Linking learning to standards

Standards are descriptions of specific skills, knowledge, or behaviours that children may display in the course of their learning activities.

In many countries, ministries of education have identified appropriate standards for different subjects and grade levels.

When these are available, they may be immediately useful for assessing children's work. You may also find it more effective to develop still more precise and concrete descriptions, based on government standards and on the ways you engage children in learning the material.

To view a comprehensive set of standards, and to learn more about standards in education, you can visit the Web site of the Mid-continental Regional Education Laboratory (McREL), based in the United States, and to an article on Agreed Goals for Schooling in Australia.