OCD turns communication practice into a stage for compulsions: checking, rereading or repeating a question until it feels right can pass for effort. The goal should spell out which compulsion is not scored, what answer replaces it, and the count that proves it happened. Open your child’s IEP to the goal page and read one goal for three things: the baseline it starts from, the behavior someone could count, and the date it gets reported.
By The Advocate Ally, checked against the rules it cites. Sources checked September 15, 2026.
Is this your goal?
“Student will initiate communication independently without seeking excessive reassurance, per teacher observation.”
That line does not define excessive, or what happens after two asks.
What the rule says
“A statement of measurable annual goals … [and] [a] description of … [h]ow the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured, and when periodic reports … will be provided.”
34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i) and (a)(3)
The rule’s own example of a periodic report is quarterly, issued with report cards: four updates a year.
The three tests
Every strong goal below passes all three.
BaselineWhere your child is today, as a number with its date, in present levels.
CountableA behavior two adults would tally the same way. Read the goal: what would you count?
ReportedHow often the number comes home. Check the progress-reporting box, then the last report sent.
Weak“Elias will state his question once and stop, on 4 of 5 opportunities, checked daily and shared each quarter.”
Strong“With his teacher’s nod as the cue, Elias will state his question once and stop, on 4 of 5 opportunities, checked daily and shared each quarter.”
Baseline
Elias still repeats himself without the cue.
Countable
Stating once, then stopping instead of repeating.
Reported
Each school day adds one dated check.
With no cue named, the support can quietly disappear, so Elias reverts to repeating his question until an adult answers.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“Can we name exactly which support he gets before we sign this?”
Tally the dated checks inside last quarter’s progress report; daily means twenty or more.
3rd through 5th grade
Weak“Given an assignment checklist he checks once, Elias will submit each item without rereading it a second time, logged weekly and sent home each quarter.”
Strong“Given an assignment checklist he checks once, Elias will submit each item without rereading it a second time, on 4 of 5 assignments, logged weekly and sent home each quarter.”
Baseline
“On 4 of 5 assignments” is nowhere written.
Countable
Submitted after one check, not several rereads.
Reported
Fifty-plus logged submissions, mailed out in four batches.
Leave the count out and one rereading looks the same as ten, so nobody can tell reassurance-seeking from real progress.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“How many rereads still count as finished, before we call it done?”
See whether the accommodations page limits him to one reread.
6th through 8th grade
Weak“Answering in a small reading group, Elias will self-monitor his responses, on 3 of 4 sessions, counted every other week.”
Strong“Answering in a small reading group, Elias will give one response after a single restart, not three, on 3 of 4 sessions, counted every other week.”
Baseline
Elias restarts an answer three times today.
Countable
“After a single restart, not three” vanishes.
Reported
A count every other week reaches home.
With no named behavior, a teacher can mark any response as effort, so a whole year passes with nothing left to measure.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“What exactly counts as answered, one restart or none at all?”
Open the goal page and see if a restart is ever defined.
9th through 12th grade
Weak“Texting his case manager one question before class, Elias will start the discussion without repeating it to a peer, on 4 of 5 class days.”
Strong“Texting his case manager one question before class, Elias will start the discussion without repeating it to a peer, on 4 of 5 class days, reported each semester.”
Baseline
Elias asks the same question of three peers.
Countable
Starting once, without repeating to a peer.
Reported
No date named, no semester to compare.
Without a semester attached, the habit can fade back before anyone checks, and Elias graduates never having practiced asking once.
IDEA requires the IEP to say how progress is measured and reported: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3).
“How often does this get scored, and does the number reach home?”
Hunt through the progress-reporting box: which semester sits beside his texting count?
What to ask the team
Does this goal name the compulsion it will not count as progress?
How many times can he repeat a question before it stops being communication?
Will the team count a request answered after reassurance, or only before it?
An example is not your child’s goal: it does not replace the data the team starts from, or advice from someone qualified in your state.
Have every goal in your IEP checked against these three tests, free.
The review reads every page you upload, flags each goal missing a baseline, measurable criteria, a target or a timeline, and quotes the wording with its page.
