The Essential and Interrelated Components of Evidenced-Based IEPs: A User’s Guide

The goals and objectives of an Individualized Education Program or IEP must be addressed by evidence. However, many challenges arise due in part to uncertainties about operationalizing terms, setting appropriate benchmarks, assigning scales of measurement, and establishing reliable evaluation methods. To help overcome these challenges and generate more informative data, this paper provides a framework for implementing four essential, but significantly inter-related components of any IEP goal or objective: 1) Operationalization of key terms, 2) Benchmarks for performance, 3) Scales of measurement, and 4) Evaluation methodologies. The first two components (OB) are directly relevant to writing IEP goals and objectives; the second two (SE) are necessary for data collection. All four components and their inter-relatedness are explained and illustrated. By pursuing the OBSE framework, practitioners will be in a strong position to collect high quality evidence, a prerequisite for interpreting the effectiveness of interventions on student growth.