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State of Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction
Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent
Writing Measurable Charter School Objectives
Effective, useful evaluation begins with solid, measurable objectives. Defined objectives shape the
development of your charter school program, and establish a timeline for assessment of program
effectiveness.
Process –vs- Outcome Objectives:
Process objectives have to do with implementing your charter school program(s). They reflect
procedures, purchasing, training, and other program implementation elements.
What Exactly what procedure will be completed?
Who Who is the person or group responsible for ensuring that this happens?
How much/ What quantity of this service or procedure, generally expressed as a percentage,
how Many will take place?
When What is the deadline by which this will have happened?
Example of a process objective: By June 2005, 100% of students will complete an individualized
educational plan and have met a minimum of one time per semester with a designated teacher facilitator
to evaluate student progress.
Outcome objectives describe exactly what the child, population, or group is expected to know or to be
able to do after participating in a specified educational program. References are made to changes in the
data, such as in increases or decreases in percentages, rates or amounts. Outcome objectives capture
changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behaviors. Below are specific examples of each.
Examples of Outcome Objectives:
Knowledge/skills: Students completing the [reading] curriculum will increase their comprehension skills
from minimum to proficient by 4% as measured by locally designed pre-post tests by June 2006.
As a result of implementing Accelerated Math, the number of students rating proficient will increase by
5% as measured by WKCE by May 2006.
Behavior: As a result of implementing a Middle School Peer Mediation Program, the number of office
referrals for violence/disruptive behavior will decrease by 20% as measured by change in the number of
referrals by June 2005.
Perceptions/Attitudes: As the result of participating in a work mentorship, 75% of the school’s high risk
student population will demonstrate a positive change in attitude as demonstrated by a 90% attendance
rate and successful reports from participating employers.
Elements of an Outcome Objective
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841 Street Address: 125 South Webster Street, Madison, WI 53702
Telephone: (608) 266-3390 Toll Free: (800) 441-4563 FAX: (608) 267-1052 TDD: (608) 267-2427
Internet Address: www.dpi.wi.gov
Key elements of an objective can best be identified by stating: “[Who] will [demonstrate what] by [how
much] as [measured by what] and [by when].”
[Behavior/Skill] among [Population]
will [Percent Change] by [When] as [Measured by].
Characteristics of a Well Written Objective: SMART
Another strategy for writing good objectives is to use the SMART method. Once an objective is crafted,
evaluate it against the following criteria:
S=Specific. Objectives are specific and use an action verb. Objectives with more than one verb are
difficult to measure. Avoid verbs that have vague meanings to describe intended outcomes (e.g.,
“understand” or “know”) as they are difficult to measure. Instead, use verbs that document action (e.g.,
“As a result of staff development, teachers will identify three new strategies used to differentiate
instruction”). The greater the specificity of the outcome, the greater is the measurability.
M=Measurable. It is impossible to determine whether or not objectives are met unless they can be
measured. A benchmark from which to measure change can help. For example, if a survey found that
70% of teachers believe that all children can learn, an objective might indicate that staff development
efforts strive to increase the percentage to 100%. This establishes a benchmark that can measure change
and is specific enough to be evaluated quantitatively.
A=Appropriate. The objective must be appropriate (e.g., culturally, developmentally, socially,
linguistically) for the target population. To insure appropriateness, objectives should originate from the
needs of the target audience and not from a preconceived agenda of program planners. Conducting a
needs assessment will (e.g. holding in-depth interviews with members of the target population) ensure
that the objective is appropriate. For example, an objective focusing on risk factors for a high school
population would be inappropriate for an elementary school population.
R= Realistic. Objectives must be realistic. Countless factors influence human behavior. If program
planners set their sights too high on achieving changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills or behavior
change, they will likely fall short of reaching their objectives. While a program may have been very
successful, it may not appear that way on the surface because the objectives were too ambitious. The
following is an unrealistic objective:
After participating in the CLASS ACTION curriculum, 100% of high school students will list all
of the possible ways a lawyer will present information to prove guilt in a drug related trial.
A more realistic objective could be written as follows:
After participating in the CLASS ACTION curriculum 80% of high school students will list at
least two ways a lawyer might present information to prove guilt.(Answer is proving
responsibility, proving failure to act responsibility caused damages, and prove guilt through
expert testimony.)
T=Time specific. It is important to provide a time frame indicating when the objective will be measured
or a time by which the objective will be met. Include a time frame to guide the planning and the
evaluation of a program.
03/2006
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