goals assignment high school

5 Strategies For Setting SMART Goals In The Classroom

By setting SMART goals, students and teachers can determine action steps to help them achieve their goals.

Using Goal Setting and Data Tracking to Enhance Student Agency and Achievement

contributed by Samantha Lopez

As educators, we are often referred to as ‘data-driven decision-makers.’

Even in an upper elementary classroom, students can access their grades and keep track of their assignments. Instead of only using data, how can educators show students how to use their own data to make their own decisions about their learning?

The Need for Student Agency

Student agency is students taking ownership of their learning. Often, students from  low socioeconomic backgrounds are held to low expectations as an attempt to show compassion from their teachers, minimizing student agency and motivation. Having low expectations of students regardless of their ability allows students to be satisfied with the current performance rather than continuing to strive for growth and improvement.

Williams et al. (2019) discusses students’ lack of effort if they think failure or low performance is likely. Teachers can encourage student agency and avoid stagnation by holding students to high expectations through goal setting and data tracking to account for progress towards the desired goals. This, in turn, increases achievement and student motivation. 

Goal-Setting to Increase Student Achievement

Goal setting gives students a clear idea of where they are headed and what they are working towards in the classroom. Teaching students how to make specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely (SMART) goals aids them in focusing their efforts towards improvement and increased achievement. By setting SMART goals, students can determine action steps to help them achieve their goals.

Goals are not limited to academics and can be applied to other areas of students’ lives to get them to commit to goal setting. Within the classroom, goals can be related to getting certain grades, mastering a concept, or learning a new skill. Teachers should provide examples of SMART goals to guide students in their goal-setting. Students can set short-term or long-term goals to provide a clear path towards accomplishment and improvement.

Benefits of Data Tracking for Students 

With students in poverty, learned helplessness occurs when students believe they have no control over situations (Jensen, 2009). Learned helplessness is significant because it allows students to remain unmotivated if they realize they cannot change their situation (Jensen, 2009). Using data-tracking and engagement in data-chats allows students to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses and create attainable steps to reach their goals, combating learned helplessness. It also provides students with evidence of their progress, making them more motivated and resilient when faced with academic challenges.

• Direct Instruction for Goal-Setting

Teach students how to make SMART goals and provide examples of attainable goals relevant to their decided purpose of learning. In my classroom, I used a SMART graphic organizer I had created. I asked the students to write what each letter in the acronym stood for. Then, I helped the students create a question for each letter. 

• For S, the students wrote ‘specific’ and asked, “What do I want to do?” For example, in my reading class, many goals focus on improving spelling, reading comprehension, or vocabulary. 
• For M, the students wrote ‘measureable’ and wrote the question, “How can I measure if I accomplished my goal?”. An example is “scoring at least an 80% on 4 out of 7 vocabulary tests.” 
• For A, the students wrote ‘attainable’ and asked, “Am I able to reach my goal?” I explained to students that they would have to review their goal and decide if it was attainable or achievable. I gave the example of setting a goal to become an Olympic swimmer if I don’t know how to swim when I am 80.
• For R, the students wrote ‘relevant’ and wrote the question, “Does my goal have to do with this class?” While students can set many goals, I wanted them to keep it on topic. I only teach reading, so I explained that if they set an athletic or math goal, their goal was irrelevant to my class.
• For T, the students wrote ‘time-bound, and wrote the question, “How long do I have to achieve my goal?”. I had students write examples of time-bound, such as “by the end of the quarter” compared to “by the end of the school year.”

After completing the graphic organizer, I model the creation of a SMART goal. Then, with the help of my students, I create an example. Since I am in an elementary classroom, I provide a list of ideas for students to choose from to curate their own goals.

An Examples Of Goal Setting For Teachers And Students

One example we created is “I want to improve my vocabulary (S) by studying daily to score a 90% on the first 5 vocabulary tests (M) by the end of quarter one (T). ” Following the creation of the goal, I encouraged the students to ask themselves if they will be able to reach this goal and if it is relevant to reading class. At the very bottom of the graphic organizer, I created a spot for students to brainstorm how to achieve their goals. Some suggestions included meeting with the teacher, studying daily, planning, reading more books, asking questions, using anchor charts, and taking notes to review at home.

• Usage of Data Tracking Folder or Binder

A folder or binder for data tracking allows students to compile their data collection throughout the school year. Students will have one place to refer to their data for reflection and can easily track their progress. My data tracking folder has a spot for students to draw a bar graph based on their state or standardized test scores.

Additionally, it has a data tracking sheet for classwork, quizzes, and tests where students can write in the name of the assignment, the date, the score they received, and color the score on a bar graph. It also has any data chat sheets completed with the teacher or peers.

• Provide Feedback through Data Chats

Teachers should collaborate with students to identify areas of strength and weakness and determine action steps to achieve goals. Teachers need to provide positive, intentional, and constructive feedback to aid students in accomplishing their goals.

Some examples of areas of strength or weakness include vocabulary, literary reading comprehension, informational reading comprehension, phonics, or spelling. Teachers should help students think of ways to improve their weaknesses. After modeling for students, teachers should encourage students to collaborate with their peers, who can serve as an alternative opinion. 

• Opportunities for Reflection

With their work in one place, students can use their past and present data collection points to reflect on what is working and not working for them with their learning. Students will become more self-aware of what they need to be successful in the classroom. Teachers should provide students with opportunities to think about their performance like with a data chat. Teachers can also create writing prompts asking students what is working for them with their learning, what else they would need to be successful in the classroom, and what changes should be made.

• Celebrate Progress and Milestones

Positive reinforcement through celebrating accomplishments increases student motivation, fights learned helplessness and pushes students to continue working towards new goals. It helps students feel seen and recognize that their hard work is paying off. For my classes, I’ve done a prize box, popsicle parties, and pizza parties. 

Teachers can aid students in increasing their achievement within the classroom by showing them how to create long-term or short-term goals. Students can become active participants in their learning through goal-setting and data tracking.

Goal setting and data tracking encourage student persistence and adaptation when challenges arise, enhance student agency, increase student achievement, and increase student motivation by giving tangible evidence of progress in the classroom. These strategies empower students to decide how to progress their education and increase their self-awareness of how they learn best.

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and 

What Schools Can Do About It . ASCD. 132-133.

Williams, Greenleaf, A. T., Barnes, E. F., & Scott, T. R. (2019). High-achieving, low-income 

Students’ Perspectives of How Schools Can Promote the Academic Achievement of Students Living in Poverty. Improving Schools , 22 (3), 224–236. 

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Everything you need to know about goal setting for students

Fusion sessions are often packed as educators from large and small, urban and rural districts learn about goal setting. Below you’ll find some important goal setting questions that come up every year, along with the answers.

What is goal setting for students?

Goal setting is a set of practices for helping individual students understand their academic performance, identify concrete goals for future performance, and collaborate with their teacher on the behaviors and practices that will get them there.

Why is goal setting for students so important?

There are many benefits to both the process and the outcomes of goal setting. Here are a few of the most important ones:

• Students get motivated . Research shows that goal setting is implicit. As soon as a task is introduced, students are already planning on how much effort they are going to put in. Setting goals helps students stay motivated and engaged by giving them clear targets to aim for. 
• Students take ownership . When students set their own goals, they own their goals and their learning. This sense of control and autonomy has many benefits, including increased self-confidence.
• Students continuously improve through formative assessment . Goal setting works hand-in-hand with formative assessment. Teachers can use goals to guide their instructional strategies and provide targeted feedback, helping students continuously improve.
• Students see their own growth . Goals provide a framework for measuring progress. By setting and achieving goals, students can see their growth over time, which reinforces their learning and development.

What are effective student goal setting strategies?

In what is surely going to be welcome news to busy teachers, the goal-setting process doesn’t require following strict rules. Effective strategies generally share five key ideas :

• Center student choice. Students should feel like they are in charge of what and how they learn. Centering their choices provides the opportunities for self-reflection and agency that are critical for empowering learners. This is an important idea to incorporate as you’re working with your students on goals. 
• Start early. Students can begin setting individual behavioral or academic goals as early as kindergarten! Getting this early start helps students get used to the process. It’s equally important to set goals as early as you can every school year.
• Do it often . Individual goals should be short-term, spanning around four to six weeks. Regular weekly check-ins with students are great for evaluating progress, making adjustments, encouraging students, and helping kids stay focused if they are feeling discouraged.
• Make it visual . Effective goal-setting techniques involve tools like anchor charts,  data walls ,  personalized learning plans ,  data notebooks , and other student-accessible resources. These ask students to directly identify their goal, describe the steps they should take to get there, and ultimately provide evidence their goal has been reached.
• Create personal relevance. The best goal-setting processes begin during conversations with students about what matters to them. Teachers can use students’ personal aspirations, areas of interest, or experiences as departure points for talking about why setting a goal matters.

What’s the role of assessment data in goal setting for students?

Assessment data plays a crucial role in goal setting. Accurate assessment data provides the insights that establish where a student is in their learning. It also helps you tailor educational strategies to the student’s individual needs.

How can I set effective goals using MAP Growth data?

Goal setting is an area where MAP® Growth™ really shines, primarily because the growth norms are created from the world’s largest pool of student data. Here’s a quick example of what goal setting with MAP Growth can look like.

Step 1: Analyze your assessment data

Start here! Always get underway by assessing what a student already knows. This is the departure point for helping students make their own next steps and connect with their own growth.

Step 2: Have a conversation

The most important part of goal setting is ensuring students set goals that are meaningful and realistic for them. If goals are created and simply given to a student, the student won’t be invested in the goal. It’s also crucial that the goal centers on the relevant learning that needs to occur, not just on the increase of a number, like a RIT score . The MAP Growth Student Profile report is a great starting point for this conversation.

Here are some recommendations on how to talk things over with a student:

• Talk with your student about how they felt when they took the assessment. What did they feel comfortable with? What was challenging? For example, they might say that they felt pretty good about questions related to whole numbers and basic operations but weren’t as sure about the fraction questions.
• Look at the goal section of the report with your student. What would be average growth for similar students? Depending on your student’s current achievement percentile, meeting the average growth might be adequate. If they are at the 85 th percentile, meeting the growth projection would keep them at roughly that achievement level. If they are below the 50 th percentile, above average growth might be needed. A reasonable growth percentile would be at the 60 th percentile of growth. This gives a goal for the next MAP Growth assessment, and you’ll need a plan to reach this goal. Focus on the Instructional Areas section of the Student Profile report to determine specifically what learning would help you reach the goal.
• Look at the learning statements. These will provide an idea of the types of questions your student will be able to answer correctly about half the time, or those in their zone of proximal development . Talk with your student about how this data relates to how they feel about their learning and determine a concept and skills that they would like to focus as you’re going through your next unit.
• Have your student write the goal. Having students write their own goals gives them a sense of ownership. After that, they can determine the steps they can take to meet them, and you can identify how you can support them. It’s also helpful to think about what might get in the way of reaching a goal as well as what can be done to overcome barriers.

What should I do between MAP Growth testing events?

Your students will take MAP Growth three times a year: in the fall, winter, and spring. Between those testing events, it’s helpful to track progress with formative assessment. One of the greatest benefits of formative assessment is that it can help you identify progress toward a goal and course correct if necessary. Just remember: formative assessment should never be used for grading .

You can also strengthen the school-to-home connection by sharing student goals with the student’s family and caregivers with the Family report . Feel free to also share the Family Toolkit , which is loaded with helpful resources.

Finally, be sure to celebrate accomplishments along the way. Encouraging students to be proud of what they’ve achieved can help them stay the course and feel excited and confident about their learning.

Thinking ahead

Goal setting for students, like everything else, is about preparing the young people in your class for the future. It’s such an amazing, effective best practice for them today and a practical skill they can use once they have finished school and are out changing the world. By starting with students early, you’re giving them an essential tool to use right now and a great head start in life.

For more ideas on how to tackle goal setting in your classroom, read more here in Teach. Learn. Grow. and watch the video below.

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Subroto Cup

Subroto Cup 2024 Junior Boys Category (U17): Goals galore on day one

(Courtesy :  Subroto Cup media )

Northeastern sides inflicted heavy defeats on their opponents on the first matchday.

Schools from the Northeast scored goals in plenty to start Day One of the 63rd  Subroto Cup Junior Boys International Football Tournament on a high which was played in various venues of New Delhi and NCR.

Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School, Meghalaya scored 23 goals past St. Francis Xavier High School, Daman & Diu, and Dadra Nagar Haveli for the highest victory of the day. Numaligarh Higher Secondary School, Assam started off the high-scoring day with a 6-1 victory against Sainik School, Arunachal Pradesh in the opening match of the tournament.

A total of 110 goals were scored on the day in the 16 Subroto Cup matches held at Ambedkar Stadium, Tejas Football Ground, G.D Goenka World School, and KIIT Global School. Despite the goal fest, the match between Mamta Modern School, New Delhi, and Tripura Sports School ended in a goalless draw.

RMSA High School, Mizoram scored 11 while T.G English School, Bishnupur, Manipur scored seven goals. In other high-scoring matches, Amenity Public School, Uttarakhand won 15-0 against Air Force School, Gorakhpur while Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan beat Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Hansiadih, Jharkhand 11-1.

Day Two of the Subroto Cup 2024 Junior Boys Category(U17) will also see 16 matches played at all four venues in Delhi and NCR.

SUBROTO CUP RESULTS

Numaligarh Higher Secondary School, Assam bt Sainik School, East Siang, Arunachal Pradesh – 6-1

Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun, Uttarakhand bt Singapore International School, Mumbai – 7-0

RMSA High School, Mizoram bt C.N Vidyalaya, Gujarat – 11-0

Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan bt JNV Hansiadih Jharkhand – 11-1

T.G English School, Bishnupur, Manipur bt Indore Public School, Madhya Pradesh – 7-0

Chowbaga High School, West Bengal bt Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya, Bhaktapur, Nepal – 2-1

Amenity Public School, Uttarakhand bt The Air Force School, Gorakhpur – 15-0

Guru Govind Singh Sports College, Uttar Pradesh bt Government Senior Secondary School, Sikkim – 2-1

Farook Higher Secondary School, Kerala bt Ramkrishna Mission Vivekanand, Chhattisgarh – 2-1

Modern School, Barakhamba, New Delhi bt The Army Public School, New Delhi – 5-0

Govt. Model Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh bt Kejariwal +2 Higher Secondary Vidyalaya, Bihar – 2-1

Myngken Christian HSS, Meghalaya bt St. Francis Xavier High School, D&D & DNH – 23 -0

Govt. Secondary School, Arunachal Pradesh bt BSC +2 High School, Jharkhand – 2-0

Father Agnel Multipurpose High School, Goa bt Mahatma Gandhi SSS, Lakshadweep – 4-0

Lord Krishna Senior Secondary School, Haryana bt Krida Prabodhini, Maharashtra – 3-2

Mamta Modern School, New Delhi drew Tripura Sports School – 0-0

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APA Style for beginners

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Blue jays look to build on recent success.

Submitted photo / Robert Senn Studio The 2024 Jackson-Milton football team.

NORTH JACKSON — With playoff appearances in three of the last four years, Jackson-Milton is looking to use the last few seasons as a foundation to build on going forward.

The goal is improvement every day, and so far, improvement has shown each and every day at camp.

“We’ve improved since early June, and our guys are coming along,” Blue Jays coach Nathan Brode said. “They’re working hard, and for the majority of them, they’re coming to practice and are being coached up and being coachable, and we’re happy with the guys that we have.”

Brode is entering his eighth season with the program, sitting at a 33-34 career record in the regular season.

While lacking in depth with numbers sitting under 30, the players the Blue Jays have are solid.

“Every group is unique,” Brode said. “They all have their strengths and weaknesses and their leaders. The leaders are vocal. Their leaders lead by example. We got a mix of everything. We’ve got really good athletes, we’ve got athletes that are super smart. We’ve got athletes that can apply concepts to different situations that maybe we haven’t taught specifically. We don’t have a lot of depth, but the guys that we have, they’re going to be ready to go, and we’re excited for them.”

‘I think we’ve overcome a lot of adversity, we’re going to continue to do that as a coaching staff and get these guys ready to go. We have to. That’s our only option.'”

With that lack of depth, the Blue Jays require a level of “lock-in” that other teams may not need.

It all comes down to being dependable.

“Our guys have to be dependable and reliable. That’s a big thing with me,” Brode said. “And discipline is a big thing with this group. Are they coming to practice? Are they depending on one another to know their assignments, their blocking schemes, their route running? Did they take the ownership to study their plays prior to attending practice? Are they all could see time at offensive line.

“He’s playing really well. We like his upside,” Brode said of Matulek. “He’s a pretty athletic kid, and he can move, so we’re excited about him as a freshman. We’re kind of letting these guys battle it out now, and competition will bring out the best in these guys.”

Those same offensive linemen will be in the mix at defensive line, as well as Raiden Rossi, who will likely start somewhere on the defense.

Another guy in the mix to play multiple spots is sophomore Nick Bulow, playing his first year of football.

“(Rossi) is converting to the offensive line a little bit and can play some tackle, potentially for us. He’s also playing a little bit of linebacker,” Brode said. “We have a new sophomore in Nick Bulow coming out for football for the first time at Jackson-Milton, and we see a lot of upside in him as well. He’s a tight end, linebacker, defensive line kind of guy, so getting him on the field would be great if he can earn that spot. There’s a couple different names there that may spell some guys on defense.”

At linebacker, Fay is taking the anchor role on defense. Rossi, and Bulow may sub in at linebacker as well.

Osborne, White and Greco will all be in the mix there.

Hines is expected to take one of the starting cornerback jobs with Sipes at the other spot.

McDevitt will line up at safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker and punter are still up in the air for Jackson-Milton, but any number of the skill guys could line up to return kicks and punts for the Blue Jays this year.

Jackson-Milton opens the season with Mathews on Aug. 22.

Week 2’s matchup against Newton Falls will be the team’s home-opener at the new facility at the school.

“Our guys are excited about playing in a different location,” Brode said. “I think that’s important a little bit. They’re the first class to play at this location, at their school, and I think they want to make sure they leave it on a positive note. When they’re out, when these seniors graduate, (they want it to be remembered) that they were the first class (to play here) and they had a successful year. I think that’s going to be important for them as well to leave that mark. ‘We were the first ones here, and we had a pretty good season,’ (is the mindset).”

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THURSDAY’S EVENT

HIGH SCHOOLS

NONCONFERENCE

Ag. Science vs. Corliss co-op at Gately Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY’S EVENTS

Jacobs at Hampshire, 7 p.m.

Addison Trail at North Chicago, 7 p.m.

SOUTHWEST VALLEY RED

Andrew at Lincoln-Way West, 7 p.m.

Antioch at Zion-Benton, 7:30 p.m.

Aurora Central Catholic at Christ the King, 7 p.m.

Bartlett at Lake Park, 7:30 p.m.

Bloom at Argo, 6 p.m.

Bremen at Grayslake Central, 7 p.m.

Brooks at Shepard, 6 p.m.

Burlington Central at Dundee-Crown, 7 p.m.

Crane at Aurora Christian, 7 p.m.

Crete-Monee at St. Charles North, 7:30 p.m.

Dwight-Gardner-South Wilmington co-op at St. Edward, 7 p.m.

East Aurora at Glenbard South, 7 p.m.

Eisenhower vs. Johnson at Gately Stadium, 7 p.m.

Elgin at Grayslake North, 7 p.m.

Elmwood Park at Chicago Christian, 7:15 p.m.

Foreman at De La Salle, 6:30 p.m.

Glenbrook North at Grant, 7 p.m.

Hansberry at T.F. North, 6 p.m.

Highland Park at Deerfield, 7 p.m.

Hillcrest at Montini, 7:30 p.m.

Joliet Catholic at Oswego, 7 p.m.

Lake Forest at Carmel, 7:30 p.m.

Lake Zurich at Glenbrook South, 7 p.m.

Lane at T.F. South, 6 p.m.

Lemont at Geneva, 7 p.m.

Libertyville at Richards, 7 p.m.

Lincoln-Way Central at Providence, 7 p.m.

Maine West at Waukegan, 7 p.m.

Manteno at Plano, 7:30 p.m.

Marist at Brother Rice, 7 p.m.

Moline vs. Benet at Benedictine, 7:30 p.m.

Morgan Park at Oak Park-River Forest, 7:30 p.m.

Mount Carmel at St. Rita, 7:30 p.m.

Mundelein at Johnsburg, 7:30 p.m.

Naperville Central vs. Naperville North at North Central College, 7 p.m.

Neuqua Valley at Minooka, 7 p.m.

Noble at Marmion, 7:30 p.m.

Oak Forest at Sandburg, 7 p.m.

Oswego East at Sycamore, 7 p.m.

Phillips vs. Rich Township at Rich South, 6 p.m.

Plainfield Central at Metea Valley, 7 p.m.

Plainfield East at Waubonsie Valley, 7 p.m.

Romeoville at Tinley Park, 7 p.m.

Round Lake at Maine East, 7 p.m.

South Elgin at Batavia, 7 p.m.

St. Charles East at Wheaton Academy, 7 p.m.

St. Laurence at Evanston, 7:30 p.m.

St. Patrick at Larkin, 7 p.m.

Stagg at Oak Lawn, 7 p.m.

Streamwood at Fenton, 7 p.m.

Taft at Stevenson, 7 p.m.

Thornton at Reavis, 7 p.m.

Thornwood at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7 p.m.

Vernon Hills at Lakes, 7 p.m.

Warren at Maine South, 7:30 p.m.

Wauconda at Kaneland, 7 p.m.

West Aurora at Glenbard East, 7 p.m.

Wheaton North at Lockport, 6 p.m.

Wilmington at Sandwich, 7:30 p.m.

Yorkville at New Trier, 7 p.m.

LOCAL COLLEGES

Aurora University at Dubuque (Iowa), 6 p.m.

Madonna (Mich.) vs. Judson at Streamwood, 1 p.m.

SATURDAY’S EVENTS

DuSable vs. Thornridge at Blue Island Memorial Park, 1 p.m.

Evergreen Park vs. Longwood at Stagg Stadium, 12:30 p.m.

Homewood-Flossmoor at Marian Catholic, 12:30 p.m.

Leo vs. Amundsen at Winnemac Stadium, 12:30 p.m.

EAST ST. LOUIS CLASSIC

Lincoln-Way East vs. St. Francis (Fla.), 2 p.m.

St. Francis at Waldorf (Iowa), 1 p.m.

St. Xavier at St. Lawrence (Mich.), noon.

Wisconsin Lutheran at Lake Forest College, 1 p.m.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Ag. Science 26, Mather 21

Benet 35, Hillcrest 13

Benet (1-0):  Joe Rocchi TD reception.

Hillcrest (0-1):  Gary Bradley 69-yard TD pass to Jacob Johnson. Erimus Wright 2-yard TD run.

Bloom 40, Gage Park 0

Batavia 35, Glenbard West 28

Batavia (1-0): Nathan Whitwell 3 TD runs (52, 3, 24 yards).

Marist 29, Morgan Park 16

BOYS SOCCER

Brother Rice 2, Cristo Rey 1

Huntley 1, South Elgin 0

Kaneland 1, Hoffman Estates 0

Naperville Central 2, Oswego 2

Naperville North 2, Morton 0

Naperville North (2-0):  Noah Radeke 2 goals.

Oak Lawn 9, Rich Township 0

Plainfield Central 2, Batavia 1

Stevenson 4, Vernon Hills 0

ADDISON TRAIL JOE NOVY TOURNAMENT

Geneva 1, Fenton 1

Geneva (1-0-1):  Caleb Kelly goal.

BARRINGTON TOURNAMENT

Lake Zurich 2, Streamwood 1

Lake Zurich (1-0-1):  Jacob Chilinski goal. Julian Rivera goal.

Streamwood (1-1):  Andy Benitez goal.

BRADLEY-BOURBONNAIS TOURNAMENT

Beecher 6, Rock Island 2

Romeoville 5, Beecher 2

DEKALB BARB FEST CUP

Yorkville 6, DeKalb 1

GRAYSLAKE NORTH KNIGHT INVITATIONAL

Grayslake North 3, Prairie Ridge 1

Grayslake North (2-1):  Javy Villegas goal.

Warren 2, Harvard 1

Warren (2-1):  Christian Albarra 2 goals.

HAMPSHIRE TOURNAMENT

Hampshire 1, Bolingbrook 1

LAKE FOREST NORTH SHORE SHOOTOUT

Championship Semifinals

Lake Forest 4, Lakes 0

Lake Forest (2-0):  Theo Jamboretz goal. Ryan Knight goal.

Glenbrook South 4, Lake Forest Academy 1

Consolation Semifinals

Highland Park 6, Carmel 3

Zion-Benton 4, Dundee-Crown 3 (SO)

NORTHSIDE COLLEGE SHOWCASE

Grayslake Central 2, New Trier 0

Grayslake Central (2-0):  Defeated reigning Class 3A state champion.

Libertyville 3, Loyola 1

Buffalo Grove 1, Waukegan 0

Lyons 6, Round Lake 1

PEORIA CHRISTIAN TOURNAMENT

Galesburg 3, Chicago Christian 0

Peoria Christian 4, Chicago Christian 1

Chicago Christian (2-2):  Aaron Verver goal.

REAVIS WINDY CITY RAM CLASSIC

(In bracket order)

Championship Quarterfinals 

Lemont 4, De La Salle 3 (SO)

Marist 1, T.F. United 0

Marist (3-0):  Tommy Doherty goal.

Andrew 1, Downers Grove North 0

Andrew (3-0):  Victor Martinez goal.

Lincoln-Way East 2, Lockport 0

Lincoln-Way East (3-0):  Kamden Williams 2 goals.

Consolation Quarterfinals

Lincoln-Way Central 2, Reavis 1 (OT)

Lincoln-Way Central (2-1):  Akshay Patel GW goal.

Lincoln-Way West 4, Hancock 1

Lincoln-Way West (2-1):  Danny Maeder 2 goals, assist.

Solorio 4, Homewood-Flossmoor 3

Riverside-Brookfield 4, Shepard 3

Ninth-Place Bracket

Sandburg 1, Kankakee 0

Oak Forest 2, Hinsdale South 1

Marian Catholic 3, St. Laurence 2

Joliet West 1, Bremen 0

Fire Bracket

Mount Carmel 7, Garcia 0

Bloom 3, Mansueto 0

ST. CHARLES INVITATIONAL

Marmion 2, St. Charles East 0

Marmion (1-1):  Giovanni Magana 2 goals.

Metea Valley 3, West Chicago 2 (SO)

Metea (2-0):  Carlos Sanchez goal in regulation. Jake Anagyros goal in regulation.

Hersey 1, St. Charles North 0 (SO)

SOMONAUK BREAKOUT SHOOTOUT

Plano 3, Reed-Custer 1

Coal City 3, Plano 2

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

CHICAGO CHRISTIAN KNIGHT INVITATIONAL

Bishop Noll (Ind.) d. Homewood-Flossmoor 13-25, 25-11, 25-12, championship

Richards d. Chicago Christian 30-28, 25-22, third

Aurora Christian d. Shepard 25-17, 25-23, fifth

Aurora Central Catholic d. Stagg 25-12, 25-21, seventh

FENTON BLAST-OFF TOURNAMENT

Oak Lawn d. Proviso East 25-10, 25-7

Oak Lawn d. Fenton 25-5, 25-9

Oak Lawn d. Highland Park 25-15, 25-15, championship

Oak Lawn (7-0):  Amina Maali 21 kills, 9 digs on the day. Kasey Thompson 56 assists.

LIBERTYVILLE CROSSTOWN CLASSIC

Niles North d. Stevenson 25-21,15-25, 15-13

Stevenson d. Carmel 25-20, 25-13

Stevenson d. Wauconda 25-14, 23-25, 15-8

Glenbrook South d. Stevenson 25-19, 25-20

Libertyville d. Stevenson 25-23, 26-24, third

Stevenson (2-4): Ava Wysocki 45 kills for tournament. Abby Inman 29 kills, 36 digs, 9 aces. Ryler Bondad 62 assists, 27 digs. Juun Shin 50 assists.

PLAINFIELD NORTH CRIMSON CLASSIC

Gold Bracket

Loyola d. Lincoln-Way East 25-21, 25-17, championship

Marist d. Oak Park-River Forest 25-11, 25-16

Lockport d. Hinsdale Central 25-14, 14-25, 15-11, fifth

Lockport (4-2):  Jenna Kolosta 9 kills. Kyle Mitchell 5 kills, 4 blocks. Natalie Bochantin 19 assists.

Silver Bracket

Minooka d. Sandburg 25-21, 25-23, third

Sandburg (3-4):  Lucie Chivara 15 kills on the day. Lizzie Boertlein 25 assists. Marilena Karbo 20 assists, 4 aces.

Compiled by Josh Krockey.

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31 SMART Goals Examples for Students of All Ages

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Last Updated on March 13, 2023 by Glori Surban

A new school year is underway, and students are facing unprecedented challenges as most are having to “learn how to learn” in a whole new way. Due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, students have brought traditional classroom learning back into their own homes, giving a huge rise to the relatively new concept of online education.

But, despite learning environments taking on a new look, students are still eager to get back into a routine , learn new things , and make some marked progress in their extra-curricular activities of choice . 

While students have always needed motivation and self-discipline to excel in school, this new academic climate takes that requirement to the next level. Students no longer have a teacher looking over their shoulder or instructing them to put their smart phones down and pay attention. It’s now up to all learners to be proactive in their studies and feel a sense of responsibility for their educational outcomes.

Teachers can support students in this endeavor by teaching proper goal-setting techniques so students can focus their efforts appropriately, effectively manage their time , and see the positive results of their work. And setting SMART goals isn’t just important for helping students focus and maintain their momentum during these months of virtual learning–it’s a critical skill they will use for the rest of their lives. 

(If you're a teacher looking for some inspiration in creating your own SMART goals, check out this post .)

Now, if you’re the student, learning the art of setting SMART goals will help you continuously improve yourself, which will help you gain a competitive advantage over your peers once you enter the working world. And, the simple act of setting effective goals will be an integral part of your success.  

According to Locke and Latham’s goal setting theory , two people with the same skills and knowledge can perform very differently on the same task if they have different performance goals because their goals ultimately determine their motivation to succeed. Whoever is more driven to succeed will probably do so.

In this article, we are going to look at the value of SMART goals and why students of all ages should know how to set SMART goals to lay the foundation for their academic success.

Then we will go over 21 specific examples of statements that students can use to improve their performance at school, in their extra-curricular activities, and in their lives in general. (And if you want a simple tool to track these goals, then check out this 13-week goal planner, backed by science and success psychology, that is designed to optimize your day and help you tackle your goals .)

Let’s start by taking a look at what SMART goals are and why they’re so valuable.

Table of Contents

What Is a SMART Goal?

SMART goals are statements that turn your vague intentions into an actionable plan. They provide you with a strategy to achieve your vision by guiding you to set objectives that fit into the “SMART” mold. 

The SMART acronym exists in a variety of forms, but each one touches on the same fundamental ideas. Here, we refer to SMART goals as being Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Let’s look at each one of these characteristics individually.

• Specific : If a goal isn’t explicit and precise, your efforts won’t be either. To be specific, a goal should be written with no wiggle room when asking who, what, when, where, or why.
• Measurable : If your goal is measurable, there will be some way you can measure your progress at any point along the way.
• Achievable : Working toward your goal can either lead to satisfaction, which will motivate you to push yourself even harder –or it will lead to frustration if you don’t see any progress, which can make you want to quit. After taking all other factors into consideration, ask yourself how realistic it is to attain your goal. This will help you determine if it’s achievable. 
• Relevant : It’s important that your goals matter to you or else you will be quick to abandon them after hitting an obstacle. If your goal is relevant, you will answer “yes” to these questions: Is working toward this goal worthwhile? Is now the right time? Will achieving this goal move me closer to my ultimate vision ?
• Time-Bound : Your SMART goals need a deadline so you stay focused and prevent other less important tasks from taking priority and becoming a distraction . With a sense of urgency, you will know what you can do today, next week, and next month to make progress toward achieving your goal. 

( Check out this post on action verbs that you can use to create your SMART goals. )

Let’s take a quick look at what these goals do not look like to help further your understanding of them:

• Not Specific: I’m going to be happier .
• Not Measurable: I’m going to increase my savings .
• Not Achievable: I will go on 30 job interviews per month.
• Not Relevant: As an 8th grader, I’m going to get ahead of the game and apply to ten colleges this year.
• Not Time-Bound: I will be at a healthy weight someday.

SMART goals set you in the right direction, push you to take that critical first step, and keep your goals organized so you can achieve them.

Why Is It Particularly Important for Students to Set SMART Goals?

It’s important for people in any stage of life to set goals, but because students are immersed in a learning environment, which often leads their learning to go beyond the subject at hand, this is the perfect time to practice setting SMART goals. Also, with so much being expected of students, there is a lot of material to work with (so to speak) for setting goals and maintaining order in life.

One longitudinal study looked at the relationship between goal setting and student achievement in over 1200 high school students learning Spanish. The researchers performed a correlational analysis that revealed a statistically significant relationship between the process of setting goals and students’ proficiency in Spanish.

The researchers went on to explain that setting goals gave the students a greater sense of autonomy in their learning, which lead to higher levels of motivation to succeed in their studies.  ( Check out our compilation of the best motivational movies for students. )

This suggests that students who set goals are more motivated to learn than those who don’t, which leads to better educational outcomes. Seeing as autonomy is an integral part of today’s learning culture, there’s no better time than now for students to become pros at setting SMART goals.

Now, let’s look at 31 examples of SMART goals that you can use if you’re a student to increase your chances of being successful in school–not only for this year, but for many years to come as well.

31 SMART Goals Examples for Students of All Ages 

1. meet each of my teachers.

“I will meet with each of my teachers individually within the first two weeks of class to start building a rapport and gain clarity of their expectations so I will feel comfortable going to them with future questions throughout the year.”

S : This statement answers all of the questions: who, what, when, where, and why.

M : Each meeting with a teacher acts as one unit of measurement and progress can be measured at any point during that two-week time frame by counting the number of meetings left to do. 

A : The goal setter has all of the tools they need to achieve this goal.

R : This goal is relevant to the student’s success in class.

T : The goal setter has set a two-week deadline for achieving this goal.

2. Complete Assignments One Day Before the Deadline

“I will complete all of my assignments this year at least one day before they’re due to avoid rushing through any work. To do this, I will list all of my assignments in order of their due date and work through them accordingly. I will spend 30 minutes every Sunday night determining which projects need attention during the week ahead.”

S : The specific goal set is to complete all assignments one day before they’re due.

M : The goal setter will know his progress with the passing of each assignment’s deadline.  

A : By being organized with a list of assignments and a schedule for completing them, the goal setter has made an achievable goal. 

R : Finishing projects before they’re due is an appropriate way to avoid turning in work that has been hurried.

T : The deadline for this goal is threefold: 1) one day prior to each assignment’s due date 2) every Sunday night 3) the end of the school year.

3. Raise my Hand at Least Five Times Each Week

“To keep myself accountable for my learning, I will raise my hand at least five times each week in class to answer a question posed by the teacher.”

S : The clear objective is to answer at least five of the teacher’s questions in class per week.

M : Each time a question is answered, the goal setter has made progress toward meeting his goal.

A : The student will stay on top of his assigned reading, homework, etc in order to be prepared to answer the teacher’s questions.

R : It’s worth the goal setter’s time to participate in class if he wants to stay accountable for his learning.

T : The deadline for this goal is every Friday at the end of the day. 

4. Improve my Grade in English

“To improve my grade in English to a B or higher, I will complete all of the grammar, punctuation, writing mechanics, and word usage modules in the writing center, scoring at least a 92% on each within the next 4 months.”  

S : The unambiguous nature of this goal makes it specific. 

M : Progress can be tracked as each module has been completed with a score of 92% or above.

A : As the student becomes more skilled at using proper grammar and punctuation, his English grade will improve accordingly.

R : Spending extra time completing English modules is a worthwhile way to improve an English grade.

T : The deadline for this goal is 4 months from the starting date.

5. Practice Reading for 20 Minutes Per Day

“I will demonstrate growth in my reading accuracy and fluency by the last day of school by reading 70 words per minute with 95% accuracy. I will practice reading for a minimum of 20 minutes per day.” 

( Note : This SMART goal is designed for a student at the third grade level. While this may seem like a young age to write such an articulate goal, many teachers offer fill-in-the-blank worksheets to help younger students practice setting goals such as this one.)

S : This student wants to be able to read 70 words per minute with 95% accuracy.

M : Progress can be checked by doing reading tests throughout the year to look for improvement.

A : By practicing reading every day, the student will improve his reading skills.

R : It is appropriate and relevant for a child this age to learn how to read to set himself up for future success.

T : This goal’s deadline is the last day of school. 

6. Practice my Lines with a Fellow Student

“By September 15th, I will have found another student who also enjoys theater with whom I can practice lines in order to audition for the school play. We will practice for three hours per week together and I will practice for four additional hours per week alone until auditions on November 5th to land a role in the school play.”

S : This student has set a specific plan to improve his chances of earning a role in the school play.

M : There are two measurable parts to this goal–one is finding a partner by September 15th and the other is completing seven total hours of practice each week.

A : By practicing, this student will have a higher chance of achieving his goal.

R : Because theater is this student’s extracurricular activity of choice, practicing for the play’s audition is relevant.

T : This goal has two deadlines: September 15th to find a partner, and November 5th, which is the day of tryouts. 

7. Complete 10 College Applications

“I will complete ten college applications by January 1st to help ensure I get accepted into a school.”

( Note : This goal would be for a high school senior.)

S : This goal statement is clear and to the point.

M : With each application completed, the student will become closer to achieving this goal.

A : While ten college applications may have seemed unreasonable 15 years ago, it is not uncommon for high school seniors to apply to 20 or more colleges today .

R : Applying to college as a high school senior is a relevant goal.

T : The deadline for this goal is January 1st.

8. Work with a Tutor and Take Practice Tests

“To earn an SAT score that is over the 75th percentile range for my target colleges, I will work with a tutor weekly and take practice tests every 2-4 weeks to measure my incremental progress until the test date in December.”

( Note : This goal would be for a high school junior.)

S : This student wants to get a better score on his SATs than 75% of his peers applying to similar colleges.

M : His progress can be measured with the results of his practice tests.

A : By dedicating so much time and energy to studying for the SATs, this student will increase his chances of achieving a high score.

R : All students must take the SATs, so preparing for them is relevant for this student’s stage in his education.

T : This goal’s deadline is the date of the test in December.

9. Receive a Job Offer

“I will receive a job offer in my field of study by May 1st to make a seamless transition from college to working in the professional world.”

( Note : This goal would be for anyone finishing up a degree-seeking program.)

S : This student wants to accept a job offer before graduating from their program.

M : Each job application and interview this student completes will show measurable progress toward his goal. 

A : Because this person is graduating with a degree in the field in which they’re job searching, this is an achievable goal.

R : Job searching is relevant to people’s lives who are nearing graduation from a degree-seeking program.

T : The deadline for this goal is May 1st.

Check out our post on SMART goal examples for college students to help you achieve success in college!

10. Develop New Peer Relationships

“I will develop 5 new peer relationships by the end of the year with people I’ve never interacted with at school before. I’ll do this by sitting with an unfamiliar group of people for lunch at least once per month, asking one person in each of my classes to be my accountability partner for that class, and interacting with the other students who engage in the same extracurricular activities as I do outside of those meetings.”

S : This student wants to develop 5 meaningful connections or relationships with peers before the end of this year.

M : Each new relationship this student cultivates will show marked progress toward his goal.

A : By putting himself out there and being proactive about meeting new people, it is probable that this student will develop friendships that go beyond that of an acquaintance.

R : This goal is worthwhile because as students graduate over the years and move to other cities, it will always be useful to have connections, whether that ends up being for personal or professional purposes.

T : The deadline for this goal is the end of the school year. 

11. Prioritize My Assignments

“I will accurately prioritize my work every night to avoid having to stay up late to complete my assignments. I will do this by setting aside ten minutes before starting my homework each night to rank my assignments in order of importance and due date. “

S : The goal is to maintain a proper study/sleep schedule.

M : The number of nights the student goes to bed on time can be measured.

A : Ten minutes is a reasonable amount of time to spend planning.

R : Time management is relevant for all students.

T: This goal offers a chance for a weekly check-in.

12. Attend my Classes on Time

“I will not be late to any classes this semester, nor will I have an unexcused absence. I will make sure I am on time by getting up 15 minutes earlier every morning. “

S : The goal is to show up to class on time.

M : This goal is measured by the number of times this student is late or absent from class.

A : Fifteen minutes is a reasonable amount of time to add to the morning to ensure timeliness.

R : Leaving early is relevant to showing up on time.

T : The deadline for this goal is every day.

13. Read at Least 400 Pages Every Month

“To expand my knowledge base, I will read at least 400 pages every month of material that is not assigned in class. I will do this by reading for two hours on the weekends and 30 minutes daily Monday through Thursday.”

S : This student wants to read for pleasure to learn more outside of the classroom.

M : The number of pages read per month and the time spent reading are both measurable.

A : The amount of reading desired to be completed is achievable.

R : Reading more is a relevant goal for any student who is trying to grow their knowledge base.

T : There is a monthly reading benchmark of 400 pages for this goal.

14. Find a Spanish-Speaking Pen Pal

“By February 1st, I will have found a Spanish-speaking pen pal through social media to supplement my studies and increase my fluency.”

S : This student wants to make a friend who speaks fluent Spanish to enhance their communication skills.

M : This goal is measured by meeting one fluent Spanish-speaking friend.

A : Given the fact that social media spans the world, this goal is achievable.

R : Communicating one-on-one is an effective way to learn a foreign language, which makes this goal relevant.

T : The deadline for this goal is February 1st.

15. Join a Local Professional Association and Networking Events

“To become active in my industry at a local level, I will join the local professional association student chapter by February 1st. I will then attend at least two networking sessions every month.”

S : Getting involved with a professional association is a clear step students can take to help get a job.

M : The number of networking events attended each month can be measured.

A : Attending two sessions per month is achievable.

R : This is a relevant goal for gaining experience and networking.

T : The deadline for this goal is February 1st, as is the number of sessions attended per month.

16. Apply to Scholarships

“By March 1st, I will have applied for five scholarships to help cover my college tuition.”

S : This student wants to apply for scholarships with the hope of reducing the financial burden of college.

M : The number of scholarships applied for by March 1st can be measured.

A : Applying for five scholarships is achievable with proper time management.

R : This is a relevant goal for most students.

T : The deadline for this goal is March 1st.

17. Limit Social Media Use and Gaming

“To stay focused on my studies, I will limit the use of social media and gaming to Friday and Saturday nights until the end of the year.”

S: This student wants to restrict their social media and gaming time to Friday and Saturday nights to prevent distraction from school during the week.

M: This goal can be measured each week.

A: This is an achievable goal for any student.

R: This is a relevant goal for students who want to focus on their grades.

T: The deadline for this goal is the end of the academic year.

18. Meet with Guidance Counselor Once a Month

“I will meet with the guidance counselor once per month to make sure I’m taking care of myself , engaging in stress management, and tending to my emotional wellbeing.”

S : This student wants to ensure their personal wellness by regularly meeting with a guidance counselor.

M : This goal is measured by one meeting per month.

A : This is an achievable goal.

R : This is a relevant goal for students who are frequently under stress.

T : The deadline for this goal is the end of every month.

19. Establish Myself as a Leader

“By the end of the third week of school, I will have found a leadership role to take on to boost my resume, whether that’s for a class project, on a sports team, or in the community.”

S : This student wants to develop their leadership skills by finding a leadership role to hold.

M : This goal is measured by the number of leadership roles this student has found in the set time frame, with the goal being one.

R : This is a relevant goal.

T : The deadline for this goal is three weeks into the semester.

20. Maintain a 3.8 GPA

“I will maintain a 3.8 GPA this year by meeting with my teachers monthly to ensure I am on the right track.”

S : This student wants to maintain a 3.8 GPA this school year.

M : This goal can be measured by the student’s GPA at any given time.

A : Keeping in close contact with teachers makes this goal achievable.

R : This is a relevant goal for any student.

T : The deadline for this goal is the end of the academic year.

21. Secure a Professional mentor

“I will secure a professional mentor by Jan. 15th to help me with my post-graduation job search. I will do this by joining my school’s mentorship program and then meeting with my mentor weekly to offer guidance.”

S : This student wants to receive guidance in their job search by having a professional mentor by January 15th.

M : This goal is measured by securing a professional mentor.

A : This goal is achievable and resources are offered by the school.

R : Having a professional mentor is relevant to getting a job.

T : The deadline for this goal is January 15th.

22. Research Volunteer Opportunities

“Before October 15th, I will spend 20-30 minutes every night for 1 week, researching 10 volunteer opportunities of interest to me. This includes visiting websites and sending email queries. By November 1st, I must have committed to a cause and started my volunteer work to improve my college application.”

S:  The goal is to begin volunteering.

M: Once they’ve contacted and heard back from 10 organizations.

A:  Setting a timer, or adding a reminder to your smart calendar, for 25 minutes – repeating daily for one week makes this achievable. 

R:  The goal is relevant to make their college application more appealing.

T: The goal setter has a firm deadline of November 1st to begin volunteer work.

23. Meet with a Therapist to Help Me with My Anxiety

“By the end of the first month of school, I will arrange to meet regularly with a licensed therapist or counselor to address my social anxiety issues, in order to better prepare for my post-graduate job interviews. I will then begin scheduling interviews by January 1st.”

S:  The goal is to obtain counseling service, online or in person.

M: Each appointment with the therapist marks progress.

A:  With help, the student will gain confidence and succeed in scheduling interviews.

R: The counselor will ensure they are prepared to secure interviews

T: Emails and phone calls, queries must be sent on or before January 1st.

24. Improve my Math Grade

“I will increase my math grade from a B to an A by the end of the 2nd marking period by taking advantage of the free online tutoring program, offered through the township. I will meet once per week for one hour with my tutor, as well as take advantage of supplemental materials my teacher posts on Google classroom. I will check in with my teacher halfway through the marking period to ensure I’m on track for a full grade improvement. I will also ask for extra credit work, need be.”

S:  The goal is to improve their math grade.

M:  Weekly meetings with the tutor will track progress.

A:  There is a support system of tutoring, supplemental materials and teacher input.

R:  The vast amount of resources make it possible to improve the grade and obtain a better GPA.

T: The timeline is the end of the 2nd marking period.

25. Save Money for my Backpacking Trip

“I will raise $4500 this school year to be able to backpack through Europe for 45 days over the summer. I will replace one social activity or hobby in order to increase hours spent working at a part-time job, babysitting, landscaping, freelancing or tutoring. I will work at least 15 hours per week and deposit my entire paycheck (minus $25) until I’ve reached my goal.”

S:  The student will raise $4500 to cover a trip to Europe.

M : Each deposit will confirm the student is on track.

A:  The average school year is 10 months long. The student only needs to earn $450 per month, or $112.50 per week. The average minimum wage across the US is roughly $12.00 per hour. At this calculation, the student technically only needs to work about 10 hours per week. They will surpass that and leave money in their budget for incidentals and other living expenses.   

R: Winter and Spring breaks make it possible to work more hours, allowing for flexibility in reaching this goal. 

T: The student has approximately 10 months (September – June) to reach this goal.

26. Increase my Awareness of Current Events

“I will increase my awareness of current events around the world by subscribing to 2 reputable news outlets – print, podcast or online – by September 1st. I will replace 30 minutes of time usually spent on social media catching up. I will start a blog to discuss these matters intelligently, posting 1 article each Sunday.” 

S:  The goal is to be aware and be able to speak competently about what’s going on in the world.

M:  Confirmation of two subscriptions and setting a calendar reminder to block out 30 minutes daily to read or listen.  Then posting 1 blog post each Sunday.

A:  Subscriptions are instantaneous and easily accessible for any smart device or computer.

R:  Starting a blog is public confirmation of what you’ve learned.

T:  September 1st deadline for subscribing and starting to blog by the following Sunday.

27. Get at Least 8 Hours of Sleep Each Night

“By the end of the first month of high school, I will commit to getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night. I will do this by utilizing an online calendar to prioritize assignments and activities. I will also turn off my cell phone one hour before bed and practice meditation and breathing exercises to fall asleep faster.

This goal is geared towards middle and high schoolers.

S:  The goal is to get more sleep, preferably the recommended daily amount for 13-18 year olds. 

M:  Having a set bedtime and using an alarm, set for 8 hours later.

A:  Organizing the student’s calendar during the day or at the start of each week, eliminating distractions make this goal achievable.

R:  Proper sleep is crucial for your brain and body to function at its highest level, increasing academic performance.

T:  The routine must start by the end of the first month of school. This gives the student time to get to know their schedule and work it to account for additional sleep.

28. Learn to Play a Musical Instrument

“I will make myself more appealing to colleges by taking a risk and stepping out of my comfort zone. I will learn to play the guitar by taking private lessons 1 day per week, as well as utilizing apps in my spare time.  I will secure a teacher by Sept. 21st and commit to practicing at least 15 minutes each day.”

S:  The goal is to learn to play guitar.

M:  Each private lesson is validation, as well as completing 15 minutes of practice daily.

A:  The teacher and plethora of online apps make this goal possible.

R:  This is relevant for improving one’s appeal on a college application.

T:  The student must have a teacher by September 21st.

29. Run my First Marathon

“I will run my first marathon in 6 months. I will register for the marathon ahead of time. Starting today, I will begin my training with an easy 30-minute run. I will follow my run, strength training and diet plan as outlined. I will find myself a partner to keep me accountable.”

S:  The goal is to run a marathon.

M:  A printable training plan, or app tracker, will mark his progress each day. The accountability partner (virtual or in-person) will help motivate the student to stay on track.

A:  The average time to train for a marathon is 16-20 weeks. The student is allowing himself 24 weeks to account for any physical or personal setbacks. 

R:  Running a marathon is both a personal achievement, as well as impressive on a college application. It involves physical and mental strength to succeed.

T:  The student must be ready to race within 6 months in a predetermined marathon.

30. Improve my Memory and Retention

“I will improve my memory and retention by the midway point of this school year by developing daily habits that support and increase brain function and capacity. This will result in better grades. I will eliminate distractions when studying, and avoid cramming. I will use visual tactics. I will write notes on index cards, instead of typing them on a computer. I will spend 30 minutes each Sunday morning reading over my index cards.”

S:  The goal is to improve memory function and information retention.

M:  Setting a timer or calendar event for 30 minutes each Sunday.   

A:  By turning off smart devices for a few minutes, to one hour, during the week in order to commit a few minutes to improving memory function with the tools and tips available. 

R:  Studies show improved brain function will result in better academic and career performance. It can also help you live longer and age slower. 

T:  The student should see improvements in their school work by the middle of the school year (January/February).

31. Keep my Apartment Neat and Clean

“I will keep our apartment neater in order to foster a better, and more productive, living and study environment. To do this, I will work with my roommate to come up with a schedule or chore chart.  We will agree to set aside 15 minutes each day (alternating days) to spot clean all high-traffic areas (ie. kitchen, bathroom, living room). We will work together for a full-house clean (dust, vacuum, mop) 1 day per week for 1 hour. We will each do our laundry one day per week, on different days.”

S:  The goal is to have a neat apartment.

M:  Progress will be measured when each item is checked off the chore chart, or marked as completed on the shared calendar.

A:  This goal is achievable by working together and holding each other accountable. Also, advanced scheduling makes things simpler and eliminates the back and forth of whose turn it is.

R:  This is a relevant goal, as a messy living space fosters distraction and discomfort. 

T:  The goal is for each roommate to spend approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes each week clearing the apartment, accounting for one day “off”.

Final Thoughts

Younger learners who are at the beginning of their life’s journey are at an opportune time to build their skills in setting goals. These SMART goal-setting skills will benefit them for the rest of their lives and developing them now will help students design their futures in whatever unique way is personally meaningful to them. 

Very young students can benefit from learning how to set goals because it will give them the opportunity to experience small wins, which will help them develop self-confidence and belief in themselves. 

If you're looking for examples for kids, check out these SMART goals examples for children .

For specific examples related to physical education, check out this article .

And, for students of all ages (and also those with ADHD ), writing a carefully considered goal is only the first half of the battle. Intentional actions need to follow in the footsteps of these powerful statements in order for any goal to be met. 

Consider your strengths and weaknesses when drafting your SMART goals for education and think about strategies that have worked in the past for reaching your goals.

For example, some people find it’s most effective to identify the end goal and then work backwards to the beginning to create a schedule of objectives.

You just need to find what works best for you–and in the meantime, if you start working toward a goal and realize your strategy isn’t productive, don’t shy away from changing it.

Want to get started? Here are some SMART goal templates you can download and print.

And if you want more SMART goal ideas and examples, be sure to check out these blog posts:

• 9 SMART Goals Examples for Mentoring (Both Mentor & Mentee)
• 7 Internship SMART Goals Examples to Set
• 15 SMART Goals Examples for Kids

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals .

Connie Mathers is a professional editor and freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. When she is not writing, Connie is either spending time with her daughter and two dogs, running, or working at her full-time job as a social worker in Richmond, VA.

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Goal-Setting Activities For High School Students: DIYs, Worksheets, Trackers, And More

February 10, 2024 //  by  Jill Webb

It is important for high school students to set realistic goals. Effective goal setting can help lead students down the path they want to follow in their future. They must not only look at the short-term goals but also larger goals related to higher education and/or career path.

There are numerous benefits of goal setting such as increased motivation, active involvement in their own schooling, and time management. Look below to find a variety of our favorite resources for goal-setting activities that are appropriate for high school students.

1. Digital Vision Board

An effective vision board can be a great start to get students thinking about their future paths. What are their dreams for the short and long term? It is a great starting point and a fun activity to get them thinking!

Learn More: Lindsay Ann Learning

2. Bucket List Goals

A cool Senior year activity that is simple, but helps promote students reaching a variety of goals and being involved in extracurricular activities is a bucket list. Students can modify the list of activities to create the perfect list that meets their personal satisfaction. Maybe some students want to be involved more in social activities or others in clubs – either way, a bucket list gets students reaching short terms goals!

Learn More: By Sophie Lee

3. College Week Goal Setting

This college week activity is kind of like a spirit week to prep students for applying to college. Each day they work towards a different goal – filling out applications, writing essays, interview prep, etc. The week can really be whatever your students need it to be. It is also a great idea to do if you have a large population of first-time college students who need extra support.

Learn More: Mundelein High School

4. Setting SMART Goals

This doodle sheet is a great tool to use to create a mini-goal for your class. The students will write achievable goals using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals rules when writing them. The goals are individualized academic goals so each student’s work will be unique.

Learn More: Math Giraffe

5. Short-Term Goal Worksheet

For middle school students entering high school, a great activity is this short-term goal worksheet. Students will look at specific goal areas and determine what personal goals related to it that they need to work on, as well as who will support them and the action steps that need to be taken to attain each.

Learn More: B Schwartz

6. Resume Writing Activity

One of the goals many secondary students have is to get a job. This can be used as a teaching moment on how to obtain a job you want with a good resume. Provide students with a couple of examples of good and bad resumes. Allow them to review to see what makes a resume good. Then you can help students apply their broader skills to writing resumes for the job they want!

Learn More: Write on With Miss G

7. Personal Timeline

It is important students have an idea of future goals. A way to visualize and organize this is through a timeline. Students can often not realize that time goes by quickly. This timeline helps them see what are realistic goals to set. If they make a digital one, they can also easily add in goal updates as they change and grow.

Learn More: Buncee Blog

8. Goal Mapping

Mind mapping is all about the future and it involves more than just academic goals. This type of activity is great for juniors or seniors to start thinking about adulthood. The video shows you a model of how to create goal planning using mind mapping. It generally includes categories such as finance, wellness goals, relationships, and more.

9. Student-Led Conferences

Having conferences with students is a great activity to check in on them. These student-led conversations about goals are great because they allow older students to take responsibility for their learning. The conferences can include many things such as behavioral goals, academic goals, and action items to be followed up on.

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

10.  Classroom Goal Display

Students will write goal statements for their specific class or this can be used by advisory teachers. The actionable goals will be displayed with sticky notes on a bulletin board to be a reminder of what each student is working towards. When the student reaches a goal, follow-up goals or new goals can be written.

Learn More: Reflections of an Intentional Teacher

11. Grade Tracker

This tracker allows students to take ownership of their goal progress for grades. They set a target grade for each class and track their own progress. At the end of the grading period, they see if they have reached their goal. There is also a section for comments where they can give themselves feedback to help with reaching their next target.

Learn More: Etsy

12. Leveling Goals

Goal-setting exercises are a great way to teach students how to write explicit goals. Vague goals won’t get you far, so practicing leveling goals or steps per goal will help students to write a successful goal they will likely reach.

Learn More: Just Add Students

13. Long-Term Goals Vs. Short-Term Goals

In this activity, students learn about the difference between long and short-term goals. This is important for students to understand so that they can properly place action steps towards achieving goals; especially if it is a larger goal.

Learn More: Worksheet Place

14. Daily Goals

Use this to set goals with students each morning. It is great for goal-setting practice using simple daily goals. The activity has students write a small goal each day.

15. Goal Builder

This activity includes a lesson plan for the writing component of goal-setting. It uses the word goal as an acronym to follow for writing – Guts, Obstacles, Action statements and Looking ahead. It also makes for a great goal-setting bulletin board kit or you can make a 3D version for students to keep at their desks.

Learn More: The Thinker Builder

16. Health Habits Tracker

Building healthy habits is part of reaching goals! Have students use this activity to track their habits. Students can choose from a few different tracking options and pick what works for them – a mandala tracker, a dot tracker, and more.

Learn More: The Artisan Life

17. New (School Year) Goals

Goal writing can be difficult for some students. Help them to create meaningful goals and better understand the effectiveness of goal setting by giving concrete examples and non-examples of good goal writing. Goal writing development of skills students need to be successful and this simple game is sure to help!

Learn More: Ashleigh’s Education Journey

18. Character Counts

Teach character-based goals by having students watch this video clip from the movie, “Coach Carter”. It is a great segue activity to start a discussion around character goals. Then have students write goals around different character traits they want to work on.

Learn More: Jon Doyou

19. Reading about Excellence Activity

This reading focuses on achievement goals…and sometimes it is really hard to reach those goals. It uses Michael Jackson as an example that you reach a goal through persistence. Pair this with a Venn diagram to have students compare and contrast perfection with excellence.

Learn More: Medium

20. Goal Buddies

Sometimes making an effort for students can be hard. It is easy when you are busy to not hold yourself accountable for reaching goals. Have students read this article with strategies for getting an accountability buddy. Then have them create a plan together!

Learn More: NY Times

50+ Good Examples of SMART Goals for Students

Setting goals is a critical step in every student’s life. It can be the key to unlocking their potential and helping them to achieve success.

But how do students make sure their goals are SMART? How do these goals help them with their grades, test scores, and personal lives?

According to several experts, here are some good examples of SMART goals for students.

Beverly Gearreald

Educational Consultant | Community Manager,  Transizion

SMART goals are defined by their very precision. Those unfamiliar with the acronym mean  Specific ,  Measurable ,  Achievable ,  Relevant , and  Time-bound . While typically used in the business setting, they can also be used to help students of  all  ages.

For younger students

With children who are still learning how the world works, the best way to introduce SMART goals is with ordinary things . 

Ask a group of students to tidy the playroom

For example, when you ask a group of students to tidy the playroom, perhaps have each student pick a particular toy to put away with the goal of cleaning the room in the next 5 minutes. 

It has the benefit of each student having a task. It is measurable by whether that toy is put away, achievable if the regular toy containers are within easy reach, relevant to the student because they learn responsibility, and has a time limit.

For high school students

As students get older, you want to stop assigning them SMART goals and instead have them set for themselves. For instance, if you’re assigning a student a project that involves writing five short stories, have them break it up. 

Assign a student a project that involves writing five short stories

One student may decide to outline all five stories before writing them. Another might decide to outline one, then immediately write it. Perhaps another wants to proofread all at once rather than one at a time. 

Allowing each student to assign their own deadlines for different parts of the project  helps teach students how to start creating their own SMART goals .

For college students

When in college, there are often a lot of deadlines due all at once, particularly around midterms and the end of the semester. Students should be encouraged to look at their syllabi in advance and notice when several tests or projects are due within a short window. 

Prioritize what they’re working on and how long

This is an excellent time for them to set themselves SMART goals. For instance, “ review 10-pages of Chem 101 notes over my lunch hour .” It’s specific ,  measurable , achievable ,  relevant , and  time-bound .

It helps students prioritize what they’re working on and how long

Setting SMART goals throughout the day can help students  prioritize  what they’re working on and how long. If they find they’re failing at a particular goal, it can help them re-examine how they’re doing in that area before it becomes an issue. 

For instance, if AP US History homework is allotted two hours a week, it regularly takes four. The student knows they need to do  more  work on the weekends to make the goal of completing their AP US History homework achievable.

Michael Campbell

Co-Owner,  Throw Deep Publishing

Find a relevant timeline to stick to with your goals

When I was in college, SMART Goals were helpful in ensuring that I could reach my potential as a learner and allowed me to hold myself  accountable  for things that were important to me. I still use SMART Goals to this day in my professional life, and I find them incredibly useful!

Related: Why Is Accountability Important?

Below is an example of a SMART Goal that I implemented into my routine as a Junior in college. My course load was getting more difficult, and I had to dedicate myself to learning to get maximum results. 

In this example, I was trying to improve my retention of lecture material so that I didn’t have to waste a bunch of time trying to relearn content before exams. 

The basis of this Goal was to keep the information I learned in the lecture at the forefront of my mind and continue actively thinking about it for as long as we were still covering similar material, which usually lasted until the next midterm. 

There are five pieces to any SMART Goal. They are as follows: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based — one sample for each letter of the word. 

Here’s a breakdown of how I implemented each phase of the goal:

Specific: I’m going to spend 30 minutes per day reviewing my lecture notes 

I will spend 30 minutes per day reviewing my lecture notes to allow my brain to retain the information better. This portion of the goal outlines the exact action I planned to take to attain the result. 

When forming this part of your goal, ensure that the action you are taking directly impacts what you want to achieve!

Measurable: I will build this time into my daily schedule to ensure that I don’t miss a day

I like to think about the measurable portion of SMART Goals as a way to hold yourself accountable. 

In this case, I will be measuring my success and ability to make progress toward my end result by tracking how many days I successfully implemented the “specific”  portion of my goal from above. 

In doing so, I state that I need to set aside specific blocks of time on each unique day of the week to ensure that I do not miss study sessions.  

Attainable: Make sure that the things I learned in notes and material sticks

This section is  simple  but very important. When making a goal, it’s vital that your goal is something that is  realistic  and can be achieved through the actions that you’re taking. 

You must be sure that the steps you are taking will achieve your desired result. Here I outline what I am already doing to help with my goals and why adding something new to the situation can act as a  helping mechanism . 

Relevant: I want to improve my GPA from last semester 

I want to improve my GPA from last semester — I’m already succeeding, but I know I can do better with a minor adjustment. The relevant portion is simply why this goal matters to you. 

What makes this goal something worth pursuing? For me, academics is and was a largely important area of my life and future, so I wanted to do the best work I could! 

Find something that matters to you , and make a relevant SMART Goal to help yourself get  better  at it!

Time-Based: This semester begins in a couple of weeks and I have this term to meet my goals

Every goal should have a particular window of time in which you’re looking to achieve it. It doesn’t always have to be a hard deadline, but having a  “due date” can create  natural  and  healthy pressure to hold yourself accountable. 

By following the steps above, it is likely that this goal is already quite important to you and that you have  good  intentions to follow through with it, but this helps provide you with another way to measure your success. 

Find a timeline, and do your best to stick to it . In my example, I was confined to the timeline of the school year. I was beginning my SMART Goal journey at the start of the semester and concluding it at the end. 

Find a relevant timeline to stick to with your goals!

Bruce Hanson

Education Wellness Expert, UCLA | CEO,  First Choice Admissions

Execute small, well-defined goals to reinforce a virtuous cycle of control

SMART goals have a major, hidden benefit that isn’t talked about very much — but should be. Happiness research out of Harvard (documented in Shawn Achor’s book: The Happiness Advantage ) shows a key driver of stress and anxiety is feeling out of control. 

However, researchers found that by taking steps to control just a tiny piece of your environment, you can meaningfully  reduce stress in your life and meaningfully  increase your happiness . 

So executing SMART goals allows you to achieve a single, well-defined goal and sets you on a path of control, increasing your mental wellbeing. 

So the next goal you set tends to be  easier  to achieve. And the next goal after that is still easier. Executing smaller, well-defined goals reinforces a virtuous cycle of control.

What once seemed impossibly overwhelming starts to feel manageable . And what once drove stress drives confidence.

Set your SMART goals for the SAT or ACT: Ensure they are very targeted

And speaking of things that seem impossibly overwhelming, let’s talk about getting a great score on the ACT or SAT. It looks like the tests are massive in scope. And worse, they seem resistant to study. 

Many students study for weeks without making much progress. But you can study for them — this is how.

It’s important to know that the tests are  highly  non-intuitive and only kind of test your knowledge of English and Math. Understanding how the tests actually work and what they actually test is the key to getting a  great score . 

So before we dive into SMART steps, I would encourage you to get some test prep help. It doesn’t have to be expensive.

When you set your SMART goals for the SAT or ACT,  ensure they are very targeted . Do  not  try to take on a full section — that’s too much. I’ll give you an example of steps I take my students through to get them good at Reading Comprehension. 

Read the passages in a fast and effective way

SMART Goal : Reading Science and Social Science Passages on the SAT and ACT

Specific : You don’t score any points for reading the passage, so the goal is to read any science or social science passage on the SAT or ACT very fast with maximum  comprehension. 

Measurable : Read any passage in  no  more than 90 seconds and be able to answer over half the questions without looking back into the passage.

Achievable : You will need to learn some new techniques, but they aren’t complicated.  

Read more slowly at the beginning and the end of the passage. 

Specifically, pick out (and write down) the answers to these  four  questions:  

• What is the passage about? 
• What is the author’s point of view? 
• Are there other points of view? 
• On a scale of 1–5, how argumentative is the passage?  

Skim each middle paragraph and jot down the main point

Second, skim each middle paragraph and jot down the main point of the paragraph in just a few words.

I know you don’t believe it — but if you’ve done the above steps well, you are now ready to answer almost any question they ask without searching back into the passage.

Relevant : Learning the techniques for reading passages fast will absolutely raise your score on the ACT or SAT. 

Time-bound : Most students can get the technique down in about 7–10 days if they dedicate about ½ hour per day (breaking down 2-3 passages daily).

Julie Medeiros

Founder, Miss M Online Classes

The concept of SMART goals is very popular in the business world and for a good reason. SMART goals help achieve the desired results and make the process manageable  and more  enjoyable . 

And the best thing is that setting SMART goals work in many areas of life beyond studies and career. It can help with achieving personal goals, too.  

In my project, I teach students how to set SMART goals to achieve results successfully. Whether it is  exam preparation ,  assignment , or  homework , knowing how to develop  specific ,  measurable ,  achievable ,  realistic , and  time-bound  goals is a core competence modern students need to learn before attempting the task. 

Preparation for the exam

Let’s imagine a situation: It is the end of the semester, and you have the English exam in a fortnight.  

Pass the test with the desired mark

Obviously, your ultimate goal is to pass the test with the desired mark. But this is not a SMART goal. Let’s see how it can be turned into a truly SMART goal. 

In my classes, I advise students to examine the problem with the end result in mind. In our example, you have two weeks before the test. Even though the “T”  (time-bound) component comes last in the SMART abbreviation, it is worthwhile to plan backward from that date. 

It will give you a good understanding of how much time you have to prepare and structure your study time. 

Complete one practice test daily by answering all questions correctly

Once this is done, you can start formalizing your goal. For example, for the next 13 days, complete one practice test daily by answering  all  questions correctly within the allotted time.  

Apart from being time-bound by noting the  duration  and  frequency  of practice, this goal is  specific  (specific practice test questions need to be answered), measurable  ( all  correct answers within the allocated time of the test),  achievable (let’s pretend your planning is done, and you are aware of the areas to work on),  realistic  (one practice test daily is quite an attainable target for most students). 

This is now a SMART goal as it ticks all the requirements.  

Managing homework load

Here is another example of making SMART goals work for managing your homework load: To prepare a persuasive debate presentation by including five evidence-backed arguments to counter the opponent’s views by the end of the weekend. 

Dedicate time and effort to the task

Let’s check again: is this goal Specific?  Yes ! Measurable?  Yes  (5 arguments). Realistic and achievable?  Totally , if you dedicate time and effort. Timely? Yes, again, as the task needs to be complete by the weekend.

You can specify it by adding 5 pm on Sunday, for instance.  

Enroll in twice-a-week coached classes

The process of setting SMART goals is similar across many life scenarios. My daughter, who is only eight, has developed this goal for her learning to swim: Learn two swimming styles (backstroke and breaststroke) by enrolling into twice-a-week coached classes at the local swimming pool XYZ by xx (date).  

Turning  “learning to swim”  into a SMART goal gave her the direction and end results she’s been striving to demonstrate.  

Tip : have your goal written or printed and place it in a visible place, like your study area. It will be a great reminder and a helper to prioritize things you  “must do”  over  “want to do.” 

Dr. Shameka Stewart, PhD, CCC-SLP/L

Associate Professor | Juvenile Forensic Speech-Language Pathologist | Child Language Disorders Specialist, Juvenile Forensic SLP

Generically, a SMART goal is an acronym for a goal that is  Specific ,  Measurable , Attainable ,  Realistic , and  Timebound . However, it is vital to create SMART goals that go beyond the basic approach for children. 

SMART should also stand for  Specific ,  Measurable and  Motivating ,  Attainable , Relevant ,  Tested . 

As such, when a SMART goal also includes these areas,  it creates a plan and intention that motivates the child to want to learn more , is relevant to  not  only the social and academic needs of the child but also their cultural needs, and is tested to ensure it is successful and will make an impact. 

Once this is also taken into account, an example of a good SMART goal would be:

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For children, selecting from a choice of desired items is best

A child will verbally request one choice of a preferred toy from a field of three visually presented with 75% accuracy across 20 consecutive sessions/trials/opportunities with moderate clinical/parent verbal and visual prompting.

This goal incorporates: 

• What the child likes (preferred toy) –  motivating .
• How the child must access the request (verbally and from a choice field) –  specific  and  measurable  to identify what skill is being worked on and how we can determine the child is getting practice with the skill.
• How the child will attain the goal (75% accuracy across 20 consecutive sessions) –  attainable  and  measurable  as it shows the child’s skill being met with a level that is  not  too high for them to meet, for example, and what accuracy level is measured to determine mastery.
• How the goal is tested (20 consecutive sessions with prompting) – demonstrating that the child has multiple chances to practice the goal and until it is shown with consistency will  not  be determined to be mastered or failed.  

Overall, the goal is  relevant  because it is something the child is used to in their daily life (their favorite toys) and incorporates the goal of being able to request their wants and needs  verbally .

It should be based on what is relevant and present in the child’s surroundings and culture

It is important to note that SMART goals should be based on what is relevant and present in the child’s surroundings and culture. It should  not  be based on what the clinician thinks the child needs but incorporate the needs and expectations of the family and their values. 

In addition, goals that are to be good and successful should always have an accuracy  and  trial measure  (80%, # consecutive sessions), and trials/sessions should always be  consecutive  and  not  intermittent or sporadic to ensure mastery.

Elise Phillips

Senior Maths & Science Teacher | Curriculum Leader | Writer, The Will to Teach

Complete 50% of the Science homework every week

The most important thing when making SMART goals for students is  ensuring they are  involved  in the process . You will get many students saying that they don’t know what to put for their goal, but they need to be encouraged and at least heavily involved in the conversation. 

Making a SMART goal for a student without their input is  useless  because they are the ones that need to be working towards it; it needs to be something that they actually want to do.  

Make several small goals

It’s better to make several small goals in succession than to have one so big that the student doesn’t believe they can do it. They may be able to achieve the goal, but it needs to feel achievable. We always use SMARTAR goals — the A means Agreed  upon, and the R means  Reviewed .

Some examples of some good SMART goals:

• To stay back after their Maths lesson for five minutes to initiate a discussion about the class content with the teacher without prompting once per week every week by the end of the semester.
• To complete 50% of the Science homework every week to a C standard or higher with prompting from parents by the end of the year.

These goals are  very  specific in what the student will do , to what standard they will do it, and what help they will have to get there. 

The idea of a SMART goal is that it should be able to be ticked off as a simple “Achieved”  or  “Not Achieved.”  If you need to comment on how well they did it, your goal wasn’t specific enough.

Examples of bad SMART goals:

• To improve their reading score by the end of the year.
• To ask parents for help with homework every evening.

These goals are  not  very specific or measurable . While they have some really good elements in SMART goals (such as a timeframe and the expected support details), they are simply  not  detailed enough. 

There is some ambiguity in the goal — one person might say that they have done it while another might disagree based on how well they did it.

Jenna Boholij

Director of Marketing Communications, Herzing College

When you want to aim a little higher and obtain at least a B+ in each course

SMART goals set students up for success by following its meaning:  specific , measurable ,  attainable ,  relevant , and  time-bound . For example, all students usually enter a new semester intending to pass all of their classes. 

However, maybe this term, you want to aim a little higher and obtain at least a B+ in each course. Using the SMART format, you can effectively plan and measure your success. 

Specific: Look into each class and note deadlines to meet throughout the semester

Being specific requires that you look into each class and note deadlines to meet throughout the semester. Make a note of all your instructor’s or professors’ contact information to ensure that should you veer from your course of action, you can reach out to them for help. 

From there, you will have a general sense of how much time you need to spend on each course’s weekly tasks. 

Measurable: Aim for an A on graded assignments and tests

Measuring your success takes more than just reviewing your grades at the end of the term, especially if you want to have a hand in their outcome. Note  all  the graded assignments and tests throughout the term and aim for an A on each. 

Even if you don’t obtain an A, look to rework your study time to help you achieve higher next time. Remember, averages help to even out your overall mark, so don’t let one lousy grade get you down .

Attainable: Break up your weekly into a daily schedule 

Attainability looks different for everyone based on lifestyle. If you are a working student or heavily involved in your community, those activities may be just as high of a priority as a school. 

Breaking up your weekly and then daily schedule can help you conceptualize what a realistic amount of school looks like each day. Most likely, you’ll find more frequent 1-2 hours bouts of studying a lot more manageable than an 8-hour shift if you are busy with other things. 

Relevance: Set relevant goals in every aspect of your life

The relevancy of your goals goes hand and hand with  specificity . For one, SMART goals aren’t just for school; you can set relevant goals in every aspect of your life to help keep your mindset on track.

Time-bound: Set smaller milestones throughout

The time crunch of due dates can be one of the  best  motivators, so why not apply it to your goals?  Don’t let the semester get away from you . 

By setting smaller milestones throughout, you will better understand where you are going and how to get there. Even if you don’t meet a deadline one week, take each Monday as a chance to reconfigure your smaller goals.

Michelle Marie King

Philanthropist | Founder, Positive Presence Global | Podcast Host, “Positive Presence with Michelle Marie King”

Create an evening and morning to-do list

SMART goals are so individualized. To make them successful, they have to be measurable . When we have measurability in our goals, something we can check off, our minds get affirmed that we’re on the right track. 

This reward keeps us committed to the goal. For example, if you find you forget to charge your school-issued electronic device, gym shoes, or instrument,  make a list  on the weekend of everything you need each day. 

Checking boxes makes our minds happy

Print it out on fun paper or color it with fun doodles, so you enjoy looking at it. Tape the paper where you keep your backpack at home. That way, you will see what you need to do and can check it off your list, so you’re ready to go.

Use tools that bring you joy

Using tools that we actually enjoy is the foundation of success.  Create a list of the tools you use the most or are excited to use . Are they  fun pens ,  colorful journals ,  stickers,  or particular  apps  on your electronic device? 

Use the tools that make you happy, and they will contribute to accomplishing your goals. Likewise, if you have pens that you don’t like or hate the color black, for example, stop using black pens!

Write down one thing you need to achieve each day to accomplish that task

Don’t be afraid to think of an unimaginable future, goals that seem out of reach and totally  crazy . Take what seems huge and break it down into daily advancements.

Let’s say you want to get into a specific college. Find out when the admission date is. Put that on your calendar. That is the date you will work backward from. Make a list of the admission requirements. 

Put one requirement on your calendar for each month or week leading up to your admission date. Write down one thing you need to achieve each day to accomplish that task.  Be realistic about how much time you can give each day . 

Be sure to factor in how much time your homework, chores, or outside job will take each day. If you only have 15 minutes, break it down into smaller tasks to make it an attainable and measurable goal you can do once daily.

Nicole Alioto, Ph.D.

Owner, Alla Breve Educational Consulting LLC

SMART goals should be  specific ,  measurable ,  attainable ,  relevant , and  time-bound , and they may look different depending on the student’s age level. 

For grades 7 to 12 students

For example, a student in grades 7-12 should have a goal with a shorter time frame to make it attainable and relevant to what they need based on their educational experience and/or age level. 

Increase the amount of time reading nonfiction material

For example,  “By February 2023, I will increase my time reading nonfiction material by 50% over my August 2022 baseline.” 

We know students need more practice with nonfiction reading (specific and relevant), and whether they read  nonfiction books ,  magazines , or  manuals  will help their success after high school. 

Also, a student may know it is essential to increase the amount of time, but the student may need to measure how much is being read now to determine what a 50% increase looks like. 

Related: The Benefits of Reading

Have 50 additional professional contacts on LinkedIn

For college students, a longer-term goal may be appropriate and attainable. For example,  “By August 2023, I will have 50 additional professional contacts on LinkedIn.”  

Again, we are specific and relevant in that we are talking about  professional contacts,  not  personal, LinkedIn, and  not  other social media platforms. An increase is possible within a year, even if someone doesn’t already have a profile.

Related: How to Network on LinkedIn

Beth Napleton

CEO, Beth Napleton Consulting

SMART goals are a perfect topic given the start of the school year and everyone’s desire to move on from the pandemic. As an accomplished educator (including as a teacher, principal, and network CEO), I’ve included a few examples below that are great SMART goals for students in our post-covid world.

Build on your strengths

Sometimes when we think of goals, we want to focus on what we’re  not  good at.

However, research shows that when we build on our strengths, our ability to achieve soars: investing our time and energy into an area of strength yields far more payoff than when we put the same time and energy into areas we struggle with. 

With that in mind, set SMART goals that build on Strengths like:

• By the end of this school year, I will ace the Advanced Placement French exam with a score of four or higher.
• My poetry will be published in at least two places by the end of the school year.

Remember the process — because it matters!

It is a great way to focus on ensuring you get better

Setting goals around achievements are great and can be very motivating. It’s possible effort matters even more because students are creating muscle memory on how to approach the goals that will serve them long beyond this school year. 

Creating SMART goals around skills you want to be a part of your life is a great way to focus on ensuring you get  better  — and unlike achievement, which can be hard to influence or ensure you achieve, an effort is always within one’s zone of influence.

Related: How to Stay Focused on Your Goals

Create a set of flashcards for key terms and practice with them

Before every test, I will create a set of flashcards for key terms and practice with them every night for at least ten minutes for a week. When I am confused by something, I will ask the teacher for help.

Elodie Santoro, LMHC

Clinical Director & CEO, Harmony Outpatient

SMART goals are a great way to help students with their academic success. They help students set clear and attainable goals that they can work towards. SMART Goals can help students with their  grades ,  test scores , and  personal lives . 

Finish the first half of my homework before bedtime every night

They have been shown to have a positive impact on both student achievement and student motivation. 

The following are some good examples of SMART Goals for students:

• I will read one book this summer.
• I will finish the first half of my homework before bedtime every night.
• I will write down three things that make me happy every day.
• I will complete my homework on time every day by 8 pm.
• I will read ten books by the end of this month.
• I will complete my math homework before school starts next week.
• I will do 30 minutes of physical activity every day by the end of next week.

SMART goals are one of the most effective tools for students to reach their academic and personal goals. One of the most critical aspects of SMART goals is that they should be  attainable  and  measurable . 

This means that students would have to set a goal that can be achieved in a short amount of time with some effort.  Students should  not  only set SMART goals for themselves but also their  parents  and  teachers .

SMART goals are a powerful tool to help students reach their academic potential . They provide a clear path of what they want to achieve and how they want to achieve it.

Franceen San Andres

Growth Manager, CocoLoan

Attend seminars or workshops to gain skills

One of the SMART goals that students can set is widening their arsenal. Studying hard and having outstanding grades and a great understanding of the lectures is  good . 

However, there are skills that companies are looking for, even if you are just a fresh graduate. This can be a  soft  or  hard  skill. 

Soft skill  is something that can be learned while attaining  hard skills . To acquire hard skills that can be used when applying for jobs in the future,  attend seminars or workshops offering certifications . There are cheap or even free tutorials that release certificates. 

This certificate testifies that you have the skills stated in it. While learning these hard skills, you can learn soft skills like  communication , troubleshooting , negotiating skills, and more. 

Gain real-life experience in the real corporate world

Who says students should only learn in theory? Even though theoretical knowledge is good, it is also vital that students have a real-life experience of the real corporate world as soon as possible. 

Students should at least have an idea of what career they want to pursue or what they want to become in the future. Based on this, they can choose which company or jobs they should have experience with, even as a student. 

This is an excellent goal to set since they can learn and earn at the same time through this approach.  It is said that experience is the  best  teacher . 

Some lessons  cannot  be learned with just the four corners of the classroom and can only be instilled in the students’ minds by experiencing them firsthand. There is a systematic way of immersing oneself through on-the-job training or an actual job in an organization. 

It can be measured in a way that your direct superior can quantify the difference between when you have just been hired and when you are already accustomed to the role you are entrusted with.

Fernando Lopez

Marketing Director ,  Circuit

Study programming X hours daily for the next four weeks

Simply setting a goal to  “study more”  does  not  usually turn your Cs into As because it’s too broad to define and challenging to stick to over the long run.

Is studying 30 minutes a day sufficient, or 15 minutes one day, 45 another, and skipping a few in between? 

• Specific : I’m only studying programming during this time.
• Measurable : I’ll use a time tracking app to measure my daily progress.
• Attainable : I have X hours available daily to commit to studying.
• Relevant : These hours will help me increase my class marks.
• Time-Based : I’ll complete my goal in 4 weeks. 

The beauty of the SMART study goal is that  it’s specific enough to keep you accountable . When you know you only need to stick to the goal for four weeks, keeping the end in sight can help you push through the days you don’t feel like studying. 

Once you get through that resistance, you’ll often find yourself  naturally  holding onto the habit long after completing your SMART goal.

This goal can be effectively applied across any courses or subjects that are challenging for a student. They can also be  “renewed”  for as many weeks as it takes for a student to reach their learning goals. 

Ben Michael

Attorney, Michael & Associates

Apply to two jobs per week in the last three months of school

Students start to get stressed about the job hunt when graduation looms in a few months or even summer break. 

Common responses are to either  procrastinate  and push the thought of applying to jobs aside (focusing 100% on current schoolwork) or applying to many jobs at a fast pace (neglecting current schoolwork). 

I think it’s an excellent idea for students to set a SMART goal for applying to jobs so that they can put the appropriate amount of  time  and  effort  toward both job hunting and school.

Related: When Should College Seniors Start Looking and Applying for Jobs?

A SMART goal might look like this:  “In my last three months of school, I will apply to 2 jobs per week.”  

This goal hits all of the target marks for being a SMART goal:

• It is  specific  about how many jobs will be applied and the timeframe under which that falls. 
• It is  measurable  because you know the time frame and the number of jobs you will apply to.
• It is  achievable  because it is only two applications per week.
• It is  realistic  because only applying to 2 per week still allows you to focus on schoolwork.
• It is  timely  because of its set time frame. 

Maciek Kubiak

Head of People,  PhotoAiD

Improve grades by the end of the semester 

Whether you’re going from C to A or D to B, this is a  specific ,  measurable , attainable ,  relevant , and  time-bound  goal. In fact, this is a  perfect  example of a SMART goal.

Read one hour per day 

This is a  specific  and  measurable  goal. While it may  not  be realistic for all students, it nonetheless meets all the criteria of SMART. It might be ambitious, but reading is one of the things all students should be doing anyway.

Get involved in extracurricular activities 

This goal is definitely attainable and relevant for many students. Involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to improve social skills and grades. 

It is also something employers take a keen interest in when hiring recent graduates since extracurricular activities are essential for developing one’s leadership  and  teamwork  skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it important for students to set smart goals.

Setting SMART goals is important for students because:

• Focus: It helps them maintain a clear sense of direction and concentrate their efforts on what truly matters.

• Motivation: SMART goals boost motivation by providing a roadmap to success and a sense of accomplishment.

• Accountability: Clearly defined goals encourage students to take ownership of their progress and achievements.

• Self-awareness: By setting SMART goals, students learn to assess their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth.

• Growth mindset: The process of setting and achieving goals fosters a belief in the power of effort and persistence.

• Time management: With specific deadlines, students can prioritize tasks and allocate time more effectively.

• Skill development: Working towards SMART goals helps students develop essential life skills such as self-discipline, resilience, and problem-solving.

How can students set their own SMART goals?

To set their own SMART goals, students should follow these steps:

• Reflect: Encourage students to reflect on their interests, values, and current performance to identify areas they would like to improve or explore further.

• Be specific: Help students articulate clear and concise goals, outlining exactly what they want to achieve.

• Break it down: Have students break down their goals into smaller, manageable tasks or milestones, which can make the overall objective feel more attainable.

• Make it measurable: Ensure that each goal includes clear criteria for success, allowing students to track their progress and evaluate their achievements.

• Set deadlines: Encourage students to establish realistic time frames for their goals, helping them stay focused and maintain a sense of urgency.

How often should students update their SMART goals?

Students should regularly review and update their SMART goals, ideally at the start of each academic term or semester. This allows them to assess their progress, celebrate their achievements, and adjust as needed. 

Regular revisions help students stay engaged with their goals and adapt to any changes in their interests or circumstances.

How can parents and teachers help students with their SMART goals?

Parents and teachers play a crucial role in supporting students with their SMART goals by:

• Encouraging reflection: Foster open conversations about students’ interests, aspirations, and areas for improvement.

• Providing guidance: Help students craft SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Offering resources: Provide access to materials, tools, and opportunities that can support students in achieving their goals.

• Monitoring progress: Regularly check in with students to discuss their progress, address any challenges, and celebrate their achievements.

• Providing feedback: Offer constructive feedback and encouragement to help students stay motivated and committed to their goals.

What are some common challenges students face while setting SMART goals?

While setting and achieving SMART goals, students may encounter challenges such as:

• Lack of clarity: Students may struggle to articulate specific goals, making it difficult for them to focus and measure progress.

• Unrealistic expectations: Setting goals that are too ambitious or unattainable can lead to frustration and disappointment.

• Procrastination: Students might postpone working on their goals due to distractions, lack of motivation, or fear of failure.

• Insufficient support: A lack of resources, guidance, or encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers can hinder students’ progress.

• Resistance to change: Students may struggle to adapt to their goals in response to new interests, challenges, or opportunities.

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10 Essential Academic Goals for High School Students

By: Author Candice Zhang

Posted on Last updated: January 31, 2024

Categories Career

Remember the first day of high school? I do! I remember it being a very stormy day and being lost in the weather on my way home after school. Among the new-ness of it all, my academic goals for high school were waiting to be molded.

But other than that first day, what might be some other things you remember? Do you remember what it was like attending your classes as a freshman? It may have been overwhelming, as courses were structured differently in middle school. 

You perhaps would’ve heard many misconceptions about high school from your peers around you. Some will say that high school is a very important stepping stone towards your future.

This is when your grades and academic success matter and are taken into consideration for university applications. Setting short-term goals and long-term goals may give some clarity on this.

But what happens if you felt that you were never a strong student before high school? Fear not – habits can definitely change and it’s never too late to set some educational goals for high school.

Establishing Academic Goals for High School

Whether you’re in your freshman or senior year, you can definitely tweak a few study habits. And you can start by doing this through setting goals for yourself. 

While you set these specific goals, it’s important to keep in mind that everyone’s academic journey is different. So, you shouldn’t sweat if you feel like your peers know more than you. Instead, focus on yourself throughout the goal-setting process and see what you could do. 

Setting educational goals starting with high school will help better prepare you for your college education. Approximately 59% of high school students have an action plan to become college students. If that’s you, goal setting will benefit you immensely!

So without further ado, here are some realistic goals you can work towards in the beginning, in order to see how you can improve your studies: 

1. Don’t Stick to One Stream of Courses

I know we’re all pressured to focus on a specific stream, or type, of classes because guidance counselors and teachers encourage us to narrow ourselves to a certain field. However, this is often an incorrect approach because we’ll only be sticking to a specific set of courses. What if we have other talents and interests? 

Well, the answer to exploring other talents is to take a variety of courses with different focuses. When you’re selecting courses or electives, search for some courses that are outside of your comfort zone.

For example, when you select a visual arts course, perhaps select a business course to complement it. This is a good goal because you can develop more of your talents and skills for long-term success. 

2. Set a Study Schedule 

Try to see which extracurricular activities you plan to join, and keep track of the meetings. Plan these meetings in your agenda and see if you have any other obligations to fulfill. Do you have a part-time job? Or did you pick up any volunteer shifts? 

Once you note these times down, you can then create an action plan for a set study schedule. This as one of your academic goals in high school will ensure that you have a solid routine in order to prepare for busier weeks. 

Honing your time management skills will be essential in your academic career and future career too. You will have a better chance of setting goals you can actually achieve over a longer time frame.

College students need realistic goals and longer goals too, so consider how managing your free time in high school can be beneficial. You can leave your senior year confident as you take your first step into the busy schedule of university students.

3. Don’t Pressure Yourself When Feeling Unwell

Do you ever feel pressured to go to school even when you’re feeling sick? Going to school anyway is the best way for your condition to get worse. 

Therefore, if you’re feeling down in the dumps, try to eliminate your study time as much as possible. Your health comes first, as you’ll always have another opportunity to make up for your grades. 

So, don’t pressure yourself to study when your body tells you to rest. Your individual needs are more important than a busy schedule. Make sure you do rest because the sooner you get well the sooner you can take your next step towards your ultimate goal. 

4. Learn How to Read and Think Critically 

Many of us aren’t taught how critical thinking skills in high school are vital to academic performance. Even throughout our English literature or other humanities courses, we are basically taught to summarize the material and regurgitate it in our own words. 

However, university-level coursework usually evaluates an individual by their critical thinking skills. So, it’s important to gain that skill within the classroom throughout your high school years, as it will become more applicable later on. 

To accomplish this as one of your academic goals in high school you can start by analyzing your surroundings around you. See how they are applicable to your coursework. Additionally, get in the habit of taking notes and annotating what you read especially.

For example, if you’re taking a psychology course, you can perhaps analyze what each personality theory is about. Maybe consider how each personality may handle different types of situations. 

Encouraging high school students to think critically about what they’re reading is essential for developing their analytical and comprehension skills. This will also help with persuasive writing skills. Here are some questions that can help stimulate critical thinking:

Comprehension:

• What is the main idea of the text?
• Can you summarize the key points in your own words?
• What are the supporting details or evidence provided by the author?
• How does the author support their argument or viewpoint?
• Are there any assumptions made by the author, and do you agree with them?
• What literary devices or techniques does the author use, and how do they contribute to the message?

Interpretation:

• What do you think the author’s purpose is?
• How might different people interpret this text differently?
• Are there any underlying themes or messages?

Evaluation:

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument?
• Do you find the evidence convincing or lacking?
• How well does the author address counterarguments?
• How does this text relate to other readings or topics you’ve studied?
• Can you connect the ideas presented in this text to real-world situations?
• What new insights or perspectives does this text offer?

Application:

• How can the information from this text be applied in a practical context?
• Are there examples from your own experiences that align with or challenge the ideas presented?

Reflection:

• Do you have a better understanding or changed opinion after reading this text?
• What questions does the text raise for you?
• Would you recommend this text to others, and why?

Cultural and Contextual Considerations:

• How might cultural or historical context influence the author’s perspective?
• Are there biases or assumptions that reflect the cultural background of the author?

Ethical Considerations:

• Are there ethical implications in the author’s argument or the topic discussed?
• How might different ethical frameworks interpret the content?

Metacognition:

• What strategies did you use to understand and analyze the text?
• Were there any challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

This will also improve your understanding of the course material. You’ll be ready for university in no time!

5. Learn to Stay Focused 

An important lesson I learned throughout my adulthood was staying focused on a specific task. Many individuals who achieve great results are always known for their performance consistency. 

But in order to maintain consistency, that often means staying focused. For example, if you want to study calculus for 2 hours, allocate that time to only studying for the subject matter. You will not have a great time if you try to go on social media while studying, as it can prove to be a distraction.

When you know how to eliminate your distractions, you’ll be able to stay focused. The more you focus on your coursework, the better and more consistent results you’ll achieve in your academics. 

6. Learn How One Mark Does Not Define Anything

Let’s say that you value good grades and worked super hard on an assignment. You were aiming for an A+, only to receive an A-. You may have felt super discouraged this moment as you feel that the effort you put into your assignment should have given you higher grades. 

Well, fear not, there are always ways to improve your scores on assignments. You’ll always have more to assignments submit and more to prove to yourself by getting better grades. In fact, one mark won’t dictate your potential in the course, or in the bigger picture in life. 

7. Find Your Preferred Study Method 

This is an easily achievable goal as there are many study methods which people live by. Some of these include the Pomodoro technique, and many high school students often use flashcards. However, although many students utilize these methods, they may not be the best for you. 

Instead, you can experiment with different study methods and see what works and does not work. Perhaps, if you’re more of a writer, you probably find it more effective by summarizing your study notes after you complete the chapter. 

Regardless, everyone’s different so experiment with different ideas, and see what works for you. Additionally, establishing an efficient study method as one of your academic goals in high school gives you an advantage when beginning your college courses.

8. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

I remember when I was in my teenage years, I would often see my peers doing better than me in school. Everyone expected me to do well, although I was consistently scoring on the lower end of the spectrum. 

I continuously asked myself; “How come this person got 10% higher than me on this assignment?” 

It sounds cliche, but the truth is that comparison isn’t often helpful. There are plenty of external factors that can affect a student’s mark and some of these factors cannot be uncontrolled. It’s often difficult to predict other people’s circumstances, so why compare? 

In the end, it’s best to focus on your own progress and see what makes you happy. Especially when others around you seem to have lofty academic career goals. As long as you can improve and reach your long-term goals, you should be happy about that. 

9. Engage with the Course Material 

Many people would think that engaging with the course material often means participating in the classroom. Though this is true to some extent, good students always tend to go above and beyond. They would think about how the course material which they are learning can apply to their lives. 

Let’s say that you are taking grade nine English and you’re studying Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Sure, they were tragic lovers. But you can perhaps try to relate some of the themes to the current world. 

For example, we know that Romeo and Juliet’s families weren’t allies at first. Now, think about a society where family ties are important in consideration for marriage. Ask yourself: What happens if the two children in these two families end up meeting each other and becoming friends? 

As soon as you’re able to think of the course material in a practical manner, everything will become more clear. When incorporating this as one of your academic goals for high school, you will also better remember what you are learning.

10. Find Hobbies that Bring You Joy 

Many people would often say that studying harder is the key to succeeding. However, this can be further from the truth. If you’re studying a specific subject for 8 hours and your mind isn’t into it, will you be able to absorb the information you’re learning? 

Sometimes, we need a break from our coursework and studies. In fact, there are times when we perhaps want to focus on something else outside of school. And that’s great because doing so is great way to detach and relax.

So to live a balanced lifestyle, find a couple of hobbies that bring you joy and support your mental health. This can range from playing sports to writing. Or from dancing to singing.

Whatever you like to do, find a few activities to de-stress from all the hard work and studying. Ultimately this will improve your academic performance and support your educational goals.

In Summary: Essential Academic Goals for High School 

Sometimes, it’s not as effective to quantify academic goals as it focuses on the outcome, instead of the process. Indeed, marks are very quantitative: they’re very numbers-focused, and it often becomes difficult knowing how to utilize some of the strategies. 

However, once you set goals to develop these strategies you’ll be more prepared to tackle advanced-level coursework. You’ll learn more about yourself and see what works for you. Instead of seeing what others are doing, you’ll be more focused on your own specific goals. 

Therefore, in order to fulfill your academic goals, try to set a goal on how you can apply the course material learned. See if there are opportunities to apply what you learned to the external world whether that is through everyday conversations with people, or through the media you interact with. 

As soon as you apply what you learned, you’re more likely to retain the information and perform well on tests. With that being said, finding the best study method is a never ending journey.

There’s always room for improvement and growth, so see what works for you. You got this and good luck with your studies!

About the Author

Candice is currently attending school for social service work. One of her passions is helping others through my writing. In her downtime, you'll find her listening to music, watching random YouTube videos, and writing about career goals and resumes. She hopes to start freelancing for writing and obtain a leadership position in a public services sector.

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How to Be Successful in High School: Complete Guide

Other High School

There's a lot of pressure in high school to prepare for the future, but between classes, extracurriculars, and trying to have a social life, thinking about what comes after high school can feel like being told to climb a mountain with no help.

Instead of fixating on the future, success in high school means thinking about what you can do now . Being on top of things in high school is a great foundation for success in the future.

But what does being successful mean? How can you get started today? What should you worry about, and what should you let slide?

This guide will help you learn how to be successful in high school no matter where you are in your education . With tips and goals to strive for, you'll be prepared for the future at any point in high school—it's never too late to start getting a plan together.

What Does Being Successful in High School Mean?

"Success" is a tricky thing to aim for—everybody has different goals and priorities, so the first step of how to be successful in high school is to determine what your goals are .

It's important to understand that success won't look the same for everybody. Not only is every person coming from a different background with unique abilities and hindrances, but people also don't all want the same thing . Some have high career aspirations and income goals, while other people want to travel the world, and still others want to improve their own communities. Every one of those things is a kind of success. 

Regardless of what your individual goals are, one thing is true—the earlier you start to prepare, the better equipped you are to achieve those goals. Whether you're shooting for the moon (literally!) or sticking close to home, planning your roadmap to success means you understand not just where you're going, but how to get there . You don't want to be scrambling at the last minute to finish everything you need to do, so start as soon as you can.

How to Set Goals for Success in High School

Take some time to brainstorm what you want for the future. Don't be afraid to dream big —if you want to be an astronaut, write it down! If you want to solve world hunger, write it down! You'll figure the rest out later. Brainstorming gets your ideas down on paper, and later you'll refine them into actions.

Once you know for certain what you want, you can start figuring out how to get there . Say you want to solve world hunger—that's pretty abstract, so you need to figure out how you can tackle such a big problem through concrete actions. Do a little research to find out what efforts are already being made. What skills do you have? How can you use those skills to add to the work in progress? 

If you're aiming for a particular career goal, do some research into how the best of the best got where they are . What degrees do they have? What colleges did they attend? What interests do they have that lead to their career? Match these up with your own desires and factor them into your goals.

For example, let's say you want to become an astronaut. You don't just become one by doing a job interview—you need a few more things before you'll be accepted into NASA, like a bachelor's degree in a science or math field . That means getting a degree should be a high priority for you.

Part of goal-setting is determining which colleges best suit your needs . Make a list, and start researching what criteria you need to meet to get accepted. Each item you list will need its own set of goals, such as reaching a certain GPA or getting a particular SAT score. Write all this down—you'll want to keep it for planning concrete steps!

Next, you need either an advanced degree or 1,000 hours of in-command time on a jet aircraft. Consider which you'd rather do, and plan accordingly. 

If you want the advanced degree, repeat the search above for grad schools and doctoral programs. These later goals may not be things you can do right now, but you can break them down into smaller pieces that you can start working on as soon as today .

If you'd rather go for the 1,000 hours of flight, joining the military or becoming a commercial pilot are both options . Again, each of these comes with its own set of goals to accomplish , so keep breaking those into smaller and smaller achievable pieces, such as getting your physics grade up or joining science-related extracurriculars. 

Lastly, becoming an astronaut means you need to be in prime physical fitness. This is something you can start now, especially with NASA's requirement for swimming— if your shuttle makes a water landing, you'll need to be prepared to swim ! Setting physical fitness goals (or any type of goal) now gets you into the habit of practicing them, something that will serve you well as you progress through your life . 

No matter what your dream career is, you can follow these steps. And even if you don't make it into your dream school or you find that the field you once aspired to isn't right for you later in life, you're still set up for excellence! Aim high, and you'll have your pick of options—don't limit yourself now because you're unsure if you can reach your highest goal .

The #1 Key to Being Successful in High School: Prioritization

Prioritization is one of the most important skills you can have as a student. Being naturally gifted or having a great work ethic doesn't mean much if you can't figure out where to direct your skills . That's why setting goals should always be your first step to success. 

Once you have a list of goals, including ones for the long- and short-term, you can start to prioritize them. Look at where you are in comparison to where you need to be. What can you do to get there? What can you do right now that will make the most meaningful difference?

Obviously, if you're aiming to be an astronaut, you can't just walk into college and ask for a degree. You have to work to get there, which means asking yourself what you can do to get to your dream school. You can apply, of course, but that application needs to be polished. How do you polish it? What can you do  right now to get your application into shape?

For example, say your physics grade has slipped. You need a good GPA—especially in science courses—to make it into a program that will help you become an astronaut. What can you do to fix that?

Studying more is an obvious choice, but "more" isn't a concrete goal. Two hours per week is a good starting point, but you can break that down even further and make it actionable. Two hours per week equates to about 25 minutes per day, so let's round that up to a half hour.   Studying an extra half-hour per day is an actionable goal, one that's not so big that you'll have to entirely rewrite your life to achieve it, but not one so small that it won't make any meaningful difference . 

Upping your study time is more immediately important than being able to swim three pool lengths in astronaut gear. You've got time to work up to that—your Bachelor's degree will take you four years, and whatever training you do beyond that will add on time—so focus on what you can fix  right now . Not only is your physics grade something you have control over, but you also have less time to fix it, so it needs to be higher on your priority list. 

Prioritizing will allow you to plan out milestones and tackle them in an order that makes sense. Rather than trying to do everything—swim three pool lengths, get into college, raise your physics grade, rack up 1,000 hours piloting jets—you confront them one at a time, crossing one off and moving to the next . 

How to Keep Track of Everything You Need to Do

All this goal setting is great, but you have to keep track of them or you'll be stuck spinning your wheels without direction. Consider getting a planner or making use of a calendar to stay on top of everything.

Passion Planners are a great choice. They're goal-focused and contain lots of tools for getting inspired and breaking your goals into actionable items. This structure is great for those who have big dreams but struggle with getting started and following through. There's even an academic version that only covers school months, and there are tons of tutorials online for how to best use (and decorate) them .

If the structure of Passion Planner doesn't work for you, plenty of other people swear by Bullet Journaling. This system uses a series of symbols to dictate what should be done now and what should be done later, as well as encouraging you to break tasks into actionable items. If you prefer to be a bit more free-form in your planning, Bullet Journaling may be for you.

Whatever route you end up taking, the important thing is that you give yourself structure and a means to execute your goals. 

Set due dates. If you need to raise your physics grade, set that goal sometime in the future—say, raising your B- to an A by the end of the quarter. Since you've already asked yourself what you can do to get there, you can assign your goals, such as studying an extra half hour per day, joining a study group, or turning in missing assignments, to specific dates. Write that extra half hour down on every day, and write another reminder once per week, for example, to complete a missing assignment. 

Essentially, keeping track of everything means setting goals, breaking those goals down into actionable items, setting deadlines, and following through. Aim high, but all the little stops on your roadmap are important, too. Think of the small tasks as steps in a large staircase with your goal at the top—you can't leap directly to the top, but you can get there one step at a time .

How to Be Successful in 9th Grade

Planning for specifics is how you achieve big goals, but general planning is great too. Even if you're not sure what you want to do with the rest of your life yet, there are still big steps you can take to make sure you're on track for success later in life. It's never too early to start thinking about college , even if you're not ready to settle on one school or field of study yet . 

One of the best ways to ensure that you're ready for college, even as soon as ninth grade, is to make sure you're taking challenging, useful courses . If you don't know what you want to do with your life, that's okay! Elective courses can help you figure that out. 

Your course load in ninth grade should be a mixture of required classes, electives, and challenging classes. There's no magic number of AP or honors courses that will magically get you into your dream school , but colleges do want to see you making the most of what's available to you . 

That said, if you find yourself struggling to keep your grades up, it's okay to reassess. You need to pass the classes in order for colleges to take them seriously, so be sure you're taking on a workload that you can handle. For a freshman, one to two AP courses is a great place to start. 

Ninth grade is also a great time to start getting involved—really involved—in extracurriculars . If you're into journalism, you may not get a coveted editor position as a freshman, but you can start taking on additional responsibilities and writing stories that matter to you. To return to the astronaut example, you can consider joining a science or math club at school, and going for a leadership position down the road. 

Don't be afraid to start thinking about college choices . That doesn't mean you have to make concrete plans, but doing some research into what requirements schools have and what features appeal to you is a great way to start narrowing down your choices early on. Instead of looking through every conceivable school junior year, you'll already have a possible list narrowed down.

How to Be Successful in 10th Grade

Tenth grade is a time to start thinking seriously about your future plans . It’s a good time to research schools and potentially start narrowing them down. You have plenty of time to apply, so don’t stress about whether or not you’ll get in— use this time to think about how you’ll set yourself up for success rather than worrying about whether or not you’ll succeed .

As with ninth grade, you’ll want to focus on keeping your grades up, getting involved in extracurriculars, and taking honors and AP courses in tenth grade.

Shoot for one to three AP courses in your schedule, but always keep in mind that your grades come first. If you’re struggling in your regular classes, it’s okay to cut back . You want to find a healthy balance of schoolwork and extracurriculars, which may sometimes mean letting something go to fix where you’re struggling. It may feel a bit like playing Whack-a-Mole, but prioritization and goal setting will help you focus on what’s most important .

Now is a good time to take the PSAT or PreACT for the first time. If you have a sense of where you’re starting from, you’ll know where to focus your studying efforts as you get closer to taking the real thing. Even better, you’ll have more time to study. Instead of crunching junior and senior year, you'll be able to focus on weak points rather than trying to bring all your scores up at once. 

If you’re not 100 percent on track with where you want to be, that’s okay! Spend some time thinking about how you can correct course and get back on schedule . There are no hard and fast rules for success, as every person is unique.

How to Be Successful in 11th Grade

Eleventh grade is why it’s important to start planning early . Suddenly you’re faced with the very real task of college applications and standardized tests, and it can feel like things are closing in on you.

Still, don’t panic . Even if you haven’t started preparing yet, you can get yourself back on track .

In eleventh grade, it’s time to start thinking seriously about college applications. That doesn’t mean filling them out—though you can start early, applications won’t be due until the next year, even for early decision.

Instead, focus on your standardized test scores . Take an SAT or ACT test if you can and see where you’re at, compare that to your college of choice’s average score, and start working to make sure your score is at that level. If it’s already there, great! You can instead work on getting a higher than average score to look even more impressive in your application.

Junior year is the most important one for your GPA . Every year is important, but junior year is the last full year you have to impress colleges before applications , so make it count.  To be competitive for college, aim to take two to four AP courses in eleventh grade, and keep those grades up.

If you struggle your junior year, it’s not the end of the world. You will need to explain things to colleges you apply to, and also demonstrate that you’re working to fix anything that’s slipped. That’s why it’s important to have a plan— when you know where you’re going, getting back on track is far easier.

How to Be Successful in 12th Grade

If only senior year was the time to relax after all your hard work. Instead, now is the time you’ll be putting all that hard work into action , applying to colleges, seeking leadership positions in the extracurriculars you’ve been involved in, and continuing to maintain your GPA.

If you’ve been on track until this point, congratulations! Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, with the added responsibility of applying to colleges .

If you’re coming at this a little late and are worried about your odds, don’t panic—you still have options. Maybe you slipped in junior year, or maybe you just didn’t know that you had to get started early. You can still achieve success, even if you’re a little late to the game .

Identify any weak points in your grades, extracurriculars, and courses. What can you correct? What will make the biggest difference right now?

If you haven’t started SAT or ACT prep, do so now . Take a practice test and start working to get your score up to your target. Though your social life might suffer with these additional demands, it’s important to make the most of the time that you do have. Don’t burn yourself out, but do be sure you’re putting in the work.

No matter what, don’t feel like it’s the end of the world. Maybe you don’t get into your dream school. Maybe you don’t get into most of the schools you apply to. That doesn’t mean a great future is out of reach—it just means you need to reassess . Consider enrolling in community college and transferring to a four-year school when you’re ready, or starting at a lower volume school and transferring later. These are perfectly legitimate options that can lead to a wonderful and lucrative future for you— getting started late is better than never getting started at all .

It’s important not to let yourself give up. You might run into obstacles and need to change plans, but it’s never too late to strive for more. Keep making goals and reaching for new milestones, because there are always options .

5 Tips for How to Be Successful in High School

Making goals and prioritizing them is a great way to be successful in high school.  But there are other skills you can cultivate , too, that will help you on your path to success.

#1: Start Planning Early

The earlier you start getting your plans together, the better. Your plans can change over time—don't be afraid to be flexible—but you simply can't achieve your goals if you don't have any.

Making goals early and breaking them down into digestible pieces gives you clear milestones to achieve . It's far easier to hit a bunch of small goals leading to a larger one than to jump right from a C to an A, so the earlier you can start, the smoother your path to success will be.

#2: Follow a Schedule

Figure out what you need to do, how long you have to get it done, and break that into smaller achievable goals. "Raise my grades," is a good goal, but you can't jump right there—instead, commit to studying two hours per week or completing one missing or extra credit assignment per week. 

Set a schedule for when you need to get things done, but also schedule in time for work  and for breaks . If you work at a specific time every day, you'll find yourself settling into a more efficient pattern. And giving yourself regular breaks ensures that your brain is always performing its best rather than struggling to focus after hours of studying.

#3: Designate a Study Space

It sounds strange, but picking one particular place to study in can actually be a big help in focusing better. If you have a desk or a quiet place in your home, decide that that's your studying zone and clear it of distractions—no phone, no magazines, no video games. When you sit down there, you'll start to associate it with studying, and your brain will find it easier to shift into work mode . 

If you can avoid it, don't make a place that has a different purpose, such as your bed, your dining room table, or your noisy living room your study space. If you try to use the same place for multiple purposes, it loses its association with studying . Find somewhere that you can get work done and  only use it to get work done. 

#4: Find Unique Ways to Practice

Studying is good, but you have to study smart . Reading the same things over and over again won't necessarily help, so find ways to really engage with what you're learning. 

Flashcards are a popular study method for a reason—writing the information down and quizzing yourself on it repeatedly can drill it into your mind a whole lot easier than reading and re-reading the same page of notes. But you can try other things, too, such as coming up with your own mnemonics or even teaching the material to somebody else . If you're struggling to understand or memorize something, get creative with it rather than forcing yourself to keep studying in a way that isn't working for you.

#5: Find a Study Buddy

Not only is studying easier when you have somebody to quiz you, but accountability is also a great way to motivate yourself. It's far harder to cancel plans with somebody else than to cancel plans with yourself .

Of course, be sure you find somebody who isn't just there to hang out. Your ideal study partner should be somebody who  also has goals and who isn't going to distract you when you're trying to work. Tell each other what you're going to get done, and hold each other accountable for achieving it. Check in to see what their progress is, and tell them what you've achieved. When you share your goals with others, you get them involved and invested in your success, making you more likely to keep going when you feel like giving up .

What’s Next?

All these tips for success will help you prepare for college, but you still need to apply to actually get in. This guide to college applications will help you understand exactly what schools are looking for.

Even if you don't want to go to Harvard, you can still study like you do . If your application is Harvard-ready, you're also ready for most other schools— the higher you aim, the better your chances are no matter where you want to go .

Grades are a crucial part of a successful college application. This guide to getting a 4.0 GPA will help you plan effective studying habits, giving you a better chance at getting into your dream college. 

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Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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7 Goal-setting Games And Activities For High School Students

Being in high school is a time that opens us up to a universe of possibilities and opportunities, and with that comes an ever-flowing rush of new ideas, thoughts, emotions, and notions. 

High schoolers, we understand you and the immense potential you carry. Here, we have got you covered. Goal setting, in general understanding, is as simple as it sounds. A goal can be anything you desire to achieve, from the smallest of chores like waking up and eating, to the intensive, long-term goals like preparing for an upcoming examination or competition. 

This is where goal setting comes in, including a clear arrangement of one’s present and future plans, targets, and aspirations, all in one place. Research has revealed that goal-setting [ 1 ] greatly affects student learning and performance in the classroom. Hence, to employ this and make it fun at the same time, this blog post brings you the list of interactive yet valuable games and activities that cater to the required role. 

Empowering goal-setting games & activities for high schoolers

Setting personal goals elevates self-awareness and provides a clear idea of the possible actions, plans, and aspirations, thereby increasing motivation. Employing games and activities promotes higher productivity and interest levels, quality of work, and reduction of stress. With this in view, given below activities and games not only create a space for students that heightens their potential but also ignites their ambitious sides. 

1. Create your own vision board

 In a classroom setting, it is essential for everyone to not just be aware of their goals as a collective batch, but also their individual goals for the day in school. In this activity, a group of students and peers can come together to make a pictorial representation of their weekly schedule, divided in a way that lists their day-to-day goals. 

One way to do this easily is on a whiteboard or a paper chart, dividing it into rows and columns, with their timetables and day-to-day goals written accordingly. This can be done in a competitive spirit. In this sense, let’s say, the one who completes and ticks off their daily goals first, wins, and gets to choose a topic of their choice and interest for an upcoming debate or discussion, or gets to decide the next day’s goals for everyone. 

For example, the daily goal of studying for three hours, or completing one’s assignments can be up on the visionary board and can be checked off by the ones who complete it first. This allows for healthy competition, collaborative effort, and a much clearer vision of one’s present progress!

2. The S.M.A.R.T way

S.M.A.R.T. goals are an acronym for goals that can be defined in the following aspects: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. These are all the enlisted qualities that any goal should have in order for it to be achieved. To start, teachers can first instruct students about the SMART goals, and how to use them along with some examples.

Each student will have to write their one most important goal on a paper and collect it all in a box. Now, call one student at a time randomly and ask to pick one chit. According to the goal mentioned on it, the students have to make a plan by using these five aspects. 

For fun, this can be done in the way of sticky note tags on a class board, with every student assigned to their specific column. Also, teachers can provide smart goal worksheets to students for a more systematic way to carry out the activity. This way, one can not only have a crystal clear vision of what they want to achieve, but also an automatically laid out plan to achieve the same. What’s well begun is half done!

3. Goals as Spelling bees

Are you one of those people who number, categorize, annotate, and divide all their notes? Well, even if you aren’t, you’ve got to admit it’s as fun as it is elaborate. But don’t worry, you don’t need sticky notes or highlighters for this one. It’s a verbal practice!  

The class can be divided into groups and given the same letter of the alphabet, out of which they’ll be asked to form and annotate as many useful and insightful goals according to their designated curriculum, as per the alphabetical order. In the end, no matter who wins or loses, you still have double the pool of ideas and an even greater collaborative space than before. It’s a win-win situation! 

4. Drawing interest maps 

At a time when you are surrounded by an endless number of opportunities, possibilities, and preferences. Such a time calls for a mind map, or in the case of setting your goals, an interest map. This can be done in the following way. 

Make a rough list of everything that you are interested in, your hobbies, the extracurricular activities you enjoy, the subjects you feel most interested in, the jobs or career fields you feel you could perhaps fit in, anything that draws you towards itself, and everything you feel passionate about. Once you do, sit with them for some time. 

The simplest thing would be beginning with a flow chart under your name, writing all those hobbies and interests in one line. Then, connect each of those hobbies and interests with one or more subjects or extracurricular activities they can be associated with. Finally, in the third line, connect them further with the jobs, positions, and careers that seem fit for those categories, and voila! You just created an interest map. 

5. Make a real bucket list 

Yes, by a real bucket, we mean a real bucket. Don’t get us wrong, you can make it with paper or a hardboard too. By making a paper or a cardboard bucket, you can fill it up by writing your goals on different colored paper chits. The physical presence of an actually fillable bucket and not just metaphorically can help one look forward to goal setting even more.  

Seeing your bucket fill slowly with goals and aspirations not only becomes a great source of motivation but also a constant boost of self-esteem, confidence, and purpose. It’ll not just be fulfilling to see yourself check one goal off the bucket every time you complete it, but also how your progress moves up the graph steadily. 

For example, you plan on learning any vocational language, or a new musical instrument. You can write those on different chits, and once you do achieve them in the future, you can pull them out of the bucket and color them with a different color as an indicator of completion. And yes, you can also make two, one for your short-term goals and the other for your long-term goals!

6. Introspective journaling 

Do you know how journaling [ 2 ] helps one process their personal issues and crises effectively? Guess what, it does the same for your academic and professional goals too! Introspection, as an intensive process, works towards the betterment of one’s own understanding of oneself. By using such strategies, individuals actively alter their behavior in an attempt to improve their personal perspectives, mood, and daily functioning.

It gives you a clear understanding of where you are presently and where you see yourself in the next week, month, year, or even five years. Along with that, it gives you something to look forward to, something to work towards constantly, a purpose that feels in alignment with where your interests lie. 

For example, if a student aims at improving their concentration, they may begin timing their study sessions. While journaling, they may begin by writing why they feel it is difficult to sit for longer hours and continue with what they think might help with it. Writing about goals and action plans is also a great option for journal topics . After some time, they can reflect back towards what worked for them, and new techniques they discovered that can add more to the ongoing progress. 

7. Prompt narration 

There’s nothing more important than self-evaluation and criticism, except for one thing: self-appreciation. In a class setting, it is natural and even good for healthy competition to exist. But in the age of high schoolers, there are more insecurities and self-doubts than one can imagine. This is why it is important for one to reflect back on their own achievements, as small or as big as they can get, and appreciate themselves for it.  

Such prompts can be given by the professors in class, parents or guardians at home, and even by friends sitting together in a peer group. For instance, “What are five things you did this week that you appreciate yourself for?”, “What are three things you couldn’t do last year but can do now?” , “How do you think you have become more accepting and kind to yourself in the past few months?”, “What are five new hobbies, activities, or interests you wish to explore in the next year?” and many more like these. Also, students can use these as writing prompts as well.

This gives the student not just a reflection of where they are, but also an appreciative picture of how far they’ve come, and that is a beautiful thing to feel! 

Significance of goal-setting activities 

Goal-setting activities and games can prove to be highly beneficial. A high school student can often be understood to be struggling with a blurry vision for the future. This often results in increased stress, low motivation levels, and even lower productivity. 

In such a case, an array of enjoyably laid out games and activities can help the students achieve a clear vision of their goals and targets, while also making them feel purposeful, motivated, and driven towards their ambitions. The benefits can vary through different aspects:

1. Physiological effects

When coming up with new ideas, and working your mind, there’s a rush of energy that desperately desires the right medium to be let out. Goal-setting games and activities are the best outlets that serve to let one’s physical energy be spent in a place that helps them feel more spirited and able. 

2. Psychological effects

Ideas are born in a space of inspiration. A normal academic routine, sometimes, may lack providing more room for exposure and visionary talent. Goal-setting games and activities can help one to exercise their tickling brain into forming a display of thoughts and insights.

3. Cognitive effects

Cognition is what governs our thinking and ideation. Goal-setting activities help students to improve their critical thinking skills, and dimensional perception and form highly creative approaches towards their desired goals and targets. 

4. Neurological effects

One’s neurological function and health largely depend on how stressed or relaxed one feels. Goal-setting activities help students to get a clearer idea and pathway towards their respective aims, and hence provide a calmer space to think and work. 

5. Social effects

One’s confidence and esteem does rely on the level and quality of social bonding. Goal-setting activities, by nature, are designed to be collaborative and interactive in nature, providing one with a safe and healthy space to create that social edge for themselves. 

In a nutshell

Goal-setting games and activities are highly contributive and resourceful, not only for every student to comprehend their future aspirations, but also for the institution to be supportive of a child’s curiosity and hunger for knowledge. Being bound by parental and societal expectations, a child’s capacity for intrigue gets suppressed. 

As a space made for growth and learning, it is imperative for those creative explorations to bloom right there. Such activities, no matter how small they may seem, hold the power to leave a major impact on the development of young minds, leading them where they can believe that the world is their oyster. 

• Sides, J. D., & Cuevas, J. A. (2020). Effect of Goal Setting for Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Performance in Elementary Mathematics. International Journal of Instruction, 13(4), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.1341a 
• Fritson, K. K. (2008b). Impact of Journaling on Students’ Self-Efficacy and Locus of Control. InSight : A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 3 , 75–83. https://doi.org/10.46504/03200809fr

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

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SMART Goals for Students That You Can Actually Achieve

Set yourself up for true success..

Creating goals helps set you up for future success, especially if you start setting professional and personal benchmarks for yourself at a young age. But the way you think about your goals can affect whether or not you actually achieve them.

As a student, you want to make goals that you can meet so that you will stay inspired to keep going. An achievable goal will help you avoid burning out and feeling deflated as a result. The easiest way to set yourself up for failure, whether you’re trying to make more money or lose weight, is to set goals you can’t actually meet. 

Luckily, there’s a trick to help you create goals you can stick to for the long term!

That’s where SMART goals come in. Using the SMART goal system, you’ll be able to create goals that truly work for where you’re at, providing yourself a specific, measurable and, most of all, achievable framework. 

Let’s get started. 

What is a SMART Goal?

SMART is an acronym that stands for: 

Instead of creating vague goals that you may or may not actually meet, come up with SMART goals to help you devise a solid framework around what you want to accomplish. 

The aim of SMART goals is to provide you with a concrete road map of where you want to go, with ways to mark your progress and keep you in check. (We’ll soon get into some SMART goals examples to show you how it all works.) 

When you want to set a relevant goal for yourself, a measurable goal, you should make sure it meets all of the SMART criteria. Double check that your goals check all the SMART boxes by asking yourself these questions: 

Is your goal specific?

There’s a big difference between setting a goal to get good grades and setting a goal to maintain a specific grade point average. “Getting good grades during the school year” isn’t specific or concrete, since each person’s definition of good grades is different. 

Saying that you want to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or above, making a commitment to make the Dean’s list, or pushing yourself to get all A’s is more specific and concrete. 

Is your goal measurable?

Determine how you will measure your success. Saying you will save money is vague. Committing to saving 25 percent of your paycheck or $100 per month is measurable and solid. Having a specific, tangible goal makes it easier for you to track your progress and keep yourself accountable. 

Is your goal achievable? 

You’ve probably been taught to dream big. But you don’t want to set yourself up for failure and sap your self confidence by creating goals for yourself that you just won’t be able to achieve. Trying to get a bachelor’s degree in one year, for instance, is likely not feasible—for nearly everyone. 

Keep yourself in check by being honest about your time constraints, financial constraints, your abilities and your talents. 

Is your goal relevant?

Keep a healthy perspective about your goals. Setting SMART goals means understanding if a specific aim is actually worthwhile and if it’s the right time, right now, to try to achieve it. For instance, trying to train for a triathlon while starring in the school play are at odds with each other—there simply won’t be enough time (or energy) to really excel at both. 

Is your goal time-bound? 

Deadlines and time frames can be great motivators. Saying you’ll commit to 15 minutes of exercise each day is more meaningful than just saying that you’ll workout regularly. Setting a goal to get to sleep by midnight is more impactful than saying you want to get more shut eye each night. 

While these time-based constraints can change over time with your needs, they work well for getting you started on your goals. If you end up needing extra time or less time, you can tweak things. (And if you’re not sure how much time certain tasks should take, you can just use your best judgement anc change course as needed.)

Goal setting: The importance for students to set SMART goals 

Goal setting (and execution) is a life skill that you’ll need to learn in order to be successful. Setting goals using the SMART acronym helps you develop autonomy and self motivation, allowing you to stand on your own and truly flourish in your own life. While college students aren’t yet completely in the so-called “real world” practicing how to set goals and benchmarks for yourself is an important skill to hone now. 

Using the SMART system when goal setting helps you accomplish so many things: If you want to be a better student, get good grades, find extracurriculars that truly enrich your college experience—you name it—SMART goals can give you the framework you need to make these things happen. It will take practice to reshape your thinking from vague to specific, fluid to measurable but taking the time to get goal setting right is a worthy endeavor. 

When you set effective goals, you set yourself up for success, allowing for continuous self improvement. Not to mention, you’ll feel an immense sense of pride every time you tackle a goal that you’ve set for yourself. 

SMART goals examples for students

As a student, you have many balls in play, so to speak, that make up your overall life. You have your classes—studying, tests, grades and so on. You have your social life and the new friends and experiences you’ll have, particularly if you’re college bound. You have your professional life, which is just starting to bloom, like when you start your first job search. 

The following SMART goals examples for students are broken down into categories so you can get a jump on creating your own goals in various areas of your life. Use these examples as inspiration to brainstorm what you personally want to shoot for. (Remember: You can use the SMART acronym for both short term and long term goals.)

Academic goals 

Example: Attending your professors’ office hours within the first month of classes

This goal is specific: You aren’t just saying that you’ll meet your professors and chat with them in a vague, open-ended way. You’re setting a specific goal to meet each one during their allotted office hours. 

Measurable: 

This goal is measurable because you can check off which professors you’ve spoken with as you meet with them. 

Achievable: 

This goal is achievable because you’re giving yourself a good amount of time to get it done.

This goal is relevant because meeting your teachers early on in the semester can help you establish a rapport with them. This can be important when you need extra help, are looking for a mentor, need a recommendation and so on.

Time-Bound: 

This goal is time bound because you are setting a deadline for yourself of one month. 

Other examples of SMART goals in this category : 

• Setting aside a certain amount of time each week for studying
• Applying to a specific number of colleges or graduate school programs
• Checking in with your academic advisor periodically for support
• Participating in class discussions by raising your hand a certain amount of times each week
• Joining campus clubs that fit with your academic and career goals
• Finishing course work on time (before the day it’s due)

Career goals 

Example: Securing a summer internship at a law firm by the end of Spring Break. 

This goal is specific because you’re not just looking for any job—you want to get an internship in a specific field. 

Measurable:

This goal is measurable because you’ll either get hired or you won’t—there’s no vague in between. 

This goal is achievable as long as you’re giving yourself enough time to get it done, from researching firms to submitting applications to interviewing. You also need to be sure that you’re qualified for the jobs you are applying to, of course. 

This goal is relevant if you want to become a lawyer or are studying law. 

This goal is time bound because you are giving yourself a solid deadline by which to get hired at a law firm. 

Other examples of SMART goals in this category:  

• Visiting your campus career center one time each semester
• Spending a set amount of time researching new job opportunities the same day each week
• Following up with contacts about mentoring and networking opportunities monthly
• Attending at least two professional development seminars each semester

Financial goals

Example: Apply to 10 college scholarships in the first semester of your senior year

This goal is specific because you set a benchmark for yourself of how many scholarships to which you’ll apply. 

This goal is measurable because you can tick off your scholarships as you submit each one.

This goal is achievable in that you can likely use the same statement of purpose and cover letter for many of the applications, making tweaks here and there as needed. 

This goal is relevant if you’re needing financial assistance for college.

This goal is time bound because you’re giving yourself a deadline of one semester in which to complete and send your applications. 

• Committing to learning about mutual fund investing for 20 minutes a day so you can understand how to grow your money over time
• Sticking to your budget by checking in with your spending once a week
• Diverting extra money to hit a specific savings goal that you set each month

Self care goals

Example: Making time to reading for fun by choosing one new book to read each month

This goal is specific because you are outlining one form of self care that matters to you and outlining how you will achieve it. 

This goal is measurable because you can say whether or not you accomplished finishing your book.

This goal is achievable if you’re committed to reading each day as a form of leisure.

This goal is relevant if you enjoy reading for fun and want to do it to relax and unwind to balance out your academic and social commitments. 

Time-Bound:

In committing to reading one book a month you are time bound to finishing your current book by the end of the month. 

Other examples of SMART goals in this category: 

• Going to bed at a set time each night that feels reasonable to you
• Setting aside a certain amount of time for fun and leisure activities each week
• Visiting the guidance counselor or therapist once a month
• Eating a balanced diet by purchasing healthy groceries and eating out only three times each week
• Creating a plan for movement and exercise, including how often you plan to exercise and what type of activity you will do
• Getting outside and in nature once a week by enlisting a friend to hike with you

Relationship goals 

Example: Stay in touch with high school friends by hosting a Zoom hangout once every two weeks

This goal is specific: You have a who (your high school friends), a what (virtual hangout), a when (every two weeks) and a where (over Zoom). 

This goal is measurable because you can see on your calendar where you have committed to these hangouts.

This goal is achievable because you should be able to find time in your schedule to at least hop on Zoom for 15 minutes every two weeks if connecting with these friends truly is important to you. 

This goal is relevant because staying close to these friends is a priority to you. 

This goal is time bound because it is recurring every two weeks. You know when it’s coming and you can plan for it accordingly. 

• Checking in with parents and family members a set number of times each month
• Limiting time on social media to X hours
• Committing to two or three social events per week to make new friends

Work smarter, not harder

Setting goals in general is important for achieving what you want out of life. But setting SMART goals sets you up from true success. Practicing goal setting through the SMART framework is a skill that you can continue to work on throughout your academic career and into your adult life. 

Use the aforementioned examples to help inspire you to make your own goals. SMART goals will help you achieve both academic success and personal satisfaction. With the right goal setting in place, you’ll have the motivation and the road map you need to accomplish anything you set your mind to.

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Forced to feel ashamed for her weight and appearance, Kate Winslet struggled with her body image for years. The media loved to tease her for being “the fat girl,” but there was ONE PERSON who saw the real her. What did Leo see in Kate? And what important message does Kate have for young women everywhere?

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's True Friendship

Kate Winslet has not always been sure of herself. "I was always comparing myself to others. You see I've been bullied at school, they call me blubber, they teased me for wanting to act."

While it's nearly impossible to think of the gorgeous and talented Winslet as anything other than a force to be reckoned with, years of being teased and the media's love for taking shots at her weight did their damage.

"I was sort of made to feel ashamed of myself, my appearance."

But when co-star and friend, Leonardo DiCaprio stepped in, he had only a few words of encouragement that helped to shape a new outlook for the Titanic actress. An outlook that she was able to share with other women, including her young daughter , Mia.

"You know, happiness it isn't a search for, you know ,facial physical perfection. You know, it comes from inside."

Desperate Man Needs to Pay Rent - Decides to Give His Money to a Stranger Instead

Man on the Street Offers Quarter to Stranger in Need

When an influencer approached a man on the street asking for money one day, he thought he would help him out with a generous gift. What he didn’t count on was an uplifting message to the rest of the world.

A Plea For Help

@mdmotivator “Color means nothing” — 🥺❤️ (GoFundMe Live) #homeless #newyork #kindness #money #rent #bus #strangers #quarter #harlem #fyp

One day, a TikTok user named Zachery Dereniowski, who uses the handle mdmotivator , came across a man on the street in a wheelchair. Dereniowski dedicates his social media to spreading kindness and helping others, and he saw an opportunity to make a difference.

In a video, he approaches the man, who is crying out: “Can anybody help me out, please?”

Dereniowski learns the man's name is Michael. He’s trying to make enough money to pay his rent by noon the next day. The rent is $195, but there’s nowhere close to that amount in the guy’s plastic cup.

“I’m a quarter short for the bus,” Dereniowski then tells Michael. Immediately, without even hesitating, Michael asks the stranger if he needs it.

“Of course you can [have it],” he says, reaching into the cup. “That’s all you need? You can get on the bus for free, but it’s good to have it in case.”

A Surprising Twist

Touched by Michael’s generosity, Dereniowski gave him the quarter back and handed him a stack of $50s.

“The fact that you were going to help me, man? I got $500,” he says, giving a stunned Michael the money.

“For real?” he asks, fighting back tears. “This ain’t no joke?”

The men then hug, and Dereniowski asks if Michael has anything he’d like to say to the world. Or, more specifically, the influencer’s 18 million followers.

“Let’s have peace and love for everybody,” he says. “Color means nothing!”

It was a sentiment that reached into the hearts of many online, who jumped into the comments to share their love for this man.

“He deserves everything in the world,” one person wrote.

“Breaks my heart for Michael but gives me faith in humanity,” wrote someone else. “Just think, if everyone watching was able to give HIM a quarter! How could we make that possible?”

A Matter of Perspective

The reason this video is so touching is because a man who didn’t know if he was about to lose his home the next day was still willing to give a stranger a quarter to help him out. How many of us would do that, knowing that every cent we accumulated mattered?

It’s not just a beautiful act of humanity, but it’s a reminder that we all have something to give, even when we think we don’t. It doesn’t necessarily have to be money, either. Michael's wise words in that video taught everyone an important lesson in leading with kindness and love.

It’s a nice reminder that we, too, can uplift others by leading with love and sharing what we have in life. Whether that’s our last quarter for the bus, a hug, a conversation with someone who is down on their luck, or volunteering our time in the community to make a difference, we all have the power to help others. All we need is a change of perspective and a little love in our hearts.

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Stranger Helps Black Woman Having Panic Attack on Flight

Flying is a great way to travel. It's quick, you get to sit back and relax while someone else does all the driving, and you get to travel to places you may otherwise never see.

Yet, for many of us, flying comes with some unwanted baggage: also known as crippling anxiety and all-out terror. After all, hurtling through the air at 38,000 feet in a metal tube can be daunting (to say the least).

For one young woman, a recent flight had her anxiety soaring to new heights...and then a kind stranger stepped in.

A Stranger Helps Out a Fellow Passenger 

from MadeMeSmile

In a Reddit post that has gone viral with over 29,000 upvotes, the original poster (who posts as @narrow_ad_2695) recounted what happened on a recent flight to New York City.

"On a flight into NYC today. On the left of the aisle was a young Black woman. On the other side of the aisle an older white guy. They were traveling separately."

As the plane was coming in to land, it hit some turbulence. Which, for even the most seasoned flyer, can cause a flutter of anxiety.

For this female passenger, however, her anxiety went immediately to Defcon 5, plunging her into a "full-blown panic attack." For anyone who has never experienced a panic attack, they're no joke. The intense, overwhelming sense of fear and dread triggers severe physical reactions, including palpitations, sweating, chest pain, dizziness, and difficulty breathing.

Seeing her distress, the stranger "reached across the aisle, tapped her gently on the shoulder and asked if she was ok."

She was decidedly NOT OK.

By this point, her thoughts of certain impending doom had completely and utterly annihilated any rational thought that may have been trying to take up space in her brain.

"She turned to him and grabbed his hand so tightly, tears streaming down her face," the OP wrote. "She said, 'I can't do this' and he calmly said, 'We're going to be fine. You'll see.'"

"The man just let her grip his hand all the way until we landed."

To have someone reach out and say it's okay meant the entire world at that moment. According to the OP, the woman was able to calm down and get through the rest of the flight. Once the aircraft landed, she "grabbed his hand with both of hers," and thanked him for being there.

"In a country where it feels pretty divided, this was just a wonderful moment to witness."

The Power of Real Human Connection

It's no secret that the United States is rife with political, social, and cultural divisions. From contentious elections to polarizing social issues, the country is grappling with an ever-increasing divide, leaving people feeling disconnected and uncared for.

And, let's face it, it's not just a US problem. Globally, we're not doing so great either. But it's stories like these that remind us that kindness and connection still exist in the world.

"I'm not sure why, but this made me cry. Some people just come along and restore your faith in humanity," one commenter wrote.

Another commenter wrote, "This is what being a good human looks like. It doesn't matter race, religion, or creed. Just be a good person. We're all on the same ride and need help here and there."

And then there was this comment, "I was recently stuck at a small airport with about 50 people, maybe more. The lady sitting next to me quietly called a nearby pizza place and ordered a bunch of huge pizzas for everyone, including TSA. Sometimes ordinary people do extraordinary things." For real.

So often, it can feel like we are all alone in our struggles, that no one else sees what we're going through. But sometimes, someone comes along who truly sees us.

And instead of turning a blind eye, or walking away, they join us in the dark and just sit with us. Reminding us that we are not alone and reassuring us that we will get through it.

By meeting his fellow passenger where she was and simply being present with her, this man turned a terrifying experience into a beautiful reminder of the power of extending a helping hand.

*Featured image contains photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

Copyright © 2024 Goalcast

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Mastering the Art of Goal-Setting: A Guide for High School Students

High school is an important stage in a student’s life, full of academic, social, and personal challenges. Setting realistic goals can help students navigate this crucial period more confidently and succeed. Read this guide on how to set achievable goals for high school students and outline strategies to accomplish them, paving the way for a successful and fulfilling high school experience.

• Understand the importance of realistic goals:

For high school students, setting realistic goals is essential for maintaining motivation, focus, and a sense of accomplishment. Realistic goals balance being ambitious enough to inspire growth and achievable enough to prevent burnout and frustration.

• Assess your current situation:

Before setting goals, students should evaluate their current academic performance, extracurricular activities, and personal life. Consider your strengths, weaknesses, and existing commitments that may impact your ability to achieve your goals. Having a clear understanding of your starting point will help you create both challenging and attainable goals.

• Break goals into smaller tasks:

Breaking goals into smaller tasks or milestones can make them more manageable and achievable. This process lets you focus on one step at a time and build momentum as you progress toward the ultimate goal. Celebrating small victories can boost motivation and reinforce the belief that you can achieve your larger objectives.

• Set SMART goals:

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework can help high school students create well-defined goals that are easier to track and accomplish. By setting SMART goals, you increase the likelihood of success and prevent frustration from vague or overly ambitious objectives.

• Be flexible and adjust when necessary:

High school students face various challenges and changing circumstances. It’s essential to remain flexible and willing to adapt your goals as needed. Regularly review your progress and adjust your goals or strategies if they no longer align with your current situation or priorities.

• Develop an action plan:

An action plan is a roadmap that outlines the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. It helps you stay organized, focused, and accountable throughout the process. Identify the resources you’ll need, potential obstacles, and strategies for overcoming them. Break your action plan down into daily or weekly tasks to make managing and monitoring progress easier.

• Seek support and accountability:

Sharing your goals with friends, family members, or mentors can help you stay accountable and motivated. These individuals can provide encouragement, advice, and constructive feedback as you work towards your objectives. Additionally, consider joining a club, group, or community of like-minded students who share similar goals, as they can offer valuable insights, support, and camaraderie.

• Learn from setbacks:

Setbacks are inevitable, but they can also be valuable learning experiences. Instead of becoming discouraged, use setbacks as opportunities to evaluate your strategies, identify areas for improvement, and adjust your approach. Embrace the growth mindset and view setbacks as essential steps in your journey toward success.

Setting realistic goals is an essential skill that can significantly impact a high school student’s overall success and personal growth. By understanding the importance of realistic goals, assessing your current situation, breaking goals into smaller tasks, setting SMART goals, being flexible, developing an action plan, seeking support, and learning from setbacks, you can maximize your chances of success and experience a sense of accomplishment. Setting and achieving goals is an ongoing journey, so remain patient, persistent, and open to growth.

How It Works: Free SAT®Prep w/ TUTOR.com

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If you have trouble answering that question, you’re not alone! Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about how we set goals.

In fact, many of us don’t even think of goal setting as a skill; rather, it’s just something we do without reflecting on it much.

However, goal setting is a practice that operates on a set of specific skills—and luckily, these skills are relatively easy to teach.

As with most skills, it’s best to start teaching goal setting early. Although parents are perhaps the best source of skill-building and development for their children, it’s vital to have some goal setting material in the school curriculum as well. Learning how to set goals in school and seeing goal setting modeled by peers and teachers is a great way to encourage effective goal setting in children.

This article will explore why goal setting is a great addition to the curriculum from elementary school all the way up to college, and how it can best be incorporated.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

A look at goal setting in education, how to best teach goal setting to students, a look at goal setting in elementary and middle school, goal setting for high school students, goal setting for college students, recommended books on the topic, 3 recommended videos, a take-home message.

Setting goals is a vital practice that can benefit anyone with a dream or a vision for their future. Young people who are just starting out on the grand journey of life are at a particularly opportune time to start building their goal setting skills—not only will these skills serve them throughout their lives, but building them now will help them mold their future into one that they desire.

Parents can encourage goal setting in their children—and absolutely should do so—but the importance of this skill justifies its inclusion in our schools’ curriculum. The world of education is an excellent place to introduce children to goal setting, lay the foundations for effective goal setting, and begin to practice setting and striving towards personally meaningful goals.

Why is Goal Setting Important for Youth?

Not only will a curriculum that includes instruction in setting goals teach kids the mechanics and techniques of goal setting, but it will also give them early wins and help them develop belief in themselves. Anyone who has worked with children will recognize the importance of self-belief and self-confidence for early life development.

Further, research backs up the effectiveness of goal setting, both for the children themselves and for schools and systems overall (O’Neill, 2000). When teachers practice good goal setting, the benefits for their students are two-fold:

• The students see effective goal setting modeled, and
• The school itself is likely to become more effective at facilitating learning.

How Do Children Benefit from Goal Setting?

Aside from helping them believe in themselves and setting them up for success in school, goal setting also benefits children and students in many ways, including:

• Improving self-image
• Increasing awareness of one’s strengths
• Increasing awareness of one’s weaknesses
• Providing an experience of success
• Facilitating effective visualization
• Clarifying the path ahead
• Encouraging prioritization
• Defining reality and separating it from wishful thinking
• Building responsibility for one’s self
• Improving decision making (Goucher College Office of Student Engagement, n.d.)

These are generic benefits of goal setting that anyone who engages in smart goal setting and striving can attain, but a few of them can be particularly effective for children; for example, the benefits of goal setting for youth include:

• Provides direction, which most youths are either seeking or trying to nail down.
• Helps children clarify what is important to them and focus on it.
• Facilitates more effective decision making through better self-knowledge, direction, and focus.
• Allows children to take a more active role in building their own future.
• Acts as a powerful motivator by giving children something to hope for and aspire towards.
• Gives children a positive experience of achievement and personal satisfaction when they reach a goal.
• Assists children in finding a sense of purpose in their lives (The Peak Performance Center, n.d.).

Using Goal Setting Effectively with Kids and Teens: A Look at the Research

According to Education World , there are six key secrets to successful goal setting that you can communicate to your students:

• Write clear and measurable goals.
• Create a specific action plan for each goal.
• Read your goals daily and visualize yourself accomplishing them.
• Reflect on your progress to see if you are on target.
• Revise your action plans if needed.
• Celebrate your accomplishments.

The research on this topic provides some extra tips and tricks for maximizing the effectiveness of goal setting curricula:

• Set upper and lower limits on students’ goals to teach realistic goal setting (they can always be removed later).
• Use games to teach goal setting in a context with low pressure and high engagement.
• Hold one-on-one goal-setting conferences with students to give them individual attention and help them learn to assess goal difficulty (Schunk, 1990).
• Encourage students to write down their goals rather than simply creating them and leaving them floating around their mind (Matthews, 2015).
• Make extensive use of models (teachers and/or peers) in the classroom to show students how it works.
• Teach effective goal setting strategies (like setting SMART goals) to increase the likelihood of success and provide feedback on student progress.
• Provide direct instruction on goal setting and include instruction on self-evaluation.
• Provide instruction on effective learning strategies in general, as students will need these broader skills to build their goal-setting abilities (Schunk, 2003).

If you’re looking for some concrete examples of the best ways to teach your students’ goal setting, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for lesson plans, exercises, activities, and examples.

Examples of Goal Setting for Teachers

The Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, and Related Services provide five great examples—one per each aspect of the SMART goal setting method —that teachers can use to teach their students about setting SMART goals:

• Specific – Don’t say “I want to get better grades in school,” say “I will get all Bs and higher on my report card.”
• Measurable – Make sure your goal is measurable; in this case, it can be measured by looking at your report card when the next grading period ends.
• Attainable – Keep your goals attainable or achievable; don’t say “I will make all straight As on my next report card,” rather say “I will raise all my grades by one letter by my next report card.”
• Realistic and Relevant – Goals need to be realistic to achieve and relevant to the student; if the student doesn’t care about their grades, they won’t care about their goal.
• Time-limited and Trackable – Encourage students to put a realistic time frame on their goals; don’t set a goal to raise your grades by next week or next year, set a goal to raise them by your next progress report or the end of the term.

A Lesson Plan for Teachers

There are tons of lesson plans available to help teachers incorporate goal-setting into their curriculum. Here is a popular and widely-used lesson plan outlined below.

Growth Mindset Goal Setting Lesson Plan

This lesson plan from Mindset Works is intended to meet one important objective: Students will (learn how to) set growth mindset learning goals.

The objective will be met through guiding students as they:

• Take ownership of their learning goals and process.
• Know what they want to accomplish.
• Set meaningful, appropriate, and challenging goals.
• Create a workable plan to guide them in achieving the goal.
• Know how to assess their progress.

You’ll need the following materials to implement this lesson plan:

• Goal Setting Template (found here )
• Assignment list(s) with scores
• Recent rubrics (holistic or analytic) that have feedback from a teacher
• Recent reports from benchmark tests
• Examples of their own work that the student has produced over time

The lesson plan outlines three mini-lessons, each with their own activity:

• Mini-Lesson 1: Setting a Goal Activity 1: Goal Setting
• Mini-Lesson 2: Creating an Action Plan Activity 2: Action Planning
• Mini-Lesson 3: Reflection on Progress Activity 3: Reflecting

Click here to see this lesson plan and download it for your use in your classroom.

4 Goal Setting Worksheets and Templates (PDF)

Templates and worksheets are a must-have for teachers going over goal setting in the classroom. Use the four listed below to help your students learn about and practice effective goal setting.

1. Goal Execution Plan

The Goal Execution Plan template is an excellent resource for older students due to the considerations it includes and the level of detail.

It includes space for up to three goals, with six steps per goal, and provides the following columns for each step:

• Goals and Action Steps
• Responsible (who is responsible for it)
• Starting Metrics (metrics measure goal progress—this is the starting point for these measures)
• Budget (if any)
• Final Metrics (endpoint for the measures of goal progress)

You may not need all of these columns, but it’s helpful to have prompts to think deeply about each goal. You can find the template here .

2. Student Goal Setting Worksheet

This worksheet is quick and simple, making it a great choice for young children.

The Student Goal Setting Worksheet has space for the student’s name and the current date, then poses these five prompts:

• I am good at…
• I am bad at…
• What I will improve?
• How will I make these improvements?
• If my plan doesn’t work, what will I do?

Working through this activity will help them start thinking about what goal setting is as well as what direction they’d like to go with their goals.

You will likely need to walk your students through these prompts, so be prepared to provide assistance as needed. You can find the worksheet here .

3. Simple Goal Setting Worksheet

This is another simple worksheet—as the name implies—that can be used with younger or older students to help them figure out the basics of setting and working towards their goals.

The worksheet provides space for students to answer the following prompts:

• My goal is…
• Goal Completion Date:
• Steps to Reaching My Goal: (space for 4)
• Two Things That Will Help Me Reach My Goal: (space for 2)
• I Will Know I Have Reached My Goal Because:

If you use this worksheet with younger students, you might need to help guide them through it or provide examples, but older students should have no trouble completing it on their own.

You can find the worksheet at this link .

4. SMART Goal Setting Worksheet

If you want to focus your students on setting SMART goals, this worksheet is a great choice. It’s a bit more involved than the previous worksheets, making it more suitable for high school students than younger students.

Here’s the gist of the worksheet:

• What is the goal?
• Why is the goal important?
• S – Specific – Is the goal clearly written, with no ambivalence? Is it clear who needs to accomplish the goal, and any support they might expect?
• M – Measurable – Does the goal answer the questions of how many, how much, and/or how often?
• A – Achievable – Can you get the support needed to achieve the goal by the target date? Do you have all the resources needed to achieve the goal? Are the results expected realistic?
• R – Relevant – Does the goal make a difference in your career? Is it going to make an improvement in your personal life? Is it going to significantly make a difference to your business/academic career?
• T – Time-Bound – Does the goal state a clear and specific completion date?
• List potential problems that might keep you from completing your goal.
• Goal Completion Date.

At the bottom of the worksheet, there is space to list up to 7 action items and determine when they need to be completed by.

Click here to see this worksheet and download it for your classroom.

2 PPTs to use in the Classroom

If you want some ready-made positive psychology PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) that you can use in your classroom or as templates for putting your own unique spin on goal setting, these slideshows are a good place to start:

• Goal Setting for Students from Accent on Success
• SMART Goals Interactive PowerPoint from Teachers Pay Teachers

Download 3 Free Goals Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques for lasting behavior change.

Download 3 Free Goals Pack (PDF)

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Goal setting is a bit trickier in elementary and middle school than in high school. Younger children generally need a bit more guidance and supervision when setting and striving towards goals, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a shot!

Use the games, worksheets, and activities below to teach goal setting to your elementary and middle school students.

5 Games and Worksheets for Elementary Students (PDF)

1. pressure cooker.

This game is a great way to get your elementary students to use their critical thinking skills.

It was designed to:

• Be challenging
• Be highly interactive and energetic
• Promote collaboration
• Foster critical thinking
• Work in small spaces

It takes only 15 to 20 minutes to play, keeping it within the attention span of the average elementary school student. You can have up to seven players.

Here’s what you’ll need to play:

• A long rope (around 7 meters)
• One numbered spot marker per player
• A stopwatch

Here’s how the game works:

• In advance, lay a long rope on the floor/ground to form a large circle.
• Collect and number as many spot markers as you have people in your group.
• Randomly distribute the numbered spot markers inside the circle.
• Ask each person to stand on top of one of the spot markers.
• When ready, instruct each individual to move to and touch every other spot in the ascending order of the numbers.
• For example, the person standing on spot #8 will move to 9, 10, 11 and 12 (presuming there are 12 people in the group,) before moving
• to 1, 2, 3 through to 8.
• As soon as an individual has touched all of the spot-markers and returns to their own, they will exit the circle.
• Challenge your group to perform this task as accurately and as fast as possible.
• Furthermore, challenge your group to solve this problem without stepping outside of the (roped) circle or touching any other person in the process (touching elsewhere within the circle is permitted.)
• Encourage your group to make as many attempts as possible within a specified time period, aiming to improve their performance with each attempt.
• Allow ample time for planning and problem-solving.

Click here to download the activity sheet and see popular variations on the game.

2. Cat on Yer Head

This silly game was designed to work with crowds and can accommodate medium to large groups.

The benefits of this game include:

• Very playful and fun
• The more the merrier!
• Promotes collaboration
• Friendly competition
• Simple props

It only takes 2 to 5 minutes to play, making it an excellent warm-up game. All you’ll need to play is some balloons and a stopwatch to keep track of time.

To play the game, follow these instructions:

• Choose or invite two volunteers seated in opposing corners of the room.
• Nominate one of these people to be the Cat, and the other person to be the Mouse.
• Announce that the Cat and the Mouse will soon move positions very quickly.
• To help identify where the Cat (or Mouse) is at any time, they must say the word “CAT” (or “MOUSE”) loudly over and over.
• The Cat and Mouse move whenever the person with it taps any person close to them on the shoulder.
• Practice this calling and tapping movement for 5 to 10 seconds to gauge understanding.
• Remind your group that both the Cat and the Mouse can be moved around the audience in any direction, at any time.
• Announce that the Cat has 30 seconds to catch (tag) the person with the Mouse.
• When ready, call “GO.”
• If the Cat catches the Mouse before the time expires, the Cat wins.
• If the Mouse survives for 30 seconds, the Mouse wins.
• Play several rounds and/or try a variation.

If you’d like to give this game a shot with your students, click here for the full game description and more information.

3. Longest Shadow

This is a quick problem-solving game that requires nothing but the sun! It’s good for up to 7 players and only takes 5 to 10 minutes to play.

Why would you choose the Longest Shadow?

• It’s simple to set up.
• It inspires creativity.
• It fosters collaboration.
• It requires no props!
• Invite your group outside on a bright, sunny day within a wide open space.
• Challenge your group to work together to position themselves in a manner that casts the longest shadow possible.
• Each group starts with their shadow touching a common starting line.
• The shadow must be one continuous line (i.e., all shadows must be connected); and
• Only bodies may be used to cast a shadow (i.e., no clothing or other props).
• Allow the group to have as many attempts as possible within 10 minutes.
• Measure and record the longest shadow.

To see the full game description and learn about popular variations of this game, click here .

4. Paper Holding

This fun and easy game is great for small groups and facilitates team-building.

You might want to try this game if you’re looking for something that:

• Is an innovative challenge.
• Fosters cooperation.
• Inspires creativity.
• Is very playful and fun!

It takes only 5 to 10 minutes to play and all you need is some paper.

Follow these steps to play the Paper Holding game:

• Form into teams of three to five people.
• By way of demonstration, ask two people from a team to volunteer and hold one sheet of paper between the palms of one of their hands.
• Each team is challenged to assist two of their group members to hold as many pieces of paper off the ground by using only their bodies.
• Only one sheet of paper can be affixed between any two body parts.
• No adhesives can be used to hold paper to one’s body.
• Folding the paper is not permitted.
• Each sheet of paper must be in contact with both team members.
• No two sheets of paper can be touching.
• Distribute sheets of paper to each team, and announce “GO.”
• Allow up to 10 minutes and survey the results.

If you want to play this game with your students, you can find more information by clicking here .

Click here to see more games you can use to help students learn about and practice goal setting and goal striving.

5. My Goals Worksheet

It’s not as fun as the games described above, but this worksheet is a great way for your students to practice identifying and planning for their goals.

It only requires them to set two goals and gives them ample room to write them down (although they may need your help with this).

After they have identified two goals, they answer the following prompts for each of them:

• This goal is important because…
• Steps I’ll take to reach this goal are…

It’s simple, easy, and won’t take more than 10 minutes or so, making it an excellent addition to the goal-setting curriculum either before or after one of the games above.

You can find the worksheet here .

8 Goal Setting Activities for Middle School Students (Incl. Worksheets)

If you’re a teacher of middle schoolers (or anyone else that interacts with several middle schoolers on a regular basis), these activities and worksheets will provide you with plenty of options for adding goal-setting into the curriculum.

1. Make a Family Bucket List

Making a bucket list is a great way to set goals, and this activity involves the whole family in the goal-setting practice. It’s a great way to both model goal setting and encourage your children to practice it themselves, all at once.

Here’s how to do it:

• Get your family together and collect a piece of paper and some markers.
• As a family, brainstorm a list of accomplishments, experiences, or achievement goals that you want to work towards as a family over the next year.
• At the end of the year, look back over your list and see what you’ve accomplished. Celebrate the goals you accomplished as a family.
• Encourage your children to use online tools like Trello or Evernote to help create this bucket list and/or to create one for themselves.

2. Draw a Wheel of Fortune

The wheel of fortune is a fun way to introduce goal setting in different areas of life. It will show your children that you don’t need to keep your goals limited to school or work, you can set goals in all life domains.

Follow these steps to create and use a wheel of fortune:

• Draw a circle and divide it into even segments (like you’re cutting a pizza into slices).
• On each segment, write one of the important life domains; for example, you might write “Family,” “Friends,” “School/Work,” “Hobbies,” “Health,” and “Fun.”
• For each domain, have your child write out the goals she would like to accomplish. Make sure she keeps the goals to a specific timeline (e.g., a month, 3 months, a year).

Make sure to help her keep track of her progress throughout the timeline you chose.

3. Create a Vision Board

Vision boards are a great way to plan out your goals, especially the big ones that are especially meaningful to you. Helping your children or students create a vision board will challenge them, get them thinking about what is most important to them, and encourage them to stay motivated in striving towards their goals.

Here’s how to create an effective vision board:

• Gather some old magazines (you can also draw pictures, use newspapers, print out some pictures, etc.) and have your students cut out some pictures that represent their hopes and dreams for the future.
• Help your students arrange the pictures on a piece of cardboard and use glue to secure them in place. You can also provide glitter, stickers, ribbons, markers, and anything else they might like to decorate their vision board with.
• Ask your students to describe what each picture represents and how he or she plans to work toward that goal. If your class is too large or you have some shy students, ask them to write it down instead of sharing it out to the group.

Send them home with their vision board or hang it somewhere in the classroom if there’s space for all of them.

4. Play 3 Stars and a Wish

This is a fun and easy game that you can play with your students or your children to help them start thinking about their goals.

It’s a simple activity with simple rules:

• Ask your students or children to come up with three “stars,” or things that they do well. The sky is the limit for this activity—the thing they’re good at can be anything from a subject in school to a quality that makes him or her a good friend.
• Now that they have their three stars, tell them to come up with a “wish” to complement their stars; the wish should be something that the children need to work on or would like to get better at. Again, they are only limited by their imagination. They can pick any goal, as long as it is meaningful and important to them.

This activity will not only help them come up with important goals, but it will also help them develop the self-belief they need to succeed.

5. Ask Fun Questions

Asking questions is a great way to get your children or students thinking about what is important to them, what they’d like to achieve or accomplish, and how they can get there.

There are tons of fun questions out there, but here are a couple of examples to get you started:

• Ask your students “What would you do if you won the lottery?” or “If you had a superpower, how would you use it?”
• Listen to their answers and encourage them to be detailed.
• Discuss how they can take their fate into their own hands by making a plan to achieve the hopes, goals, and dreams they identified in their answers.

Continue the discussion as often as you can to make sure they are still thinking about their long-term goals and actively planning ways to reach them.

6. Interest Maps

Interest maps are best for older students, so you may want to save this for upper middle school or junior high students.

Here’s how to help your children or students create an interest map:

• Ask your students to think about what they like to do. Do they like art? Science? Writing? Sports? Have them think about all of their interests and favorite things to do, and write them down.
• Help them look through their list of interests and see if they can find any patterns; for example, maybe most of their interests involve helping other people or being outside.
• Have them create an interest map by creating a web of circles and filling them in with their interests in a way that makes sense (e.g., similar interests by one another).
• Based on their interest map, assist them in creating goals that are relevant and meaningful to them.

This activity will help your students learn more about themselves, which is a vital prerequisite to setting good goals.

7. New Year Reflections and Resolutions

Middle-school-age children will likely have a grasp of the ritual that is setting New Year’s resolutions. They will also be at an age where they are demonstrating more agency and preferences in regards to their studies and extracurricular activities.

Making a ritual out of setting New Year’s resolutions not only serves as a great opportunity to set goals, but it provides an opportunity to encourage children to reflect on the challenges and triumphs of the previous year, fostering gratitude and a sense of accomplishment.

To facilitate this activity, ask your child to reflect on some of the following questions:

• What are you most proud of having achieved in the past year?
• What do you think you could have done better in the past year?
• What’s something you felt particularly passionate about in the past year?
• What new goal would you like to accomplish in the new year?
• What’s a behavior you’d like to stop in the new year?
• What’s a behavior you’d like to start doing in the new year?
• What’s something new you’d like to try in the new year?

This is a great exercise to do together as a family. This way, you as the adult can also describe your reflections and set new goals in your personal or professional life. This will allow you to set an example for your kids, who may wish to set goals regarding their schooling, sports, or other extracurricular activities.

For a range of useful worksheets to help your child set goals for the new year, take a look at the templates available at Charts4Kids.com .

8. My Goals Worksheet

This worksheet is an effective tool for encouraging children to think more about their goals and plan on how to meet them.

At the top of the worksheet, there is a box for them to identify their goal and a box to note the target date for completion of their goal.

Next, they are asked to identify three actions that will allow them to reach their goal. These should be relevant and realistic actions that will lead them to completing their goal by their target date.

At the bottom, there is space to explain how they will know they’ve reached their goal (e.g., what will it look like when they achieve their goal, what the outcome will be). Plus, they are prompted to come up with two things that will help them stick to working towards their goal (e.g., an encouraging friend, a motivating thought).

To see this worksheet or download it for use in your classroom, click here .

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At the high school level, goal setting gets a bit easier to teach, but not necessarily easier to learn and implement for the students! High school brings with it all kinds of distractions that can make setting good goals a challenge.

5 Activities and Worksheets for High School Students (PDF)

Use the activities and worksheets described below to help your older students navigate effective goal setting.

1. Smarties Warm-Up Activity

You can use this activity to get students warmed up and ready to think about goal setting. All you’ll need is two rolls of Smarties candies (or a similar round, stackable candy) per student and 5 minutes.

The students’ task is to stack as many Smarties as they can in one vertical column in one minute—but they can only use one hand. Before they begin, have them set a goal for themselves by estimating the number of Smarties they think they’ll be able to stack.

Start the timer and have the students start stacking! Once the timer hits one minute, instruct your students to stop stacking and count up their candy.

Next, you’ll guide them through the scoring guidelines:

• The Smarties must be standing 5 seconds after the time ends to count.
• If the goal is NOT reached, each candy stacked is worth 5 points.
• If the goal IS reached, each candy stacked is worth 10 points up to the goal, and 5 points for each additional candy stacked over the goal.

For example, say a student sets a goal of 15 Smarties stacked.

If the student stacked 10 Smarties, they would score 5 points per candy for a total of 50 points.

If the student stacked 15 Smarties, they would score 10 points per candy for a total of 150 points.

If the student stacked 18 Smarties, they would score 10 points per candy up to 15 (150 points) and 5 points per candy up to 18 (15 points) for a total of 165 points.

Have the students calculate their score then determine who stacked the most candies and who had the highest score—due to the scoring, this may not be the same person. Discuss any unusual approaches students used, if any.

See more activities and a full lesson plan on setting goals with high schoolers here .

2. Action for Goals Worksheet

This worksheet is a great reminder for students that setting goals on its own won’t get you anywhere—you need to set mini goals and identify action steps on the way to your larger goal.

The worksheet provides an example of a larger goal and the mini goals and action steps that will lead to it:

• I will determine which instrument I would like to play.
• I will find a tutor/teacher and begin taking lessons weekly.
• I will practice daily for 60 minutes.

Using this as a template, students are given the space to write down four goals and come up with 3 mini goals or action steps per goal and provided with these instructions: “ In each box below, state a goal that is important to you and then identify the mini goals/action statements needed .”

Completing this worksheet will help your students get in the right frame of mind for goal setting and goal striving, and keep them cognizant of the effort required to actually meet their goals after setting them.

You can find this worksheet at this link .

3. My Goals Worksheet

The My Goals worksheet is a good way to help your students figure out what their goals are and refine them into ones that are relevant, meaningful, and motivating.

Here’s how it works:

• Healthy Living
• Friendships
• Work or School
• These boxes surround one oval marked “Me.”
• Students are instructed to “ Describe your needs in each of the following categories below; from those needs, determine what good goal statements would be. In the middle box, describe yourself .”

Good goal setting requires healthy reflection and an understanding of who we are and what we want, which this activity is sure to help your students build upon.

View, download, or print the My Goals worksheet by clicking here .

4. Rate Yourself Worksheet

Another great activity to try before setting goals is to rate yourself on your need for goal setting in each life domain—in other words, to determine how much you are in need of improvement in each area.

This worksheet provides you with an easy way to get your students to rate themselves in 12 different life domains. The instructions at the top state:

“ Before setting goals for yourself, determine where the need is by completing the scale below. Once completed, prioritize them from greatest to least need .”

The scale given to students for their use in rating is as follows:

• Very Dissatisfied
• Somewhat Dissatisfied
• Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied
• Somewhat Satisfied
• Very Satisfied

The 12 domains listed for students to rate their need are:

• Family Relationships
• Friends and Relationships
• Career or School
• Social Life
• Spirituality
• Sense of Belonging
• Hobbies / Sports

To use this worksheet with your high schoolers, follow this link .

5. Goal Setting: Learning from the Past

It’s also important to think about your past goals and taking inventory of what went well, what didn’t, and any other lessons learned. This worksheet can guide your students through that process.

It opens with an explanation of why it’s an important practice:

“Before setting new goals, it’s important to look back to previous goals you have set and learn from them. Analyze why you reached those goals or why you didn’t reach those goals.”

Next, the worksheet presents several questions and prompts to help the user think it through:

• Previous goal(s) I have set:
• Were goals achieved?
• List the reasons the goals were achieved or not, be specific:
• What barriers did you encounter with previous goals? What can you do to confront barriers and obstacles to reaching your goal(s)?
• In summary, what did you learn from your previous goal(s)?

Be ready to help your students with useful prompts or examples in case they need help, and discuss their answers with them after they’ve completed the activity.

Click here to see this worksheet.

By the time students reach college, they are generally at least somewhat familiar with goal setting techniques and have a minimum level of competence in setting effective goals; however, that doesn’t mean they have no work left to do!

Goal setting and striving are made up of a set of skills that can be increased and enhanced throughout life—there is no maximum level of skill one can have in setting good goals.

9 Activities and Games for College Students

The activities and games described here can help you give your college students the push they need to further develop their goal-setting skills.

Goal Setting for the First-Time College Student

This is a great activity for new college students, as it shows them the importance of setting good goals and planning to achieve them.

Here’s how to get your new students thinking critically about their goals:

• Ask them to answer the questions in this activity as profoundly and honestly as they can.
• Relationships with other people (family, friends, work relationships)
• Work or career goals
• Other personal achievement activity goals (hobbies, travel, athletics, etc.)
• Have them take a few moments to visualize what their life would be like if it was perfect.
• Hand out six 3 x 5 index cards to each student and have them number them 1 through 6.
• On the first card, have your students answer this prompt: “ How do you want to spend the rest of your life? Make a list of activities and goals for the rest of your life .”
• On the second card, have them answer this prompt: “ What do you want to do the next 5 to 10 years? Again, list activities and goals .”
• On the third card, have them answer this prompt: “ If you had six months to live, how would you spend it? List activities and goals .”
• Have them go over the first three cards and add or delete any item that has come to mind since the beginning of the exercise.
• Card 4, line 1: Have your students select the goal or activity from card one that they most desire to achieve and write it there.
• Card 4, line 2: Have your students select the goal or activity from card two that they most desire to achieve and write it there.
• Card 4, line 3: Have your students select the goal or activity from card three that they most desire to achieve and write it there.
• On card 6, have your students write as many things as they could do in the next 7 days to further the goals they wrote down on card 4. This part isn’t about feasibility, but creativity and comprehensiveness, so tell them not to worry about how possible or likely these things are yet.
• Instruct your students to scratch out any item on card 5 that they don’t actually intend to do or think they can’t do.
• Have your students choose three items from card 5 that they will do in the next 7 days and write them down on card 6.

To further the goal-setting practice, you can share the worksheet at the end of this activity with your students.

It poses 8 prompts for students to answer:

• My long-range goals to complete in the next 2-3 years are:
• Steps I need to take to achieve these (long-range) goals are:
• My mid-range goals to complete in the next 1 year are:
• Steps I need to take to achieve these (mid-range) goals are:
• My short-range goals to complete by the first day of the semester are:
• Steps I need to take to achieve these (short-range) goals are:
• My immediate goals for the next month are:
• Steps I need to take to achieve these (immediate) goals are:

To see this activity and the worksheet attached to it, click here .

8 Activities to Think About Goal Setting

This list of activities to help students think about goal setting comes from the Supporting Transition and Education through Planning and Partnerships (STEPP) Program, a program designed to help students with learning disabilities succeed in college. It’s not just helpful for students with learning disabilities though—the activities can be helpful for anyone who wants to improve their goal setting skills.

The activities include:

• Thinking About You – What qualities do you like most about yourself? What qualities would you like to improve?
• Thinking About Others – What qualities do you admire in others (i.e., qualities you see in specific people, and/or those you admire in general)?
• Values – Identify your top 5 values. What is most important to you? Why?
• Strengths vs. Weaknesses – What are you good at? What is difficult for you?
• Likes vs. Dislikes – Identify things you strongly like and dislike (e.g., places, activities, classes, foods, events, people, etc.). Why do you like/dislike these?
• Super-You – Imagine you are a superhero? What would your superpower be? What would your “kryptonite” (vulnerability) be?
• Back to the Future – Picture yourself 5 years from today and consider where you would like to be, who you would like to be with, and what you would like to be doing. Then ask the same questions for 10, 20, and even 50 years down the road.
• Pushing Up Daisies – Imagine that you have passed away at the age of 100, and someone close to you is about to give the eulogy at your memorial service. What do you most want them to say about you?

These 8 activities will give your students a great head start on thinking about their goals and how they plan to reach them.

Click here to see these 8 activities and other helpful tips and tricks on goal setting for college students.

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

These 17 Motivation & Goal Achievement Exercises [PDF] contain all you need to help others set meaningful goals, increase self-drive, and experience greater accomplishment and life satisfaction.

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To learn more about goal setting for children and students, check out these six popular books on the subject:

• My Happy Place: A Children’s Self-Reflection and Personal Growth Journal with Creative Exercises, Fun Activities, Inspirational Quotes, Gratitude, Dreaming, Goal Setting, Coloring In, and Much More – Sheleen Lepar and Helene Pam ( Amazon )
• Future Lady Boss: Goal Setting Journal – Suzie Luv ( Amazon )
• Student Achievement Goal Setting: Using Data to Improve Teaching and Learning – Leslie Grant and James Stronge ( Amazon )
• Every Kid’s Guide to Goals: How to Choose, Set, and Achieve Goals That Matter to You – Karleen Tauszik ( Amazon )
• Levi’s Great & Wonderful Life: A Child’s Story About Overcoming Fears, Setting Goals, & Achieving Success Through Visualization – Brandon Vannoy ( Amazon )
• My Simple Book of Goals: Goal-Setting Journal for Youth – Alicia Hadley ( Amazon )

Then we have an additional article where we take an in-depth look at the best goal-setting books .

If you don’t have time to read a full book at the moment but want a little more knowledge about goal setting for children, give these four videos a try:

Setting Goals – McMasterUTV

CashVille Kidz Episode 11: Goal & Goal Setting – CashVilleKidz

Goal Setting Growth Mindset – Michelle Turner

In this piece, we described goal setting for children, explained why it’s important, and provided some resources to help you teach your children or students about goal setting.

I hope you found this piece helpful and that you have some ideas about how to encourage successful goal setting and striving in your children or students.

What are your thoughts on goal setting for children? Does it need to be approached in a different way than goal setting for adults? How do you think it’s best to get started? Let us know in the comments section!

Thanks for reading, and happy goal setting!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

• Education World. (n.d.) Goal Setting. Retrieved from https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev151.shtml
• Feyoh, M. (2019). 13 Free Printable SMART Goals Worksheets for 2019. Develop Good Habits. Retrieved from https://www.developgoodhabits.com/smart-goals-worksheets/
• Goucher College Office of Student Engagement. (n.d.). Goal setting. Goucher College OSE Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.goucher.edu/experience/getting-involved/leadership/documents/Goal-Setting.pdf
• Matthews, G. (2015). Goal research summary. Paper presented at the 9th Annual International Conference of the Psychology Research Unit of Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), Athens, Greece.
• O’Neill, J. (2000). SMART goals, SMART schools. Educational Leadership, 57 , 46-50.
• Rosen, A. (2018). SMART Goals Method Teaches Kids About Goal Setting . The Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, & Related Services. Retrieved from https://childrenstreatmentcenter.com/smart-goals-teach-kids-goal-setting/
• Schunk, D. H. (1990). Goal setting and self-efficacy during self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 25 , 71-86.
• Schunk, D. H. (2003). Self-efficacy for reading and writing: Influence of modeling, goal setting, and self-evaluation. Reading and Writing Quarterly , 19, 159-172.
• The Peak Performance Center. (n.d.). Benefits of goal setting. Peak Performance Center Development Series. Retrieved from http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/development-series/skill-builder/personal-effectiveness/goal-setting/benefits-of-goal-setting/

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The Student's Guide to SMART Goals

Goal setting is an important aspect of preparing to be successful, both academically and professionally. College students may use goals to help meet deadlines. In the workplace, you will often be asked to set formal goals as part of your performance review.

In this guide, we’ll explain what SMART goals are and provide tips and examples for college students looking to develop their own SMART goals.

What Are SMART Goals?

The SMART acronym is a commonly used guideline for goal setting. SMART stands for s pecific, m easurable, a chievable, r elevant, and t ime-bound. These criteria can be used as a guide when writing down your goals.

• S pecific: Adding specificity to your goal makes it easier to achieve. Detail what you want to accomplish, when you would like to accomplish it, and what actions you will need to take to meet the goal.
• M easurable: Your goal should be something that can be tracked. If your goal is too vague, it can be difficult to assess how close you are to achieving it.
• A ttainable: College students have a lot on their plate. Make sure your goal is something you can realistically accomplish within the given time frame.
• R elevant: SMART goals for students should relate back to academic or professional growth. When creating a new goal, ask yourself how this accomplishment could benefit your academic performance or set you up for success in your desired career.
• T ime-bound: It’s easier to stick with a goal when it has a specific deadline associated with it. Determine when you would like to meet your goal, and consider setting target dates for each step involved in meeting the goal.

>> Read: 4 Goal Setting Strategies and Resources to Get You Motivated for the New Year

Examples of SMART Goals for College Students

Students can use SMART goals to keep themselves motivated while pursuing their degree. Goals may relate to specific coursework, career planning, or even health and wellness . Below are a few examples of SMART goals for college students. Each of them includes specific deadlines and actionable next steps.

Earn my degree by the end of the year by completing required courses over the summer and during the fall semester.

By the end of the month, I'll create a list of at least five internship opportunities in my field, and meet with a career advisor to discuss next steps for applying to these internships.

Complete this semester with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

By the end of the month, I'll join a student club or organization. After joining an organization, I will attend at least one meeting every month.

Improve my time management skills by dedicating 1 hour each weekday to uninterrupted studying. At the end of the month, I will reflect on my focus levels and adjust this study routine as needed.

For the duration of the semester, I'll maintain an up-to-date digital planner that lists assignment due dates for each of my classes.

I’ll meet with each of my professors at least once during the course of the semester.

Over the course of the next month, I will spend at least 1 hour each week reading a nonfiction book related to my major or catching up on industry news. Books that are assigned as part of a course will not count toward this goal.

By the end of the week, I will update my LinkedIn profile with completed coursework relevant to my desired career path.

>> Read: Time Management Tips for Busy College Students

How to Measure Your Progress Toward SMART Goals

According to the American Psychological Association , monitoring your progress can increase your chances of meeting your goals. Here are some of our top tips for college students looking to track their SMART goals.

1. Share Your Goal With Others

Many people find that they are more motivated to achieve their goals when they have a support system in place. After setting your goal, find a trusted person who can hold you accountable. This may be a friend, family member, classmate, or coworker. In return for providing support, you can offer to help them track progress for any of their own goals.

2. Set Check-In Reminders

Frequently checking in with your progress ensures that your goal remains top of mind. Consider adding check-in reminders to your calendar for the duration of your goal, keeping in mind that the time frame of your goal will affect how often you want to check in. For example, progress on a semester-long goal may only need to be measured once a month, but if your goal is something you want to achieve more quickly, you may want to check in weekly or even multiple times per week.

3. Put It Into Writing

Monitoring your goal is particularly effective when you physically record your progress. Each time you check in with your goal, write down the progress you’ve made and outline the next steps you need to take. You can send these updates to a trusted friend or even share your progress on social media. Either way, putting your progress into writing can help make sure you follow through on your goal.

4. Adjust Deadlines as Needed

As you make progress toward your goal, you may find that you need more time than you originally thought. If the original date you set no longer seems achievable, don’t be afraid to adjust your goal as needed. You may also consider breaking up the goal into smaller, more manageable steps, each with their own deadline. Pushing your completion date out by a few weeks or months is better than getting overwhelmed and giving up on the goal altogether.

Achieve Your Goals With Purdue Global

Since SMART goals are so commonly used by employers, it’s a good idea for college students to become comfortable with setting and tracking these types of goals. Whether you’re looking to improve your grades or explore potential career paths, SMART goals can help you get there.

For help meeting your academic goals, be sure to take advantage of any support that may be offered by your school. For example, Purdue Global offers online Academic Success Centers focused on writing, math, technology, and more. In addition, our Center for Career Advancement  can assist with creating measurable and attainable career goals. 

We offer more than 175 online programs for students looking to enter a new field or advance within their current career. Request more information today to learn more.

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A Framework for Student Goal-Setting

When middle and high school students set short- and long-term goals, they can see a path to the success they hope for.

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” —Thomas Edison

I learned that quote from Wendy Beth Rosen’s Self-Smart . Taking it seriously, Wendy suggests some areas where students’—and adults’—self-assessments can lead to greater accomplishments and personal satisfaction. Many distractions and challenges in our lives threaten to throw us off our path, or keep us from knowing what our path is. Setting explicit goals for success and tracking our progress toward them is a way to increase our chances of finding the success we hope for.

I’d like to share a method of goal-tracking that can be used by students and educators in ongoing ways, as well as at specific points when they’re experiencing uncertainty or setbacks. These also have value for promoting positive mental health in school.

Setting and Tracking Goals

Middle and high school are particularly important times for students to become consciously aware of and intentional about key choices: what they’re putting into their bodies; how the way they are spending their time helps them reach their larger purposes; who they’re spending their time with; and what they’re doing to contribute to their families, schools, and communities.

At the beginning of the school year and at each marking period, students in middle and high school should record in a journal their goals in these eight areas:

• Social life
• Sports and exercise
• Healthy eating
• Family and community
• Hobbies and interests
• Screen time
• Long-term plans

In working with middle school students, for example, I have seen them set goals ranging from “eating better food at lunch” to “being a great guitar player” to “being an NBA star.” In all cases, we want to help students be clear about their goals (in the first case, “to be a healthy person”) and to set realistic short-term goals on the way to their long-term goal (for the guitar and basketball players, finding time for regular practice with feedback). For these students, and all students, goals provide anchors, especially valuable in high winds and rough seas.

All of the eight areas of life above matter, and academic success is related to all of them. Having a way to separate them, document progress, and create priorities is important. Students need help to be successful even when they have positive aspirations. A sure way to not succeed is trying to make progress in too many areas at once, so help students find one, two, or three areas to prioritize for a marking period. Revisit these priorities with them and see if follow-up goals need to be set in these areas or if new areas should be prioritized. Keeping to no more than three at a time is vital, because even if we might need to change in eight areas, we can’t track that many. Slow and steady wins the race.

Tracking also helps ensure that a given area is not neglected. When we see that things might have been neglected, we can make some adjustments.

The main point of setting goals is to help students take realistic steps to achieve them. Many educators find that using the SMART format —goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely—is practical and reasonable, and keeps students on track.

When Can This Happen?

This kind of journaling is ideally suited to advisory or extended home room periods. Advisory periods are supposed to focus on the whole child, and the eight areas provide broad coverage. Journaling also fosters communication between advisory teachers and those who focus on these areas in schools, including subject area teachers, “specials” teachers (including health and physical education teachers), and staff running extracurricular activities. In addition, the advisory period can be used for pair and group problem-solving to help overcome obstacles students face as they pursue their goals.

One way to help students achieve their goals is to pair them up to help one another with goal-setting and monitoring. Students see each other in various school contexts and can be helpful outside of formal class time.

Having communal, whole-class conversations about goal-setting creates a new mindset in students and fosters cooperation and mutual improvement because students’ goals are not solely their responsibility. We all get better when each of us gets better. So there is an expectation that goals set will be shared—perhaps with classmates and certainly with other teachers. (This expectation of sharing should ensure that personal goals related to family issues stay out of these conversations, as they require more professional and confidential follow-up.)

A helpful way to introduce the journaling is to ask students to reflect on the opening quote from Edison, taking a position as to whether they agree, disagree, or are not sure about it, and why. Have students share their rationales in small groups and then share out with the larger class. Ensuring that students understand they have more potential than most of them realize is a critical preliminary step to making goal journaling an authentic activity for them.

The Same Goals Are Useful for Adults

This activity is also relevant for adults. Educators have a lot on their plates, and having a way to make sure that one’s learning, family, health habits, interests, and long-term plans are front of mind (even if not always front of action) keeps us grounded.

Devoting regular time in professional learning communities and faculty meetings to discussing goal-achieving strategies can provide a power morale boost in schools. In particular, discussing long-term plans can stimulate broad faculty collaboration to shape the school. And sharing with students that you’re doing the same thing you ask them to do makes it more likely that they’ll value the activity.

SMART Goal Setting in Middle School, High School and Beyond

• February 1, 2022

Why Set Goals?

When we set goals, we make a commitment to what we hope to accomplish. Whether our ultimate goal is to complete a history project on time, to improve our grades in Spanish, or to build a business that changes the world, goal-setting establishes our intention , and it is the first serious step towards asserting our agency.

When students learn to set goals as adolescents, they develop the confidence and capacity to plan for the increasingly complex challenges that they will encounter as they make their way through their academic career and then on to the professional world beyond. Goal-setting, when learned at an early age, develops flexibility and resilience . Students will not always achieve their goals, and sometimes their plans will fall apart. When students confront this reality in low-stakes situations, they have the opportunity to practice bouncing back from setbacks and adapting their plans. This learned resilience will serve them well as their plans become increasingly ambitious and consequential.

What is the SMART Framework?

The SMART framework was first developed in 1981 by George T. Doran as a tool for managers to use in setting goals and objectives. Its continued popularity stems from its simplicity and its effectiveness. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. establishes the criteria that makes for a good goal:

S – SPECIFIC. A good goal states precisely what a student hopes to accomplish. It addresses questions of who, what, when, and where. When a goal is specific, a student is able to determine precisely when they have achieved it.

M – MEASURABLE. This is especially important for students, who benefit from progress check-ins. Measurable goals empower students to monitor (and celebrate!) their progress, determine whether they are likely to actually achieve their goal, and adjust their strategy accordingly.

A – ATTAINABLE. It is important that students experience success as they are first learning to set goals so that the process feels manageable and worthwhile. To ensure that a goal is attainable, a student should be able to specify how they will achieve the goal.

R – RELEVANT. When a student is setting goals, it is important to consider whether the goal is actually worth achieving for this particular student. Does the goal seek to address the challenges that the student is facing? Is the goal aligned with the student’s ambitions? If the answer is no, then this goal may become a distraction rather than an opportunity .

T – TIME-BOUND. When students establish a timeframe for a goal, they create a sense of urgency that, when well-managed, makes it more likely that a student will actually achieve their goal. A timeframe for completion can often be shifted if the situation requires, but a goal without a timeline is just a dream.

Where do I start?

One of the biggest challenges students can face when setting goals is that they set goals that are broad and ambitious: “I want to do better in school, I will be a better basketball player this season, I am going to do really well on the SAT.” These are laudable aspirations, and we can set SMART goals that help us achieve them, but we need to start smaller.

Let’s start with the common ambition: “I want to do better in school.”

First, let’s be SPECIFIC. Which classes do you want to improve in the most? What would improvement look like? With these questions, we can shift from “I want to do better in school” to “I want to get better grades in English and Math”. Progress.

Next, let’s make sure our goal is MEASURABLE. What does ‘better’ mean? When we think about measurable goals, we’re really talking about numbers or other quantifiable targets. Now “I want to get better grades in English and Math” becomes “I want to get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math”. We’re getting closer.

The ATTAINABLE part of goal setting is really a matter of being able to articulate how we will achieve our goals, usually by adding a ‘by’ statement. This is often the most sophisticated step in setting SMART goals. Here, “I want to get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math” becomes “I want to get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math by completing all of my homework on time, studying for all of my tests, and going to the teacher’s extra help sessions”. Now we have more than a goal; we have a plan !

Determining whether our goals are RELEVANT is really a matter of referring back to our bigger picture goals. We might ask ourselves, how does “getting at least a B+ in English and a B in Math by completing all of my homework on time, studying for all of my tests, and going to the teacher’s extra help sessions” support our larger aspirations – how does this relate to becoming the person we want to grow to be? This can range from wanting to be successful in school, wanting to become a writer, or wanting to go to college to wanting to be more confident, happier, and less stressed. If you can’t connect your goal to the bigger picture , maybe it’s not the right goal.

Lastly, we need to ensure that our goals are TIME-BOUND. This often comes easily for school-related goals that may be tied to test dates or semester schedules. With this in mind, our final draft of our goal states that “I will get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math this semester by completing all of my homework on time, studying for all of my tests, and going to the teacher’s extra help sessions”.

There was one important additional shift that took place in our final step: “I want to” became “I will”. When we set goals, our final draft should be clear and assertive, a statement of intention rather than mere aspiration.

I have a SMART Goal. What now?

It’s time to get to work! If you have followed the framework, you should have a clear sense of what you need to do to achieve your goal. However, it is important to build in checkpoints along the way. If your goal is time-bound by the end of the semester, decide ahead of time when to check in on your progress and schedule these check-ins in advance. At each check-in, ask yourself if you are on-track to achieve your goal. If the answer is ‘yes’, terrific – keep going! If the answer is ‘no’, ask yourself a few follow-up questions:

• Am I on track to come close, or is this goal no longer achievable?
• Does this goal measure the right thing?
• Am I off track because my strategy isn’t working, or am I off track because I am not sticking to my strategy?
• Did I choose an appropriate time frame?
• Is this the right goal for me?

It is important to remember that you will not achieve every goal you set – if you do, you might be setting goals that are too easy. The real benefit of SMART goal setting is that it helps us to be thoughtful about what we want to achieve, to reflect on our progress, and to consider how our short-term goals intersect with our long-term ambitions . Celebrate the process of setting goals in the first place, and remember that it is the journey towards a goal that provides the growth and learning that makes your hard work worthwhile.

SMART Tips for Middle School Students

Middle school is the perfect time to start practicing goal-setting. The stakes are low, which provides fertile ground for experimentation. Here are a few tips for setting SMART goals in middle school:

• Think short-term. Don’t start with goals that have weeks or months-long time horizons. Try setting goals around specific projects or assignments. This allows for quick feedback that is especially helpful for younger students who are still developing the ability to think ahead.
• Use SMART goals for organization. What goals might a student have relating to using their assignment notebook, keeping their binders in order, or preparing for the school day?
• Start with easy goals. A student is more likely to use SMART goals in the long-term if they see the benefits early on. Start with some easy wins.

SMART Tips for High School Students

High school students are starting to wrestle with complexity, and they are also developing the ability to think further in the future. Here are some suggestions for setting SMART goals in high school:

• S tart thinking about semester grades and long-term projects. Consider setting SMART goals before the year begins to practice long-term planning. This is a great way to start thinking about what specific steps a student needs to take in order to be successful.
• Establish a rhythm with SMART goals. Revisit your goals with each progress report, and set new goals with each report card. Once goal-setting becomes a habit, it’s a tool you can use for life.
• Relevance becomes increasingly important. As students begin to think about where they want to go to college and/or what career they wish to pursue, the question of relevance can spur important conversations and help a student to think about their longer-term aspirations.
• It is time to be more ambitious. If a student is easily achieving all of their goals, consider setting some ‘reach’ goals that aim to help a student push beyond their comfort zone.
• Think beyond the classroom! How do SMART goals apply to extracurricular activities or summer plans?

SMART Tips for College Students

The assignments that college students encounter are more sophisticated and require more autonomy than those they faced in high school. Here are a few tips for setting SMART goals in college:

• Use SMART goals to organize big projects or assignments. Rather than thinking really big picture about a whole semester, use the SMART framework to break complex tasks into manageable chunks.
• Set career-oriented SMART goals. Is there a fellowship you want to apply for, a publication you want to be published in, or an internship you’re hoping to land? Use the SMART framework to think strategically about bringing your aspirations to life.
• Use SMART goals for collaboration. Group projects can be frustrating, especially when group members have different expectations or aren’t on the same page. Use SMART goals at the beginning of a group project to ensure that you’re aligned in your vision and working towards a common goal.

In Conclusion

The SMART goals framework is an extremely effective tool for both students and adults. However, each person is unique, and so are their goals. After you’ve completed your first few goals using the SMART system, consider what parts of the process work well for you and what you would want to do differently in the future. A good system for setting goals will evolve and grow with you and your ambitions.

Thank you for reading this week’s blog post about SMART goal-setting. To learn more about goal-setting, watch our latest YouTube video here and connect with us on social media @opendoored.

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101 Short-term Goals for Students

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Short-term goals can be defined as objectives that one aims to accomplish within a relatively brief timeframe, typically ranging from several days to a few months (Nordengren, 2019).

Everyone, and especially students, need these goals, for two reasons:

• They can offer an immediate motivational surge, and 
• They are a stepping stone to longer-term, larger successes (which should be your long-term educational goals ).

Furthermore, these goals aid in time management, organization, and prioritization of tasks (Moeller, Theiler, & Wu, 2012).

When a larger goal seems daunting and overwhelming, splitting it into manageable short-term goals can provide a clearer path forward (A simple example for students: breaking down a semester-long project into weekly tasks).

So, you may even find that you are less likely to procrastinate or feel overwhelmed, ultimately leading to increased productivity and higher chances of success.

Let’s take a look at some short-term goals that you might consider for your current course of study.

Short-Term Goals for Students

Short-term goals for college and university.

1. Learn New Study Skills: Something just about any student can do is to set a goal to learn new methods of studying, and to adopt new and more efficient study routines. This goal can help you to achieve continuous self-evaluation and self-improvement (Nordengren, 2021). An updated study approach can lead to better understanding and retention of information, and can really revolutionize your approach to school or university.

2. Improve Class Attendance: Many university students see their attendance fade over time. So, this goal can help you to revamp your efforts to attend class and, therefore, take in more information and tops from your teacher (who often, during class, drops gems that’ll help you in exams). Regular class attendance can improve comprehension, as teaching insights often build upon textual information you find on lecture slides and handouts. Consistent attendance also reduces the stress of studying alone (Asafova & Vashetina, 2022).

3. Learn to Read and Comprehend Research Papers: For college students, understanding academic papers can enhance their insight into a subject beyond regular textbooks (Wilson & Dobson, 2008). By doing so, a student is setting a path towards advanced learning and critical evaluation of research, a handy skill in many professions. And good news – I have a guide here on how to get started reading academic paper .

4. Actively Participate in Group Work: This goal involves taking an active role in group assignments and projects, and is a good one if you’ve in the past taken a back seat during group projects and not been a team player . Active participation ensures that learning from peers enhances personal understanding. It also enables students to develop valuable teamwork skills (Nordengren, 2019).

5. Begin a Revision Schedule before Exams: If you’ve got exams coming up (even in 2 months time!), it’s time to start a revision schedule – this is your short-term goal to get through the current set of exams. Early revision promotes better retention of information (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). A student will have ample time for profound understanding and, consequently, improved performance.

6. Set a Target Grade for an Upcoming Test: Select a specific test that’s coming up, and set a goal of a grade that’s one notch above the last grade you got. This can be a stepping stone toward a long-term goal of yours, such as increasing your GPA to a certain point by the end of next year.

7. Attend Open Office Hours: This goal involves making regular efforts to interact with teachers outside class hours. In my opinion, this is the number 1 way you can ensure you get better grades. Take your drafts to open office hours and ask questions – it’s the best way to know what your teacher wants of the finished product!

8. Actually Use Feedback as Feedforward: Students tend to get feedback off their teacher, read it, get a bit grumpy, then forget about the feedback. One short-term goal you could set is to find ways to use that feedback to improve for next time. I recommend sitting down and writing-down 3 key takeaways, then as you study for your next exam, implement these takeaways to try to improve your grades.

9. Develop Effective Note-taking Skills: You could aim to improve the efficiency and usefulness of your note-taking. Excellent note-making is beneficial for reinforcing learned material. It aids recall and understanding, especially during revision. I personally use the Zettelkasten method , which uses cognitive science to perfect your study technique.

10. Develop a Habit of Reflection: This goal is reflected in the habit of daily or weekly reflection on what has been learned. Reflective practices often yield a deeper understanding of the learning material (Krumrei-Mancuso et al., 2013). They also assist students in recognizing areas they may need to revise or learn further.

11. Finish Assignments in Advance: The best way to decrease stress is to target completing assignments well before their due date. This helps to avoid last-minute rushes, decreases stress (Nordengren, 2021), and means you never have to skip a social outing again! This also contributes positively to time management skills.

12. Regular Physical Exercise: While this might not appear directly related to studying, it certainly affects your studying, mood, and grades. I recommend setting a short-term goal for regular physical activity, such as going for a 15 minute run each day for the next 5 days. This might even turn into a long-term habit. Physical fitness can boost brain function and concentration. It can directly impact academic performance positively (Hidayat et al., 2022).

13. Efficient Time Management: The goal involves setting up a planned schedule, accounting for studies, rest, and other activities (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). Effective time management can reduce stress and improve productivity. Balancing different aspects of life often contributes to better academic performance.

14. Improvement of Writing Skills: Students may aim to improve their writing abilities for more effective communication (Marzano, 2010). Strong written communication can improve the quality of assignments and exam answers. It also plays a significant role in future career opportunities.

Select More Goals for Improving your Communication Skills from This List

15. Enhance Public Speaking/ Presentation Skills: This goal focuses on improving students’ abilities to effectively communicate their ideas verbally (Wilson & Dobson, 2008). Enhanced public speaking skills can boost a student’s confidence and is a key skill needed in many professional settings. Practice and feedback can help in making notable improvements.

Read Also: The Qualities of a Good College Student

Short-Term Goals for High School Students

1. Improve Your Grade in the next Exam (set a target grade): You could aim to enhance your grades in a particular subject that poses challenges. This goal could encourage you to find new strategies for studying and comprehension, improving your overall academic performance (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). As a result, you may feel more academically confident and open more opportunities for your further education.

2. Engage Actively in Class: Consider setting a goal to boost your participation during class time. Making this effort could lead to a deeper understanding of lessons and improved confidence in sharing your insights (Asafova & Vashetina, 2022). Moreover, teachers appreciate active participation, reflecting positively on your overall performance and relationship.

3. Develop Superior Note-taking Skills: You could strive to enhance your note-taking methods. By pursuing this goal, not only could you boost your ability to capture vital information efficiently but also render your revision sessions more productive (Nordengren, 2021). Remember, effective studying starts with well-organized, informative notes.

4. Adopt a New Extracurricular Activity: You might consider joining one or more extracurricular activities or clubs. Participating could help develop diverse skills, make new friends, and push you beyond your academic comfort zone (Marzano, 2010). It also provides you a broader perspective and richer high school experience.

5. Volunteer Your Time: Engage in community service or pursue volunteer opportunities around your area. Volunteering nurtures a sense of accountability and empathy and can enrich your high school experiences (Shi, 2018). Such experiences are also a valuable addition to your college applications.

6. Enhance Time Management: Consider setting a goal to manage your time more effectively. Better time management could balance your academic, personal, and extracurricular commitments (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). A well-organized schedule can help reduce stress and carve out time for your relaxation and hobbies.

7. Create a Study Group: You might initiate a study group with your classmates. Collaborative learning and exchange of ideas can enrich your understanding and make studying more enjoyable (Nordengren, 2021). Sharing and learning from each other could yield productive study sessions and better outcomes for everyone involved.

8. Read a Non-curriculum Book Each Month: Perhaps, you could aim to read a non-curriculum book every month. Reading widely can broaden your knowledge, enhance your vocabulary, and further develop your reading skills (Marzano, 2010). This practice could also cultivate intellectual curiosity, an invaluable trait for lifelong learning .

9. Improve Writing Skills : You may want to aim at enhancing your writing abilities. Effective writing skills can significantly elevate the quality of your assignments and help you in expressing your ideas clearly (Gurley et al., 2015). Besides, honing your writing skills now will help in college and your future career.

10. Reduce Procrastination: Consider setting a goal to delay tasks less. Procrastination can often lead to last-minute stress and hurried, subpar work (Nordengren, 2019). By consciously working to reduce procrastination, you can manage your tasks more effectively and produce higher-quality work. I recommend the pomodoro technique.

Complete List of Short-Term Goals

• Learn New Study Skills
• Improve Class Attendance
• Learn to Read and Comprehend Research Papers
• Actively Participate in Group Work
• Begin a Revision Schedule before Exams
• Set a Target Grade for an Upcoming Test
• Attend Open Office Hours
• Actually Use Feedback as Feedforward
• Develop Effective Note-taking Skills
• Develop a Habit of Reflection
• Finish Assignments in Advance
• Regular Physical Exercise
• Efficient Time Management
• Improvement of Writing Skills
• Enhance Public Speaking/ Presentation Skills
• Master a New Language
• Develop and Maintain a Study Schedule
• Improve Academic Grades
• Start a Lecture Review Routine
• Participate in Community Service
• Aim for Perfect Attendance
• Develop Leadership Skills
• Achieve a Reading Score Threshold
• Apply for Scholarships
• Acquire a New Skill
• Regularly Visit the School’s Writing Center
• Develop Creative Thinking Skills
• Learn Basic Computer Programs
• Master the Art of Essay Writing
• Develop Networking Skills
• Volunteer for School Events
• Manage Stress Effectively
• Develop a Morning Routine
• Improve Physical Health
• Enroll in an Extra Curricular Activity
• Be Active in Class
• Improve Time Management
• Enhance Problem-Solving Skills
• Incorporate Healthy Eating Habits
• Learn Conflict Resolution Skills
• Improve Typing Speed
• Develop a Consistent Sleep Schedule
• Complete Course Reading Lists
• Improve Memory Retention Skills
• Develop Critical Reading Skills
• Learn How to Meditate to Relieve Stress
• Regularly Visit the Careers Office
• Gain Understanding in a Complex Theory
• Improve Interpersonal Skills
• Maintain a Positive Attitude
• Get an Internship (and set yourself some internship goals )
• Learn to Play a Musical Instrument
• Improve multitasking abilities
• Join a Study Group
• Develop Self-Discipline
• Learn to Code
• Develop Emotional Intelligence
• Save a Specific Amount of Money
• Develop Public Speaking Skills
• Pass Certification Exams
• Prepare for Graduate School Admissions
• Improve Study-Life Balance
• Become a Class Representative
• Pass a Difficult Course
• Start a Business
• Achieve a Performance Goal in Sports
• Organize a Study Group
• Learn Effective Revision Strategies
• Perform Better in Group Projects
• Attend All Tutoring Sessions
• Maintain a Planner
• Eliminate a Bad Habit
• Learn Advanced Writing Techniques
• Improve Listening Skills
• Develop a Study Plan
• Accomplish a Fitness Goal
• Get a Part-Time Job
• Develop an Effective Note-Taking System
• Stay Within a Weekly Budget
• Improve GPA
• Cultivate Research Skills
• Enhance Resume
• Read a Difficult Book
• Practice Regular Self-Care
• Appreciate and Recognize Personal Growth
• Learn and Apply a Problem Solving Algorithm
• Improve Test-Taking Strategies
• Reduce Procrastination
• Help a Classmate with Studies
• Improve Presentation Skills
• Set Up Regular Meetings with an Advisor
• Learn to Ask for Help
• Learn and Practice Mindfulness
• Develop a Career Path
• Attend Skill-Enhancing Workshops
• Improve Visibility on Social Media
• Improve Self-esteem
• Learn How to Relax More
• Develop Negotiating Skills
• Learn How to Use a New Software Program
• Create and Maintain a Professional Network

Improve your Short-Term Goals with the SMART Framework

I intentionally left the above list of short-term goals vague, because you need to build on them and make them specific to your circumstances by using the SMART framework .

The SMART framework turns vague goals into clear, coherent, time-bound, actionable goals. Here is what it stands for:

• Specific: A specific goal clearly describes what you want to achieve, detailing exactly where you want to end up. 
• Measurable: A measurable goal means you have a way to gauge your progress and know definitively when the goal has been reached.
• Achievable: An achievable goal is realistic and attainable, meaning it’s within your capabilities and resources.
• Relevant: A relevant goal aligns with your broader objectives and ambitions, connecting directly to what you want to accomplish in the long term.
• Time-bound: A time-bound goal has a defined timeline, which sets a concrete end-point to aim for and prevents the task from continuing indefinitely.

Examples of SMART Short-Term Goals

Here are a few of the above listed goals, turned into SMART goals , to give you an exemplar to follow:

• Learn New Study Skills: Commit to learning one new study skill every week for the next two months, starting from next Monday, using resources from the school library and educational websites.
• Set a Target Grade for an Upcoming Test: Aim for a minimum score of 85% on your science test that is eight weeks away, by reviewing class notes, completing all revision exercises, and studying for at least one hour daily.
• Attend Open Office Hours: Schedule to attend your math teacher’s open office hours for 30 minutes every week for the rest of the semester, to discuss any learning difficulties and clarify questions.
• Develop a Habit of Reflection: Start a learning journal where you’ll write a reflective entry about what you’ve learned and its implications, three times a week for this entire school year .
• Finish Assignments in Advance: Aim to complete all assignments two days before their due date, for the remaining of the term, to allow time for proofreading and revisions.

Furthermore, research suggests that setting and achieving short-term goals can have a positive impact on students’ motivation and learning outcomes (Krumrei-Mancuso, Newton, Kim, & Wilcox, 2013). Meeting incremental goals can generate a rewarding sense of fulfillment and progress, fostering intrinsic motivation and perseverance. Past studies have also indicated that incorporating goal-setting practices into teaching can improve students’ metacognitive skills (Marzano, 2010). This empowers students to become more effective learners by enabling them to set realistic expectations, monitor their performance, and adjust their strategies as necessary. To illustrate, a student aiming to improve their essay writing skills would benefit from setting short-term goals like attending writing workshops (real-world example), practicing specific techniques, or completing a certain number of essays each month. 

Asafova, E., & Vashetina, O. (2022). Goal-setting as a condition for professional self-development of Master’s students in Teacher Training Programme . ARPHA Proceedings, 5, 97-107.

Friedman, B. A., & Mandel, R. G. (2009). The prediction of college student academic performance and retention: Application of expectancy and goal setting theories . Journal of college student retention: Research, theory & practice, 11(2), 227-246.

Gurley, D. K., Peters, G. B., Collins, L., & Fifolt, M. (2015). Mission, vision, values, and goals: An exploration of key organizational statements and daily practice in schools . Journal of Educational Change, 16, 217-242.

Hidayat, R., Moosavi, Z., & Hadisaputra, P. (2022). Achievement Goals, Well-Being and Lifelong Learning: A Mediational Analysis . International Journal of Instruction, 15(1), 89-112.

Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., Newton, F. B., Kim, E., & Wilcox, D. (2013). Psychosocial factors predicting first-year college student success . Journal of College Student Development, 54(3), 247-266.

Marzano, R. J. (2010). Designing & teaching learning goals & objectives . Solution Tree Press.

Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., & Wu, C. (2012). Goal setting and student achievement: A longitudinal study . The Modern Language Journal, 96(2), 153-169.

Nordengren, C. (2019). Goal-setting practices that support a learning culture . Phi Delta Kappan, 101(1), 18-23.

Nordengren, C. (2021). Step Into Student Goal Setting: A Path to Growth, Motivation, and Agency . Corwin Press.

Shi, Z. Q. (2018). Why Is It Important for Students and Teachers to Share Goals? (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University).

Wilson, S. B., & Dobson, M. S. (2008). Goal setting: How to create an action plan and achieve your goals . AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

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2 thoughts on “101 Short-term Goals for Students”

Hi Dear, I read your article. It’s very helpful for me. Specially I like your SMART concept. Thank you and best wishes to your upcoming article. Hope it would be impressive and improving for me. Thanks again !

Hey there, I really enjoyed article especially the short term goals for a university student.

Thanks in advance

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Home — Blog — Study Tips & Tricks — SMART Goals Examples for Student Success

SMART Goals Examples for Student Success

In the journey of academic and personal growth, setting goals is a fundamental aspect that can significantly impact one's success. For students, mastering the art of setting effective goals can make a world of difference in their educational journey. This article explores the concept of examples of S MART goals for students, providing a detailed breakdown of what they are, how to set them, and offering numerous examples across various educational levels. Whether you're a college student aiming for academic excellence or a high school student looking to improve your grades, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools to set and achieve your goals effectively.

What Are SMART Goals for College Students?

SMART goals, a methodology widely recognized in education and professional settings. SMART goals are not mere aspirations; they are actionable plans crafted with purpose. 

Each letter in the acronym represents a crucial element for goal formulation:

S pecific: Goals should be well-defined and precise, leaving no room for ambiguity.

M easurable: Goals should include metrics or criteria to track progress and determine when they are accomplished.

A chievable: Goals should be realistic and attainable within the given resources and constraints.

R elevant: Goals should align with your academic and personal aspirations.

T ime-bound: Goals should have a deadline, creating a sense of urgency.

For college students, SMART goals are essential for academic success. They help in transforming vague aspirations into actionable and achievable objectives. SMART goals for college students not only serve as a roadmap for academic achievement but also instill valuable life skills. By practicing goal-setting within the SMART framework, students develop discipline, time management, and a sense of purpose that extend far beyond the classroom.

Utilizing SMART goals examples for students is essential because they provide a clear and structured framework for academic success. By using these examples, students can transform vague aspirations into precise, actionable objectives. This process enhances focus, motivation, and organization, making it easier to track progress and stay accountable. 

Benefits of Using SMART Goals in Education

Smart goals in education provide a structured approach to academic and personal growth. They empower students to define their objectives clearly, measure progress, and maintain focus. These skills become invaluable assets not only during college but throughout their careers. SMART goals are not just academic buzzwords; they offer tangible benefits:

• Enhanced Focus and Direction : Clarity about your goals keeps you laser-focused, directing your energy and resources towards desired outcomes.
• Increased Motivation and Perseverance : Measurable progress fuels your drive to keep pushing ahead, even when faced with challenges.
• Improved Time Management : Time-bound goals encourage effective planning and prioritization, maximizing your precious study hours.
• Boosted Confidence and Self-Efficacy : Accomplishing achievable goals fosters a sense of accomplishment and competence, empowering you to tackle higher levels of academic rigor.

Setting Specific SMART Goals

Specificity is vital in goal setting. For students, this means clearly defining what they want to achieve. Vague aspirations like "do better in science" lack the power to guide your actions. Examples of specific academic goals include:

• Improving a specific grade in a challenging subject, say from a B to an A in calculus.
• Completing a set number of assignments or projects , like finishing all biology lab reports on time.
• Mastering a specific skill or topic , such as achieving fluency in a foreign language or understanding a complex scientific concept

The SMART Goal-Setting Process

Setting SMART goals is not a one-time event; it's an ongoing process of refinement and adjustment. Follow these steps for effective goal formulation:

• Identify the Big Picture : Start with your broad academic aspirations. What do you want to achieve this semester, this year, or even in your entire academic career?
• Break it Down : Divide your overarching goals into smaller, more manageable objectives. Use SMART principles to add detail and direction.
• Track Your Progress : Monitor your progress regularly. Are you on track to achieving your goals? If not, adjust your strategies or revise your deadlines.
• Celebrate Successes : Recognizing your achievements, big or small, reinforces your motivation and keeps you inspired on your journey.

Exercises and Activities

Practice makes perfect. Engaging in activities like brainstorming, journaling, or group discussions can help you become proficient in setting SMART goals.

• Brainstorm a list of your broad academic goals for the next semester.
• Choose one goal and break it down into three SMART objectives.
• Share your SMART goals with a study buddy or mentor and offer constructive feedback on each other's goals.
• Create a visual representation of your goals, such as a mind map or a vision board, to keep them front and center.

SMART Goals Template For Students

Templates for setting SMART goals provide a structured approach to goal-setting, which can be highly beneficial.  By using this template by GradesFixer, you can clearly define your objectives, ensure they are specific and measurable, determine their achievability and relevance, and establish a time-bound framework for achieving them. This organized approach enhances your chances of success in various aspects of your life, from academics to personal development. In essence, this template empowers you to transform your aspirations into actionable plans, guiding you towards a more successful and fulfilling future.

How to Reach your SMART Academic Goals (with Examples)

Setting SMART academic goals is an essential first step, but the journey to achieving them requires dedication, focus, and effective strategies. Here are 10 tips to help you stay on track and reach your academic goals:

Tip 1: Break Down Your Goals

When you set out to achieve significant academic goals, such as earning a high GPA or completing a complex research project, they can seem overwhelming. Breaking them down into smaller, more achievable steps can make the journey less daunting. For example, if your goal is to maintain a 4.0 GPA this semester, you can break it down by setting specific grade targets for each of your courses.

SMART Goal Example

• Goal : Maintain a 4.0 GPA this semester.
• Breakdown : Set a specific grade target (e.g., A or A+) for each course.
• Example:  “ In my mathematics course, I will aim for an A+” . 

Breaking down your goals in this way can help you stay organized and motivated throughout the semester.

Tip 2: Track Your Progress

To achieve your academic goals effectively, it's crucial to track your progress consistently. For instance, if your goal is to improve your essay writing skills, regularly assess your performance by comparing your current essay grades to those of your previous assignments.

• Goal : Improve my essay writing skills.
• Progress Tracking : Compare the grades and feedback on your recent essays with those of previous ones.
• Example : “After analyzing my recent essay grades, I've noticed a consistent improvement from C+ to B-” .

Tracking progress helps you stay accountable and maintain your motivation throughout your academic journey.

Tip 3: Stay Flexible

In the pursuit of your academic goals, unexpected situations or opportunities may arise. Staying flexible means being willing to adapt your goals to better align with your evolving circumstances. For example, if you initially aimed to complete a specific research project but an internship opportunity in your field of study suddenly becomes available, consider adjusting your goals to include both the project and the internship.

• Goal : Complete a research project and secure an internship.
• Flexibility : If the internship opportunity arises, adjust your project timeline while maintaining your commitment to both goals.
• Example : “If an internship opportunity in my field becomes available, I will adjust my research project timeline to accommodate both the internship and the project.”

Flexibility ensures that you make the most of unexpected opportunities without sacrificing your long-term goals.

Tip 4: Seek Support

Having a support system can significantly impact your success in achieving your academic goals. Whether it's a professor, a peer, or a family member, sharing your goals with someone you trust can provide you with the encouragement and accountability you need to stay on track.

• Goal : Excel in my biology coursework.
• Support : Share your goal with your biology professor, who can provide additional resources and guidance.
• Example : “I will inform my biology professor of my goal to excel in the course and seek their guidance and support throughout the semester.”

Seeking support ensures that you have valuable allies in your academic journey.

Tip 5: Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself for achieving milestones along the way can help keep your motivation high. Acknowledging your efforts and progress can make the path to your ultimate academic goal more enjoyable and fulfilling.

• Goal : Maintain a 3.8 GPA for the semester.
• Reward : Treat yourself to a weekend getaway or a special meal when you reach your GPA target.
• Example : “When I achieve and maintain a 3.8 GPA for the semester, I will reward myself with a weekend getaway to my favorite destination.”

Rewards serve as positive reinforcement for your hard work and dedication.

Tip 6: Stay Persistent

In your academic journey, it's essential to remember that setbacks and challenges are part of the process. Persistence means continuing to work towards your goals even when faced with difficulties or temporary failures.

• Goal : Master a challenging subject.
• Persistence : Keep studying, seeking help, and practicing, even if you don't grasp the concepts immediately.
• Example : I will persist in studying, seeking help, and practicing until I master the challenging subject, even if it takes longer than expected.

Persistence ensures that you keep moving forward, even when faced with obstacles.

Tip 7: Stay Organized

Being organized can greatly reduce stress and help you manage your time effectively. Use tools like planners, digital calendars, and folders to keep track of assignments, deadlines, and important resources.

• Goal : Submit all assignments and projects on time.
• Organization : Use a digital calendar to schedule tasks and reminders for each assignment's due date.
• Example : I will use a digital calendar to schedule all assignment due dates and set reminders to ensure I submit all assignments and projects on time.

Organization minimizes the chances of missing deadlines or forgetting important tasks.

Tip 8: Set Realistic Timelines

Setting realistic timelines is crucial for avoiding burnout and frustration. Align your goals with your available study time and other commitments to make your goals attainable.

• Goal : Learn a new programming language.
• Timeline : Set a goal to achieve a specific level of proficiency within six months, considering your weekly study hours.
• Example : “I will aim to achieve an intermediate level of proficiency in the new programming language within six months by dedicating 10 hours of study per week.”

Realistic timelines allow you to make steady progress without feeling overwhelmed.

Tip 9: Learn from Mistakes

In your academic journey, you may encounter challenges, make mistakes, or receive lower-than-expected grades. Instead of becoming discouraged, embrace these experiences as opportunities to learn and improve. Analyze your mistakes to understand where you went wrong and how you can enhance your performance.

• Goal : Excel in a challenging course.
• Mistakes : If you receive a lower grade on an assignment, analyze it to understand where you went wrong and how to improve.
• Example : “When I receive a lower grade on an assignment, I will thoroughly review the feedback provided by my instructor, identify areas for improvement, and implement those suggestions in my future assignments.”

Learning from mistakes ensures that you continually strive for improvement in your academic pursuits.

Tip 10: Visualize Success

Visualization is a powerful tool to maintain your motivation and focus on your academic journey. Take time to visualize yourself successfully achieving your goals, whether it's excelling in a course, completing a research project, or graduating with honors. This mental imagery can boost your confidence and determination.

• Goal : Graduate with honors.
• Visualization : Regularly visualize yourself walking across the stage to receive your diploma with honors cords, feeling the sense of accomplishment and pride.
• Example : “I will practice visualization by closing my eyes and vividly imagining myself at my graduation ceremony, wearing honors cords and receiving applause from the audience.”

These additional tips, combined with the previous ones, will help you navigate your academic journey more effectively and increase your chances of successfully reaching your SMART academic goals.

Academic SMART Goals Examples

When it comes to academic success, setting SMART goals is a tried-and-true approach. Below are some academic SMART goals examples that illustrate how this framework can be applied effectively to various aspects of your education.

Get an A in My Next Essay

• S pecific: Write a 10-page essay analyzing the literary techniques used in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
• M easurable: Achieve a score of 90% or higher on the essay.
• A ttainable: I consistently score in the B+ range on essays with dedicated effort.
• R elevant: This essay contributes significantly to my final grade and aligns with my interest in literary analysis.
• T ime-Bound: Complete the essay by the deadline of April 10th.

Improve My Understanding of Organic Chemistry

• S pecific: Master the mechanisms of five key organic reactions (substitution, elimination, addition, etc.).
• M easurable: Correctly answer 90% of practice problems related to these reactions on the next quiz.
• A ttainable: I have a strong foundation in general chemistry and can dedicate two hours daily to study.
• R elevant: Organic chemistry is crucial for my pre-med aspirations and future medical studies.
• T ime-Bound: Achieve mastery within the next three weeks before the quiz date.

Participate Actively in Class Discussions

• S pecific: Contribute at least three meaningful comments during each class discussion.
• M easurable: Track my participation in a journal or ask a classmate for feedback.
• A ttainable: I can prepare one discussion point per class based on the readings.
• R elevant: Actively engaging in class strengthens my understanding and improves my presentation skills.
• T ime-Bound: Increase my participation gradually over the next semester.

These academic SMART goals examples showcase the power of setting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives for your education. Implementing SMART goals in your academic journey will not only help you excel in your studies but also enhance your overall learning experience. Moreover, using SMART academic goals examples provides you with concrete templates to adapt to your unique educational needs, ensuring that you stay on the path to success and continuously refine your academic aspirations.

SMART Goals Examples for College Students

In the pursuit of academic excellence and personal growth, understanding and implementing SMART goals is crucial. For college students, these principles are instrumental in guiding their educational journey. Let's delve into some examples of SMART goals for students , illustrating how this framework can be applied to various aspects of student life, from securing coveted internships in their field of interest to maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Secure Summer Internship in My Field of Interest

• S pecific: Apply to at least five internships related to computer science research.
• M easurable: Attend two career fairs and interview for three internship positions.
• A ttainable: I have a strong GPA and relevant project experience to impress potential employers.
• R elevant: Gaining practical experience aligns with my career goals and strengthens my resume.
• T ime-Bound: Secure an internship by May 15th for a productive summer experience.

Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance

• S pecific: Schedule 30 minutes of exercise three times a week and dedicate one evening per week to socialize with friends.
• M easurable: Track my progress in a planner or fitness app.
• A ttainable: Prioritizing health and social interaction boosts my energy and overall well-being.
• R elevant: A balanced lifestyle fuels academic success and prevents burnout.
• T ime-Bound: Integrate these activities into my weekly routine throughout the semester.

Develop Public Speaking Skills

• S pecific: Volunteer to present a research paper at a department conference.
• M easurable: Receive constructive feedback from the audience and conference organizers.
• A ttainable: I can practice my presentation delivery beforehand and seek guidance from professors.
• R elevant: Public speaking skills are crucial for future academic and professional success.
• T ime-Bound: Prepare and deliver the presentation within the conference deadline.

SMART Goals for High School Students

In the journey of high school, students face numerous challenges and opportunities for growth. Effective goal-setting becomes a valuable skill in this phase, laying the foundation for future success. This section explores SMART goals examples for students in high school, illustrating how this framework can be applied to enhance their academic and personal development. 

Improve Time Management Skills

• S pecific: Create a weekly schedule allocating time for studying, extracurricular activities, and leisure.
• M easurable: Track my adherence to the schedule through a time management app or log.
• A ttainable: Start with small adjustments and gradually increase scheduled study time.
• R elevant: Effective time management fosters academic success and reduces stress levels.
• T ime-Bound: Implement and refine the schedule throughout the semester.

Prepare for Standardized Tests

• S pecific: Take a practice test and identify areas for improvement in math and reading comprehension.
• M easurable: Increase my practice test score by 10 points within the next month.
• A ttainable: I can dedicate specific study hours each week to targeted practice and test-taking strategies.
• R elevant: Standardized test scores play a significant role in college admissions and future opportunities.
• T ime-Bound: Set test-taking goals aligned with upcoming exam dates.

SMART goals for school students are invaluable tools for personal growth and academic excellence. These examples illustrate how students can apply the SMART framework to enhance their time management skills and prepare effectively for standardized tests.

Additional Resources

Recommended Reading:

• "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey
• "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol S. Dweck
• "Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals" by Michael Hyatt

References:

• Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.
• Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives. Management Review, 70(11), 35-36.
• "SMART Goals: How to Set Achievable Goals" by Michael Hyatt: 
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68.

In addition to setting SMART goals, college students are encouraged to delve deeper into the concept of college goals essays by exploring insightful samples. These essays provide valuable insights and perspectives on setting and achieving goals specific to the college experience. Furthermore, you can explore resources for low-income college students to ensure that all students have access to the support and tools they need to thrive academically.

With SMART goals as a foundation and these additional resources at your disposal, you'll be well-equipped to navigate the challenges and opportunities of higher education while achieving your aspirations. Your academic journey is yours to shape, and by setting and pursuing your goals, you're taking a significant step toward realizing your dreams.

Go forth, set your SMART goals, and conquer your academic journey!

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List of Goals for Students

It’s never too early to start setting goals. Whether you’re a parent with elementary-school-aged children, a high school junior, attending college or earning a postgraduate degree, you can set goals that will help you succeed in your studies.

Why Should Students Set Goals?

In a poll run by TheHopeLine.com , most students said that they wanted to avoid slacking off during the next school year. One way to prevent procrastination and get your work done on time is to set goals.

But goal setting isn’t just for academic work . It can help students with their personal lives too.

No matter how old you are, you should be setting goals in various categories . These include:

• Health and wellness

To visualize the importance of setting goals, Overcoming Obstacles recommends doing the following activity with students:

• Separate students into three or four groups.
• Ask each group to make a different noise, such as clapping, whistling or stomping their feet.
• Set a timer, and ask students to start making the noise. Stop them after 30 seconds.
• Ask if you accomplished anything during the activity. Students may say something like, “We accomplished making a lot of noise” or “we got into a rhythm.”
• Ask if the students achieved their goal. You might have a discussion at this point that no goal was set for the activity. Everyone put in some effort, but it’s tough to define what they accomplished.

How could you adjust this activity to make it more goal oriented? You could:

• Attempt to make noises that sound like a thunderstorm.
• Ask students to make noises as quietly as possible.
• Ask students to make noises as loudly as possible.

Then, ask students if they met their goal. Now, you can explain why it helps to set goals in the first place. They direct students’ focus and give them a standard by which they can measure their success .

What Can Students Do to Set Themselves Up for Success?

It’s hard for students under the age of 18 to envision their future. Elementary students may have a hard time imagining life next week. Middle school students might only be able to think as far as the end of the school year .

Although much of the goal-setting advice out there recommends that you start with a big vision and work backward, that might not be the best tactic for students.

Young people can do some activities to help them discover their values, though. When they familiarize themselves with what they want in life, they can better structure their targets as they learn more about guide to goal setting .

Here are some pre-goal-setting activities that students can use to understand their priorities:

• Reflect on their strengths and weaknesses – Students can ask themselves what qualities they appreciate most about themselves and what qualities they would like to improve. They might also ask themselves what they’re good at and what they find difficult.
• Look at others – Ask students to list the 10 most important people in their lives. Then, ask them what they admire in those individuals.
• Values – What values are most important to you ? Use the answers from the previous two activities to help you decide. For example, if you love your friends because they are supportive and honest, then being helpful and trustworthy may be two of your top values.
• Superpowers – if you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? What would your vulnerability be?
• Picture the Future – Imagine that it’s five years from now, and you’re telling the story of what you’ve accomplished in the past few years. What would you like to say?

Asking themselves these questions can help students identify their goals. Here are some ways that you can transform the answers into goals:

• If you are proud of your creativity, set a goal to draw, paint, write or make music for 30 minutes a day.
• If you feel like you could be more organized, make it a goal to maintain your planner.
• If kindness is important to you, write in a gratitude journal every day.
• If your superpower would be to make everyone happy, give one person a compliment every day.
• If you would like to be working at a law firm in five years, enroll in a class in your political science department.

Regardless of your educational stage, you can benefit from adopting the general goals below. They can help you become more organized and structure your days around planning and completing goals.

1. Create a Routine

Developing a routine can help students stay consistent with their work. Take time to look at your week.

Do you have certain activities on specific days? Write them in a planner so that you can see the pattern.

Then, ask yourself how much time you need for the following tasks:

• Doing homework
• Cleaning your room
• Reviewing previous work
• Preparing for the next day
• Making your lunch
• Hanging out with friends

Accommodate these tasks in your planner. You probably need to schedule daily pockets of time for doing homework and making your lunch. But you might only clean your room or hang out with friends once a week.

After you have created your plan , see if it works for you. Refer to your planner throughout the week. Make adjustments as necessary.

Your routine will become more automated as you practice it. Knowing what’s coming up and how much time you need to accomplish all of your tasks can take the pressure off of your obligations.

2. Keep Your Backpack Organized

If you’re shoving papers, assignments and your lunch into your backpack, you might have a hard time finding what you need when you get home. An easy way to get more organized is to set a goal to put everything in the right place.

This starts with your school bag. Begin by emptying it out completely. Wash it if necessary.

Make sure all of the items that came out of it have a place. If you notice that you come home with a lot of loose papers, consider purchasing folders or binders to keep them together. If miscellaneous items or school supplies get out of hand, put a pencil box or smaller bag inside your backpack to corral them.

3. Give Yourself Rules

Set some rules for yourself to stay on track with your responsibilities. Your guidelines may include:

• Finish assignments two days before they’re due.
• Begin studying for exams at least one week ahead of time.
• Spend 30 minutes a day working on a writing assignment.
• Create a deadline that’s a day or two ahead of the actual deadline.

These rules can get worked into your daily and weekly goals .

4. Make a Note of Your Resources

It’s difficult to accomplish all of your goals by yourself. You will likely need assistance from other people or resources.

Maybe you need to learn more about a particular topic. For example, you want to work in fashion design when you graduate from college. You might need to learn more about:

• Colleges that cater to this industry.
• The best cities for fashion designers.
• Trade shows or events that you can attend to network with others.
• Software that you might need to use.

If you think that you’ll need support from other people, line up a list of those who can help you right now. Maybe a friend’s parent works in the fashion industry and you could pick their brain. Perhaps you’ll need your parents to help you with finances as you get on your feet. You might need to apply for grants, scholarship or financial aid to reach your goals.

Considering the help that you might need ahead of time makes it more readily available when you’re ready to reach out for it.

5. Ask Questions

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification when you need it. You can get into the habit of using your planner or a specific spot in your notebook to jot down questions as you’re going over academic material.

Perhaps you don’t understand something in your reading. You can make a note of your question so that you can ask your teacher the next time you’re in class.

Curiosity is a key to success , and it’s never too early to instill a sense of inquisitiveness in a student. In fact, the joy of discovery and motivation to explore the unknown are two characteristics that can make a young person a better learner .

If you’re a parent, you can encourage curiosity in your kids by taking them to new places, helping them find stimulating activities, letting them take the lead and engaging in imaginative play. Teachers and caregivers can also nurture curiosity by:

• Rewarding it
• Teaching children to ask good questions
• Encouraging students to reach out when they feel confused
• Fostering exploration
• Pairing students with different levels of curiosity
• Teach students to question the status quo

Example Goals for Elementary School Students

In elementary school, children don’t just pick up a wealth of information about the subjects that they’re studying. They also learn how to set up habits that will help them succeed in the world.

At an early age, children learn about manners, appropriate behavior, classroom expectations, organization and time management . Helping them set and accomplish goals at this stage in life can prepare them to continue the practice throughout their lifetimes.

A goals list for elementary school students might include:

• Take out and put away materials quickly.
• Keep your feet on the floor.
• Keep your eyes on the teacher when he is talking.
• Don’t speak when your teacher is talking.
• Finish your work before you play with your friends.
• Use kind words.
• Raise your hand before speaking.
• Sit up in your seat.
• Follow directions the first time they’re given.

Example Goals for High School Students

By the time they’re in high school, students should be more familiar with setting goals . Plus, the pressure to go to college typically builds throughout high school. By junior and senior year, many students have multiple deadlines for standardized testing and college applications.

Helping them set goals before the pressure increases may help them cope with their obligations as they near graduation.

A goals list for high school students might include:

• Do 20 hours of community service this semester.
• Find a volunteer position that I’m passionate about.
• Get a part-time job.
• Spend 30 minutes every Saturday learning vocabulary words for the SAT.
• Join a club that I’m excited about.
• Look at my planner every Sunday to make sure that I’m prepared for the week.
• Do my homework before I talk to my friends in the afternoons.

Example Goals for University Students

College challenges students in new ways. Young people are more independent than ever before. They don’t always have parents or teachers looking after them to make sure that they accomplish all of their tasks. Getting organized is crucial at this stage in life.

Goal setting during the college years will help students build solid study skills and manage their time in ways that set them up for success after they graduate and enter the workforce.

Some ideas for goals that college students can set include:

• Planning regular study times for every course.
• Make sure that you enter all deadlines in your planner.
• Meet with each professor at least once during the semester.
• Join an extracurricular organization.
• Visit your career services department.
• Find a tutor to help you with a subject that you’re having trouble with.
• Explore intramural sports on campus.
• Go to the rec center or ride your bike to school five days a week.
• Learn the public transportation routes that apply to your schedule.
• Go to class every day; don’t skip classes.

Tips for Student Goal Setting

Now that we’ve given you some background about goal setting for students, here are some specific tips.

Use a Planner

Students who use planners typically get high marks in school. They don’t miss deadlines, they’re well prepared for exams and they can predict what’s coming up instead of being surprised by a looming project.

Some people are resistant to using planners. They may think that they’re too laid back to be bound by the constraints of a planner.

However, most people would probably say that they don’t want to lose track of things. However adept your memory is, you could benefit from writing down deadlines and keeping track of them outside of your mind.

A planner that’s convenient enough to use should:

• Be thin and not bulky
• Have spiral-bound pages that are easy to flip open
• Have a bookmark or clip to help you find the right page
• Have a spot for a pen
• Be kept in an accessible place

Students should be using their planners to record daily tasks and assignments during school. They should be able to pull out the planner easily when the teacher delegates homework so that they don’t have to worry about remembering the task.

On their own time, however, students can take their planning to the next level. At the beginning of every week, they can review the projects that are due by Friday. They can create weekly goals to hold themselves accountable.

Every evening, they should also check their planners. Doing this allows them to set goals for the next day.

Share Your Goals

If you’re a parent or caregiver, you may have a student that always wants to know what you’re up to. Have you ever fielded questions from your child about your schedule, only to brush them off by saying, “Don’t worry about it. You’re not involved.”

When kids ask about your routines, consider giving them the information that they’re asking for. They’re learning how people organize their lives, and you serve as the model.

You might think about holding a family meeting once a week to go over your goals for that time period. Parents can tell their kids if they have appointments or carpool plans. Kids can remind parents of extracurricular activities or class projects that are due this week.

This practice helps parents teach kids how to think ahead. It also gets everyone on the same page to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Apps can help students set goals. Habitica is designed for younger students but can help older ones too. This app turns habit building into a game.

You can choose to set goals in multiple categories. Then, you break them down into the following:

• Habits – Regular tasks that you want to get comfortable with
• Dailies – Activities that happen on a particular day or every day; you can set a start date or due date or have it repeat.
• To-dos – Tasks that you do rarely or once go here; you can add deadlines and checklists.

You can set up rewards that you earn in the app or real life to celebrate your wins. As you check off the tasks in Habitica, you earn points, which help you earn rewards.

If you pick up bad habits or neglect your goals, your “health” in the game will suffer. As you advance in your life, you also move forward in the game .

MyStudyLife is an electronic planner . If a paper agenda doesn’t work for you, you might find this app helpful. It’s designed specifically for students and can help you arrange your classes, internship, job and exams.

It syncs across platforms so that you can access it from your computer or phone. It also features reminders that let you know when an important deadline is coming up.

Learn to Break Down Large Tasks

Getting lots of assignments at school can be overwhelming. But you can handle large tasks by breaking them down.

Let’s say that you have to write a history paper. Thinking about writing 3,000 words on the subject can be daunting. Instead of holding the finished assignment in your mind, divide it into smaller pieces.

This might look like:

• Find 10 resources for research.
• Read those resources and take notes.
• Write an outline.
• Write a draft of the introduction.
• Write the main points from the outline.
• Write the conclusion.
• Proofread the paper.
• Print it out.

When each task can be accomplished in 30 minutes or less, you’re more likely to take it on instead of procrastinating. Every time you have an assignment, ask yourself how you can make it easier by breaking it down.

Don’t Worry About Impressing Others

As you’re growing up, you’re shaped by your family, peers and environment. Although much of that influence is positive, it can sway you in directions that aren’t ideal for you.

Make sure that the goals that you set are based on your values and strengths. For example, your sibling may have joined Model United Nations in high school because she wants to be a political science major in college.

In ninth grade, you follow in her footsteps. However, you have an engineering mind and love math and numbers. You struggle to understand your responsibilities in the club, and you don’t get much out of it.

Perhaps your time would have been better spent following your own goals instead of trying to do what you thought your parents expected of you. We’re not saying that you should ignore your parents’ advice.

However, you do need to be honest with yourself and others about your passions. You’ll find it much harder to set goals that someone else sets for you than to accomplish those that you value.

According to the 2017 National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report , only about half of the students at four-year colleges are satisfied with their experience. Many feel as though they’re not experiencing intellectual growth and the content of the courses within their majors is not valuable.

It’s hard to know exactly why some college students are dissatisfied. Perhaps the reason is that they’re following somebody else’s goals and expectations instead of their own.

The same survey referenced above indicated that non-traditional learners, such as those attending night classes while working full time or taking online courses, are more satisfied with their education. Could that be because they are adult learners who chose to follow this path? Perhaps their education is more aligned with their goals than a younger student’s.

To be successful, you have to find your own path. Don’t let others pressure you into being someone you’re not. When you’re passionate about your goals, you’re much more likely to stick with them.

Know Why You’re Setting Goals

In the noise-making activity that we described above, students don’t know why they’re making strange sounds during the first round. Therefore, they’re left feeling as though they didn’t really accomplish anything.

Even if you have a list of to-dos outlined in your planner, you may not feel fulfilled if you don’t know why they’re important to you.

Identifying the personal value of every goal can be daunting for a student. Much of your time is spent adhering to someone else’s expectations or deadlines. That’s why it’s even more important to decide why your goals are important to you.

Here are some examples for you to consider:

• Why do you want to finish your assignments two days before they’re due? – You hate the stress of rushing to complete assignments at the last minute; you end up missing out on fun times with friends when you’re working around the clock the day before a project is due; you hate it when your parents hound you about completing your homework.
• Why do you want to do community service? – You want to have a robust college application; you feel good when you’re helping others; you want to work at a non-profit someday.
• Why do you want to exercise regularly? – You like feeling energetic while you’re sitting at your desk; your mind feels clearer, and you’re able to raise your hand more often, which makes you feel proud of yourself; you like playing games outdoors with your friends.
• Why do you want to clean your backpack out every week? – You hate finding old lunches at the bottom of your bag; you don’t want to miss out on a field trip because you forgot to give the permission slip to your parents; your teacher makes you rewrite your homework if it comes in wrinkled or torn.
• Why do you want to be quiet when the teacher is talking? – If you miss out on some information, you have to sit inside to learn it at recess; you don’t get points on your reward chart when you’re talking in class; you don’t get to sit with your friends when you’re not being a good listener.
• Why should you keep your feet on the floor while you’re sitting at your desk? – You don’t want to fall and hurt yourself.
• Why do you want to go to class every day? – You don’t want to feel rushed catching up on information that you missed; you don’t want to fail a test because you didn’t learn a particular piece of information; you don’t want to have to borrow someone else’s notes.

Setting goals allows students to take an active role in their learning. If they are in charge of their education, students may be more curious, dedicated and passionate about it. Goal setting is a skill that you can practice. When honed, it’s one of the keys to success in all areas of life.

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20 Solid Educational Goals Examples (Smart Goals)

Educational goals are the objectives you set to achieve specific learning outcomes. They provide a clear direction for your personal and academic growth.

• To start, think about specific skills you want to develop or knowledge you want to gain. For example, your goal might be to improve your public speaking skills or learn coding to enhance your career prospects.
• Set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). This will help you focus your efforts and stay on track. Suppose you want to become proficient in public speaking. You could set a goal like this: “I will join a local Toastmasters club and attend meetings twice a month for six months to build confidence and receive constructive feedback on my speeches.”
• Accountability is crucial for achieving your goals. Share your objectives with friends, family, or mentors, so they can provide support and encouragement along the way. Consider using tools like journals or apps to track your progress and reflect on your growth.
• Embrace a growth mindset. This means acknowledging that setbacks and challenges are part of the learning process. When you encounter obstacles, remind yourself that you have the ability to adapt and grow.

Examples of SMART Educational Goals

• Improve Academic Performance SMART Goal: Set a time-bound goal to achieve a specific GPA (e.g., 3.5) by the end of the current semester. Example: “I will achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher by the end of this semester through consistent attendance at lectures, setting aside focused study time for each subject, and seeking help from professors during office hours when needed.”
• Master a New Language SMART Goal: Specify a target fluency level (e.g., intermediate) within a certain time frame (e.g., 12 months). Example: “I will achieve intermediate fluency in French within 12 months by taking two language classes per week, practicing speaking with a language exchange partner for at least 30 minutes daily, and completing a language proficiency test with a score of B2 or higher.”
• Enhance Critical Thinking Improve the ability to analyze information critically, make informed decisions, and solve complex problems. SMART Goal: Set a measurable goal, such as solving a specific number of complex problems or puzzles each week, making it achievable through regular exercises. Example: “I will solve at least three logic puzzles and write one critical analysis essay each week for the next six months to improve my critical thinking skills.”
• Complete a Degree Graduating with a specific degree, such as a bachelor’s or master’s, can be a long-term educational goal. SMART Goal: Make it time-bound by setting a graduation date (e.g., completing a bachelor’s degree in four years) and measurable by tracking course completion progress. Example: “I will complete my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology within four years by following my academic advisor’s recommended course plan, attending all required courses, and submitting all assignments on time.”
• Expand Cultural Awareness Commit to learning about different cultures, fostering tolerance, and embracing diversity. SMART Goal: For example, set a time-bound goal to learn about a new culture every month, and measure your progress by tracking the number of cultures you’ve explored. Example:  “I will learn about a new culture every month by reading books, watching documentaries, and engaging with native speakers online, aiming to explore at least 12 different cultures over the next year.”
• Advance Technological Proficiency Improve your computer and technology skills to stay competitive in the digital age. SMART Goal: Specify a technology skill or certification you want to achieve within a set timeframe (e.g., obtaining a programming certification within six months). Example: “I will earn a certification in web development within the next eight months by dedicating at least 15 hours per week to online courses, building three functional websites, and passing the certification exam.”
• Develop Public Speaking Skills Work on your ability to confidently and effectively communicate your ideas in public settings. SMART Goal:  Plan to join a public speaking club and set measurable goals like participating in a certain number of speaking engagements each month. Example: “I will join a local public speaking club and deliver at least one prepared speech each month, with the goal of earning my Competent Communicator designation within one year.”
• Excel in a Specific Subject Choose a subject you’re passionate about and aim to become an expert in it. SMART Goal: Define what “excel” means (e.g., achieving an A grade) and set a timeframe (e.g., by the end of the academic year) for this achievement. Example: “I will achieve an A grade in all my mathematics courses this academic year by attending additional tutoring sessions, practicing with problem sets daily, and seeking clarification from my professors.”
• Boost Information Literacy Learn to navigate and evaluate information sources effectively. SMART Goal: Set measurable benchmarks, like evaluating a specific number of online sources critically each week, and allocate regular time for improvement. Example:  “I will critically evaluate at least five online sources for reliability and accuracy each week, ensuring that I have the necessary skills to discern credible information by the end of this semester.”
• Participate in Research Engage in meaningful research projects to deepen your understanding of a particular field. SMART Goal: Establish a timeline for research projects, with milestones and deadlines, making it time-bound and measurable. Example: “I will complete my research project on climate change impacts in coastal areas by the end of this academic year, including data collection, analysis, and final presentation.”
• Build Leadership Skills Develop qualities such as teamwork, decision-making, and motivation to become an effective leader. SMART Goal: Specify leadership roles or responsibilities you aim to take on within a certain time frame (e.g., leading a team within a year) and track your progress. Example: “I will take on the role of team leader for our group project next semester, and I will aim to improve team cohesion, delegate tasks effectively, and lead meetings efficiently.”
• Improve Time Management Enhance your ability to prioritize tasks, set goals, and meet deadlines efficiently. SMART Goal: Set measurable goals for time management, like allocating a specific amount of time to each task, and track your efficiency over time. Example: “I will create a detailed weekly schedule, allocating specific time blocks for studying, assignments, and personal activities, with the aim of increasing my productivity and meeting all deadlines.”
• Strengthen Writing Skills Work on your writing abilities, aiming to write clear, persuasive, and well-structured content. SMART Goal: Aim to complete a certain number of writing assignments or articles each month, making it both measurable and achievable. Example:  “I will write and publish one well-researched article on a relevant topic each month, aiming to improve my writing skills.”
• Expand Your Network Set a goal to build a diverse network of professional and academic contacts. SMART Goal: Set a goal to connect with a specific number of new contacts within your field each quarter, making it measurable and time-bound. Example: “I will attend at least two professional networking events or conferences every quarter, aiming to connect with a minimum of 20 new contacts within my industry by the end of the year.”
• Achieve Financial Literacy Learn about personal finance, budgeting, investing, and saving for your future. SMART Goal: Establish a timeframe for when you’ll complete courses or milestones related to financial literacy. Example: “I will complete a series of financial literacy courses within the next six months, including budgeting, investing, and retirement planning, and apply this knowledge to create a personal financial plan.”
• Promote Environmental Awareness Educate yourself about environmental issues and sustainable practices to contribute to a greener world. SMART Goal: Set measurable goals, such as reducing personal waste by a specific percentage each month, and track your environmental impact. Example: “I will reduce my personal carbon footprint within the next year by implementing sustainable practices in my daily life, such as using public transportation and reducing single-use plastics.”
• Enhance Soft Skills Develop interpersonal skills like empathy, adaptability, and conflict resolution for improved personal and professional relationships. SMART Goal: Specify the soft skills you want to develop and set measurable targets, like resolving a certain number of conflicts or demonstrating empathy in specific situations. Example: “I will actively practice empathy in my interactions with colleagues and seek out at least three opportunities to mediate conflicts or disagreements constructively each year.”
• Become an Active Learner Cultivate a lifelong love for learning and seek out opportunities for continued education. SMART Goal: For example, commit to enrolling in a certain number of online courses or attending workshops each year. Example: “I will enroll in at least two online courses or workshops related to my field every quarter, with the aim of gaining new knowledge and skills that benefit my career.”
• Contribute to Community Service Dedicate time to volunteering or community service projects to make a positive impact on your community. SMART Goal: Set a time-bound goal to dedicate a specific number of hours to volunteer work each month, tracking your contributions. Example: “I will volunteer at a local community center for at least 10 hours per month, focusing on initiatives that address food insecurity, starting this month and continuing for the next year.”
• Pursue Higher Education Set a long-term goal to pursue a doctorate or other advanced degrees to become an expert in your chosen field. SMART Goal: For example, plan your advanced degree journey with specific application deadlines and course completion timelines.

When setting educational goals, it’s helpful to break them down into long-term and short-term goals. This way, you can stay focused on achieving smaller milestones while working towards more significant objectives. Let’s look at some examples for each.

Examples of Long-Term Goals

• Earn a college degree
• Pursue a career change
• Become fluent in another language
• Complete a professional certification

Examples of Short-Term Goals

• Improve your grades
• Learn a new skill
• Take an online course
• Join a club or organization

The Path to Achieving Educational Goals

Goal setting techniques.

To set your educational goals effectively, it’s important to follow some core goal-setting techniques. For starters, make your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help you create actionable steps to achieve them.

• Instead of stating “get better grades,” opt for “improve my overall GPA from 3.0 to 3.5 within two semesters.” This goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant to your educational success, and has a clear timeline.
• Break your larger goals into smaller, achievable milestones. By taking baby steps, you’ll build momentum, which is crucial for continuous progress. Celebrate your small victories along the way to keep yourself motivated and on track.
• Visualization can be a powerful tool for goal setting. Picture yourself achieving the desired results and imagine the emotions associated with success. This mental reinforcement helps deepen your commitment to your goals and maintain your focus.

Don’t forget the importance of self-care to support your academic journey. Ensure you get enough sleep, eat well, and engage in regular physical activity. A healthy mind and body contribute to effective learning and overall academic success.

Monitoring and Adapting Your Educational Goals

Effective tracking methods.

To make sure you’re on track with your educational goals, it’s a good idea to use some effective tracking methods. Keep a journal or spreadsheet where you list your goals, their deadlines, and your progress. This will help you visualize your path and see if any adjustments are necessary.

Another excellent method is setting up milestones for each goal. These smaller, achievable steps make tackling larger objectives more manageable. As you reach each milestone, celebrate your progress and reassess whether your current strategy is working or if you need to revise your approach.

Redirection Techniques

If you find that your progress toward an educational goal is stalling, it’s time to implement some redirection techniques. First, take a step back and reevaluate the goal itself. Is it still relevant, or has your situation changed? If the goal needs to be modified, don’t hesitate to make appropriate adjustments, such as extending the deadline or altering its scope.

Next, examine any external factors that could be hindering your progress. Perhaps a change in your schedule, additional responsibilities, or a lack of resources is making it difficult for you to move forward. In these cases, consider seeking support from friends, family, or mentors who can help alleviate some of these obstacles.

Stay flexible and willing to adapt. Sometimes, you’ll need to change your course of action to continue making progress. This could involve acquiring new skills, seeking additional resources, or even redefining your educational goals altogether. Remember that success is often dependent on your ability to learn, grow, and adjust along your educational journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what are some common educational goals for students.

Students often set goals to improve their academic performance, enhance time management skills, develop effective study habits, and participate in extracurricular activities. Some examples include aiming for a higher GPA, completing homework on time, or joining a club or sports team.

2. How can high school students set achievable academic goals?

To set achievable academic goals, high school students can follow these steps:

• Reflect on their strengths and weaknesses in different subjects.
• Define specific, measurable, and realistic goals.
• Break down goals into smaller steps to work on gradually.
• Set deadlines to track progress.
• Seek support from parents, teachers, and friends.
• Regularly review and adjust goals as needed.

3. What are examples of personal goals for students of different ages?

For younger students:

• Develop reading and writing skills.
• Learn basic math concepts.
• Improve social and communication skills.

For middle school students:

• Master a new subject or skill, such as a musical instrument or a new language.
• Strengthen problem-solving abilities.
• Develop healthy study habits and time management skills.

For high school students:

• Prepare for college or vocational training.
• Enhance leadership skills and engage in community service.
• Pursue interests and passions outside of the classroom.

4. How can schools improve with goal-setting strategies?

Schools can improve by encouraging teachers and students to set clear, achievable goals. Administrators can provide resources and support to help students reach those goals. Schools may also implement goal-setting workshops, train teachers in goal-setting techniques, provide regular feedback and assessments, and foster a positive environment that encourages perseverance and growth.

5. Can you provide examples of goals for a 5th-grade child?

Examples of goals for a 5th-grade child might include:

• Improve their reading speed and comprehension.
• Master multiplication and division facts.
• Develop effective note-taking skills.
• Actively participate in class discussions and presentations.
• Build teamwork skills in group projects.

6. What are the steps to achieve education goals for college students?

College students can achieve their education goals by following these steps:

• Define specific, achievable, and relevant goals that align with their interests and career plans.
• Develop a detailed action plan, including deadlines and resources needed.
• Connect with a mentor, professor, or advisor for guidance and support.
• Engage in relevant extracurricular activities or internships to gain hands-on experience.
• Continuously monitor progress and adjust goals as necessary.
• Celebrate milestones and accomplishments along the way.
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