Which statement best describes how progress toward IEP goals is typically measured?

• A. To compare students to peers.
• B. To determine teacher performance.
• C. To provide objective, consistent measures of progress.
• D. To decide which students to remove from services.

Answer: (C)

Measuring progress toward IEP goals is about collecting objective, consistent data over time that show how a student moves toward the target. By tying measurements directly to the goal’s criteria, you get a clear, fair picture of change, not a comparison to others. This data-driven view helps the team decide if instruction is working, whether goals are on track to be met, or if supports need to be adjusted. It’s not about judging teacher performance or removing students from services based on a single snapshot; decisions about continued, modified, or intensified supports come from ongoing progress data. Examples of these measures include tallying correct responses, tracking how long a task takes, calculating the percentage of correct responses, or monitoring prompt levels, all plotted over time to show trends toward the goal.