Definition
Training objectives that state clearly what the student must be able to do, under what conditions, and to what standard, in order for learning to be considered successful. Each objective has three parts: a description of the skill or behavior to be performed, the conditions under which it will be performed, and the criteria that define acceptable performance.
Plain English
A clear statement of what the student must do, in what situation, and how well, before the lesson counts as complete. It removes guesswork by spelling out the task, the setup, and the pass mark.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight instructor lesson planning, especially when teaching and evaluating hands-on flying skills.
Derivation
Performance' here means observable action, not how fast or fancy something runs. The phrase is built around the idea that learning is judged by what the student can actually do, not by what they have been told or have read.
Why Pilots Care
They turn training into measurable skills instead of vague ideas, directly supporting safe and competent flying.
Intuition Check
Do not read performance-based as meaning only “based on test scores.” Here it means based on an observable action the student can actually demonstrate.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor wrote a performance-based objective stating that the student would perform a normal landing, in calm wind on a paved runway, touching down within the first third of the runway and on the centerline.
Example Sentence 2
Using performance-based objectives let the student practice and the instructor evaluate a crosswind landing under specific wind conditions.