Part of our Counselor’s Corner series. Click to read other posts in the Counselor’s Corner. This post was originally published September 4, 2012.

Many school counselors are charged with creating SMART goals each school year. This can be a challenging task, especially if you have never written a SMART goal. Below is the process for creating a SMART goal and some examples of SMART goals for school counselors.

Wikipedia has a great description of SMART goals, including the history of the concept and how to develop them, but basically, SMART goals are:

• Specific: They precisely spell out what you want to accomplish and usually answer the 5 Ws (Who? What? Where? When? Why?)
• Measurable: They provide a specific indicator of success.
• Attainable: They are realistic.
• Relevant: They are important and practical.
• Time-bound: They specify a deadline for when the goal will be met.

In many districts, school counselors and educators create a district-aligned SMART goal and an individual SMART goal each year. Here are some thoughts on preparing each:

District-Aligned SMART Goals
For a district-aligned goal, check what your district’s goals are for the upcoming school year and create a goal that will support one of the district’s goals.

Example District Goal: To support the XYZ school district’s mission of all students being college- and career-ready, all XYZ students will receive explicit instruction and exposure to careers and higher education opportunities.

Example of School Counselor SMART Goal aligned to District Goal: During the 2015–16 school year, I will provide two classroom lessons at each grade level (K–5) related to career exposure and higher education opportunities. These lessons will be aligned to the state career education and work standards.

This goal is:

• Specific—It addresses what you want to accomplish and answers the 5 Ws.
• Measurable—It specifies a number of lessons that need to be completed (two per grade level).
• Attainable—Two lessons for each grade level is manageable in the course of a school year.
• Relevant—Lessons related to career exposure and higher education opportunities support the district goal of students being college- and career-ready.
• Time-bound—The goal is specific about being completed “during the 2015–16 school year.”

Individual SMART Goals for School Counselors
Districts may also ask you to complete a personal SMART goal that does not necessarily need to be aligned to a district goal. However, this goal should support the mission of the school counseling program and/or the mission of the school you serve.

Here are examples of SMART goals for different school levels:

Elementary School—Attendance
Poorly defined Goal: Increase attendance.

SMART Goal: I will reduce absenteeism of at-risk students (students who missed 7+ days of school the previous year) by 25 percent during the 2015–16 school year through providing targeted group interventions.

This goal is:

• Specific—It addresses what you want to accomplish and answers the 5 Ws.
• Measurable—It provides a specific percentage decrease (25 percent) that can be measured.
• Attainable—A 25 percent decrease is manageable and realistic.
• Relevant—Targeting chronically absent students is a relevant way to decrease overall absenteeism.
• Time-bound—The goal specifies the time frame (the school year) for when the goal will be completed.

Take it a step further: Check out resources such as Attendance Works to help you in planning your group sessions and other attendance initiatives that support your goal.

Middle School—Providing More Direct Services to Students
Most middle school counselors would probably agree that they would like to spend more time providing direct student services, which include delivering school counseling lessons, facilitating counseling groups, facilitating individual counseling sessions, and doing student planning. The American School Counselor Association recommends that school counselors spend at least 80 percent of their time on program delivery, which includes direct and indirect services to students.

Poorly defined Goal: Spend more time providing direct student services.

SMART Goal: I will increase the amount of time I spend providing direct student services from 40 percent to 50 percent for the 2015–16 school year.

This goal is:

• Specific—It addresses what you want to accomplish and answers the 5 Ws.
• Measurable—It provides a specific percentage increase in the time you want to spend providing direct services to students (from 40 to 50 percent). As with any goal, you want to first determine your baseline, or where you currently are, before you determine the measurable aspect of your goal.
• Attainable—A 10 percent increase is realistic.
• Relevant—It addresses the American School Counselor Association’s goal of spending 80 percent of our time on program delivery.
• Time-bound—It specifies that the goal will be completed within the school year.

Take it further: I like to come up with ways that I will meet the goal for my own planning. For this goal, some of the focus areas might include reaching out to teachers to provide more classroom lessons, hosting minute meetings with students on your caseload, and brainstorming school-wide programming you would like to provide students.

High School—FAFSA Completion
Poorly defined Goal: Students will complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

SMART Goal: All high school seniors (100 percent) will complete the FAFSA by the end of the first semester of the 2015–16 school year.

This goal is:

• Specific—It addresses what you want to accomplish and answers the 5 Ws.
• Measurable—It specifies a specific percentage of students (100 percent).
• Attainable—Having every senior fill out the form is realistic.
• Relevant—The goal is relevant to high school seniors preparing for higher education opportunities.
• Time-bound—It specifies a deadline (by the end of the first semester).

Take it a step further: Brainstorm other initiatives you may do to support this goal. Planning a parent session about the FAFSA can increase buy-in from families and help them understand the importance of completing the FAFSA. You could also provide an incentive for students to complete the FAFSA, such as being entered in a raffle or drawing.

Bonus! Download a free printable SMART goals worksheet.

What SMART goals are you setting for the upcoming school year? Share your SMART goals in the comment section below.

Check out back-to-school SMART goals for students to help kids create and implement goals for a successful school year.

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