Which instructional objective is written with the required do-criterion properly indicated?

• A. Say the word sword with the tongue behind the teeth during s target production three consecutive times to advance to the short phrase level.
• B. While playing battleships, spontaneously produce the cluster /skw/ in the word square with 90% accuracy during the course of the game required to progress.
• C. Produce a stop or fricative sound with tongue dorsum raised after hearing the signal do it now, with 4 out of 5 trials correct required to proceed to syllable level practice.
• D. Produce /ʤ/ in syllables containing various vowels after seeing and hearing a prior model, with accurate tongue placement required to progress to the next step.

Answer: (A)

A well-constructed instructional objective uses a clear observable behavior, the conditions under which it is performed, and a concrete criterion for success. In this case, the best choice states the exact behavior: “Say the word sword.” It adds the condition that this is done with the tongue behind the teeth during s target production, which specifies how the production should occur, and it sets a measurable criterion: “three consecutive times” to move on to the short phrase level. This combination makes the objective observable, testable, and reliable, so you can verify mastery before advancing.

The other options fall short in one or more ways. One uses a numeric criterion (90% accuracy) but keeps the performance event vague and tied to an open-ended activity (“during the course of the game”), making it hard to count exact trials or ensure consistency. Another provides a numeric target (4 out of 5) but describes an overly general behavior (“a stop or fricative sound with tongue dorsum raised”) that could refer to multiple sounds rather than a specific, definable target. The last mentions seeing and hearing a model and a tangible requirement (“accurate tongue placement”), but it lacks a precise, verifiable performance criterion to mark success.