Charles Ungerleider, Professor emeritus, The University of British Columbia
[permission granted to reproduce if authorship is acknowledged]
I have been reading school board strategic plans lately and realize that we use a variety of terms in education to express our intentions. Too often the words 'goals', 'objectives', 'strategies', 'measures', and 'metrics' lack meaning because they are used imprecisely, though each has a purpose in describing our intentions.
The term 'goal' refers to the broad, overarching vision that a school board, school, or teacher wants to achieve. Goals are usually long-term and encompass wide-ranging areas of development. For instance, a goal could be to enhance students' literacy skills or to foster a community of critical thinkers.
Objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) targets set to accomplish goals. They are more precise than goals and have a shorter timeframe. An objective that aligns with the goal of enhancing students' literacy skills might be expressed as: to increase the average reading level of students in grade three by one level by the end of the academic year. Although laudable, the objective to make learning fun lacks the specificity and measurability required to make it an effective objective.
Strategies are the methods or approaches that will be used to achieve the objectives that have been established. They are action-oriented and detail the specific activities that will be undertaken. A strategy to increase the reading level, for example, might be implement a peer reading program where students read together twice a week, and conduct monthly assessments to track progress. The statement to use more technology in class is vague; it does not provide a clear roadmap for achieving any objective.
Measures refer to the specific tools or means of gathering data to evaluate the success of strategies in achieving objectives. In the literacy example above, a measure could be administer monthly reading assessments and compare scores to baseline levels at the start of the year. While observation is a method of gathering data, the statement observe students during class isn't a measure because it fails to specify what is being observed and how the data will be used.
Metrics are specific indicators or units of measurement used to quantify the data collected using measures. Using the literacy example above, a metric could be the number of reading levels a student improves over the academic year. While the amount of time students spend reading could provide valuable information, it is not a direct indicator of the objective (increasing reading levels), making it a less effective and less relevant metric.
Goals, objectives,
strategies, measures, and metrics are interrelated terms that one might employ
as a framework for improving educational outcomes in elementary and secondary
schools. Goals offer the vision, objectives provide specific targets,
strategies outline the pathway, measures offer the tools for assessment, and
metrics provide units for quantifying progress. Each plays a part when they are
used with precision.