Is Your Child's IEP Actually Working? 5 Signs It Might Need a Closer Look

Is Your Child’s IEP Actually Working?

If you’ve ever sat in an IEP meeting and felt like something wasn’t right—but couldn’t quite put your finger on what—you’re not alone. Many parents suspect their child’s IEP isn’t doing the job it should, but don’t know what specifically to look for. Here are 5 practical signs that it’s time to take a closer look.

Federal law requires every IEP to include measurable annual goals, a description of how progress will be measured, and a statement of services. If your child’s IEP is missing any of these, it may not meet federal standards.

Sign 1: The Goals Are Too Vague to Measure

A red flag that jumps out immediately: vague, unmeasurable goals.

Here’s the problem. If a goal says something like “Johnny will improve reading skills” or “Sarah will work on social interaction,” there’s no way to know if progress is actually happening. You can’t measure “improve” or “work on” — they’re too fuzzy.

What to look for instead:

A good IEP goal has three clear parts:

1. What the child will do (specific behavior or skill)
2. How you’ll measure it (data collection method: % correct, fluency rate, number of attempts)
3. The target (the number or percentage the child should reach by the end of the year)

Example of a vague goal:

“Johnny will improve his reading fluency.”

Example of a measurable goal:

“Johnny will read grade-level passages at 95 words per minute with 95% accuracy, as measured by monthly fluency probes.”

If your child’s goals read more like the first example, that’s a sign the IEP needs work. You can’t monitor progress if you can’t measure it.

Sign 2: There’s No Baseline Data to Start From

Before the school can measure progress, they need to know where your child is starting from. This is called baseline data.

What this looks like:

When an IEP goal is written, it should include:

• What your child can do right now (baseline)
• What they should be able to do by the end of the year (target)

Without baseline data, there’s no way to say whether a goal is reasonable. A goal of “95% accuracy” might be perfect for one child and impossible for another—it depends on where they’re starting.

Red flag: If your child’s goals don’t mention current performance levels, or they skip baseline entirely and jump straight to the target, that’s a problem.

Ask yourself:

• Do the goals show where my child is performing right now?
• Is the target realistic based on past progress?
• Is there a plan to track progress regularly?

If you can’t answer “yes” to these, the goals may need to be rewritten with better data.

Sign 3: Service Minutes Don’t Match the Needs

Another big one: the amount of time your child is receiving services doesn’t fit the level of need.

Texas schools sometimes use a shortcut: they decide on the amount of pull-out time (e.g., “resource class 2 hours per week”) without really connecting it to the goals. But service minutes should come from the goals, not the other way around.

What to check:

• Does your child need intensive, frequent support to work on their goals? If so, 30 minutes a week is probably not enough.
• Does your child have multiple goals that all require one-on-one instruction? Then they need enough service minutes to address all of them.
• Are the services actually happening? (More on this in Sign 5.)

Red flag: If the IEP says your child will work on reading 45 minutes a week and math 45 minutes a week, but they have 6 separate goals across reading, writing, math, and social skills, those minutes probably won’t go far enough.

Service minutes aren’t magic—they’re time on task. If the goals are important, they deserve enough service time to actually work.

Sign 4: There’s No Real Plan to Track Progress

An IEP should specify how progress will be monitored and reported.

This sounds boring, but it’s essential. It means:

• How often will data be collected? (Weekly? Monthly?)
• Who will collect it?
• How will progress be reported to you?
• What does success look like?

What you should see in the IEP:

A schedule like: “Reading fluency will be assessed using CBM probes administered weekly by the reading specialist. Progress will be reported to parents monthly in the IEP progress report.”

Red flag: If the IEP doesn’t mention progress monitoring at all, or it says something vague like “teacher observation,” that’s a sign the school may not have a solid plan to track whether the goal is working.

Ask at your next ARD (IEP meeting) in Texas:

• “How often will my child’s progress on this goal be measured?”
• “What data will you collect, and how?”
• “How will you let me know if my child isn’t making progress?”

You’re entitled to know this. If the school can’t answer clearly, it’s worth digging deeper.

Sign 5: Your Input Was Ignored

Here’s the truth: parent input should shape the IEP. Not just be written down and filed away—actually shape it.

If your child brought home concerns about lunch, recess, or their biggest struggles with learning, and none of that made it into the goals or services, that’s a problem.

What parent input looks like:

• “I noticed my child can’t organize their homework at home. We spend 30 minutes every night just getting started.”
• “Reading takes forever, and my child gets frustrated.”
• “My child has no friends in the class and eats alone at lunch.”

What a strong IEP does with this input: It takes these real observations and translates them into goals and services. Maybe that means organizational strategies, reading fluency work, or social skills coaching.

Red flag: If your concerns were dismissed or glossed over, or if the IEP looks exactly the same year after year, parent input probably wasn’t really factored in.

The bottom line: You know your child best. If your voice doesn’t matter in the IEP, the plan probably isn’t strong.

What to Do If You See These Signs

If one or more of these red flags showed up in your reading, here are your next steps:

1. Request a meeting. In Texas, you can ask for an ARD at any time. Send an email to your campus special education coordinator saying “I’d like to schedule an ARD meeting to review my child’s IEP.” Not sure what to expect? Read our guide on what happens at an ARD meeting.

2. Bring your observations. Write down the specific concerns: “The goals aren’t measurable,” “I don’t see progress data,” etc. Come prepared with examples.

3. Ask for revisions. The school is required to consider your request. If goals need to be rewritten to be measurable, or service minutes need to increase, that’s something you can push for.

4. Get a second opinion. If you want to know exactly what’s working and what isn’t in your child’s IEP, you can upload it to AdvocateIQ for a detailed analysis. You’ll get a report showing which goals are solid, which ones need work, and specific questions to ask at your next meeting.

Remember: An IEP that isn’t working is an IEP that needs to change. You’re allowed to ask questions and ask for changes. That’s not pushback—that’s advocacy.

Next Step

Want to know exactly how your child’s IEP stacks up? Upload your IEP for a detailed analysis. You’ll get a report showing what’s working, what needs improvement, and what to ask about at your next meeting.

Your child deserves an IEP that actually works. Let’s make sure it does.

Further reading: The IRIS Center has one of the most comprehensive guides to IEP quality available for parents and educators. For a deeper look at writing measurable IEP goals, see our parent’s guide.