Teacher goal setting in texas

Andy Hegedus, Ed. D.

Sr. Research Manager

November 2014

Making Teacher Goal Setting More Powerful

• Why should we care about goal setting in education?

• What does the research say about it?

• What are typical policies?• Suggestions for applying

research findings to your work

Agenda

• This presentation talks about teacher goal setting

• The research is about human beings– Applies to adults universally– Some of the points should apply to students

equally well

One note

Because we want studentsto learn more!

• Policy view–Evaluating teachers in rigorous ways

will improve teaching• Reward, support, remove

Why should we care about goal setting in education?

Because we want studentsto learn more!

• Research view–Setting goals improves performance

Why should we care about goal setting in education?

• K-12 research very thin • Two studies specific to this issue by CTAC

– Denver ProComp Study – 2004– Charlotte-Mecklenburg TIF-LEAP Study – 2013

• Findings:– Teachers who set a high quality goal were associated with

increased student achievement– Teachers who set and met goals were associated with

increased student achievement– Implementation of SLOs can make a 12-13% difference in

student achievement growth rate

How do we know students learn more?

Catalyst for change (2004), Community Training and Assistance Center, retrieved 10-2-13, http://www.ctacusa.com/PDFs/Rpt-CatalystChangeFull-2004.pdfIt’s more than money (2013), Community Training and Assistance Center, retrieved 10-2-13, http://www.ctacusa.com/PDFs/MoreThanMoney-report.pdf

What does research say on goal setting?

Locke, E. A. & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American psychologist. American Psychological Association.

Goals

How much they impact

(Moderators)

How they impact

(Mechanisms)

Performance

Satisfaction with

Performance and Rewards

Willingness to commit

Essential Elements of Goal-Setting Theory and the High-Performance Cycle



Goals

Moderators

Mechanisms

Performance

Satisfaction with




Goals

• Specificity– SMART– Performance and

learning goals• Difficulty

– Challenge– Interim goals

Explanation• Specific goals are typically stronger

than “Do your best” goals• If complex and new knowledge or skills

needed, set learning goals– Implement 10 new formative

assessment techniques by June 1 as modelled in PD

• Moderately challenging is better than too easy or too hard

– Challenge is judged by the teacher– Can combine performance and learning if

challenge level is appropriate

• If complex, set short term goals to gauge progress and feel rewarded

Goals



Goals

Moderators

Mechanisms

Performance

Satisfaction with




How do goals impact performance?• Choice/Direction• Effort• Persistence• Strategies

Explanation• Influence choices on what

to do and not do• Generate increased effort• Work through more issues

until attained• Engage new and different

strategies and learn if needed

Mechanisms



Goals

Moderators

Mechanisms

Performance

Satisfaction with




How much do goals impact performance?• Goal Commitment• Goal Importance• Self-Efficacy• Feedback• Task Complexity

Explanation• Perception of consistency with

interests and values and chance of attainment

• Participation in goal setting – Trust and fairness are required

• Leader communication and persuasion– Confidence, support for working with

others, rewards for attainment, PD

• Progress checks to adjust effort and strategies– The more complex, the more needed

Moderators

Paarlberg, L. E. & Lavigna, B. (2010). Transformational leadership and public service motivation: Driving individual and organizational performance. Public administration review. Wiley Online Library.

• Autonomy– The desire to direct our own lives

• Mastery– The urge to get better and better at something

that matters• Purpose

– The yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves

Essential Elements of Motivation

.

Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Areas where things can go wrong• Goal Commitment• Goal Importance

Explanation• Perception of threat vs. challenge• More cheating with performance

goals– Alignment between intended value

and measures

• Ignore non-goal areas– Unintended consequences

• Reduced intrinsic motivation with extrinsic– Performance change limited or can

decrease in public sector

Moderator Pitfalls

Heinrich, C. J. & Marschke, G. (2010). Incentives and their dynamics in public sector performance management systems. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Wiley Online Library.Paarlberg, L. E. & Lavigna, B. (2010). Transformational leadership and public service motivation: Driving individual and organizational performance. Public administration review. Wiley Online Library.



Goals

Moderators

Mechanisms

Performance

Satisfaction with




What changes in performance can be expected?• Productivity• Cost improvement

Explanation• Varies with task complexity

– More complex = less improvement

– 8% to 16% improvement from most to least complex

• Consistent with CTAC study

• In financial terms, these improvements are huge– Each person, year after year

Performance

Wegge, J. & Haslem, S. A. (2013). When Group Goal Setting Fails: The Impact of Task Difficulty and Supervisor Fairness. Creativity, Talent and Excellence (pp. 165–184). Springer.



Goals

Moderators

Mechanisms

Performance

Satisfaction with




Satisfaction and Willingness• Satisfaction with

performance and rewards

• Willingness to commit to new challenges

Explanation• Rewards come with

improved performance– Recognition, promotion

• Leads to improved personal satisfaction and belief that they can do more

• Leads to more willingness to commit to new and higher goals

Cycle

• What are two things you think are important that we should consider in education and why?

• Is there any part of this theory that you can apply now?

Think-Pair-Share?

• Teacher Evaluation– Observation– Student growth goal– Professional growth goal

• SLOs used for student growth goal• Combined with various weights

– Often professional growth goal not weighted in rating

Typical policy

• Population• Learning Content• Interval of Instructional

Time• Evidence• Baseline• Target(s)

What content is typically included in a SLO?

New York Template Charlotte-Mecklenberg Template

• Population• Learning Content• Interval

• Assessment(s)• Growth expectations

• Strategies

NY State SLO Template, http://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-student-learning-objective-template, downloaded 10-2-13Charlotte-Mecklenberg SLO template, http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/Tif-Leap/Pages/StudentLearningObjectives.aspx, downloaded 10-2-13

http://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-student-learning-objective-template

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/Tif-Leap/Pages/StudentLearningObjectives.aspx



• All students should be “in play” relative to the goal– Set another for a sub-group if warranted

Population

Mathematics

No ChangeDownUp

Fall RIT

Num

ber o

f Stu

dent

sWhat gets measured and attended to

really does matter

Proficiency

One district’s change in 5th grade mathematics performance relative to the KY proficiency cut scores

MathematicsBelow projected growthMet or above pro-jected growth

Student’s score in fall

Nu

mb

er o

f S

tud

ents

Number of 5th grade students meeting projected mathematics growth in the same district

Changing from Proficiency to Growth means all kids matter

• There should always be multiple data sources and metrics

• Data should be triangulated– Classroom assessment data to standardized test

data– Domain data (mathematics) to sub-domain data

(fractions and decimals) to granular data (division with fractions)

Evidence

Overall Math Growth0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

20112012

Fun with Fractions Intervention

Fractions Number SenseMeasurement Algebra Statistics 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

20112012

Fun with Fractions Intervention

• Lack of a historical context– What has this teacher and these students done in

the past?• Lack of comparison groups

– What have other teachers done in the past?• What is the objective?

– Is the objective to meet a standard of performance or demonstrate improvement?

• Do you set safe goals or challenging goals?

Context matters

• Goals and targets themselves– Specific SLOs with appropriate information

included• MUST have learning goals• Can have growth or achievement targets• Combination of elements needs to be moderately

challenging

– Set additional learning goals if complex and new

Suggestions

• Goals and targets themselves (cont.)– Appropriately balance moderately

challenging goals with consequences • Only use “Stretch” goals for the organization to

stimulate creativity and create unconventional solutions

– Professional growth goal leads to attainment of student growth goal• Weight as much as possible within policy

Suggestions

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance.

• Goals and targets themselves (cont.)– Set interim benchmarks for progress

monitoring– Carefully consider what will not happen to

attain the goal• Can you live with the consequences?• How will you look for other unintended ones?

Suggestions

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance.

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Students taking 10+ minutes longer spring than fall All other students

New phenomenon when used as part of a compensation program

Mean value-added growth by school

• Leadership– Be fair and trustworthy

• If goal is assigned, explain the logic behind it

– Communicate and support teachers in their learning• Encourage teamwork on strategies• Emphasize the positive and the impact on others

– Importance to students to attain goal• Provide PD, models, coaching

– Sincerely and specifically praise progress

Suggestions

Sholihin, M., Pike, R., Mangena, M. & Li, J. (2011). Goal-setting participation and goal commitment: Examining the mediating roles of procedural fairness and interpersonal trust in a UK financial services organisation. The British Accounting Review. Elsevier.Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance.Porter, R. L. & Latham, G. P. (2013). The Effect of Employee Learning Goals and Goal Commitment on Departmental Performance. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. SAGE Publications.

Will benefit students if done wisely!

Goal Setting

Questions or thoughts to share?

Andy [email protected]

302-275-3448

mailto:[email protected]

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