Part I - Building Background Knowledge about Student Achievement Goal Setting The research is clear: Teachers matter. What happens—or does not happen—in classrooms everyday impacts student learning. When we look at school-based factors, teacher quality has the most influence on student achievement. Teachers are the critical component for the learning that impacts student learning. How do we measure learning? Historically, the measurement has been student achievement at the end of the year, regardless of the academic level of the student when he/she entered the teacher's classroom in August/September. However, if we do not know where the student began, it is difficult to measure teacher impact on student learning. Measuring a academic level when he/she enters the classroom allows for a comprehensive student’s assessment of learning as the student progresses through the curriculum. Additionally, student growth analysis becomes possible. For these reasons, is an integral component of student growth student achievement goal setting. In this section, student achievement goal setting is explained and the following questions are answered: What is student achievement goal setting? What is the purpose of student achievement goal setting? What does research say about the process of student achievement goal setting? Under what conditions does student achievement goal setting work best? What are the advantages and disadvantages of student achievement goal setting? What Is Student Achievement Goal Setting? Student achievement goal setting is a process that begins with a pre-assessment to level on skills or depth of content knowledge in relation pinpoint students’ current performance to the curriculum they will be learning in the classroom during the length of the course. When the pre-assessment has been analyzed, the teacher has the information necessary to devise a learning goal that reflects mastery of the curriculum content and skills. Thus, the teacher uses the pre-assessment data to create a student achievement goal. Once the goal is created, instructional strategies are selected that will be most effective in helping students attain the goal. Then, upon implementation, these instructional strategies are implemented and monitored for effectiveness. They are refined or revised, as necessary, based upon student performance and progress. At the end of the course or year, a post-assessment is administered to ascertain whether the goal has been achieved. What Is the Purpose of Student Achievement Goal Setting?
Part I - Building Background Knowledge about Student Achievement Goal Setting The research is clear: Teachers matter. What happens—or does not happen—in classrooms everyday impacts student learning. When we look at school-based factors, teacher quality has the most influence on student achievement. Teachers are the critical component for the learning that impacts student learning. How do we measure learning? Historically, the measurement has been student achievement at the end of the year, regardless of the academic level of the student when he/she entered the teacher's classroom in August/September. However, if we do not know where the student began, it is difficult to measure teacher impact on student learning. Measuring a student’s academic level when he/she enters the classroom allows for a comprehensive assessment of learning as the student progresses through the curriculum. Additionally, student growth analysis becomes possible. For these reasons, student growth is an integral component of student achievement goal setting. In this section, student achievement goal setting is explained and the following questions are answered: What is student achievement goal setting? What is the purpose of student achievement goal setting? What does research say about the process of student achievement goal setting? Under what conditions does student achievement goal setting work best? What are the advantages and disadvantages of student achievement goal setting? What Is Student Achievement Goal Setting? Student achievement goal setting is a process that begins with a pre-assessment to pinpoint students’ current performance level on skills or depth of content knowledge in relation to the curriculum they will be learning in the classroom during the length of the course. When the pre-assessment has been analyzed, the teacher has the information necessary to devise a learning goal that reflects mastery of the curriculum content and skills. Thus, the teacher uses the pre-assessment data to create a student achievement goal. Once the goal is created, instructional strategies are selected that will be most effective in helping students attain the goal. Then, upon implementation, these instructional strategies are implemented and monitored for effectiveness. They are refined or revised, as necessary, based upon student performance and progress. At the end of the course or year, a post-assessment is administered to ascertain whether the goal has been achieved. What Is the Purpose of Student Achievement Goal Setting?
student_achievement_goal_setting_guidebook.docx