Most long-range goals require that several objectives are met before the goal can be
accomplished. For example, the long-range goal for 10th grade in the Alabama Course of Study
for Social Studies cited previously, (The student will be able to trace the development of early
English settlements. ) is followed by a list of objectives to be met before the goal is met. Those
objectives include:
"The student will be able to list purposes of settlements."
"The students will be able to compare the geography of the New England, Middle, and
Southern colonies."
" The student will be able to compare the economies of the New England colonies with the
Middle and Southern colonies."
Good objectives have four characteristics: they are student centered; they state an outcome
and not an activity; they are measurable; and they are clear.