Assessment Primer: Goals, Objectives and Outcomes

Outcomes Pyramid Definitions

Mission Statements of the University, School/College, and Program see How To Write Missions for more detail (2 page  )

A Mission Statement is a general, concise statement outlining the purpose guiding the practices of an institution or school/college.  Accrediting bodies expect that student learning outcomes flow from the mission statements of the institution and school/college; i.e., the school/college mission should be in harmony with the mission statement of the institution.

Goals of the Program (or Department) see How To Write Goals for more detail (2 page  )

Goals are broad, general statements of what the program, course, or activity intends to accomplish.  Goals describe broad learning outcomes and concepts (what you want students to learn) expressed in general terms (e.g., clear communication, problem-solving skills, etc.)  Goals should provide a framework for determining the more specific educational objectives of a program, and should be consistent with the mission of the program and the mission of the institution.  A single goal may have many specific subordinate learning objectives.

Objectives see How To Write Objectives/Outcomes for more detail (6 page  )

Goals and Objectives are similar in that they describe the intended purposes and expected results of teaching activities and establish the foundation for assessment.  Goals are statements about general aims or purposes of education that are broad, long-range intended outcomes and concepts; e.g., “clear communication”, “problem-solving skills”, etc.  Objectives are brief, clear statements that describe the desired learning outcomes of instruction; i.e., the specific skills, values, and attitudes students should exhibit that reflect the broader goals. 

There are three types of learning objectives, which reflect different aspects of student learning:

• Cognitive objectives: “What do you want your graduates to know?”
• Affective objectives: “What do you want your graduates to think or care about?”
• Behavioral Objectives: “What do you want your graduates to be able to do?”

Objectives can also reflect different levels of learning:

• Mastery objectives are typically concerned with the minimum performance essentials – those learning tasks/skills that must be mastered before moving on to the next level of instruction. 
• Developmental objectives are concerned with more complex learning outcomes – those learning tasks on which students can be expected to demonstrate varying degrees of progress.

Instructional Objectives describe in detail the behaviors that students will be able to perform at the conclusion of a unit of instruction such as a class, and the conditions and criteria which determine the acceptable level of performance.

What are the differences between Goals and Objectives?  Both goals and objectives use the language of outcomes – the characteristic which distinguishes goals from objectives is the level of specificity.  Goals express intended outcomes in general terms and objectives express them in specific terms.