IEP reading goals
Reading fluency IEP goals
8 example goals for oral reading fluency, each with a condition, behavior, criterion, measure and time frame.
Short answer
A reading fluency IEP goal names the passage level, the target in words correct per minute (WCPM), an accuracy criterion such as 95%, and the measure. Example: given an unpracticed grade 3 passage, the student will read 95 WCPM with 95% accuracy, median of three readings.
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 oral reading fluency goal make sense?
Fluency goals are the most common reading goals on IEPs because they're quick to measure and they track overall reading well. A one-minute reading of an unpracticed passage, scored as words correct per minute, moves when decoding, word recognition and reading in phrases all improve.
The hard part is the target. Three sources help. The compiled norms (Hasbrouck and Tindal, 2017) tell you where typical students are: the spring median is 60 WCPM in grade 1, 100 in grade 2, 112 in grade 3, 133 in grade 4, 146 in grade 5 and 146 in grade 6. Weekly growth rates (Fuchs and colleagues, 1993) tell you how much gain is realistic. And the student's own baseline tells you where to start.
Always pair rate with accuracy. A student who reads 100 words a minute at 85% accuracy is skipping and guessing, and a rate-only goal would reward it.
Example oral reading fluency goals
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade 1 passage, the student will read aloud for one minute at 50 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy, measured by the median of three one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade 1 passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- At 50 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy
- Measure
- The median of three one-minute readings
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade 2 passage, the student will read aloud for one minute at 90 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy, measured by the median of three one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade 2 passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- At 90 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy
- Measure
- The median of three one-minute readings
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade 3 passage, the student will read aloud for one minute at 95 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy, measured by the median of three one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade 3 passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- At 95 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy
- Measure
- The median of three one-minute readings
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade 4 passage, the student will read aloud for one minute at 105 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy, measured by the median of three one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade 4 passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- At 105 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy
- Measure
- The median of three one-minute readings
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade 5 passage, the student will read aloud for one minute at 119 words correct per minute with at least 96% accuracy, measured by the median of three one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade 5 passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- At 119 words correct per minute with at least 96% accuracy
- Measure
- The median of three one-minute readings
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed grade 6 passage, the student will read aloud for one minute at 122 words correct per minute with at least 96% accuracy, measured by the median of three one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed grade 6 passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- At 122 words correct per minute with at least 96% accuracy
- Measure
- The median of three one-minute readings
- Time frame
- By the annual review
By the annual review, given an unpracticed instructional-level passage, the student will read aloud with phrasing that follows punctuation scoring 3 or higher of 4 on 3 of 4 monthly checks, measured by a phrasing and expression rubric.
- Condition
- Given an unpracticed instructional-level passage
- Behavior
- Read aloud with phrasing that follows punctuation
- Criterion
- Scoring 3 or higher of 4 on 3 of 4 monthly checks
- Measure
- A phrasing and expression rubric
- Time frame
- By the annual review
Within 18 weeks, given unpracticed grade-level passages weekly, the student will read aloud for one minute with a gain of at least 1.5 words correct per minute per week, measured by the trend line of weekly one-minute readings.
- Condition
- Given unpracticed grade-level passages weekly
- Behavior
- Read aloud for one minute
- Criterion
- With a gain of at least 1.5 words correct per minute per week
- Measure
- The trend line of weekly one-minute readings
- Time frame
- Within 18 weeks
From baseline to target: a worked example
A third grader reads 50 WCPM with 91% accuracy in September, the median of three grade 3 passages. That is between the fall 10th (40) and 25th (59) percentiles for grade 3.
There are 30 weeks to the annual review. The ambitious grade 3 rate is 1.5 words per week (Fuchs and colleagues, 1993): 50 + 1.5 × 30 = 95 WCPM. That clears the spring 25th percentile (91) but stays under the median (112). The team writes 95 WCPM with 95% accuracy and agrees that if four weekly points in a row fall below the aimline, instruction changes, not the goal.
Short-term objectives
- By the end of the first grading period, the student will read an unpracticed grade 3 passage at 62 WCPM with at least 93% accuracy.
- By the end of the second grading period, the student will read an unpracticed grade 3 passage at 74 WCPM with at least 94% accuracy.
- By the end of the third grading period, the student will read an unpracticed grade 3 passage at 85 WCPM with at least 95% accuracy.
How do you measure progress?
- Use a set of passages at the same level and of equal difficulty, at least 20 of them, and never use a probe passage for practice.
- Time one minute. Words read minus errors is the score; accuracy is correct words divided by words read.
- For the baseline, take the median of three passages. For weekly monitoring, one passage a week is enough once you have six to eight points for a trend.
Common mistakes
- Setting the goal at the 50th percentile for a student who starts at the 10th, with no look at growth rates. The goal may be impossible, which makes the data useless.
- Using practiced passages, which inflates the score.
- Writing a rate goal with no accuracy criterion.
- Using passages above the student's grade for the goal and the student's instructional level for the baseline. Keep the level the same.