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It all starts with, well, what are our goals? And how does this project support those goals and how are we assessing in light of those goals? So, you would expect to see for any project a scoring guideline, a rubric, in which there are clear links to the project, to some criteria and standards that we value that relate to some overarching objective -- quite explicitly, that we're aiming for as teachers.

What we have to do is realize that even if we give this kid free reign to do really cool projects, it's still got to fit within the context of some objectives, standards, and criteria that we bring to it, and frame the project in so that we can say by the end, "I have evidence. I can make the case that you learned something substantial and significant that relates to school objectives."

In sum, genuine goal statements, as I have long stated – and as Tyler argued 70 years ago – are not written primarily in terms of the content by itself. They are written in terms of uses of the content, contexts for the evidence, and/or changes in the learner as a result of having encountered the content. Here are a few helpful goal-writing prompts to see how this can make a difference for the better in your goals: Having learned ______________[the key content], what should students come away able to do with it? By the end of the course, what should students be better able to see and do on their own? How should learners be affected by this course? If I am successful, how will learners have grown or changed? If those are the skills, what is their purpose? What complex abilities – the core performances – should they enable? Regardless if details are forgotten, in the end the students should leave seeing…able to… Having read these books, students should be better able to… What questions should students realize are important, and know how to address more effectively and autonomously by the end of the course?

Could a student do poorly on this exam/project, in good faith, but still understand and have provided other evidence of meeting my goals? Could a student do well on this exam/project with no real understanding of the course key content? Could a student gain a low score on the exam/project, but you know from other evidence that this score does not reflect their understanding and growth? Could a student have a high score on the exam/project merely by cramming or by just following teacher directions, with limited understanding of the subject (as perhaps reflected in other evidence)?