Standards (In General)

This post defines Standards and lists the uses of a Standard. This is a preamble to a detailed discussion on Assessment Standards.

What Is A Standard?

A Standard is a published document that contains a technical specification or other precise criteria designed to be used consistently as a rule, guideline, or definition. Standards help to make life simpler and to increase the reliability and the effectiveness of many goods and services we use. Standards are created by bringing together the experience and expertise of all interested parties such as the producers, sellers, buyers, users and regulators of a particular material, product, process or service.

Standards are designed for voluntary use and do not impose any regulations. Any Standard is a collective work. Committees of manufacturers, users, research organizations, government departments and consumers work together to draw up Standards that evolve to meet the demands of society and technology.

What Are The Benefits Of Standards?

Standards are a powerful tool for organizations of all sizes, supporting innovation and increasing productivity. Effective Standardization promotes forceful competition and enhances profitability, enabling a business to take a leading role in shaping the industry itself. Standards allow a company to:

• Attract and assure customers
• Demonstrate market leadership
• Create competitive advantage
• Develop and maintain best practice

Standards Are Powerful Marketing Tools

The ability to demonstrate compliance with widely recognised and respected Standards is an effective means of differentiation in a competitive marketplace. In addition, manufacturing products or supplying services to appropriate Standards maximises their compatibility with those manufactured or offered by others, thereby increasing potential sales and widespread acceptance.As consumers become increasingly informed about their choices, conformity to recognised Standards becomes pivotal. An example is the international Standard for environmental management (ISO 14001), increasingly used by businesses to demonstrate environmental responsibility.

Standards Are A Respected Badge of Quality

Customers look for the independent verification that technical Standards provide. Certification marks earned by businesses whose products and practices consistently stand up to rigorous examination are instantly recognizable and act as respected badges of quality, safety and performance.

Standards Within Business

In modern business, effective communication along the supply chain and with legislative bodies, clients and customers is imperative. Standardization can deliver measurable benefits when applied within the infrastructure of a company itself. Business costs and risks can be minimised, internal processes streamlined and communication improved. Standardization promotes interoperability, providing a competitive edge necessary for the effective worldwide trading of products and services.

How Are Standards Made?

The task of drafting formal full consensus Standards (BS, EN, ISO) is usually delegated by a technical committee or subcommittee to a drafting group or panel. Occasionally a committee may commission a consultant to complete the drafting.There are specific rules for drafting Standards that must be adhered to. These are designed to ensure that Standards meet their aim of providing, for common and repeated use, rules guidelines or characteristics for activities. They are founded on usability, verifiability and commonality.

How Are Standards Used?

The use of Standards is increasingly becoming a prerequisite to worldwide trade. A very large percentage of export is influenced by the European and international Standards business. For instance all European Union Standards are automatically adopted as British Standards.

Standards are also used as flexible alternative to regulation.

In fast-moving industries and sectors, Standards can also offer huge savings in Research and Development costs. Where common platforms for technological advances are established, tested and shared with all interested parties this can ensure commercial viability and consumer confidence.

Standards are essential to trade in increasingly competitive markets. They ensure any business offering products, services or processes is:

• cost-effective and time efficient• commercially viable• credible• safe.

They can also make significant impact on society at large. For example, as purchasers or users of products we would soon notice of they turned out to be of poor quality, do not fit, are incompatible with equipment we already have, are unreliable or dangerous. We are usually unaware of the role played by Standards in raising levels of quality, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchange ability - as well as in providing such benefits at an economical cost.

A Standard that illustrates this is:

• BS 8300:2001 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people - Code of practice

Above all, any business, large or small, can benefit from the conformity and integrity that Standards will bring. Through the development and adoption of best practice guidelines companies and organizations can make sure they are meeting consumer concerns and keeping up with best practice.

Assessment is a key part of the Standards reform movement. The first part is to set new, higher Standards to be expected of every student. Then the curriculum must be aligned to the new Standards. Finally, the student must be assessed if they meet these Standards of what every student “must know and be able to do”. A high school diploma which is given on passing a high school graduation examination or Certificate of Initial Mastery is awarded only when these Standards are achieved.

A criterion is set up for Standards of what every student or child is expected to know, and a score is set compared to these benchmarks rather than a ranking compared to a norm. It is fully expected that every child will become proficient in all areas of academic skills by the end of a period, typically 10 years but sometimes longer, after the passing of education reform bill by a state legislature.