Social Awareness & Perspective Taking IEP goals for high school (grades 9 to 12)
15 of the social awareness & perspective taking templates in the library are written for high school (grades 9 to 12). Each opens in the builder, where the grade band is a starting point and the baseline comes from your own assessment.
15 templates · 1 skill · 9–12 · How we write and review goals
Goals by skill
Numbers are illustrative; set targets from the student's own baseline.
Social Awareness & Perspective Taking Social-Emotional & Communication
Read sarcasm from words and situation
Interpreting sarcasm
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short written or video scenes in which a person makes a comment that is sarcastic or sincere, the student will say whether the comment is sarcastic or sincere, what the speaker really means, and the clue independently with at least 75% accuracy on sarcastic or sincere comments, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Spot when words and situation do not match
Mixed signals
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short written or video scenes in which a person's words do or do not match the situation, the student will say whether the person's words match the situation and what the person might really be thinking or feeling independently with at least 75% accuracy on word and situation scenes, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Interpret tone in texts and posts
Tone in text messages
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 sample text messages or posts from realistic teen conversations, with the earlier messages shown, the student will say the likely tone of each message (friendly, joking, annoyed, upset, sarcastic) and name the clues independently with at least 80% accuracy on sample messages, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Explain why a comment might hurt someone
Impact of comments
By the annual IEP review date, given a written or video scenario in which a student makes a comment that hurts a peer, the student will explain how the comment could land for the listener, why it might hurt, and a way to say the same idea differently independently, earning a score of at least 7 out of 9 on a 3-row comment impact rubric scored 0 to 3 per row, in 3 of 4 biweekly probes, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.
Notice when a joke has gone too far
When teasing goes too far
By the annual IEP review date, during lunch, class, or group time, when teasing among peers starts to upset the person being teased, the student will respond to the signs by stopping their own part, changing the subject, checking on the person, or telling an adult independently in at least 3 of 4 opportunities, on 3 of 4 observed weeks, as measured by direct observation collected weekly.
Predict how different people will see a situation
Multiple perspectives
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short scenarios involving 3 people with different roles (such as a student, a teacher, and a parent), the student will say how each of the 3 people will likely see the situation and why independently with at least 75% accuracy on multi-person scenarios, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
High school social awareness & perspective taking goals point toward life after school: independence, self-advocacy, and skills used in courses, jobs, and the community. Conditions name realistic materials and settings, and many goals are written so the student collects part of the data.
Matching data sheets
Each goal above links to the blank sheet built for its measure. These are the sheets this set of goals uses:
- Accuracy trackerNumber correct out of number attempted, with percent accuracy and support level.Used by 7 goals here
- Rubric trackerScores each rubric criterion and totals the score for each sample.Used by 5 goals here
- Opportunity trackerRecords each opportunity as independent, prompted, or not demonstrated.Used by 3 goals here
Frequently asked questions
How do social awareness & perspective taking goals connect to transition planning in high school?
Annual goals should support the student's measurable postsecondary goals for education, employment, and independent living (34 CFR 300.320(b)). A skill goal can be written in the context of a course, a job site, or a daily living routine.
Can a high school student help write their own goals?
Yes, and the student must be invited to IEP meetings where transition is discussed. Student-chosen goals with self-monitoring tend to be measured more consistently.
How are high school goals measured when the student has many teachers?
With work samples, percent of assignments completed, rubrics, or self-monitoring checklists reviewed weekly by the case manager. The goal should say who records the data and where.
IEP Atlas Pro
Turn these goals into progress reports
Pro tracks every goal on your caseload and drafts the report for you. Free for 14 days.
Count trials, prompts, and minutes live in the session; the graph and trend line draw themselves; progress reports are drafted from your data.