Helping students reflect on their own effort is one of the most valuable ways to build independence, persistence, and self-awareness. When children pause to think about how hard they tried instead of only focusing on the outcome, they begin to develop a growth mindset and stronger self-regulation skills. To make this process easier, we’ve created a free self-assessment on student effort that you can download and use with your students. The first two pages are designed for younger children (with simple YES/NO responses and visuals), while the remaining pages are written for older students who are ready for more reflection.

Why Focus on Effort?

• Builds Growth Mindset: Shifting attention from grades or scores to effort encourages students to embrace challenges and see mistakes as opportunities to learn.
• Supports Therapy Goals: Occupational and physical therapists often focus on persistence, frustration tolerance, and self-regulation. A tool like this connects directly to those goals.
• Promotes Student Voice: Students practice self-monitoring, a key executive function skill, while gaining confidence in their ability to improve.
• Easy to Use: Whether in the classroom, therapy sessions, or at home, the assessments can be a quick check-in or part of a routine.

How to Use the Effort Self-Assessment

• In the Classroom: Add to morning check-ins, end-of-day reviews, or independent work time.
• In Therapy Sessions: Use after activities to help students connect effort with progress.
• At Home: Parents can encourage reflection during homework or chores, reinforcing that effort matters as much as results.

More Helpful Resources on Growth and Effort

If you want more tools to help your students stay motivated and build resilience, check out these additional resources:

• Printable Growth Mindset Posters
• The Just Right Challenge
• Student Agency