The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 letter word UP TO THE MARK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
U
P
T
O
T
H
E
M
A
R
K
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Reaching a required standard" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case reaching a required standard = up to the mark.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.