Compelling goals motivate and energize individuals to reach higher levels of performance. Clear and specific goals enable individuals to collect and use data to mark their progress toward goal attainment. A few good goals focus attention and energy upon the really important results.
Exciting goals connect individuals with a dynamic, vivid vision for student learning.
Within a school community, goals with the aforementioned attributes provide the fuel that accelerates learning for both students and adults. In many contemporary schools, goals exist in name only. Goal statements may be written down and filed away, but the goals themselves are not an integral part of the school culture. They do not drive, motivate, or energize individuals within the culture. Student writing gains, not hours spent on the computer, would be the determinant of success.