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Division of Adolescent and School Health — Writing Good Goals and SMART Objectives Tutorials
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Good Goals and SMART Objectives

Good Goals Criteria

CDC has established specific criteria that are the characteristics of a good goal and SMART objective. Review the following Evaluation Brief, and then complete the activity below.

Job Aid:
Evaluation Brief 3, Goals and Objectives Checklist [pdf 200K, text 5K]
This brief provides a goal and objective checklist and examples.

Use the following activity to review the specific criteria for what CDC defines to be a good goal and SMART objective.

Activity: Good Goals and SMART Objectives Puzzle

Directions
Sort the puzzle pieces below by clicking and dragging the good goal and SMART objective criteria to each box to form two completed puzzles.

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Criteria (pieces are in random order). Goal: puzzle pieces = concise, positive terms, easily understood, declarative statement, framework for objectives, jargon free, short.

[Flash Text Version for 508:]
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This activity is used to help you recall/reinforce the criteria for good goals and the criteria for SMART objectives.

Criteria for good goals are:

  1. Specifies an expected program effect
  2. Identifies a target population
  3. Declarative statement
  4. Jargon-free
  5. Short
  6. Concise
  7. Easily understood
  8. Positive terms
  9. Framework for objectives

Criteria for SMART objectives are:

  1. Specific
  2. Measurable
  3. Achievable
  4. Realistic
  5. Time-phased
  6. Relates to a single result
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