When writing goals for culturally and linguistically diverse learners, measurability matters, but it is only one part of the picture. The goal has to be measurable, yes, but it also has to reflect the student’s language background, routines, and real-world participation needs.

On one side, we have to make our goals target a clear skill, define the condition and supports, and have an observable criterion for success. On the other, there is the need to write goals that reflect the student’s language background, daily routines, interests and family priorities.

Sometimes, it can be easier to swing hard in one direction. The goal is either technically measurable but disconnected from the learner’s life, or thoughtful and affirming but too vague to monitor.

Why Writing Culturally Responsive Goals is Important

A strong goal should help the team understand what matters, what support is needed, and what progress should look like.

Research on goal development for CLD learners emphasizes that quality goals should be meaningful, measurable, and standards-aligned, and also reflect stakeholder input, a common vision for the student, and student voice. The language we choose, the skills we prioritize, and the assumptions we bring into goal writing all shape the final document. 

ASHA’s guidance on cultural responsiveness makes that point clearly: culturally responsive practice includes integrating each person’s traditions, customs, values, and beliefs into service delivery; avoiding assumptions; and choosing strategies and materials that do not create a disconnect between the clinician, the learner, and the learner’s support systems.

Common Problems With Goals

Goals may lack measurability, fail to address functional needs, or not clearly link back to the learner’s present level of performance. Others come straight from a goal bank and never become truly individualized.

If language exposure, home language use, cultural values, and communication style have not been adequately considered, then the goal may end up targeting the wrong thing entirely. These features should not be treated as side notes; they should show up in the measurable goals themselves. 

What Makes a Goal Culturally Responsive?

It still has a measurable structure: You need a target that can be observed, tracked, and discussed.

1. The goal should make clear:

1. Who the student is

2. What skill or behavior is being targeted

3. Under what condition or level of support

4. What criterion will count as success

5. When appropriate, the timeframe or review period

2. It reflects the student’s real communication world

A goal should connect to how the student functions across routines, not just in therapy.

For CLD learners, that means considering whether the target supports participation in class, peer interactions, home communication, transitions, self-advocacy, literacy, or access to instruction. Culturally responsive guidance recommends incorporating instructional conditions, cultural funds of knowledge, family goals, student preferences, and communication methods that align with the family and community context.

3. It does not confuse difference with disorder

You cannot write a good goal if the target is based on a language pattern, dialect feature, or multilingual development pattern that is being misread as impairment. ASHA’s guidance specifically notes the need to respond to each person as an individual and to select appropriate assessment and intervention approaches that respect linguistic and cultural variation.

In other words: don’t write a goal that tries to “fix” a difference just because it does not match mainstream expectations.

4. It includes family and student priorities

Family collaboration should not be ceremonial.

Work on culturally and linguistically responsive goals emphasizes that families are often overlooked even though they are vital sources of information about the learner, the learner’s communication needs, and the values that should shape educational planning. Families may also need more meaningful invitations into the process, especially when school systems or cultural expectations position educators as unquestioned authority figures.

The framework described by Jozwik and colleagues is useful here: collaborative goal development for multilingual learners includes inventorying cultural and linguistic assets, planning to build on those assets, identifying expected learning outcomes, prioritizing relevant skills, and then developing meaningful and measurable goals.

Questions to Ask Before You Finalize a Goal

Is this target functionally relevant?

• Will this skill matter in classroom routines, peer interaction, academic tasks, home communication, or community participation?

Is it linguistically valid?

• Have we ruled out language difference, dialect difference, second-language acquisition patterns, or culturally shaped communication styles as the reason this “problem” showed up?

Are the conditions and materials relevant?

• Do the examples, supports, contexts, and expected performance reflect the student’s lived experiences and actual environments?

Did family or student priorities shape this goal?

Can progress be tracked in a way that reflects meaningful growth rather than isolated drill performance?

Measurable Does Not Have to Mean Mechanical

A measurable goal does not have to sound robotic (e.g., “The student will retell stories with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 trials”). Goals written only around percentages and trials may be easy to score, but they do not always tell us whether the student is communicating more successfully in real contexts. 

This means you might include:

• Frequency or accuracy during authentic classroom routines

• Performance with specific supports

• Use of a communication strategy across settings

• Student demonstration of a target skill with relevant peers, texts, or tasks

• Progress captured through language sampling, work samples, observation, or structured probes

Next steps

• Join the free CLD Open Access community space (updates, free events, discussion).

• If you’re not ready for the workshop, bookmark this post and use it as your starting point.

Resources

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Cultural responsiveness [Practice Portal]. https://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Professional-Issues/Cultural-Responsiveness/.

Guiberson, M., & Atkins, J. (2012). Speech-Language Pathologists’ Preparation, Practices, and Perspectives on Serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 33(3), 169–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525740110384132

Jozwik, S. L., Cahill, A., & Sánchez, G. (2018). Collaboratively crafting individualized education program goals for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 62(2), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2017.1393791

Piazza, S. V., Rao, S., & Protacio, S. (2015). Converging Recommendations for Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices: Students with Learning Disabilities, English Language Learners, and Socioculturally Diverse Learners. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 17(3), 1. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v17i3.1023

Powell, R., Schultz, J., Harvey, R., & Meaux, A. (2024). Maximizing Student Outcomes in Schools: Data-Driven Individualized Education Program Goals and Objectives Aligned to the Standards. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 55(2), 303–322. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_LSHSS-23-00082

Sinclair, R. L., Finke, E. H., & Wu, L. (2025). Speech-Language Pathologists’ Experiences Working With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families: A Scoping Review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 34(2), 908–930. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-24-00185

Teaching Culturally Responsive Evidence-Based Practice in Speech Language Pathology. (2021). Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences and Disorders. https://doi.org/10.30707/TLCSD5.3.1649037688.663398

Tran, L. M., Lober, J., & Patton, J. R. (2021). Enhancing Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Features of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs). Seminars in Speech and Language, 42(02), 147–161. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1723841

Verdon, S., McLeod, S., & Wong, S. (2015). Supporting culturally and linguistically diverse children with speech, language and communication needs: Overarching principles, individual approaches. Journal of Communication Disorders, 58, 74–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2015.10.002

Wolter, J. A., & Pike, K. (2015). Dynamic Assessment of Morphological Awareness and Third-Grade Literacy Success. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 46(2), 112–126. https://doi.org/10.1044/2015_lshss-14-0037.