You’re thinking about developing student objectives (schoolwide learning outcomes). It’s going to take time and energy. You have limited amounts of these—so, you know that developing student objectives means other things won’t get done. Now you’re wondering, “Is it worth it? What are some reasons for developing student objectives?”

Here are 5 reasons why you might want to invest time and energy into developing student objectives:

(1) Because you want to close the gap between your rhetoric and your reality. Your mission statement defines your school’s overall purpose, but it doesn’t define what a student must know, be able to do, and value. This results in a gap between the rhetoric of your mission statement and what your teachers and students are accountable to achieve in the reality of the classroom. Student objectives define your mission in terms of specific, measurable student learning. Consequently, they help you close the gap. 

(2) Because you want to know how well you’re achieving your mission. To do this, you need to define what achieving your mission involves—which is what student objectives can help you do. How? First, you align your student objectives with your academic standards. Then, when you assess your standards you can get data on your student objectives and, consequently, on how well you’re achieving your mission.

(3) Because you want to connect mission, student learning, curriculum, and school improvement planning: 

• To do this, you need to define your mission in terms of student learning—which is what student objectives do.
• Next, you need to develop a curriculum that is designed to help your students achieve your student objectives. Student objectives clarify what your students must learn in order to achieve the mission, which in turn clarifies what your teachers must teach—and must no longer teach because it does not result in mission achievement.
• Finally, you can use student objective assessment data as the basis of your school improvement planning. You can use it to increase student learning.

(4) Because your want your parents to better understand and support your mission. Mission statements are global. This results in parents not having a specific handle on what their children will learn nor on how that learning is connected to your mission.  Student objectives define the mission in terms of student learning—so, they give parents a specific handle on what their children will learn and how that learning is connected to your mission.

(5) Because you want your students to catch your vision of Christian education. A key reason your students don’t catch the vision of Christian education is because you haven’t defined in terms of what they have to learn. When you do, students will be better able to catch the vision.

Define the achievement of your school’s mission. Develop student objectives. Today.


*This blog entry is part of a 7-part series:

1. How can you define what it takes to carry out your school's mission?
2. Are student objectives right for you and your school?
3. What's developing student objectives look like?
4. What questions should you consider before developing student objectives?
5. What makes good student objectives good?
6. What are some reasons for developing student objectives?
7. How are mission, student objectives, and curriculum connected?