Benchmarking is used in higher education to improve performance by comparison with other institutions. Types used include internal, external competitive, external collaborative, external transindustry, and implicit. Methods include ideal type (or gold) standard, activity-based benchmarking, vertical and horizontal benchmarking, and comparative…

Discusses what students should know and be able to do as specified in the International Technology Education Association's standards. Addresses how technology education programs can meet the standards set by industry and teachers. (JOW)

Examines the use of stochastic frontier estimation of constant elasticity of substitution (CES) cost function to measure differences in efficiency among British universities. (Contains 28 references.) (PKP)

School districts worried about how students will perform on end-of-the-year state tests are increasingly administering "benchmark assessments" throughout the year to measure students' progress and provide teachers with data about how to adjust instruction. Nearly seven in 10 superintendents surveyed for "Education Week" said…

This is a document that lays out the Mission of the NY College of Osteopathic Medicine's Mission Statement, It's 13 Goals and subsequent Objectives of Learning Outcomes. Benchmarks were established for each Educational Goal and defined further in Objectives. This document represents an historic attempt by NYCOM to address it's need for complete…

Online learning is a complex undertaking that holds great potential as a teaching and learning mode that public colleges and universities may strategically employ to achieve broad institutional priorities and contribute to the attainment of national goals. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities- (APLU) Sloan National Commission on…

We developed equivalent, alternate forms of easyCBM[R] in reading (n=20 forms) and mathematics (n=13 forms) with different skills reflective of the National Reading Panel (NRP) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), respectively. We then took three forms to use as screening measures in the fall, winter, and spring so educators…

The Accelerate Online/OPTIONS alternative certification program provides those possessing a degree an option leading to certification that can be completed in 18 months. The program consists of an online curriculum, an early field experience, and a year-long paid internship. To determine program effectiveness across five years, five benchmark…

In 2004, The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice published a report titled "Grading Vouchers: Ranking America's School Choice Programs." Its purpose was to measure every existing school choice program against the gold standard set by Milton and Rose Friedman: that the most effective way to improve K-12 education and thus ensure a stable…

This technical brief examines whether, after two years of implementation, schools in Massachusetts using quarterly benchmark exams aligned with state standards in middle school mathematics showed greater gains in student achievement than those not doing so. A quasi-experimental design, using covariate matching and comparative interrupted…

This article describes the system of monitoring district instructional-reform efforts and the influences of the system on teachers and school and district leaders in Duval County, Florida. First, the author offers a brief description of the snapshot system. Second, the study's design, data sources, and analytic methods are presented. Third, the…

Purpose: This study assessed the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure constructs similar to stuttering-specific health-related quality of life. In the stuttering literature, most such instruments were originally intended to measure speakers' attitudes about, or reactions to, their stuttering. Method: Seventeen instruments were…

This article inquires into the "calculative practices" that are used to regulate quality in higher education. After providing a historical snapshot of the antecedents of quality regimes, I discuss university ranking systems (league tables) and the UK's Research Assessment Exercise. I ask two questions: first, what do the visibilities of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to question the appropriateness of a proposal for a new European Qualifications Framework. The framework has three perspectives: historical; analytical; and national. Design/methodology/approach: The approaches are diverse since the first insists on the institutional and decision-making processes at European…

This article describes the potential for using K-12 education data to support school improvement efforts and the effective and efficient use of education resources. It examines the availability and transparency of education data in California as part of the "Getting Down to Facts" effort to improve education decision making in that…