Training isn’t just about getting people to perform a task. It’s about helping them perform it well. That’s why strong learning objectives define a clear standard. In this practitioner briefing on learning objectives, Jonathan Halls shares ways to frame the Standard Element so that “good” is unmistakable. This allows trainers to provide consistent feedback and provide stakeholders with clarity about performance.
The Standard Element: How Well Will the Task Be Performed?
A few years ago, I was running workshops for an electronics manufacturer in Georgia on how to film training videos. This was before smartphone cameras became the default tool for trainers, so I suggested the client buy a few affordable consumer cameras with manual controls.
My client, a learning executive, didn’t know much about video but had a team member who described himself as a “video master.” She connected us before the workshop, and he offered to act as my assistant. Having someone on the ground who can reinforce key practices after I leave is usually a gift.
But when I arrived, I discovered that while he could aim the camera and hit record, he couldn’t film well. He didn’t understand framing, lighting, white balance, exposure, focus, or audio. And when he did film, the shots were wobbly, blurred, and poorly lit.
There’s a big difference between being able to perform a task and being able to perform it well. My client’s “video master” could perform the task in the most literal sense — he could press record and hope for the best. But he couldn’t perform it to a standard that mattered.
In the workplace, we don’t want people to simply perform. We want them to perform well. And that means knowing what “well” looks like.
Why the Standard Element is Important
Anchoring just about every training program is a list of learning objectives. These describe what a learner should be able to do after the program, under what conditions and how well. We call these the action element, condition element, and standard element.
Most people find it easier to write the action element because it is more tangible. However, the standard element is equally important because without it, we can’t consistently provide feedback. Nor can stakeholders have reasonable expectations of how well they will be able to perform after training which can help learners plan further learning and managers determine what responsibilities to give them. For example, if you’re a manager sending someone to a course on writing business proposals, you don’t just want to know that they can produce a document, you want to know how well they will be able to do so. Without a standard element, “good” becomes subjective.
Mager, who created the widely used framework for writing objectives, used the term criterion because this part of the objective defines the benchmark for assessing performance. Like the other elements, the standard must be specific and concrete. “Write good proposals” is meaningless. “Write proposals that follow the organization’s Proposal Style Guide” gives trainers a clear set of criteria for feedback and assessment.
A strong standard element helps:
- trainers evaluate performance consistently,
- learners self‑assess their progress,
- managers determine readiness for independent work, and
- HR and talent teams track capability across the organization.
Types of Standards
Standards can be expressed in many ways, but they must be relevant to the task and meaningful in the workplace. You can draw on time, quantity, accuracy, qualitative criteria, external benchmarks, models, or even theories — as long as they clarify what “good” looks like. For example:
- Change a wheel on a Formula 1 car in the pit during the race in 19 seconds (time standard).
- Write a news article from a press conference for The Weekly Tribune that is 600 words (quantity standard).
- Read a chest X‑ray in a clinical setting using standardized radiology terminology and ACR structured reporting criteria (criterion‑based standard).
- Facilitate a discussion in an adult learning environment using the FOID Model (model as the standard).
- Create a slide deck for a virtual learning experience that conforms to multimedia learning principles (theory as the standard).
Referencing an external standard reduces subjective feedback and makes observation more robust and constructive.
Creating Strong Standard Elements
If you want consistent performance, you need clarity about what “good” looks like. Many talent professionals struggle with this, but a simple question helps:
“What will most effectively explain to stakeholders how I will assess whether the task is performed well?”
The answer usually reveals the standard.
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