The Performance Statement of an objective is useful to the extent that it specifies what students must be able to DO or PERFORM when they demonstrate mastery of the objective.  Since you cannot look into your audience's mind and see if they understand, you must make an assumption.  These assumptions must be based on what students say and do.  They must be based, in other words, on the circumstantial evidence of visible or audible behavior.  Thus, the most important and indispensable characteristic of a useful objective is that it describes the kind of performance that will be accepted as evidence that the student has mastered the objective.  Whatever else a statement may do, if it doesn't state a performance, it isn't an objective.
				OVERT vs. COVERT  Remember that your performance must be observable or OVERT.  Can you see a student determine?  Can you see a student understand?  These performances are called COVERT or hidden.  Covert refers to performance that cannot be observed directly.  There is an easy way to handle these in a performance statement.  First you identify the covert skill (i.e., determine, select, understand), and add a word or two to that performance to tell your student what directly visible behavior is an acceptable indicator of the performance. COVERT                                OVERT Define Ohm's Law                    Define in writing Ohm's Law Identify bad circuit                  Identify verbally the bad circuit Discriminate between...              Sort into groups ... Now let's look at what cues or Conditions are needed...
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