Setting standards requires clearly defining what is desired and establishing a measurable way to assess it.
Understanding the Foundation of Standard Setting
Based on the provided reference, setting a standard is contingent upon several fundamental requirements. You cannot establish a standard without first making deliberate decisions about what constitutes success or failure, desirable or undesirable outcomes.
Key Requirements for Setting Standards
According to the principles outlined, the process of setting a standard necessitates:
- Defining Desired Outcomes: You must explicitly decide what we want, what is good, what is not, what is more, and what is less regarding the aspect for which you are setting a standard. This clarifies the goal or expectation.
- Establishing a Measurable Variable: A concept representing what you are looking for must be created and made tangible. This means we must set-up a line of increasing amounts, a variable which operationalizes what we are looking for. This variable allows for quantifiable or observable differences along a scale.
- Utilizing a Measurement Tool: The variable created needs a method to be observed or quantified in reality. Usually this variable is brought to life by a test or a similar assessment method.
The Process in Practice
Building upon these requirements, setting a standard generally follows a process that translates these abstract decisions into concrete measures:
- Identify What Needs a Standard: Pinpoint the specific quality, performance level, quantity, or characteristic that needs a defined benchmark (e.g., product quality, employee performance, student achievement).
- Define Performance Levels: Based on your desired outcomes, articulate what different levels of this characteristic look like (e.g., "excellent," "acceptable," "unacceptable" or thresholds for "more" or "less").
- Develop an Operational Variable: Create a measurable variable that represents the characteristic. This variable must allow for differentiation along a scale or continuum. This step involves setting up a line of increasing amounts, a variable which operationalizes what we are looking for. For example, if the standard is for product quality, the variable might be "number of defects per unit."
- Implement a Measurement Method: Choose or design a test, inspection process, assessment, or data collection method that can accurately measure your operational variable. Usually this variable is brought to life by a test. Using the product quality example, this would be the inspection procedure where defects are counted.
- Set the Threshold (The Standard): Based on your defined desired outcomes and the capabilities of your measurement tool, determine the specific point on the variable's scale that represents the standard. This could be a minimum acceptable score on a test, a maximum number of defects, a target completion time, etc.
- Communicate and Implement: Clearly articulate the standard and the method of measurement to all relevant parties. Integrate the standard into processes, training, or evaluations.
Examples
- Academic Standard:
- Desired Outcome: Students demonstrate sufficient understanding of a subject.
- Operational Variable: Score on an exam (a line of increasing amounts of demonstrated knowledge).
- Measurement Tool: A written or practical test.
- Standard: A minimum passing score (e.g., 70% on the test).
- Manufacturing Quality Standard:
- Desired Outcome: Products have minimal flaws.
- Operational Variable: Number of critical defects per batch (a line of increasing amounts of defects).
- Measurement Tool: A quality control inspection process.
- Standard: A maximum allowable number of critical defects per batch (e.g., no more than 2 defects per 100 units).
By following this process, grounded in the necessity of clear definition and measurable operationalization, standards can be effectively established and applied.
