The standards of Eric and Rita (8)
I believe the answer is:
criteria
'the standards' is the definition.
('criterion' can be a synonym of 'standard')
'of eric and rita' is the wordplay.
'of' indicates an anagram (the answer comes from or 'of' the letters).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'eric' put after 'rita' is 'ritaeric'.
'ritaeric' anagrammed gives 'CRITERIA'.
(Other definitions for criteria that I've seen before include "Principles on which to base a judgment" , "Principles for judging" , "Standards on which to base judgement" , "Principles for assessment" , "References points, standards" .)