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• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 4/29/2009 8:34 PM UTC

  Bench Marks Measure Learning Progress
  

  
  Today's Quote:
      It is not so important to know everything as to appreciate what we learn
           --Hannah More
  
  And in order to appreciate what we learn we need to understand what it is  we are to learn.
  
  What is a bench mark?
  Do you know the bench marks your student needs to accomplish before the end of the school year?
  
  Education Consultant, Patricia Jackson joined us today to discuss what a bench mark is and the importance of being able to ask what bench marks your student is expected to  achieve in this school year.
  
  The golden nugget from today's conversation:
  Your student's teacher should be able to give yo a copy of this information. Also, these days if your school is proactive this information is also posted on the schools website.
  
  How does a parent  or a student identify and what learningis to be taking place?
  Start by asking the obvious questions-- and read the inforamtion on your school's website.
  
  There is a lot of good information out there.
  Ah, yes...this is the love hate relationship with information.
  Book in a 15- 20 minute window of websearching.
  This is a great time amamgement  tool for you and your student to use to learn and  understand web searching/surfing for information vs. procrastination and time wasting.
  Make a specific appointment. Set a timer and gather inforamtion-- if there is a lot to read use a book mark system like Delcious or Digg  to help you remember why and what you want to review when you are having the 2nd cup of coffee.
  Then,  get ready to have a conversation with your student and your teacher:
  
  What is a benchmark? in Education, it is a test public schools give every six weeks to see how well a child is learning, or how much he or she has learned and remembered. After the benchmark, the teachers have many meetings to discuss the grades. (from:wikianswers.com)
  
  So there is bench marks to keep track of and then there are state standards, goals, objectives....oh, my what is a parent supose to pay attention to?
  Do you feel lost and not know where to begin?
  
   We found the following informaiton on the web. It is a good overview of how all these concepts are used in the school to help the teachers identify and measure what the students are to be learninging.
  
  www.jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.ed
  
  Goal:  In the field of student assessment, a goal is a very broad statement of what students should know or be able to do.  Unlike a standard or an objective, a goal is often not written in language that is amenable to assessment.  Rather, the purpose for crafting a set of goals typically is to give a brief and broad picture of what a school, district, state, etc. expects its students will know and be able to do upon graduation.
   
  Content Standards: Statements that describe what students should know or be able to do within the content of a specific discipline or at the intersection of two or more disciplines (e.g., students will describe effects of physical activity on the body).
   
  Objective: Much like a goal or standard, an objective is a statement of what students should know and be able to do.  Typically, an objective is the most narrow of these statements, usually describing what a student should know or be able to do at the end of a specific lesson plan.  Like a standard, an objective is amenable to assessment, that is, it is observable and measurable.
   
   
  Process Standards: Statements that describe skills students should develop to enhance the process of learning. Process standards are not specific to a particular discipline, but are generic skills that are applicable to any discipline (e.g., students will find and evaluate relevant information).
  
  Have more questions?
  Email us from our website www.paretndrivenschools.org
   Or call us on the Parent Mentor Helpline:800-893-6199
  
  Coming soon to our website:  for a glossery of terms  to help parents like yourself get  ready to have great conversations with your students and their teachers aobut loving to learn all life long.
  
  
  
  
  
  • Tags:
  • parents
  • teachers
  • students
  • life long learning
  • edcuation by choice
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