Program Standards and Benchmarks
The goal of the Program Standards and Benchmarks Laboratory is to investigate ways in which different program and practice indicators and practitioner competence scales can be used as standards and benchmarks to promote an understanding of evidence-based practices and both adoption and use of these practices. Standards are statements of desired or expected performance, whereas benchmarks are the indicators for judging the extent to which evidence-based practices are being used. Studies and initiatives are guided by a framework that differentiates between the pre-conditions that set the occasion for adult learning, the characteristics of the processes that promote understanding and adoption of desired practices, and the outputs or consequences of using newly mastered practitioner competencies. A major focus of Program Standards and Benchmarks Laboratory studies and initiatives is a better understanding of how best to use benchmarks and standards with practitioners for improving use of evidence-based early childhood intervention and family support practices. Sources of information about standards and benchmarks can be found in our CASEmakers (Volume 1, Number 7) publications.
Learn more about the major activities of the Program Standards and Benchmarks Laboratory studies and initiatives by clicking on any of the following titles:
- Practitioner Capacity Building Practices Scales for Promoting Use of Evidence-Based Practices
- Practitioner Capacity Building Practices Scales-Companions
- Measurement and Assessment of Program Practices Scales (MAPPS)
- Communities of Practice and Practitioner Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices
- Reflective Questions for Improving Early Childhood and Family Support Practices
- Reflective Questions for Implementing Natural Communication Interventions
- Family Centered Helpgiving Practices Checklist
- Contextually Mediated Practices Standards-Based Credentialing Process
- A Comparative Study of Two Formats for Promoting Practitioner Understanding of Contextually Mediated Practices
- A Comparative Study of Two Different Formats for Promoting Parent Understanding of Contextually Mediated Practices
- Communities of Practice as a Context for Promoting Mastery of Contextually Mediated Practices
