Glossary · Fluency and assessment
What is an aimline?
Definition
An aimline is a straight line on a progress-monitoring graph from a student's starting score to their goal, showing the growth needed each week.
You draw it once, when the goal is set. The start point is the student's baseline, often the median of three scores. The end point is the goal score on the goal date. Every new score is plotted against the line.
The aimline turns a goal into a weekly check. If scores fall below the line several times in a row, instruction isn't working well enough and needs to change. If scores run well above it, the goal may be too low.
A common rule is to look for change after four consecutive points below the aimline. Different schools use slightly different rules; the point is to agree on one in advance so decisions aren't made on a hunch.
In a lesson
A student starts at 40 words correct per minute in September with a goal of 70 by January, 15 weeks later. The aimline rises 2 words a week. After four scores below it, the teacher changes the lesson plan.
Why does this matter for the record?
Plot scores against the aimline and note the date of any instructional change on the graph. The change line is what makes the graph tell a story.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.