Which reason explains why the goal described for expressive language practice is not considered high quality?

• A. Overly wordy
• B. Can technically never be met
• C. Unclear when data should be taken
• D. Skill is already in the student's repertoire

Answer: (A)

High-quality expressive language goals are specific and observable, spelling out exactly what the student will produce, in what context, and how progress will be measured. When a goal is overly wordy, it often becomes vague and hard to evaluate, so you can’t tell whether the student has met it or how to track improvement. That lack of clarity and measurability is what makes it low quality. In practice, a good goal would name the exact language form, the context for use, and a clear criterion or data plan so progress can be reliably recorded over time. The other options undermine quality for different reasons—one implies the goal is impossible to meet, another leaves data collection undefined, and another suggests the skill is already present and no practice is needed—while the overly wordy phrasing directly erodes clarity and evaluability.