What are performance criteria?

Once you have an objective, you must decide how you will know if you have learned what you are supposed to learn from completing the course or program. How well do you have to be able to perform the new skill before you can say that you have really learned something? To figure this out, you must answer the question, "What's good enough?" The answer to this question is called the performance criteria. Performance criteria depend on the kind of skills, knowledge or attitudes you are learning. Performance criteria involve concepts such as:

• How many times must you do something correctly?
• How fast must you must perform a task?
• What quality must the product you produce be?
• How accurate must you be?
• How many mistakes are you allowed to make?

For example:

Objective: When I finish this course or program, I will be able to read and fill out many kinds of workplace forms.

Performance criteria: I must fill out 6 different kinds of forms used in the job I want to have and I can’t make any mistakes. I must be able to fill out forms from more than one company.

Application:

Write 5-6 objectives for the course or program that will help you to get over the fears and worries you wrote at the top of page 1. Write these objectives in the first column. These objectives must deal with what you hope to learn about getting and keeping a job, and surviving in the workplace. Leave the second column blank.