toast, or pasta with sauce) in the school or training apartment kitchen, the student will cook the meal from start to finish, performing at least 10 of 11 steps independently, on 3 consecutive cooking sessions, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected twice weekly during cooking lessons.
Bake a sheet-pan dinner in the oven
Cooking from a recipe
By the annual IEP review date, given a written recipe with photos for a sheet-pan dinner (such as chicken and vegetables) in the training apartment kitchen, the student will prepare, bake, and serve the sheet-pan dinner, performing at least 9 of 10 steps independently, on 3 consecutive cooking sessions, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected weekly during cooking lessons.
Transition-Related Skills Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Complete a job-match reflection after an interest inventory
Connecting interests to jobs
By the annual IEP review date, after completing a career interest inventory and exploring a matched job profile, the student will complete a job-match reflection sheet independently, earning a score of at least 6 out of 8 on a 4-row job-match reflection rubric (0–2 per row), on 3 consecutive job-match reflections, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.
Name accommodations for a job or training setting
Connecting own accommodations to future settings
By the annual IEP review date, during a transition planning activity that describes a job, training, or volunteer setting, the student will name one current accommodation and explain how it could help with a specific task in that setting independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive data collection sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected twice monthly during planned practice opportunities.
Vocational & Work Readiness Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Check the schedule and report to the station
Following a work schedule
By the annual IEP review date, at the start of a work period, with a posted weekly schedule listing each student's station, the student will check the schedule and report to the assigned station by the start time independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, for 3 consecutive weeks, as measured by direct observation collected daily at each work period, summarized weekly.
Clock in and out for each shift
Clocking in and out
By the annual IEP review date, at the start and end of each shift, using a paper time sheet and the wall clock, the student will complete the clock-in and clock-out routine for the shift, performing at least 5 of 6 steps independently, on 4 of 5 consecutive shifts, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected at each shift.
Community Access & Travel Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Check out books at the public library
Public library
By the annual IEP review date, during a class or family visit to the public library, with the student's library card and 1 to 3 chosen items, the student will check out the chosen items and put the receipt with them, performing at least 5 of 6 steps independently, on 3 consecutive library visits, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected at each library visit.
Board a city bus and find a seat
Riding a bus route with a travel plan
By the annual IEP review date, when the bus arrives at the stop on a class trip or family ride, with an adult beside the student holding the fare, the student will board the bus, pay or show the fare, and sit or hold a pole before it moves, performing at least 4 of 5 steps independently, on 3 consecutive bus rides, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected at each bus ride.
Career Exploration Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Explain own interest inventory results
Interest inventory results explained
By the annual IEP review date, after completing a career interest inventory, given the results page and a results summary sheet, the student will complete the results summary with own top interest areas, a job from each and whether the results fit independently, earning a score of at least 7 out of 8 on a 4-row interest results rubric (0 to 2 per row), on 2 consecutive inventories or summaries, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected after each inventory, about each semester.
Sort jobs into career clusters
Career clusters
By the annual IEP review date, given job cards with a photo and a short description, and a sorting mat with six career clusters, the student will sort each job card into its career cluster independently with at least 85% accuracy on job cards sorted, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Job Seeking & Applications Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Find job postings that match own needs
Finding job postings
By the annual IEP review date, given a job search website on a classroom device and own job search criteria (job type, hours, travel distance), the student will search for jobs that meet own criteria and save the matching postings, performing at least 7 of 8 steps independently, on 3 consecutive search sessions, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected weekly during the job search unit.
Screen job postings against own criteria
Screening postings for fit
By the annual IEP review date, given printed job postings and own job criteria card (age, hours, travel, interests, requirements), the student will mark each posting as a fit or not a fit and name the criterion that decided it independently with at least 90% accuracy on postings screened, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Personal Finance & Money Management Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Build a monthly budget from take-home pay
Budgeting from income
By the annual IEP review date, given a monthly take-home pay amount, a list of fixed and flexible expenses, a budget template, and a phone calculator, the student will fill in the budget so planned spending and saving equal the take-home pay independently with at least 90% accuracy on budget lines and totals, in 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.
Sort expenses into needs and wants
Budgeting from income
By the annual IEP review date, given 12 to 15 expense cards with prices (rent, groceries, phone bill, concert tickets, new shoes) and a needs and wants sorting mat, the student will sort each expense as a need or a want and give a reason for the hard ones independently with at least 85% accuracy on expenses sorted as needs or wants, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Self-Determination Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Set a personal goal with an action plan
Setting a personal goal and action plan
By the annual IEP review date, during a goal-planning conference with the case manager, using a blank goal plan sheet, the student will write a personal goal with an action plan that lists steps, dates and a way to check progress independently, earning a score of at least 8 out of 10 on a 5-row goal plan rubric (0 to 2 per row), on 3 consecutive goal plans, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected monthly, at each new goal plan.
Map a long-term goal into dated milestones
Breaking a long-term goal into steps
By the annual IEP review date, given a long-term goal the student chose, such as a job, a training program or a living goal, and a blank goal map, the student will build a goal map that runs from the long-term goal back to a first action for this month, performing at least 7 of 8 steps independently, on 3 consecutive goal maps, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected monthly.
All 9 skills
Every skill with goals for this group, by area. The number is how many of its goals are tagged here.
Self-determination, career exploration, employment, postsecondary education, independent living, and community access for students 14 to 21. Goals for students with an intellectual disability focus on skills that carry into daily life: functional academics, routines, communication, self-care, and community participation. Task-analysis checklists and opportunity data make small, real steps visible.
Matching data sheets
Each goal above links to the blank sheet built for its measure. These are the sheets this set of goals uses:
- Rubric trackerScores each rubric criterion and totals the score for each sample.Used by 51 goals here
- Opportunity trackerRecords each opportunity as independent, prompted, or not demonstrated.Used by 86 goals here
- Accuracy trackerNumber correct out of number attempted, with percent accuracy and support level.Used by 70 goals here
- Task-analysis checklistMarks each step of a routine as independent, with support, or not completed across sessions.Used by 120 goals here
- Duration trackerTimes how long a behavior lasts and compares it with the target duration.Used by 5 goals here
- Frequency & rate trackerCounts a defined behavior during a fixed observation period. Calculates rate when time is recorded.Used by 7 goals here
- Latency trackerTimes the gap between a cue and the start of the response.Used by 4 goals here
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of goals fit students with an intellectual disability?
Functional academics (money, time, reading signs and schedules), daily living and self-care routines, functional communication, school and community independence, and vocational readiness for older students. Academic goals are written at the student's instructional level.
How do task-analysis goals work?
The routine is broken into ordered steps, and the data sheet records which steps the student completes independently. The criterion is a number of steps (for example, 9 of 10 steps) across several sessions.
What transition goals fit students with intellectual disability?
Career exploration, job seeking, postsecondary education, independent living, personal finance, community access, and self-determination goals, chosen from age-appropriate transition assessments and the student's own goals. Each annual goal should build toward a measurable postsecondary goal.
How are transition goals measured?
With task-analysis steps for routines like applications and bus routes, rubrics for products like resumes and career profiles, and opportunities for skills practiced in the community. The disability informs supports, not the measure.
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