Standards and Registration Procedure for Assessment Instruments PREAMBLE Assessing business education and enhancing it are different processes. Although many simulations and experiential exercises are instruments that can serve either process, each process places distinctly different requirements on the instruments used. Whereas enhancement requires instruments that further understanding of concepts, assessment requires instruments that give scores evidencing competencies. Because the utility of assessment instruments depends on their wide adoption, so that scores obtained from one population and setting may be compared with those obtained elsewhere, standards for such instruments and procedures for their registration can facilitate their development and use. STANDARDS An instrument viable for widespread use in assessment must be a finished product. It must be adequate in design and packaging, and must have been adequately piloted in its target population. Standard for Design The instrument must give rise to an objective score that is tied to performance such that the better the participants play the more likely they are to score well. The vagaries of circumstance should not substantially affect the score. Standard for Packaging The instrument must be available for adoption as a packaged set. An instructor's manual must be included. Standard for Piloting The instrument must have been piloted in its target population. The results of piloted usage must have been published in Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, ABSEL's annual publication. REGISTRATION So that potential users might know of instruments that have met the standards, ABSEL registers assessment instruments. The decision to accept an instrument for registration is at the discretion of ABSEL's Committee on Standards for Assessment Instruments. Registered assessment instruments will be listed as such in Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning. Registration is effective for five years from the date of decision. To be considered for registration, an author of the instrument must apply directly to the chair of the Committee. The application must include the following: a cover letter requesting registration the instrument package a paper submitted for possible publication in Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, in which piloted usage was discussed and performance data presented, or a reprint of such.