What are short-term objectives or benchmarks in an IEP?

Short-term objectives (STOs) and/or benchmarks are steps that measure the student’s progress toward the annual goals in their IEP. When written correctly, short-term objectives provide teachers with a roadmap and a clear mechanism to assess the child’s progress. Note that in California, only those students who qualify for alternate assessments are legally required to have STOs. Otherwise, only progress reports are required. Although STOs are no longer federally mandated, you can ask that they be included in your IEP.

For more details, see our article Key Parts of an IEP.