: Students with persistent behavior problems, including those with or at risk for emotional
or behavioral disorders, often struggle to be self-regulated learners. To improve self-regulation skills,
numerous strategies have been suggested, including goal setting. Whereas goal setting has focused
mostly on academic and life skills, behavioral goal setting has received less attention, particularly in
terms of determining best practices for effective goal setting in school-based interventions. Thus,
the purpose of this review was to examine the existing literature on interventions using behavioral
goal setting alone and behavioral goal setting as part of a multicomponent intervention for students
with persistent behavior problems. Findings from 40 studies are discussed in terms of participants,
setting, design, measures, intervention components, and outcomes with a specific focus on
directions for future research and implications for practice.