Help Your Student Get Better Grades by Not Focusing on Grades

The National Bureau of Economic Research published their research findings last month on how students can achieve higher grades/better outcomes in their coursework. Setting a performance goal of achieving a particular grade in a course was found to be less effective in acquiring a higher grade than focusing on a task, like completing all homework assignments on time or completing online practice exams.

Performance goals of getting high grades are the norm in college student goal-setting, but that is an "output" goal, as an InsideHigherEd.com article states. Setting an "input" goal of answering end-of-unit questions correctly before proceeding to the next unit, would be more effective in achieving a higher grade.

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