Indicators should support these three goals. An indicator should be clear, specific, and time defined. For this project, the end time frame will be September, 2000. Vague and non-specific indicators should be avoided. Indicators with multiple components make measurement difficult.
Time frames help to motivate staff and make indicators worthwhile.
An indicator should be easily measurable. Most educational issues have at least one component that can be measured. An indicator should have corresponding quantitative data that are clearly linked to the indicator. The data collected should reflect the statistics described in the indicator. Fourth grade teachers are piloting programs to develop enhanced student assessment portfolios.