Purpose: These example goals provide insight into how a district can set measurable, meaningful goals aligned with its overall district strategic plan. Each key area for district-wide goal setting in high-impact tutoring programs—academic goals, implementation goals, and stakeholder experience goals—is illustrated with an example.
| Goal 1: Academic Growth 85% of the students in the tutoring program meet their growth target on the MAP assessment | |||||
| Description: The tutoring program's second-grade students will reach growth targets as listed in the attached datasheet. | Deadline: May 2025 Relevant Stakeholders: Superintendent, Content Supervisor, Teacher | ||||
| Strategic Plan Alignment | Short-Term Milestone | Long-Term Milestone | |||
| The district’s academic strategic plan has prioritized academic growth as measured by the MAP assessment. This is also an important measure of what schools are held accountable for their school ratings framework. | Students will make progress towards their goal at a mid-year test similar to MAP in February of the 2024-2025 school year. | Students who were below the National Average Achievement will reach the minimum of 179 RIT score by the end of the 12-week program and will increase their Fall RIT score by 15 in the Spring MAP Growth Test. | |||
| Goal 2: Implementation Goal 85% of the students in the tutoring program attend a minimum of 80% of their scheduled sessions. | |||||
| Description: Ensure consistent attendance in the tutoring program to maximize its impact on student learning. | Deadline: May 2025 Relevant Stakeholders: Caregivers, Students, School Administrators, Tutors | ||||
| Strategic Plan Alignment | Short-Term Milestone | Long-Term Milestone | |||
| The district has prioritized increased student attendance as a critical measure of student success. This goal aligns with this academic priority and is a key indicator of the likelihood of student success for high-impact tutoring programs. | By February 2024, 70% of students in the program attend a minimum of 80% of their scheduled sessions. | By May 2025, 85% of students in the program attend a minimum of 80% of their scheduled sessions. | |||
| Goal 3: Student Experience 95% of the students in the tutoring program report positively on their satisfaction reports. | |||||
| Description: Second-grade students in the tutoring program will score positively in the Tutor Relationship, Growth Mindset, and Effort sections of the student survey provided. | Deadline: May 2025 Relevant Stakeholders: Caregivers, Students, Tutors | ||||
| Strategic Plan Alignment | Short-Term Milestone | Long-Term Milestone | |||
| The district has prioritized student engagement and satisfaction as part of their whole child priorities and goals. This goal is directly aligned with this district priority and will provide the district with insights into how their tutoring program supports this priority. | 75% of students in the tutoring program report positively on their student survey in February of the 2024-2025 school year. | 95% of the students in the tutoring program report positively on the student survey. | |||
Appendix: Additional Examples of Goals
Below are additional examples of goals you might set for your program.
| Example Elementary Level Academic Goals | |
| Dallas Independent School District, Texas Elementary Grades: students with literacy skill deficits | |
| Growth on the NWEA MAP exam: Dallas ISD aligns goals with and assesses tutoring efficacy based on Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) performance growth. Students in grades one and up take these assessments three times per year. The frequency of data from this routine assessment tool allows the district to act with expediency based on student learning outcomes. | |
| Spring Independent School District, Texas Grades 2-8: students with multiple-year skill deficits in ELA or math | |
| Proficiency increases: Spring ISD sets goals related to increases in achievement on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Additionally, as many students who qualify for tutoring are ELLs, the District ties goals to increases in ELL proficiency rates as measured by the statewide Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELEPAS). |
| Example Secondary Level Academic Goals | |
| Guilford County, North Carolina Grades 6-9: most vulnerable populations (e.g., Incarcerated Youth) in math | |
| Aligning with strategic priorities: Guilford’s strategic plan is based on the improved long-term life trajectories for students who take and pass Math 1 by the end of their 9th-grade year. GCPS sets goals based on pass rates for Math 1, as well as on improvements in course failure rates, student engagement, and student math identities (i.e., self-descriptions as “a math person” or “not a math person”), which they collect from surveys. | |
| Providence Independent School District, Rhode Island Grade 9: all students in algebra | |
| All-encompassing priorities and measures: Providence ISD sets goals for growth on standardized testing and student pass rates. However, they also measure perspectives on how students approach learning through surveys and assess how attendance at tutoring sessions increases success rates on other indicators (e.g., SAT or PSAT). | |
| Aspire Public Schools, California Grades 6-12: all students in math and ELA | |
| Pass/Fail rates: Aspire aims to reduce the number of ELL students failing classes. They assess their program using students' grades at the end of semesters 1 and 2 across middle and high school participants. The district also utilizes survey-based feedback (qualitative and quantitative) from teachers, caregivers, and students to assess the program's efficacy, satisfaction, and sustainability. |
| Implementation Goals | |
| Tutor/Student Match Rate: 90% of students are matched with a consistent tutor for at least 80% of scheduled tutoring sessions. |
| Student Experience Goals | |
| Attendance Goals: Decrease student attendance by 30% for students who are routinely absent on days that they attend tutoring. (If the student is typically absent for 10 days in a marking period, reduce that number by 3 days.) |
| Teacher/Tutor Experience Goals | |
| Process Goals: Receive 85% positive feedback from Teacher/Tutor Survey goals on coordination of curricular alignment and student progress sharing. |