How to Track IEP Goals and Monitor Progress

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a roadmap, but like any journey, you need to check your progress along the way. Waiting for the school’s official quarterly progress report is not enough. As a parent, you are in a unique position to gather data and monitor your child’s progress on a daily basis. This information is invaluable for ensuring the IEP is being implemented effectively and for advocating for changes when it’s not.

Here’s how you can become an effective progress monitor for your child’s IEP.

Step 1: Deconstruct the IEP Goals

First, you need to know exactly what you’re tracking. Take each goal in your child’s IEP and break it down. For each goal, you should be able to answer:

• What is the specific skill being measured? (e.g., decoding single-syllable words)
• How is it being measured? (e.g., with 90% accuracy, in 4 out of 5 trials)
• When and where will it be measured? (e.g., during weekly reading sessions)

If the goals in your child’s IEP are too vague to answer these questions, that is a problem in itself that needs to be addressed with the team.

Step 2: Create a Simple Tracking System

You don’t need a complicated spreadsheet. A simple notebook or a digital document can work perfectly. For each goal, create a section where you can jot down observations. Your goal is to collect concrete, objective data, not just general feelings.

Date	Goal	Observation
11/10/25	Reading Fluency	Timed Johnny reading a 2nd-grade passage. He read 42 words per minute with 5 errors.
11/12/25	Spelling	Asked Sarah to spell 10 CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. She spelled 7 correctly.
11/15/25	Reading Fluency	Johnny read the same passage at 45 words per minute with 4 errors.

This kind of data is much more powerful than saying, “I think his reading is getting a little better.”

Step 3: Align Your Tracking with the School’s

Ask the special education teacher how they are tracking progress on the IEP goals. You can ask:

• “Can you show me the data sheets you are using to track this goal?”
• “How often are you collecting this data?”
• “Could you send a copy of the data home with my child’s weekly folder?”

Comparing your data with the school’s data can provide a more complete picture of your child’s progress. If your data and the school’s data are showing the same lack of progress, it’s a powerful argument for changing the intervention.

Step 4: Don’t Forget to Track Accommodations

Progress isn’t just about goals; it’s also about access. Keep track of whether your child’s accommodations are being provided consistently. You can create a simple checklist.

• Was extra time provided on the math test this week? (Yes/No)
• Did my child have access to the audiobook for the social studies chapter? (Yes/No)
• Were the teacher’s notes provided as stated in the IEP? (Yes/No)

If you see a pattern of accommodations not being provided, you need to address it with the team immediately.

Step 5: Share Your Data

Don’t wait until the annual IEP meeting to share your concerns. If you’ve been tracking a goal for a month and see no progress, schedule a meeting with the teacher. Share your data and ask for their thoughts.

For example: “I’ve been tracking Maria’s progress on her sight word goal at home, and I’m seeing the same lack of progress that her weekly data from school shows. I’m concerned the current strategy isn’t working. Could we meet to discuss whether we need to try a different approach?”

By actively monitoring your child’s progress, you are holding the IEP team accountable and ensuring that the plan is a living, breathing document that truly adapts to your child’s needs. You are moving from a passive recipient of services to an active partner in your child’s education. And that is the heart of advocacy.

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Related reading:

• The Parent's Guide to Progress Monitoring
• What to Do When Your Child's IEP Doesn't Match Reality
• 10 Questions to Ask at Every IEP Meeting