General Standards
Educational standards define the knowledge and skills students should possess at critical points in their educational career. "Standards serve as a basis of educational reform across the nation as educators and policy makers respond to the call for a clear definition of desired outcomes of schooling and a way to measure student success in terms of these outcomes" (National Research Council 2001). National, state and local educators play an important role in improving student learning through development and implementation of standards throughout the country.
A number of organizations provide general information for those working in research, practice and evaluation of standards-based education. Some sites providing general standards information are linked below: