Kazakhstan is a quickly developing country focusing on improving their educational system. To achieve this goal they are integrating best international practice into the current educational process. One characteristic of effective teaching mentioned in the literature is ability of teachers to clearly define for themselves and for their students learning targets and success criteria. However, it is not yet common practice in Kazakhstani schools. Since 2012 the three months of professional development courses for teachers was provided by institute `Orleu`. During that time many teachers pass this course. The understanding of SMART learning targets and success criteria was introduced in these courses, however the application of these concepts faces difficulties in the daily reality of ordinary schools. This paper is the attempt to share some of the findings of a qualitative case study that examined how the ability of teachers to clearly define the learning targets and success criteria affect their practice of planning, instruction and assessment.

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