How to Write IEP Goals for Following Directions

Science block ends and the para shows you a tally card: K.L. followed the two-step cleanup direction on Monday, needed three prompts on Wednesday, and walked to the wrong line after a one-step cue on Friday. The signed IEP still says K.L. will follow directions with adult support. At the table, parents ask how many steps K.L. can do without a repeat—and you realize the goal never named a setting, a prompt rule, or what “follow” means on the chart.

Strong IEP goals for following directions spell out what K.L. will do when an adult gives a cue (start within seconds, complete steps in order, use a visual if listed), where staff will observe it, and how many trials or days must meet the mastery line. That is the same bar as reading or math: condition, behavior, criteria, baseline. Visual schedules, speech minutes, and para proximity only make sense when they feed the same score sheet you named in the IEP. For keeping probes aligned all year, see IEP progress monitoring.

Case managers, classroom teachers, SLPs, and related service providers draft these goals in district software. Short-term objectives and benchmark goals vary by state—confirm your compliance manual before you lock language.

What counts as following directions on an IEP?

On an IEP, following directions means observable compliance with an adult’s spoken, signed, or written cue within a defined window: one-step (“put the pencil in the bin”), two-step (“open your notebook and write the date”), or longer routines (morning locker sequence, lab safety steps). Teams often split receptive accuracy (did K.L. do the right thing?) from latency (how fast after the cue?) because present levels show different gaps.

Measurable annual goals must connect to present levels (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)). Direction-following targets hold up when the condition states the room and routine, the behavior lists the steps K.L. will perform—not “listen better”—and the criteria specify percent correct, steps finished, or opportunities met across the trials you chart.

Short answer for search snippets: A strong following-directions IEP goal states the setting (whole-group, small group, speech room), the type of direction (one-step oral, three-step routine with visual), the scoring rule (8 of 10 opportunities, all steps in order in 4 of 5 trials), prompt limits, and a documented baseline from the same probe you will use in March.

Following directions is not the same as reading comprehension of written instructions on a worksheet, though overlap exists. It is not a generic on-task goal unless the team defines the cue and the response. If K.L. needs hands to self for safety, that may sit in a behavior goal; if the team wants two-step oral directions during transitions, that is receptive language or executive-function wording—split skills when present levels show you need separate charts. See how to write measurable IEP goals for the condition-behavior-criteria frame and IEP goal bank for communication for receptive language templates.

Start with present levels you can score

Before you open a goal bank, write present levels in the same units your tally sheet or trial log uses:

• Direction type (one-step oral, two-step with visual, three-step classroom routine).
• Setting (gen-ed science, resource room, speech pull-out, hallway transition).
• Baseline performance (percent of opportunities, steps correct in order, days at criterion).
• Prompts and supports during baseline (repeat cue, gesture, visual checklist, AAC).

Example PLAAFP snippet (initials only): On 9/18, during whole-group transitions in science, K.L. followed one-step oral directions within 10 seconds with no more than one verbal repeat in 6 of 10 observed opportunities across five days. When given a two-step oral direction (“put materials away and line up at the door”), K.L. completed both steps in order in 2 of 8 opportunities with a visual line icon available.

If PLAAFP only says “difficulty following directions,” run one week of probes with a defined prompt rule before the team signs an annual criterion. Federal law cares about measurable, not jargon—though SMART IEP goals can help teams argue at the table.

Baseline collection must match the setting, direction length, and prompt limits you will use for reporting, not a quieter room with unlimited repeats.

Separate following directions from behavior and academic goals

Stacked annual goals break data collection. Receptive direction-following is not the same as compliance without a defined cue (“stays in seat”) or task completion when the worksheet text is the only instruction.

Split example for K.L.:

1. One-step oral, classroom: During teacher-directed activities in science and social studies, K.L. will follow one-step oral directions within 10 seconds with no more than one verbal prompt, in 8 of 10 observed opportunities per week, as charted by classroom staff, by the annual IEP date. Baseline: 6 of 10 on 9/18.
2. Two-step with visual support: When given two-step oral directions during transitions, K.L. will complete both steps in order within 30 seconds using the posted visual sequence when available, in 4 of 5 observed opportunities per week, as logged by assigned staff, by the annual IEP date. Baseline: 2 of 8 on 9/18.

Each goal gets its own column on the data sheet. Parents should see which step length moved. For how those numbers turn into report language, pair your probe with writing objective IEP progress notes with data and what to include in an IEP progress narrative.

Pick one direction skill and name the setting

One annual goal should measure one primary construct: one-step oral, two-step oral, three-step routine, or latency after a single cue—not “following directions” as a blob. If K.L. needs one-step and multi-step work, write two goals unless your district uses a single benchmark goal with separately scored components.

Name who gives the direction and what counts as a prompt in the condition line. “Adult support” is not a prompt rule. “No more than one verbal repeat” or “gestural prompt only” is. If the IEP lists a visual checklist, say it applies during the observation so gen-ed and para staff probe the same way.

Write the measurable following-directions goal

Use the same skeleton as any measurable goal:

Spell out who charts data, whether a repeat cue resets the trial, and whether partial completion counts. “Follow classroom rules” is not a criterion. “Improve listening” without trials is how teams argue before quarterly reports.

Pick one scoring method per goal—percent of opportunities, steps in order, or days at criterion—and repeat it in PLAAFP, the data sheet, and the progress report.

Sample IEP goals for following directions (adapt, do not copy)

Templates only. Swap setting, step count, and numbers for K.L. or your student.

Elementary — one-step oral, classroom
During teacher-directed activities in the general education classroom, K.L. will follow one-step oral directions within 10 seconds with no more than one verbal prompt, in 8 of 10 observed opportunities per week, as charted by classroom staff, by the annual IEP date. Baseline: 6 of 10 opportunities on 9/18.

Middle school — three-step routine with visual
During the opening routine in resource room (materials out, agenda written, ready signal), K.L. will complete all three steps in order when given the oral cue within 60 seconds, in 4 of 5 daily trials per week, as logged by the resource teacher, by the annual IEP date. Baseline: 2 of 5 trials on 9/12.

Speech / pull-out — multi-step oral
In the speech room during structured language activities, when given oral directions of three steps, K.L. will complete all steps in order with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 trials per week, as recorded by the SLP, by the annual IEP date. Baseline: 50% accuracy (2 of 4 steps) on 9/15.

Read the goal aloud at the meeting. If someone asks “How will you know?” you should point to the tally form—not a general impression of attentiveness.

Accommodations, prompts, and the condition line

List visual schedules, first-then boards, reduced auditory clutter, and prompt levels that apply during the observation. If K.L. met the criterion only when the para stood beside the desk, the baseline and criterion should say so. Misalignment between daily practice and the probe drives common IEP progress report mistakes; fix it before signatures.

For students with autism, chart during a fixed block with the same step count and prompt rule all year—see IEP progress notes for students with autism.

Common mistakes on following-directions goals

Watch for “will follow directions” with no step count, unlimited prompts in “adult support,” and gen-ed transition needs written only as speech-room goals. Fix wording before signatures—vague goals make compliance reporting harder. For full-document order, see how to write an IEP step by step.

What I’d do Monday

1. Pull one student—use K.L. if that is your next conference—and check whether the direction goal names setting, step length, prompt limits, and trials.
2. Run one day of probes with the tally sheet you plan to use all year; score one-step and two-step separately if both are needs.
3. Split any combined “behavior + directions” goal into measurable lines when data support both.
4. Share the probe form with gen-ed, para, and SLP so everyone uses the same repeat-cue rule.
5. Save a personal template with your team’s condition phrase so you stop pasting bank language without baselines.

Sources

• 34 CFR §300.320 — Contents of the IEP (measurable annual goals; progress reporting)
• U.S. Department of Education — IDEA (statute, regulations, policy)
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: Classroom-Based Service Delivery (receptive language in school routines)
• Your state special education regulations and district speech or behavior protocols for approved probe forms and reporting timelines

The signed goal holds the criterion; quarterly reporting asks for a progress narrative that translates K.L.’s direction trials into sentences. IEP Progress drafts that paragraph from logs you already keep—edit before you file in Frontline or PowerSchool. It will not set service minutes or choose step counts. Free plan: three narratives per month, one profile, initials only, no credit card.

Carla Jensen, M.Ed., is a special education teacher and IEP team member. Student examples use initials only. General guidance, not legal advice—confirm requirements with your district.