As a parent/guardian, you want the best for your child’s education. With online learning becoming more prevalent, it is important to ensure that your high schooler is equipped with effective strategies to excel in their studies. One such strategy is setting SMART goals to use as self-motivation tips for students. Read on to learn more about this concept and how it can benefit your student’s academic performance.
Understanding the concept of SMART goals
The SMART acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-based. These kinds of goals can help set up students for success.
Unlike regular goals, SMART goals encourage students to set achievable goals with very specific parameters for success. For example, instead of setting a goal to study chemistry more each week, a student would set a goal to study chemistry Mondays and Thursdays for one additional hour.
By setting long-term goals or short-term goals using the SMART strategy, students will stay on track to succeed by holding themselves accountable throughout high school and into the college years.
Creating SMART goals for online learning
Going from middle school to high school is already a huge life change. But when you add distance learning on top of it, it can bring challenges that might be new to students, including:
- Time management
- Lack of communication
- Not receiving feedback in a timely manner
- Unclear instructions or expectations
- Technical difficulties
- Lack of social interaction
- Adapting to new learning styles
- Distractions at home
- Navigating extracurricular activities
The SMART goal template is designed to help tackle these challenges by setting smaller “wins” along the way to the main goal for each student. They provide structure and motivation in an environment that is mostly self-monitored to help every student reach milestones throughout their high school education.
Importance of SMART goals in education
When students set and achieve their own SMART goals, they grow their confidence and feel empowered to take ownership of their education. SMART goals help provide clear direction, track progress for each benchmark, and promote accountability.
As each of these qualities are unlocked, students will continue to reach academic success and develop valuable life skills that they’ll take into college or continuing education.
SMART goals: Boosting academic performance
According to the Education Resource Information Center, setting goals keeps students focused on desired outcomes and provides a clear direction for success. Students can set their SMART goals to complement their academic pursuits in four simple ways.
- Set and prioritize attainable goals.
Take the study example from earlier. By setting very specific parameters around the goal, students will be able to accurately measure their success and enjoy “little wins” along the way. If a student sets goals that are too high, too frequent, or too vague, then they can become overwhelmed or discouraged easily. - Create a plan of action.
Everyone learns differently. By setting guidelines for achieving goals based on learning style, students will have a better success rate. After establishing their goal, break it down into more specific measures of success that are attainable given their current abilities, resources, and time. - Ask for support and accountability.
If your student feels they need it, a SMART buddy could be a huge benefit. This could be a parent/guardian or even another student who holds them accountable and helps them stay on track to their academic goals. A regular check in will help determine if something is holding them back or not working with their current needs. - Reflect and reassess regularly.
Considering the number of reasons why a student might have trouble with online learning, it’s important to remember change is okay and learning how to deal with school stress is a teachable skill. If a goal isn’t being met, students should reflect on why they might be having trouble. It could be a shift in stress levels or something personal, and that may require a goal or strategy change.
Practical examples of SMART goals for high school students
Scenario 1: Finding balance
A competitive gymnast is thriving in her online learning environment while successfully attending practice and competitions. But with the season about to pick up and the calendar looking less and less open, she’s struggling with time management. She sets one SMART goal to dedicate an hour every morning to studying and another SMART goal to complete an online quiz or worksheet via her digital academy two times a week during practice breaks until the end of the school year.
Scenario 2: Adding a strategy
A student is so close to getting an A in math class, but it’s hard to focus with other schoolwork on his plate. He decided to set a SMART goal to help himself get an A by the end of the semester through weekly practice sessions with another online classmate. This action plan sets a specific goal to get better grades and raise his GPA within a designated time frame that is attainable.
Scenario 3: Flipping the page
Comprehension is a pain point for one student. No matter how hard he tries to sit down and study, he can’t seem to retain the information long term. To help him strengthen his reading comprehension skills, he sets a SMART goal to read two books within the next two months with a minimum of 200 pages each on a topic not covered on his online school supply list. This goal will help him build strong reading and retention habits, while making it easy to measure progress along the way.
Online education is quickly becoming the norm for high school students, but it doesn’t eliminate the natural need for validation and success. SMART goals help students of all ages set and achieve attainable goals that directly affect their personal and professional lives.
These skills can be used throughout college and continuing education, and into the workforce or wherever students’ lives may take them. It’s never too late to start SMART— talk to your student about what they want to achieve, then help them set and regularly revisit SMART goals that lead them in the right direction.
Want more from online school?
ASU Prep Digital offers even more opportunities for online high school students, including a dedicated Learning Success Coach, online tutoring, and the opportunity to take tuition-free college courses to earn university credit, saving time and money when they get to college.
We have a team dedicated to helping your student navigate college credit programs, as well as help them build and personalize their education options. We believe that every child and their family should be able to have an education that is unique and easily accessible.
ASU Prep Digital is an accredited online school program serving students in grades K–12, recognized as Arizona’s #1 Online School by Niche.com. Our unique teaching model supports students from the safety of their homes with the latest learning technologies and several layers of personalized instruction and coaching.
In addition, our program is a college prep option where online high school and university courses converge, preparing students for college acceptance and encouraging them to start earning credit toward college majors and careers.
We support districts in Arizona, while serving students and schools around the world. To learn more about ASU Prep Digital, please visit our website.
Setting SMART goals for online high school success FAQs
How can setting SMART goals benefit high school students?
Setting SMART goals will help students stay focused and feel accomplished as they reach each milestone. They help streamline the students’ needs and break it down into easy achievements that they can measure.
Can SMART goals be applied to any type of goal or task?
Absolutely! Studies show that 87% of goal-setters are confident they will keep their resolutions. However, less than 7% of people typically do. This applies to personal goals (i.e., I want to run a 10k next year) and career goals (i.e., I want to improve my English speaking and presenting skills). Whether you’re just beginning your education, are in high school, or are a full-time college student, your goals can be set and measured with the SMART strategy.
What are some examples of measurable goals for high school students?
Taking your grade from a C to a B, increasing your test score by 10 points, and building better study habits are just some examples of goals that can be measured with SMART goal setting.
How can parents/guardians and teachers support high school students in setting SMART goals?
Helping students set realistic goals and keeping them accountable are two very important ways that parents/guardians and educators can support their students. Talk through each goal to see what is attainable and what might be out of reach right now (that doesn’t mean that it will be in the future). After setting their strategy, hold students accountable by having weekly chats to see if they feel empowered or if they might need to make an adjustment. Knowing that they have support will make reaching these goals a lot easier.
