Embedded HLP
HLP 11
Identify and Prioritize Long- and Short-Term Learning Goals
Educators prioritize what is most important for students to learn by providing meaningful access to and success in the general education and other contextually relevant curricula. Educators use grade-level standards, assessment data and learning progressions, students’ prior knowledge, and IEP goals and benchmarks to make decisions about what is most crucial to emphasize, and develop long- and short-term goals accordingly. They understand essential curriculum components, identify essential prerequisites and foundations, and assess student performance in relation to these components.
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HLP 11 Information
Research supports the use of student learning goals for improving outcomes (e.g., Leithwood & Sun, 2018; Moeller, 2012). For instructional goals, effective educators start with the grade level standards. For example, all states have literacy standards, or curriculum goals. A common standard at the secondary level calls on students to “produce a written argument”. That standard is quite vague and is not a measurable goal. The standards often provide indicators that may expand the expectation to include “clear topic”, “evidence to be focused”, and other just as vague descriptions. Effective educators use these standards, indicators, and their professional knowledge to create a rubric of what students need to know, and what an acceptable final written produce will look like. They can then create a prompt and evaluate student work using the rubric to establish baseline data. With that baseline data in hand, the teaching teams can then reflect on the student’s present level of performance and how much instructional time is available, and calculate a realistic long-term goal based on that information (Conoyer et al., 2019; Lembke et al., 2017). Fortunately, research also indicates students experience more growth and teachers report higher levels of self-efficacy when data-driven planning informs goal setting and instructional planning (Lee et al., 2020; Madinach & Gummer, 2018; Nagro et al., 2017; van der Scheer et al., 2017; William, 2008).
Short- and long term goals are relevant to every student, not just those with disabilities but also those identified as limited English proficienct (Driver & Powell, 2017) or gifted (Lo & Porath, 2017). When setting short or long-term goals start with student data, then consider the standards and expectations of the curriculum. Reflect on the varied intersectional background knowledge of students, as well as prior instructional and school experiences, to identify potential barriers and the purpose of the goal to move student learning forward (Zusho et al., 2023). Educators should develop short and long-term goals collaboratively with students and their families to ensure that goals are meaningful to all partners, and informed by numerous information points including lifelong college and career aspirations.