At the master's degree level, the Educational Leadership Program at The University of Montana benchmarks its learner outcomes in the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards for School Leaders.  The ISLLC Standards were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and member states in 1996, these standards serve as program benchmarks and are adopted at the best universities in the United States.  Each course syllabus links learner outcomes to the standards, and they are assessed via a wide array of individual assignments including research and position papers, literatures syntheses and critiques, examinations, fieldwork projects, and professional presentations.  As a culminating assessment of the degree, students engage in a portfolio development and presentation through which the assessment of these outcomes is measured in a synthesized manner, as described on the M.Ed. Culminating Portfolio Presentation rubric.  This M.Ed. portfolio procedures and rubric are described in the next section, as are the procedures and rubric for doctoral comprehensive examinations.   

In summary form, the ISLLC standards are as follows:

STANDARD 1:

A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

STANDARD 2:

A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

STANDARD 3:

A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.

STANDARD 4:

A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.

STANDARD 5:

A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.

STANDARD 6:

A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.