Benchmark

A benchmark is a shared, standardized test that many different models are run through so their results can be compared on equal footing. Think of it as a common exam: if everyone sits the same paper under the same rules, the scores mean something relative to each other. The deeper idea is explained in the folder 01 glossary; this whole folder is about what separates a good benchmark from a misleading one. The short version is that a benchmark is only useful if it is hard to fake, broad enough to be representative, and resistant to going stale.