Learning goals are endpoints/goals that students are expected to meet.  They can be as big as a culminating task/project or as small as a goal for the week or an assignment that the teacher has assigned.  Learning goals are important for student achievement so that learners know what is expected of them.  They know what the teacher is looking for so that they remain focused and on task.

Knowing what goal to meet is important, but knowing how to get there can be daunting for many young learners.  That is why it is important for teachers to create a success criteria with his/her students.  Success criteria is a list of what students need to do in order to meet a set goal.  For example, let’s say a learning goal is to have students be able to sort and describe polygons.  A criteria for being successful at this goal may be for the students to first figure out how many sides a shape has, what its side lengths are, what angle measures it has, and what the shape’s name is.  After meeting these criteria, students can steadily see that they can actually be successful at meeting the goal that is set out for them.  I find that co-creating the success criteria with the students helps learners better understand what they need to do in order to accomplish what the teacher wants them to, because the criteria is worded at the learners’ level of understanding.  Success criteria helps break down a big task into more manageable steps.  Be sure to ask your children what learning goal they are trying to meet when they bring back homework.  Chances are, they are probably working on criteria that has been introduced in class.  If students have trouble explaining what goal they are trying to meet, he/she may not be making connections to help him/her solidify what is being taught.  Try setting family goals with your children at home, and together, create criteria that will help the family accomplish something successfully!