Student Goal Setting

Last May my school's Algebra I teacher gave each of her students an index card with their first three quarter grades.  She guided them through calculating the fourth quarter and Regents score they would need to earn to reach their goal for the year.  I love the idea.  If calculating averages is part of your curriculum, this is a great way to give each student an individualized and relevant problem to solve. 

I worked on the same situation with my students, but it seemed too little too late.  I decided that I wanted to apply the same idea of goal setting with grades at the beginning of the year.  This way students can look at the each marking period as a check point and reflect on or adjust their goals throughout the year.  My hope is that this approach will help students measure their goals with grades. 

I put together a short worksheet that I am sharing here.  On the front students will declare their goal and explain the actions they will take to achieve their goal.  This is what I will do with my students during the first or second week of school, and I will collect all of the worksheets and keep them throughout the year.  On the back students will record their marking period grades and reflect on what they are doing well and what changes they need to make.  I also added a comments section for students to add any information they feel shaped their grade that is not covered by the reflection questions.

This worksheet is very much a work in progress and I appreciate any feedback.  Also, if you create your own version of this worksheet, tweet me @BusyMissBeebe.