Completing Unpreferred Tasks Should NOT Be an IEP Goal

Listen on Your Favorite Platform

Completing Unpreferred Tasks Should NOT Be an IEP Goal

by Drs. KPF & JC | The Inclusion Podcast

Transcript [pdf]

 

SHOW NOTES

 

What This Episode Is About

“Student will complete non-preferred tasks…” If you’ve written or seen this goal, you’re not alone — and this episode is for you.

In this episode, Julie and Kristie take on one of the most common (and problematic) IEP goals in schools today: compliance-based goals disguised as learning.

If you are:

    • Writing or reviewing IEP goals
    • Supporting students with behavior or engagement needs
    • Trying to reduce power struggles and resistance
    • Wanting goals that actually improve learning and access

This episode will help you rethink what IEP goals are really for, and how to write them better.

 

Key Takeaways

    • Completing unpreferred tasks is not a learning goal, it’s a compliance expectation.
    • Many IEP goals unintentionally focus on endurance, obedience, or suppression instead of learning.
    • Adults don’t complete unpreferred tasks without support — so expecting students to do so is unrealistic.
    • When a task is “unpreferred,” it often signals a problem with the task — not the student.
    • IEP goals should focus on access, engagement, and participation, not forcing compliance.

 

Episode Download / Handout

What Is the Learning Goal — Really?

This practical guide helps educators and leaders rewrite IEP goals so they support learning — not compliance.

Inside the download, you’ll find:

    • A 4-step framework to evaluate any IEP goal
    • Clear guidance for identifying surface-level vs. real learning goals
    • Examples of common compliance-based goals, and how to rewrite them
    • Red flag vs. green flag language to use immediately
    • A powerful mindset shift: support the task before changing the student

Why download it?
Because many IEP goals sound reasonable, but aren’t actually about learning. This tool helps you pause, rethink, and write goals that truly support access, engagement, and growth.

👉 Download at: inclusiveschooling.com/download69

 

Practical Moves for IEP Teams

    • Ask: What is the actual learning goal here?
    • Remove the task, does the goal still make sense?
    • Identify the skill that transfers across settings
    • Redesign the task before changing the student
    • Build in choice, flexibility, and supports
    • Use the “adult reality check”: would this be reasonable for an adult?
    • Focus on access, not endurance

Because if a student has to be miserable to meet the goal… it’s the wrong goal.