Benchmarks Evaluation System

How Are the Benchmarks Rated?

The working group developed a rating system for use with the Benchmarks.
The rating system asks evaluators to determine how characteristic a specific competency-related behavior is of the trainee.
The system allows a program to determine the level of observed competence needed to meet the program's standard.

The benchmarks evaluation system, just like the benchmarks document, was designed as a resource, not as a mandate, for training programs.
Programs are free to modify the examples (behavioral anchors from the Appendix (DOC, 315KB) and identify additional examples or competencies that relate to their specific program goals and outcomes and to select the specific clusters they wish to use.
Programs can set their own minimal expected level of competence for each cluster and competency as well as for overall performance.

Decide which of the clusters are areas of focus in your own training program. For example, a program may want to focus on developing competencies in professionalism, relational, science and applications, but not systems.
Within each cluster, select the essential competency components that you want students to develop.
Refer to the Appendix and select examples relevant to your program that help to clarify essential components.
Identify additional essential components and examples to include as needed.
Each essential component is rated using a characteristic scale (e.g., "somewhat" "very"). For each essential component, decide how characteristic the behavior needs to be of the trainees' observed behavior to meet your program's competence expectations. For example, if your program decides that you want students to be very competent in effectively implementing evidence-based interventions, you may decide that you want the students to demonstrate behavior that this competency is "moderately" characteristic of their behavior by the end of the third year of training and "mostly" characteristic by entry to internship.

Stay tuned: plans are still underway for a completely online version, but it is taking longer than hoped.