The RAM Rule for Setting Goals
A New Year and a New Semester
January is the month of new beginnings: a new month, a new year, a new calendar on the wall, and for many students there is also new semester on the horizon.
For students beginning a new semester, setting an academic resolution—such as improving a math grade—is a good way to ensure that the new semester starts out on the right foot.
Goal setting is a key skill that helps students to become more successful in school. Setting goals is a part and parcel with being an organized student. The more that a student is organized, the more that that student can identify the areas where he needs to improve.
Oxford Learning offers these fail-safe tips on goal setting that make setting goals—and achieving them—foolproof.
When setting a goal, remember the RAM rule. RAM goals are: realistic, achievable, and measurable. If your child’s goal for this year is to get better grades in math, then follow the RAM guideline.
- Realistic. If your child is currently getting marks in the 60s, don’t set a goal of getting 90 on the next test. A more reasonable goal is to improve by 5 points, and 5 points more on the test after that. Resolve to make incremental improvements. A reasonable goal is a successful goal.
- Achievable. By setting a reasonable goal of improving 5 points per test, there is a greater likelihood of achieving the results. A reasonable goal is an achievable goal.
- Measurable. By setting a goal that is incremental, such as improving 5 points per test, improvement can be measured. This way, you’ll have a clear demarcation line of where your child was, and where he is now. For example, In January, math grades were in the 60s. By April, the math grade jumped to 75 or better. That’s a 15-point improvement in four months.
The RAM method for setting goals makes academic resolutions easy to keep. Students won’t get discouraged and abandon their resolutions, because they can track their progress, no matter how minor the achievement is.
