Knowing Your Learning Targets (Even If You Don’t Post Them Everywhere)

If you’ve spent any time on teacher Instagram or TikTok, you’ve probably seen the jokes:

• “Have you tried posting your learning targets?”
• “Just write the objective on the board—problem solved!”

And honestly, I laugh at those posts too.

Because no, writing “I can add fractions” on the board is not some magic fix for engagement, behaviour, or learning.

But here’s the thing I’ve come to realize over time:

Even if students don’t always read them, it still matters that I know them.

The Shift That Made a Difference

Earlier in my teaching career, I would plan lessons and assessments more holistically:

• “This is a fractions test”
• “This is a project on identity”
• “This is a unit on early civilizations”

But over time, and especially through working with student teachers and refining my assessment practices, I started asking myself a different question:

What specific skills am I actually assessing here?

That shift changed everything.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Let’s take a simple example from Math.

If my students are writing a fractions test, I’m not just assessing “fractions” as one big idea.

I’m actually looking at multiple, distinct skills:

• Adding fractions
• Reducing to lowest terms
• Communicating their thinking (showing work clearly)

Those are different skills.

So instead of giving one overall mark, I record them separately in my mark book.

This is an example of my grade book in math. I'm in BC, and we use the proficiency scale (Emerging, Developing, Proficient, Extending). For each assessment, I look at the specific skills that are being evaluated and I record each one as a separate column. 

I have a lot of information here, from just 5 assessments/quizzes. For example, looking at the second row - in their Quiz 1 (Ratios and Rates), I can see that they are generally proficient, but they are emerging in recording their answers in lowest terms. That helps give me a goal to suggest on a report card or in my conversations with the student. 

If I look down that column (Lowest Terms), I can see that several students were emerging in that skill, so I can use that information to inform my teaching - I know that I need to reinforce that skill again, or remind students that they should always be reducing to lowest terms, even if it is not specifically stated on the quiz.

Why This Matters

1. 1. It makes assessment clearer (for me)
2. 2. It makes communication with parents SO much easier
3. 3. It aligns naturally with competency-based assessment

When I break things down into skills, I can see patterns immediately:

• A student might understand the concept but struggle with simplification
• Another might get correct answers but not show their thinking
• One specific skill might be a challenge for several students, and I need to re-teach that skill

Instead of a vague grade or proficiency scale indicator, I have specific information I can act on. This is probably the biggest win.

When it comes time for report cards, parent-teacher interviews, emails home, etc. I’m not trying to justify a single overall grade. Instead, I can say things like:

“Your child is doing really well with adding fractions, but we’re still working on reducing to lowest terms and clearly showing their thinking.”

That’s a much more meaningful (and helpful) conversation.

In BC, we’re working within a proficiency scale (Emerging → Developing → Proficient → Extending).

Breaking learning into skills fits perfectly with that model. Instead of asking “What percentage did they get?” I’m asking “Where are they at with this specific skill?”

Do Students Need to See Learning Targets?

Here’s where I land on it:

• Do I always post them? No. Honestly - I never post learning targets.
• Do students always engage with them? Also no.

But… Do I need to know exactly what I’m targeting? Absolutely.

Because when I am clear:

• My instruction is clearer
• My assessment is more intentional
• My feedback is more useful

And ultimately, that’s what makes the biggest difference.

One Small Shift to Try

If you’re looking to experiment with this, you don’t need to overhaul everything.

Start with one assessment.

Instead of giving one overall mark, try 3–4 clearly defined skill areas.

Even something as simple as:

• Content understanding
• Process/strategy
• Communication

You’ll likely find (like I did) that it makes both teaching and reporting feel much more manageable.

Final Thought

So yes… I’ll still laugh at the “just post your learning targets” jokes.

But behind that humour is something important: clarity matters.

Not because it looks good on the board, but because it helps us teach better and understand our students more deeply.

If you’ve tried breaking your assessment into specific skills, I’d love to hear how it’s worked for you!