How to set up IEP goal tracking in Evident

Add a goal

On the student's Goals tab choose Add Goal (or Add First IEP Goal). Fill in the Goal Text, the Goal Area (Behavior, Academic, Social/Communication, Self-Regulation, Adaptive, Motor, or Other), and the Measurement Type.

Then set the Baseline Value and Target Value, and optionally the Baseline Date, Target Date, Unit Label, IEP Start Date, and IEP End Date. An IEP Start Date also adds a Since IEP start option to the progress report.

Choose the measurement type

Binary (Yes/No) records whether the goal was met on an opportunity. Frequency Count records how many times something happened, with a plus and minus counter. Duration records time, with a Start and Stop timer.

Trial-Based records correct out of total trials and shows the percentage. Interval Recording records intervals with the behavior out of intervals watched, also as a percentage.

Rate records a count of responses and how long you observed, and shows responses per minute. Latency records the seconds from the cue until the student starts the response.

Task Analysis (Step by Step) is for a task broken into steps, like washing hands or long division. You write the steps on the goal. When staff record a session they give one answer for each step, and the value is the percent of steps done independently. Task analysis goals are recorded in the web app, not in the Evident Capture Chrome extension.

Pick the type that matches how the goal is written. A goal stated as 4 out of 5 opportunities is Trial-Based; a goal about staying on task for 15 minutes is Duration.

Record data points

Choose Record on the goal card. Enter the date, the measurement, the Setting (Classroom, Lunch, Recess, Specials, Bus, Therapy, Hallway, Bathroom, or Other), and optionally a Prompting Level and notes, then Save Data Point. A task analysis session has no single Prompting Level: each step records its own answer.

Prompting levels are Independent, Verbal Prompt, Gestural Prompt, Model Prompt, Partial Physical Prompt, and Full Physical Prompt. Recording them shows whether a skill is becoming independent, not just whether it happened.

The goal card shows baseline, target, current value, percent to target, a sparkline of recent points, and how long ago data was last recorded. The Evident Capture Chrome extension records data points from any tab. Task analysis goals are recorded in the web app only.

Collecting on paper during a session? The free printable trial, frequency, duration, and prompt level data sheets fill in as you type: student initials, up to three goals (one page each), an optional baseline and target, and the number of rows. A QR code on the printed sheet reopens it with the goals filled in, so the next stack is one scan away. No account or email address is needed to print.

See a goal's full graph

Tap the sparkline on a goal card, or choose View graph from the card's menu, to open the goal's full graph. Pick 2 weeks, 30 days, IEP period, or Custom dates. Your pick of 2 weeks, 30 days, or IEP period is remembered on this device. A goal whose IEP end date has passed opens on 30 days, so its newest sessions show.

The graph draws the baseline, the target, and the mastery rule as lines, with amber dots on the sessions that meet the rule. Once the range holds 5 sessions, a dotted line marked Trend shows the straight-line trend. Show as table lists the same sessions, newest first, with the date, value, prompting level, setting, and note.

Use the IEP goal library

In the goal form, Browse IEP Goal Library opens 70 IEP-aligned goals across seven areas: Behavior, Social Communication, Self-Regulation, Adaptive/Daily Living, Academic Support, Motor Skills, and Transition. Search or filter, then Use to copy a goal's wording into Goal Text and edit it for the student.

The public goal library at evidentk12.com/goal-library has the wider set of 150+ goals used for behavior charts.

Write down how to run the goal

In the goal form, open How to run this goal (optional). It has six parts, each optional: What to present, What the student does, Prompting, Reinforcement, If the response is wrong, and Data to collect. Fill in the parts that matter for this goal.

On the goal card, How to run it opens those parts, so a paraprofessional, a co-teacher, or a substitute runs the goal the same way you do.

Record each opportunity

On a trial goal, Record Data Point opens on Each opportunity: tap Independent, Prompted (then the prompt it took), or No response for every opportunity, and Evident works out the percent independent. Undo takes back the last tap. Enter totals instead switches to typing correct out of total.

The prompts to choose from come from the goal's Prompt hierarchy, set under How to run this goal: least to most or most to least, and which prompts apply (visual, verbal, gestural, model, partial physical, full physical).

How to run this goal also holds Wait time, a Reinforcement schedule (fixed or variable ratio, fixed or variable interval, and a number, such as VR5) and a Generalization plan. On the Today view, staff see the short version (Target, When, Wait, Prompt, Reinforce, Collect, Mastery) with Full program card one tap away.

Review a goal for mastery

Turn on Review for mastery (optional) in the goal form and set the rule, for example at or above 80% across 3 of the last 3 days. 3 of the last 3 means 3 in a row; 4 of the last 5 allows one that misses it. Choose days or sessions: days pool each day's sessions into one score, the way most schools write mastery. A yes or no goal counts the days or sessions where it was met. Duration is typed in minutes.

On a trial or interval goal counted in days, set A day counts with at least, for example 5 opportunities. A day with fewer is skipped rather than counted, so one lucky opportunity never makes a day, and a short day never breaks a streak.

The goal card shows the rule and how close the student is, such as 2 of 3 so far. When the latest sessions meet the rule, an active goal shows Meets mastery criterion: review, with Mark mastered, Move to maintenance, and Keep as active. Staff who cannot review see a note to continue the current program until it is updated.

Evident never changes a goal's status on its own: the goal stays active until someone chooses. Keep as active hides the prompt until a new full set of sessions, recorded after that day, meets the rule again.

Only the goal's author, the student's owner, or the student's case manager can make that choice or change the goal. Others on the student's team see the prompt without the buttons.

Write a goal before teaching starts

In the goal form, choose Starts: Later. The goal is saved under an Upcoming filter on the Goals tab, which appears once a goal is waiting. An upcoming goal has no Record button, and it is left out of reports, evidence packets, and the batch and extension logging lists until it starts.

When teaching begins, choose Start this goal from the goal card's menu. The goal moves to Active, and that day is recorded as the day it was introduced. If the goal is no longer needed, choose Discontinue goal instead.

Keep goal status current

The goal card menu has Edit goal, View graph, and the status moves that fit the goal. An active goal offers Mark mastered, Move to maintenance, Put on hold, and Discontinue goal. A maintenance goal offers Back to active teaching, Mark mastered, Put on hold, and Discontinue goal. A mastered goal offers Move to maintenance, Reactivate goal, and Discontinue goal. An on-hold goal offers Reactivate goal and Discontinue goal. A discontinued goal offers Reactivate goal.

Active lists the goals being taught, with any maintenance goals after them and a lighter Maintenance badge. A maintenance goal is one the student has mastered that you still check now and then, so it stays on data entry and in reports. The Active, Upcoming, Mastered, and All filters keep the tab readable as goals change over the year.

Frequently asked questions