Setting Goals 1

Increasing reading skills and scores through individual goals and action plans with students
Vicki J. Miller
Western State Colorado University












ABSTRACT
Observing students taking assessment after assessment without real focus or
understanding of the implications of their scores can be very frustrating for a teacher. Providing

Setting Goals 2
understanding, focus, and motivation for students is the responsibility of the classroom teacher in
order to get the highest results possible for each assessment.
After working with two struggling readers last year and helping them through setting
goals and observing success, the idea of goal setting with assessment scores was formed as the
research topic. The researcher wanted to work with a class of second graders and teach them
how to set goals and action plans. The students were very successful after choosing a reading
goal for themselves and working towards it for eight weeks. Pre and post testing were done to
determine how many words students could read in a minute and how many words they could use
to retell what they read. After research was completed students were interviewed to learn their
thoughts about goal setting and the process. Data was collected through surveys, test scores, and
interviews that provided positive outcomes concerning individual goal setting and planning.
Every participant reported back that the process was a good experience and that they
want to continue to set goals in their future. The research project was well thought out and
detailed in steps to prevent any forcible problems, which there were none. The students were
willing participants and worked very hard to reach their goals with seventeen out of the eighteen
students making improvements. The outcome from this research will be taking this small eight
week project and turning it into an all year long goal setting program for the researchers
classroom.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract
2

Setting Goals 3
Table of Contents
..3
Introduction
..5
Background
..6
Context for the study
.6
Rationale and purpose for the study
...7
Research questions and approach
..7
Assumptions and beliefs
....8
Literature Review
..9
Study Design
...15
Participants
.15
Setting
16

Setting Goals 4
Methods of data collection and analysis
...16
Findings
..17
Discussion
...22
Limitations
..22
Next Steps/Future Research
23
Conclusion
..23
Appendices
.24
Appendix A: HRC approval
...24
Appendix B: Administration approval
..25

Appendix C: Letter to parents
....26
Appendix D: Student assent form
....27

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Appendix E: Teacher survey
...28
Appendix F: Student survey beginning
.....29
Appendix G: Student survey end
.30
Appendix H: DIBELS test
..31
Appendix I: Interview questions for students
...32
Appendix J: Blank goal sheet for students
...33
Appendix K: Completed Check in student sheet
.34
Appendix: L: Reading chart for students
..35
Appendix M: Student reflection sheet
..36
References
..37





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INTRODUCTION
Reading lets us live a hundred lives, go on a hundred adventures, and feel a hundred
emotions.
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said that, Reading is the single
most important skill necessary for a happy, productive, and successful life (Hoss, 2014,
Importance of Reading Skills, para.1). We read to find out more about our world and to make
our lives better. Watching students develop their reading skills from barely putting two words
together to being able to read anything they want in the classroom is very exciting for a teacher.
The opposite is true when teachers observe readers struggle with little or no growth throughout
the school year. When students do not do their best or show little growth it is frustrating for both
teacher and student especially when testing for reading. If students struggle with reading than
they typically struggle in one form or another in other subjects in school since reading can be
found in every subject. Discovering tools or processes that will help all students make
improvements are sought out by all teachers. One of those tools that many teachers use in one
form or another are setting goals, especially for reading.
Reading skills include comprehension, vocabulary, decoding, and fluency. In order for
students to be successful and strong readers, proficiency is needed in all of the components of
reading. To understand where each student is with their reading skills assessments are used.
Teachers are required to give assessments throughout the school year for the purpose of gaining

Setting Goals 7
truthful and beneficial information. The importance or significance of these assessments and
their results can often be lost on students and therefore students should be taught the importance.
Teachers rely on pre and post assessments to design their lessons, they use this data to
differentiate lessons with students. A strong early foundation is very beneficial for students
after all, one in six students lacking reading proficiency by third grade fail to graduate from high
school on time, Hernandez (2011).
Teachers need to find ways to support all of their students in doing their best work each
day. Motivation is something that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior; it gets students
moving, points them in a particular direction, and keeps them going. (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, &
Paris, 2004; Maehr & Meyer, 2004; Reeve, 2006). All students are motivated differently so it is
important to use a tool that can be differentiated for each student, such as goal setting. Setting
goals can help give students purpose and ownership over their grades and their schooling
experience. When goals are created and attained that success builds confidence which may build
strong students. Creating goals at the beginning of the school year is ideal but anytime one is
willing to put in the time and work to improve themselves is a perfect time. Goals can help
students understand what is expected from them and what they can expect from themselves.

BACKGROUND
Context for the study
The action research project was done in a second grade classroom at Chappelow K-8 Arts
Magnet School located in Evans, Colorado, in the Greeley/Evans School District 6. The school
is 49% Caucasian, 47% Hispanic, with 46% free or reduced lunch, with 659 students in all. The
focus for this research project was understanding if setting goals would have a positive impact on
reading skills and scores. Working with two struggling readers who lacked confidence in their

Setting Goals 8
ability to read the year before, the researcher became aware of the power of goal setting. After
setting small goals and attaining success with the struggling readers their confidence began to
grow and their reading became stronger. Taking that experience to an entire class of all types of
readers and seeing if they could each make improvements was the desire of the researcher. The
participants of the study were eighteen second graders from January 31, 2014 until March 28,
2014. I borrowed this class since I am a substitute teacher this year, with the support of the
assistant principal and the classroom second grade teacher.
Rationale and purpose for the study
The purpose of the study was to learn if making specific goals with action plans would
help students improve their reading scores and skills. With the large amount of assessments
given throughout the year finding a tool like goal setting, could motivate students to do their best
work for each assessment. Teaching students to understand that better reading scores meant
better reading skills is important so that they can learn the purpose for assessments and how they
are beneficial for students. Goal setting can be a tool for all students no matter their scores,
goals focus on improvements and putting one's best work forward. Creating an action plan to go
along with setting a goal or goals will give students a clear vision on how to be successful with
the process of setting goals.
Research questions and approach
The research question was, how can creating individual goals and action plans with
students have a positive impact on their reading skills? Before beginning research an
understanding of where students are at with their reading skills was done by using students latest
scores from DIBELS testing. DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy
Skills, it is an early literacy assessment used at this school. The next step was to teach a lesson

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about what goals are and how to attain a goal, before individually conferencing with students to
create goals and plans. It was very important to help guide students into choosing a goal that
was challenging yet attainable at the same time. All of the students then signed a poster pledging
to do their best on their goals for the entire research time frame. Weekly check ins with
students by researcher helped remind them about their goals and it provided an opportunity to
make sure students were on track. Part of the goal process is being reflective and understanding
what works and what does not. During this time it is appropriate to make adjustments as needed.
Assumptions and beliefs
The assumptions and beliefs from this research were that success is will be reached if the
students are willing participants and do the work to attain their goals. If they do not want to
make changes or improvements then there will be none. Being successful with setting goals
comes from the individual, teachers can teach step by step on what to do but the student has to
put the plans into action. Creating motivation along with clear expectations and steps for the
process of goals are important for the entire eight weeks. Focusing students on goals reminding
them to work on their action plan every day is beneficial since this is a new process for students.
When goals are not completed it is often because they were not written down and that there was
not a plan to get to the finish line. The researcher wanted all of the participants to be successful
and followed the plans step by step with the students to ensure the goal setting process was a
successful positive experience for students.






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LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction
Teachers need to motivate each student to do their best work each day. One tool that can
be differentiated for each student is goal setting. A renowned education expert Mike Schmoker
puts it, a goal is a dream with a deadline (Schmoker, 2008). Studies show that creating
individual goals and action plans with students will have a positive impact on students learning.
By creating and attaining goals students can learn what is expected from them and what they can
expect from themselves. Goals should be specific to be effective; they should also be
meaningful to students in order to be successful. As students assume responsibility and
ownership for their education they can analyze their successes, reflect on their work, make
changes as needed, create goals, and execute a learning plan. As students begin creating goals it
is important to be guided so that the goals are challenging yet realistic (White, 2008).

Benefits of goals
Goal setting is the process for aiming at that end result. Self-regulated learners are more
likely to learn more, be successful in school and become lifelong learners compared to non-self-
regulated learners (The effects of self-talk and goal setting on self-regulation of learning a new
motor skill in physical education; Zimmerman, 2002). Many people have said that the
difference between a goal and a dream is that the goal was written down. In other words, a goal
is a behavior or outcome that a person is consciously trying to perform or obtain. When

Setting Goals 11
appropriate goals are set in place by students and teachers than the effectiveness of an education
program can be improved upon.
Goals are personal plans for achieving certain outcomes. The results can be very
beneficial when students have a part in deciding the goal they will feel an ownership with the
goal. Young students, or those new to goal setting, need to be taught first why goals can be
beneficial and how to create goals in order to obtain the optimal results. Knowing where they
are and where they should be at the end of the school year is very important information to begin
with. For students who are behind in their assessments one clear goal will be to increase their
scores. For students who are at or above where they should be, goals pertaining to other topics
besides scores can be addressed. Self set goals created by students and guided by teachers can be
the most effective goals. Goal setting has become an active eld of research in educational
psychology, in relation to both social cognitive theory and self regulation and achievement goal
theory ( Beyond smart; Zimmerman, 2008).
Goal setting is connected to self-motivational beliefs that include self-efficacy and self-
reflection processes such as satisfaction. Most of the time students who set goals pay greater
attention to their current task and report higher self satisfaction. (Kolovelonisa, Goudasa, and
Dermitzakib, 2012). Academic achievement can be accomplished in a variety of areas in the
classroom. Setting appropriate goals to direct students attention to completing tasks can
motivate them to a greater eort in performing that will help them in achieving their goals.
Teaching goals to students may lead to a number of benefits individually and as a whole class. It
is also reasonable that, once setting goals and attaining them is learned, students may in the
future be motivated to create more goals in their lives on their own both academically and
personally.


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Teaching goal setting
Setting a goal is not an innate skill, therefore it needs to be taught and modeled to
students (Hallenbeck, 2011). Teachers can be goal setting facilitators who assist students with
their individual needs as they first begin their journey of goal setting. In order to understand the
goal or goals to work towards, student data needs to be collected and evaluated. Understanding
where they are and where they need to be will be beneficial to students as they decide what an
appropriate goal is. Helping students to understand all of this will give them knowledge and
ownership of their own education. In an environment where teachers are just collecting data,
students are constantly being assessed without the knowledge of the importance of these tests.
Studies have shown that goal setting is a behavior elementary -age children can accomplish (
Murawski & Wilshinsky, 2005). Giving students some control over the outcome of their
learning will help them to act towards their desired result. Goal setting is a conscious behavior
and has to be purposefully regulated in order to be accomplished. If goals arent being
monitored or paid attention to they will be forgotten and possibly dismissed.
The outcomes of the goal must be important enough to focus the attention needed to seek
the end result. For success there needs to be goal commitment, planning, and motivation for the
outcome. Using the format of S.M.A.R.T. to teach goal setting is a very effective step by step
process. Be specific about what you want to achieve, include a measure using time, quality, or
quantity, be achievable within the time frame, be relevant to you, and include a time frame for its
achievement (MacLeod, 2012). To make goals more effective there are many factors that need
to be addressed. Some of them are rewards, realistic but challenging goals, and participation in
the goal setting process (Margolis &McCabe, 2004). Creating a specific goal will help students

Setting Goals 13
to be focused, and have a better chance of completion. To make a specific goal the following
questions must be answered: Who is participating, what is the desired outcome, where will this
be taking place, when will completion occur, which factors should be considered, and why is this
goal beneficial? An example of this would be become a better reader is a general goal, read
every day after school for thirty minutes and then journal, would be a specific goal. As
progress is tracked with an action plan for the goal the student is able to focus on steps and make
adjustments as needed. If a goal cannot be attained there is no reason to progress through the
goal setting process. If goals are important to students then they will work towards the
completion of them compared to a goal they have no interest in.

What keeps students motivated and focused on their goals?
The level of commitment might relate to the value or importance ascribed to the
goal related task. It stands to reason that if a goal is considered important, there is a greater
commitment to achieve it, implying a willingness to use greater task effort (Locke & Latham,
2006).
Introducing the practice of setting goals and expecting students to work on them daily on their
own is not a realistic plan for success. Motivation for students to reach their goal can be
accomplished in many ways. A daily to do list is a good visual reminder for students and can
help keep them organized. Making check marks on a checklist can give the feeling of
accomplishment which may lead to working harder. Regularly scheduled time to check in on
goals with someone and to evaluate how you are doing can also increase motivation or interest in
goals. Having a positive attitude can increase students academic performances as well as
competing with yourself to always try to do a little better. Rewards, big or small, alongside good
planning and realistic expectations are ways to increase motivation. Out of all the suggestions

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above, the reward systems works very well for many teachers. It can vary from simply a pat on
the back to a classroom celebration. The reward of setting and completing a goal is cause for a
celebration no matter how small. Agreeing on a classroom celebration before will encourage all
students to succeed (Hallenbeck & Fleming, 2011).
A motivating environment, or an effective learning environment, has instructors that
inspire, challenge, and focuses on the students. Some students are naturally driven while others
need much encouragement. Motivation is not a one size fits all process. Students are not all
motivated by the same desires, wants, needs or values. There are many ways to help motivate
students and focus them on their goals; for example, focusing on students existing needs and
learning their interest will assist teachers. Asking the class what motivates them can provide
helpful data to go forward. A few of their answers could be the teachers enthusiasm, material
that is relevant, variety and examples. To encourage students to become self-motivated
independent learners, instructors can do the following: Give frequent, early, positive feedback
that supports students' beliefs that they can do well. Ensure opportunities for students success by
assigning tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult. Help students find personal meaning
and value in the material. Create an atmosphere that is open and positive. Help students feel that
they are valued members of a learning community (Maxwell, 2008).
In order to help students be as successful as possible it is important for them to keep their
eye on the prize and remain motivated on their goal. Providing goal setting sessions with an
educator will allow the use all of the above and personalize it for each student. (Maxwell, 2008).

What are the results of attaining goals?
The results of attaining goals can be very positive for students in advancing their learning
and achieving academic success. An old Chinese proverb says, No wind is favorable if one

Setting Goals 15
does not know to which port one is sailing, the same applies to students who do not have a
standard by which
to check their progress. By establishing reachable goals and allowing them to measure their
progress against a specific target, students gain confidence and motivation to learn presented
concepts. Students can then perform better on both short -term and long -term assessments.
Sometimes specic, difficult goals do not lead to better performance than simply urging people
to do their best (New Directions in Goal Setting Theory; Seijts & Latham, 2001). Focusing on
reaching a specic performance outcome on a new task can lead to tunnel vision: focusing on
reaching the goal rather than acquiring the skills required to reach it. Learning goal setting
principles while in school will help prepare students for their future. In the real world, outside
of the schools, successful people are engaged in planning, identifying specific goals and creating
plans to work towards them.
A critical component in achieving goals is the formative assessment. Students setting
goals must have information as to the extent to which goals (e.g., learning) are being achieved
(Theall, 2012). Understanding what has been accomplished in any part of the goal setting
process, justifies the rationale for the goal and helps students to realize what learning took place.
Assessing the value of goals can also be found by analyzing when goals were completed, work
reviewed during goal time, and comparison to work when there were no goals in place. Using a
variety of assessments found in the classroom will be a good indicator of the value of goal
setting. Taking the time to hear and possibly collect feedback from teachers and students after
the completion of goals will help when moving forward to create new goals. Understanding
what has worked and what has not worked will help teachers to guide their students so they will
be able to have the optimal results.


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Conclusion
In conclusion, merely thinking about doing better is not enough, nor is having only a
goal. If learning were a journey, the goal would simply be the destination. In order to achieve
goals, teachers and students must take a systematic approach. Introducing and modeling how
to set, plan and attain goals with success will make it easier to work towards and complete
bigger goals. Understanding where we are, where we need to be, and where we can be is
something everyone needs to know in order to have ownership of their education. Instructional
goals narrow what students need to focus on. Goal setting for student achievement is closely
linked to mastery learning practices. Learning to set goals is a skill that will benefit a student for
a lifetime. Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a
character; sow a character, reap a destiny. (Covey, 1989)


STUDY DESIGN

Participants
In November 2013 permission was received to work with a second grade class from the
assistant principal at Chappelow K-8 Arts Magnet School in Evans, Colorado. A teacher who
has taught for twenty-six years was asked to assist with the project and agreed to do all she could
to assist researcher, along with many others from the school. The next group of participants for
the study was a variety of teachers from the school district who filled out a teacher survey about
setting goals in the classroom. The last and most important participants were the eighteen

Setting Goals 17
second grade students that welcomed the researcher into their room. In order to work with these
students a parental consent form introducing the research and the researcher were sent home and
required a signature to participate. Out of the twenty students eighteen were returned and willing
to participate. The students expressed excitement and a positive attitude about participating in
the goal process.
Setting
My action research project was completed in a 2
nd
grade class at Chappelow K-8 Arts
Magnet School in Evans, which is in Northern Colorado. The second grade teacher provides a
high energy classroom filled with excitement and love for students and teaching. All of my
research was conducted at the school either in the classroom or in a small office area outside the
classroom. Once a week visits were spent checking on students progress after a small lesson on
goals or steps in their action plans. Making sure students were on track with their action plans
and encouraged to keep working hard was an important step for the researcher.
Methods of data collection and analysis
The data that was collected by the researcher were surveys from both teachers and
students, student interview answers, and assessment scores. At the end of the eight weeks
students were given another DIBELS test to see if there was growth in words read in a minute
and in retelling the story that was read. This point the researcher also conferenced with them to
hear their reflections of the process. This data was collected carefully and kept secure at all
times. The data was reviewed and analyzed by researcher and discussed with other teachers.
Using three generic questions to analyze the data assisted in understanding the project. The
questions were, what did we do, what changes occurred, and what were the relationships
between action taken and performance? (Sagor, 2011)


Setting Goals 18

FINDINGS
The study began with eighteen very smart 2nd graders who tested very well for the most
part on their reading assessments. The research did not focus on getting all students to reach a
certain score but rather for each student to improve on their current score. At the beginning
survey students were asked who wanted to be a stronger reader. Twelve strongly agreed and six
agreed. By the end of my research it changed to seventeen strongly agreed and one agreed. This
information by itself could look like students were weak in their reading and wanted to improve,
but combining this question with the other data I have from students it shows me that they have
the mindset or a good foundation for goal setting.



Many teachers have every single minute of their day scheduled with very little flexibility.
Providing individual reading time or time in text is very beneficial for students but not much

Setting Goals 19
time is provided during the day. The chart below shows that these second graders have forty
minutes each school day to read individually, broken up into two twenty minute sessions. The
rest of the time which is four hundred and five minutes is spent on all of the other subjects
teachers have to teach plus forty minutes of lunch and recess. Looking at the little time spent
reading each day it is important to encourage students to read on their own outside of school.
Every second grader had reading outside of school on their action plans.




Out of the eighteen students seventeen of them met and surpassed their goals. The one
that did not reach her goal tested the exact same score both times. Her score was already thirty
more words more than it needs to be at the end of second grade.



Setting Goals 20









At the end of second grade students should be able to read 87 words in a minute. Many
of the goals from students for the eight weeks were to increase their score by reading ten more
words in a minute than their current score was. Before the research was started ten of the
eighteen students had already passed the 87 words per minute reading which was only halfway
through second grade. This is a class of high readers that took their goals serious and wanted to
increase their words read in a minute by as many words as they could, they wanted to improve
themselves.

Setting Goals 21








Understanding that reading growth will happen just by being in school each day the
researcher looked at another second grade class that did not participate in the goal process to
compare the difference. Both classes were very similar throughout the year until the end. The
class with the goals read an average of ten more words in a minute. The students that
participated were very pleased with the results as well as the classroom teacher and the
researcher.



Setting Goals 22







DISCUSSION
The first and biggest implication received from the data is that goal setting works very
well if done with careful planning and action plans. Students who are willing to do the work and
to follow the process from beginning to end along with ownership of their goal will be
successful. As a teacher it is important to guide students through a new process but giving them
power or choices will help personalize it for them and encourage them to work harder. The
action plan or steps for reaching the goal needs to be specific and easy to follow and agreed upon
by the students. Feedback from the student reflections credited the reminders about their goal as

Setting Goals 23
the biggest aide to their success. Students enjoyed the process and said they would like to do it
again. They were challenged to do school and personal goals in the future by researcher. After
this experience the researcher will use the process of goal setting with students in the future
throughout the entire school year.

LIMITATIONS
While observing an entire class for an entire school year would be ideal for optimal goal
setting data, working with eighteen students for eight weeks provided a lot of information.
While observing the scores from the DIBELS assessment gave a quick and easy understanding if
students reached their goals, the biggest insights came from the student reflections or teacher
student interviews. During research there were not any limitations that intruded with acquiring
data. Help was offered by staff, students were eager to work, it was an ideal situation for
conducting a research project. In order to learn more about how to help students with setting and
attaining goals the researcher plans on implementing a goal process with her students for an
entire school year.

NEXT STEPS/FUTURE RESEARCH
This summer the researcher will create a simple but detailed goal setting program for her
classroom this fall. Goal folders that are clear and concise will be used for students to keep track
of their goals and will be used to record their assessment scores. Creating goals at the beginning
of the year for each subject along with personal goals that would be beneficial to the classroom
will be referred to often with visual reminders around classroom. Goals for each subject will be
aligned with the schools assessments. I will keep detailed notes about the pros and cons I
observe during the year regarding students and goals. I will make adjustments or improvements

Setting Goals 24
for the following years. I believe setting clear expectations will provide a positive road for
students to follow. As a teacher it is my responsibility to pull the best out of each student each
day they are in the classroom. I will share my experiences with my peers in regards to goal
setting in the classroom to all who will listen. I will also ask others for their experiences with
goals and learn from them what they observed worked and what did not work.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this research project was to explore or learn more about goal setting with
students. At the end of this research project I learned a lot about the positive impact goals can be
with test scores and also with students. Providing motivation and ways to focus on goals was
very helpful to students. The process of learning about goals, creating a goal and action plan,
and attaining a goal, gave students confidence and excitement for creating their next goal.
Using goal setting in the classroom will be with me every year I teach. I will continue to teach
students about goals and set an example by continuing to set goals for myself.


APPENDICES
Appendix A

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Setting Goals 26
Appendix B

Appendix C

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Appendix D


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Appendix E

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Appendix F

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Appendix G

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Appendix H

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Appendix I

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Appendix J

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Appendix K

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Appendix L

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Appendix M


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