Benchmark, standard & best practice

Definitions of benchmark on the Web:
= a standard by which something can be measured or judged; "his painting sets the benchmark of quality"
= a surveyor's mark on a permanent object of predetermined position and elevation used as a reference point

> wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn



= a standard by which something is evaluated or measured; a surveyor's mark made on some stationary object and shown on a map; used as a reference ...

> en.wiktionary.org/wiki/benchmark



= A measurement or standard that serves as a point of reference by which process performance is measured. ...

> www.ichnet.org/glossary.htm



= Reference point or standard against which performance or achievements can be assessed.

> www.who.int/hac/about/definitions/en/index.html



= A standard against which the performance of a security, index or investment can be measured.

> www.aflcio-hit.com/wmspage.cfm



= A standard used for comparison. For example, the performance of some index mutual funds is compared to the performance of the S&P 500® Index which serves as a benchmark.

> www.schwab-global.com/public/schwab-gcb-en/investing_from_outside_the_us/glossary


= A reference index that serves as a basis for performance comparison.

> www.kayne.com/glossary.shtml



....... and the list goes on.....



After listening to Fazu and Mosaiyeb, it pop in my mind that Malaysian University English Test (MUET) grading is one of the example for this topic. In MUET, students who are very good user, very good command of the language, highly expressive, fluent, accurate and appropriate language: hardly any inaccuracies, very good understanding of language and contexts, functions extremely well in the language - will get Band 6.



As I understand, Band 6 is the benchmark and the criterias are the standard.

Definitions of standard on the Web:

> an upright pole or beam (especially one used as a support); "distance was marked by standards every mile"; "lamps supported on standards provided illumination"

> criterion- the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they live by the standards of their community"

> a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "they set the measure for all subsequent work"

adjective
1. standard- commonly used or supplied; "standard procedure"; "standard car equipment"

2. standard, stock- regularly and widely used or sold; "a standard size"; "a stock item"

3. standard- established or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence; "a standard reference work"

4. standard- conforming to or constituting a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized or accepted kind; "windows of standard width"; "standard sizes"; "the standard fixtures"; "standard brands"; "standard operating procedure"

5. standard, received- conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers; "standard English" (American); "received standard English is sometimes called the King's English" (British)

(get more from here)

This is my post; version 0.01, with less word from my own ;p