When setting progress monitoring goals, it is important to set goals that are achievable within the time period of monitoring, and that are within a student’s ability level; this is similar to how goals are set for an academics (e.g., one would not a select high verbal skill goal for a student that is currently non-verbal). When trying to improve behavior, setting goals is critical, in part because it helps to clarify behavioral expectations for both the student and the person working with the student. Target goals for behavior can be noted and tracked on progress monitor reports provided in AIMSweb Behavior. A number of factors should be taken into consideration when choosing a target goal for a progress monitoring form. First, it is important to consider the range of scores that are possible on the progress monitoring form. For forms that use one of several different response options (e.g., Never, Sometimes, Often, Almost always), this range is affected by the number of items on the form, and the response options chosen for each item (see the AIMSweb Behavior Administration and Technical Manual for a complete description of the response options and corresponding scoring values that are available). Ultimately, the target goal will have to be within this range. Second, it is important to choose a target goal that considers the student’s current level of performance and a level that can reasonably be expected based on the amount of time elapsed since the previous rating and the intensity of the intervention being used. For example, students who are demonstrating few attentive behaviors one day are unlikely able to stop engaging in all undesirable behaviors the next day. Goals that are considered tough but attainable are often preferred over goals that are too easy or too hard.
