A Goal is a Dream With a Plan: Goal Setting for MAP

Goal setting can be a bit tricky. We can set MAP goals, but really we should be encouraging kids to set goals for learning, which will be reflected in their MAP scores. To make this happen, goal setting should start right after MAP testing ends. This way you can highlight areas of concern for kids and formulate a plan of how to learn the necessary things to make growth on MAP.  Whether you set class goals or help students set individual goals, remind them that a goal is a dream with a plan; without a plan, a dream is just a dream.

Goals can be set for overall gains or by strand. We'll look at both in this post. To set goals by strand, check the stands on the bottom of the teacher report for overall strands, or on the same sheet for individual strand standing.

You can also use the goal setting worksheet to consider strands or overall goals. Goal setting worksheets are listed under dynamic reports; choose goal setting worksheet from the left hand column. The buttons to produce the documents are at the top of the page. 

Here is a an example. The top, narrow box is goal setting area. That is related to overall goal setting.  In the area to the right of the report, you'll see "FALL 2011-SPRING 2012." Under that heading, you'll see a column titled "TYPICAL GROWTH." That is how much this particular kid needs to grow from FALL TO SPRING to stay at the same percentile. It is the typical growth for a kid with this initial score. If a kid is at the 48%ile in the fall, it may be reasonable to say, "48%ile is pretty good. Let's shoot for that typical growth. We will be happy with that." If a kid is at the 90%ile in the fall, you may say the same thing -- let's shoot for that typical growth goal. 

However, if your kid is in the 10%ile in the fall, you may say "Yeow! 105%ile is not high enough. Typical growth is not enough to catch that kid up! We need to aim for more."

A second part of the goal setting sheet is the narrower columns below; this is the strand goal setting area.  That is where you will see the strands listed, along with their RIT band for the strand. The highest one is in bold; the lowest is in italics.

In the next post, we'll talk about setting goals based on strands and what that might look like.