(Published on 18 April 2012)

Summer Institute 2012 - New Registration Deadline 14 May

The deadline to register for the 2012 Summer Institute July 9-14 in Toronto has been extended to Monday 14 May 2012

Please visit the External Learning and Programs Department at the University of British Columbia at http://eplt.educ.ubc.ca/events/2012-historical-thinking-project for complete program and registration information.

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What is a Benchmark?

<p>John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising &amp; Marketing History,<br />Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections</p>

A surveyor cut a "benchmark" into a stone or a wall when measuring the altitude and/or level of a tract of land. A bracket called a "bench" was secured in the cut to mount the surveying equipment, and all subsequent measurements were made in reference to the position and height of that mark.

The term "benchmark" was first used around 1842 to refer to a standard of quality by which achievement may be measured.

The foundation documents available through the Benchmarks site attempt to help teachers establish standards for assessing student learning of the modes of thought that constitute historical thinking.

John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History,
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections