Tackling the SGG
Resources to help you through your Student Growth Goal
Student Growth Goals on the Mind
For many of the "Others" of the OPGES, this will be the first time they have to write an SGG, and the task may seem impossible. In general, find everything you need at the KDE OPGES page [here]. Check out some of the "SMART" goal resources below to help you get started.
Step 1: Determine Needs
The Entry Point
As teachers and "others" there are tons of resources available to us to use. In many cases, building administrators have been spending countless hours preparing reports of student data that you can draw from, but looking for gaps in specific skills can seem impossible.
Don't miss KDE's resource on Determining Needs [here]. The enduring skills sample list is especially helpful to browse through before trying out the enduring skills template. The OPGES Pre-planning kit can be found [here]. Click on "Think and Plan Tool" to print the document that will help walk you through the entire process.
If you are new to the goal setting process, you might want to choose an area that you are really comfortable with to get you started this year (reading, research, multimedia technology integration, math?) And look at the data specific to those standards.
Possible Sources of Data:
- STAR Enterprise Data
- iReady Diagnostic
- MAPS
- K-Prep Data
- Teacher designed pre-assessment
- Observation that includes some kind data collection
Use these data types to really drill down to specific skills that show room for growth.
It would also be a good idea to refer to identified needs of your school community as a place to start. Be sure to:
- Review your District & School Vision and Mission
- Check your school's CSIP (ask your building admin, or do a search on your District web page)
- Ask! Talk to your building administrator, other teachers (including those from the grade level before yours), guidance counselors, and many of your students will be able to tell you what they need help with!
- If you are an "Other" - ask your administrators to include you in receiving copies of testing data in the future - chances are they haven't bothered you with it in the past, but now we need it:)
What if you don't have a lot of assessment data for your area?
Below you will find two articles on constructing self-assessments to help you identify those skills most in need of growth based on student perception and voice.
Step 2: Create your SMART Goal
What can I use for help?
Check out KDE's graphic [here] of the SMART goal process and links to KDE released PowerPoints [here].
You may also want to use a template to help you write you goal, such as the one [here].
If you're looking for examples, you'll find some in the KDE resources. You can also see some examples from other states [here] or [here].
Finally, this Student Growth Rubric from Washington State, may help you decide if you're on the right track.
Hardin County Schools - PGES Resources by Shelee Clark
Design your Measuring Tool
If you're going to go with a standard test, you might want to review Carnegie Mellon's "Creating Exams"
When it comes to designing rubrics, there are number of formats to consider. Carnegie Mellon has a reference page for rubrics with examples. You will also want to know the difference between Holistic, Analytic and Single Point Rubrics which you can learn about at the Cult of Pedagogy.
For the be all end all page of rubric examples, check out Kathy Shrock's Guide to Assessment and Rubrics.
Other Rubric Examples
- Standards based report card with rubrics from San Francisco
- Example Reading Rubrics
- Rubrics for Assessment - University of Wisconsin Stout
Step 3: Create and Implement Teaching and Learning Strategies
Design your Lessons to Help Attain Goals
When it comes to designing lessons, you also may want to take into consideration methods explored in Backward Design and Carnegie Mellon's "Creating Assignments" as well as How to Write a Master Plan for Student Learning. I'm also a personal fan of Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works. You can explore more at the post Planning for Effective Instruction and see some sample graphic organizers at the "Marzano's Instructional Strategies" wiki.
Step 4: Monitor Student Progress
Use a Variety of Formative Assessment Tools to Gauge Progress
Carnegie Mellon has a number of great resources including: "Using Classroom Assessment Techniques", which describes a number of methods to quickly assess students in an informal way. You may also want to check out their "Concept Mapping" or "Group Work" advice when it comes to assessing. The Group Work article in particular is nice because it reminds us to assess the process - not just the project.
The info above in Step 3 regarding rubrics may be useful here as well.
Using your formative assessment you can decide if you need to intervene to help students reach the goal, and if you need to differentiate more to accomplish goals.
Step 5: Did Students Reach the Goal?
Tracking your Data
For an excellent tool to help you do just that, take a look at the SGG Data Analysis Spreadsheet by Shelee Clark. The spreadsheet can be found with Clark's Student Growth Goals: Resources to Finish the Year post, which would be great to review.
Johnson Elementary Library
Email: heidi.neltner@fortthomas.kyschools.us
Twitter: @heidinelt