Criterion - the quality or level of performance that will be considered acceptable Mager writes that having described what you want students to be able to do, you can increase the communication power of an objective by telling them HOW WELL you want them to be able to do it. If, for example, your best experience and wisdom tell you that you must not consider a student competent until that student can perform within a strict time limit, then you know that you will have to instruct and assist that student until the desired performance level is reached. What you must try to do, then, is indicate in your objectives what the acceptable performance level will be by adding words that describe the criterion of success. The criterion can specify speed, accuracy, and quality, whichever one or ones are appropriate indicators of level of performance. In writing instructional objectives that will be clear for students, use these four questions to test your work.
Objectives become guiding lights for our instruction and for our students.
Well-written instructional objectives are the foundation for student achievement.