ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF OKR GOAL SETTING WITH TEACHERS ON STUDENT AND TEACHER PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

Abstract

School improvement remains one of the most prevalent and often controversial topics in education today, and key to improving schools is understanding the role teachers play as a primary influence on student learning. Consistent and ongoing improvement, however, has not been subjugated to education alone, and looking for improvement strategies outside the field of education can provide valuable insights on new methods of school improvement. In this study, therefore, I investigated the impact of implementing John Doerr’s Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) goal setting, improvement model used in business to the K12 school environment. Following a quasi-experimental design, I conducted a quantitative study that analyzed the impact this improvement model had specifically on teacher performance, student performance in English/Language Arts and Mathematics, and teacher motivation. The literature and research around goal setting and motivation strongly supported the hypothesis that the experimental group would show improvements. However, the data was not supportive of the use of OKRs in any of the research areas. This research was conducted during the Fall semester of the 2020-2021 school year which coincided with the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which greatly altered the schooling environment in many ways. Due to this, the research was impacted by confounding variables that would not have normally been present and results should be viewed through this lens. This research study still provides an insight into the value of goal setting on motivation and performance and provides implications for practice, policy, and future research in this area.