WRITING S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

What are S.M.A.R.T. goals?

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time bound

In order to establish S.M.A.R.T. goals, you need to make them...

Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:

*Who:         Who is involved?

*What:        What do we want to accomplish?

*When:       When will we start? When will we finish?

*Where:      Where will this happen?

*Which:      Which requirements and constraints have we identified?

*Why:         Why are we doing this? List specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

Here is an example:  A general goal would be, “Lose weight.” A specific goal would read, “In order to lose 10 pounds I will limit calories to 1200 per day, join a health club and workout 3 days a week for one hour. I will record my weight once each week for three months.”

Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. Look at existing measures first: DIBELS, GRASP, Benchmark Tests, STAR, CRCT/EOCT, GKIDS, SLOs, etc. Measuring progress along the way makes it much more likely that you will attain your goal(s). Measuring as you go will allow teachers to have a sense of control and empowerment over tracking Student Growth Percentiles (SGP); SGP reports should not come as a surprise at the end of the year.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as…

How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable: Change happens slowly.  Set goals that are within reach.  Break the process down into manageable chunks. 

Realistic: To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you and your staff are willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; your data analysis will help you decide just how high your goal(s) should be. Your goal is probably realistic if you and your team truly believe that it can be accomplished. Establish goals and put them away for a week.  When you revisit them, ask yourself if every goal represents substantial progress.

Examining data will help you and your teachers establish a sense of urgency. This sense of urgency will make it easier for a high goal to be achieved.

Timely: A goal should be grounded within a time frame. If there is no time frame tied to the goal, there’s no sense of urgency. Look back at the example goal. If you want to lose 10 pounds, what is your target date? “Someday” won’t give you the incentive you need. But if you anchor it within a time frame, “by May 1st” or “by my sister’s wedding”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

As you and your teacher teams sit down to plan and schedule how you will attain your goals, step back and find those target dates in your school calendar: by the end of the first month, the first nine weeks, the first semester, before state testing.  Setting the time frame will help you plan for success.