Individual Education Plans (IEPs)

SMART goals

The short-term goals in the IEP should be SMART:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Agreed
• Relevant
• Time-bound

The short-term SMART goals should be described in a manner that includes observable actions, a reasonable timeframe for accomplishing them and criteria that make it possible to measure the extent of the student’s progress.

Short-term SMART goals should lead to the achievement of long-term goals.

Some examples of SMART goals are available in the IEP summary guide on the Resources tab.