Benchmarking
Benchmarking is like using a "measuring stick" to see how well something is doing compared to a standard or to others. In education, it’s about setting a specific goal or standard (the "benchmark") and then checking to see if students, schools, or programs are meeting that goal. For example, a benchmark might be "80% of students should be able to solve basic math problems by the end of 5th grade." It’s a way to measure progress and identify areas that need improvement. In short, benchmarking is about comparing performance to a target or best practice to see how you’re doing.