SETTING STANDARDS
The standard-setting process is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of recent education reform efforts to guarantee educational accountability based on student performance at the individual, school, district and state levels. In an effort to clarify what is expected of students, states across the nation, professional subject matter organizations, and industry-based partnerships have set about defining the standards, or skills and knowledge, required of students. Standards are the first step toward developing an integrated system of accountability that is built on student performance. Standards define an aspect of student performance that is measurable, and build on the skills that are learned as students progress through each stage of the educational system and into the workplace. This section includes descriptions of the implementation of standard-setting efforts in vocational education programs, state systemic accountability efforts, and industry-based partnerships. Standard- setting efforts included in this section describe implementation strategies in one or more of the following categories of learning:
- Subject specific academic knowledge and skills
- Career, occupational, or technical skills
- Crossdisciplinary, workplace readiness, and interpersonal skills
- Illinois Occupational Skills Standards
- New Jersey's Cross-Content Workplace Readiness Standards
- Oregon's Certification of Advanced Mastery
- Ohio's Curriculum Framework System
- Oklahoma's Occupational Skills Testing Program
- Virginia's Core Academic Standards
- Washington's Industry Skill Standards Projects
- Test Flights
