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Behavior Goals & Scoring: Tracking Progress with AI Insights

Behavior goals are the measurable outcomes you want to track for your child. VillageMetrics automatically scores these goals based on your journal entries, creating data-driven insights about your child's progress over time.

Understanding Behavior Goals

What Are Behavior Goals?

Behavior goals are specific, trackable aspects of your child's behavior that you want to monitor and improve. Rather than vague concepts like "be good," behavior goals are concrete and measurable, like "maintain safety" or "follow directions."

How They Work in VillageMetrics

  1. You record journal entries describing your child's day
  2. AI analyzes the content and assigns scores to each behavior goal
  3. Scores are aggregated to show trends and patterns over time
  4. Analysis reveals what factors help or hinder each goal

Default Behavior Goals

Every child starts with three carefully chosen default behavior goals that apply to most children with behavioral challenges:

1. Follow Directions

What it measures: Your child's ability to understand and comply with instructions from caregivers.

2. Maintain Safety

What it measures: Your child's ability to avoid dangerous situations and make safe choices throughout the day.

3. Stay Calm During Challenges

What it measures: Your child's emotional regulation when facing difficult or frustrating situations.

Scoring System

How Individual Entries Are Scored

When the AI analyzes your journal entry, it asks for each behavior goal: "Was this goal met today?" and answers using a 1-4 scale:

  • 4 - Completely: The goal was fully met
  • 3 - Mostly: The goal was generally met with minor issues
  • 2 - A little: Some progress toward the goal, but notable struggles
  • 1 - Not at all: Significant difficulty with the goal
  • NA - Not Applicable: The goal wasn't relevant for this entry

Analysis Labels

When viewing analysis and trends over time, scores are grouped into performance bands:

  • Thriving (scores around 4)
  • Capable (scores around 3)
  • Emerging (scores around 2)
  • Struggling (scores around 1)

These labels help you understand overall progress patterns when looking at multiple days together.

Why Automatic Scoring Helps

The AI reads your journal entry and makes its own judgment about whether each goal was met based on the details you provided. This is purely for convenience - you can always click "Details" to see the reasoning or click "Edit" to override any scores you disagree with.

Viewing and Editing Scores

Score Display

Overall Behavior Score: Average of all behavior goals (shown prominently on each journal entry)

Individual Goal Scores: Available in entry details

  • Tap "Details" on any journal entry
  • See each goal's individual score
  • View AI reasoning for each score (up to 2 bullet points explaining the rating)

Manual Score Adjustments

When to Override AI Scores:

  • You have context the AI might have missed
  • The AI misinterpreted something you said
  • You disagree with the severity assessment
  • The scoring doesn't match your observation

How to Edit Scores:

  1. Tap "Edit" on your own journal entries (cannot edit others' entries)
  2. Select the behavior goal you want to adjust
  3. Choose new score (1-4) or mark as "Not Applicable"
  4. Changes immediately update overall score and analysis

Score Reasoning:

  • Click "Details" to see why AI selected each score
  • Helps you understand the AI's interpretation
  • Useful for deciding whether to override the score

Custom Behavior Goals

Adding Your Own Goals

While the default goals work for most children, you may want to track additional behaviors specific to your child's needs.

How to Add Custom Goals:

  • Go to Settings > Child Profile > Behavior Goals
  • Tap "Add Custom Goal"
  • Enter goal name and description
  • Set target behaviors you want to measure

Examples of Custom Goals:

  • Social Interaction: Engaging appropriately with peers
  • Communication: Using words instead of behaviors to express needs
  • Independence: Completing self-care tasks without prompting
  • Focus/Attention: Staying on task during structured activities
  • Emotional Expression: Identifying and communicating feelings appropriately

Modifying Default Goals

  • Editing Goal Names: Can rename default goals to better fit your family's language
  • Changing Descriptions: Adjust what each goal measures for your child specifically
  • Deleting Goals: Remove default goals that aren't relevant (though not typically recommended)

Using Behavior Goal Data

Individual Goal Analysis

Location: Analysis > Behavior Goals tab

Behavior Goals Analysis

The Behavior Goals tab shows individual goal performance with strategies that work for each specific goal

What You'll See:

  • Average score for each goal over selected time period
  • Trend chart showing progress over time
  • "What's Working" hashtags specific to that goal
  • "What's Not Working" hashtags specific to that goal

How This Helps:

  • Identify which goals need the most attention
  • Understand what strategies work best for specific behaviors
  • Track progress on individual goals rather than just overall scores
  • Share targeted information with therapists focusing on specific areas

Goal-Specific Insights

Rather than general behavior patterns, you can see:

  • Activities that specifically help with safety vs. following directions vs. emotional regulation
  • Times of day when certain goals are more challenging
  • Caregiver strategies that work best for each specific goal
  • Environmental factors that support or hinder individual goals

Best Practices for Behavior Goals

Setting Realistic Expectations

  • Start with Defaults: The three default goals provide a solid foundation for most children
  • Add Gradually: Introduce custom goals one at a time to avoid overwhelming data
  • Be Specific: Custom goals should be concrete and observable, not abstract concepts

Consistent Application

  • Same Standards: Ensure all village members understand what each goal means
  • Regular Review: Periodically discuss goals with your team to maintain consistency
  • Age-Appropriate: Adjust expectations as your child develops and grows

Using Scores Effectively

  • Focus on Trends: Daily variations are normal - look at weekly and monthly patterns
  • Celebrate Progress: Acknowledge improvements even if scores aren't perfect
  • Identify Patterns: Use low-scoring periods to understand triggers and develop strategies
  • Share with Team: Behavior goal data is valuable for IEP meetings, therapy planning, and medical consultations

Working with Your Child's Team

  • IEP Goals: Align behavior goals with school IEP objectives when possible
  • Therapy Targets: Coordinate with ABA therapists to track their program goals
  • Medical Consultations: Use behavior goal trends to inform medication discussions
  • Family Meetings: Review progress regularly and adjust strategies based on data

Behavior goals transform subjective observations into objective data, helping you make informed decisions about your child's care and track meaningful progress over time.