When we are serious about changing or improving an outcome, setting goals is essential. Whether we are trying to lose weight, exercise more, or increase student achievement having a goal will improve your chance of following through because it will keep you accountable to your good intention. Good intentions are pretty common. Following through on those good intentions, however, takes focused intensity--especially if you are trying to do something difficult, or something that has rarely been done before (like close the achievement gap) or reform teacher preparation in our state.
Goal setting is now a conerstone of our current education reform movement. In the near future, every teacher and principal will need to set two measureable goals connected to student learning and growth every year, and those goals will be included in their evaluations. Since we are currently in the design phase of what shape these goals will take as a state, we have a great opportunity to make this required goal setting helpful as opposed to harmful. Both research and experience has clearly demonstrated that attaching individual teacher evaluations to student performance on large scale summative state tests is education malpractice. We will be avoiding making those mistakes as we design the future. We also know that setting meaningful stretch goals that staff work together to achieve can be extremely effective and motivating.
I am looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of the solution when it comes to goal setting. I believe we can get it right, and getting it right will make all of the difference for our students.
