title: Assessment Essentials for Standards-Based Education
author:  James H. McMillan 
description: <em>"An important key to blending data with change."</em> Author: The Bookwatch, July 2008 Published On: 2008-11-20
zlib_text: Oman Quality Network Regional Conference 20-21 February 2012
   2012 OQNHE
  “Quality Management & Enhancement in Higher Education”
  INTRODUCTION
  Standards-based education helps students learn what is intended to be learned rather than following textbooks blindly. It
  directs all stakeholders towards one common goal; the achievement of the intended learning outcomes. Applying this
  type of educational system requires institutions to align their policies, curricula, teaching methods and assessment with
  well-defined academic standards. The success of these standards is measured by the outcomes of students' learning;
  whether they have achieved the intended learning outcomes or not. In spite of the great benefit of standards-based
  education, educational institutions are faced with a number of challenges when turning those academic standards into
  practice. There are many factors contributing to the formation of such challenges. Some of these factors lie in the
  standards themselves, while some mig