IEP reading goals
IEP goals for multisyllabic words
7 example goals for multisyllabic decoding, each with a condition, behavior, criterion, measure and time frame.
Short answer
A multisyllabic decoding goal says the student will read unpracticed words of two or more syllables, or words with prefixes and suffixes, with a criterion such as 16 of 20 correct, measured on word lists and grade-level passages.
These are example goals for discussion. Each student's goals are written by the IEP team from that student's own assessment data. This page is not legal advice.
When does a multisyllabic decoding goal make sense?
From third grade on, long words carry the meaning of most texts: "temperature", "discovered", "population". A student who reads one-syllable words well but has no plan for long ones will guess from the first few letters, and the guesses wreck comprehension.
This goal suits students in grades 2 to 8 who decode one-syllable words but miss long ones. The teaching is a plan: find the vowels, split the word into syllables, read each part, then put them together and check it's a real word. Prefixes and suffixes give the student bigger chunks to read.
Measure on two kinds of tasks: lists of long words, which show the skill, and passages, which show whether the student uses it while reading.
Example multisyllabic decoding goals
By the annual review, given 20 unpracticed two-syllable words with closed syllables, such as "napkin", the student will read each word aloud with 17 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes, measured by a two-syllable word list.
- Condition
- Given 20 unpracticed two-syllable words with closed syllables, such as "napkin"
- Behavior
- Read each word aloud
- Criterion
- With 17 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes
- Measure
- A two-syllable word list
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given 20 unpracticed two-syllable words with open and closed syllables, the student will read each word aloud with 16 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes, measured by a mixed syllable-type word list.
- Condition
- Given 20 unpracticed two-syllable words with open and closed syllables
- Behavior
- Read each word aloud
- Criterion
- With 16 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes
- Measure
- A mixed syllable-type word list
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given 20 unpracticed words with common prefixes and suffixes, such as un-, re-, -ful and -ment, the student will read each word aloud with 17 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes, measured by an affixed word list.
- Condition
- Given 20 unpracticed words with common prefixes and suffixes, such as un-, re-, -ful and -ment
- Behavior
- Read each word aloud
- Criterion
- With 17 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes
- Measure
- An affixed word list
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given 20 unpracticed words of three or more syllables, the student will read each word aloud with 16 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes, measured by a long word list.
- Condition
- Given 20 unpracticed words of three or more syllables
- Behavior
- Read each word aloud
- Criterion
- With 16 of 20 correct on 3 consecutive probes
- Measure
- A long word list
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given 10 unpracticed multisyllabic words, the student will mark the syllables and read each word with 8 of 10 read correctly on 3 consecutive probes, measured by a syllable-marking task.
- Condition
- Given 10 unpracticed multisyllabic words
- Behavior
- Mark the syllables and read each word
- Criterion
- With 8 of 10 read correctly on 3 consecutive probes
- Measure
- A syllable-marking task
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade-level passage, the student will read its words of three or more syllables with at least 90% correct on 3 consecutive monthly probes, measured by a passage scored for long words.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade-level passage
- Behavior
- Read its words of three or more syllables
- Criterion
- With at least 90% correct on 3 consecutive monthly probes
- Measure
- A passage scored for long words
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given 10 dictated two- and three-syllable words, the student will spell each word, syllable by syllable with 7 of 10 correct on 3 consecutive probes, measured by a dictation probe.
- Condition
- Given 10 dictated two- and three-syllable words
- Behavior
- Spell each word, syllable by syllable
- Criterion
- With 7 of 10 correct on 3 consecutive probes
- Measure
- A dictation probe
- Time frame
- By the annual review
From baseline to target: a worked example
A fourth grader reads 19 of 20 one-syllable words but only 6 of 20 three-syllable words. On a grade 4 passage, most of his errors are long words, and he usually says a word that starts with the same letters.
The team writes a long-word goal of 16 of 20 and a passage goal of 90% of long words correct. The teacher teaches a syllable plan, starting with two-syllable closed-syllable words and moving to affixes. By January he reads 12 of 20 long words, and his passage accuracy on long words has gone from 55% to 75%.
Short-term objectives
- By the end of the first grading period, the student will read two-syllable closed-syllable words with 16 of 20 correct.
- By the end of the second grading period, the student will read words with the prefixes un-, re- and dis- and the suffixes -ing, -ed and -ful with 16 of 20 correct.
- By the end of the third grading period, the student will read three-syllable words with 12 of 20 correct.
How do you measure progress?
- Build lists with a fixed mix of syllable types and affixes so scores stay comparable.
- Score a word correct only when every syllable is right. Note which syllable was missed.
- Once a month, take a grade-level passage and score only the words of three or more syllables.
Common mistakes
- Teaching long syllable-division rules before the student reads two-syllable words.
- Measuring only word lists. The student may read long words in lists and still guess in text.
- Skipping meaning. Ask what the word means; many long words are decoded correctly but unknown.