Measurable Objectives. Are They Fluff

¶ … measurable objectives. Are they fluff that go largely ignored or do they provide value to the completion of the task/project? Detail why you believe in a stance. So long as 'measurable objectives' are genuinely measurable and clearly articulated in concrete terms I find the use of measurable student performance objectives to be extremely useful. Examples of measurable objectives might include: 1. students will show they understand the scientific method by being able to identify how each step of the method is used and in what order; 2.

students will be able to make a distinction between scientific and non-scientific experiments; 3. students will be able to set up their own scientific experiment and use it to prove or disprove a simply hypothesis. A stated objective is measurable when it includes: "conditions (how or where the student will perform the task)," a "behavioral verb (describe student behavior)," and "criteria (how well the student performs the behavior)" (Landau 2001).

Ideally, measurable objectives are the antithesis of 'fluff.' So-called 'fluff' often encompasses vague goal statements, such as the idea that 'teachers will support a high-quality education,' without defining how these goals will be realized. In contrast, measurable objectives define what is meant by popular buzzwords such as 'quality' and 'individualized' within the educational process. Creating measurable objectives is also useful when setting grading policy. "Once the objective is defined, this then becomes the foundation for your grading or assessment policy.

If your grading policy is very different than your behavioral objectives you should reconsider one or the other" (Landau 2001).

In the above-cited example from a science class on the scientific method, if the teacher was over-reliant upon quizzes and unit reviews provided by the textbook and these reviews stressed recalling the names of famous scientists, rather than using the scientific method in a critical fashion, he or she would have to reassess either the use of such tests, or the stated objectives of the unit on the scientific method (or both).

Measurable objectives are necessary for the teacher, even if they may sometimes be reassessed, because it is so easy to lose sight of one's goals when students experience difficulty or misbehave. It is tempting to simply get to the end of the school day, and lose sight of the purpose of the assignment. Measureable objectives prevent the 'dumbing down' of students' education. Measurable objectives also ensure that teachers do not become overly wedded to one teaching approach or style.

For example, if the objective of the lesson is for students to be able to read a newspaper article independently and research the issues for a report on a current events topic, allowing students to select the subject (even if it is sports or media-related).