State Education Standards – Part 1
The State of
State Standards
How good are
state academic standards? Are they better than two years ago? How many states
now match solid standards with strong school accountability? Those are the
central questions examined by this report.
This report
delivers a wealth of information.
· For
those interested in the standards movement in general, turn to the overview
essay, "The
State of State Standards in 2000."
- For those interested in trends in specific
subjects, turn to the analytic essays:
- For state officials and other reformers
interested in learning how individual jurisdictions fared, turn to our
"State-by-State Reports." (Scroll down for links by state.)
- For those interested in the
nitty-gritty details, turn to the Appendices, where you will find detailed
grades for every subject, the criteria used in the evaluations, a list of
state documents examined, and a table on state accountability systems.
(Scroll down for a list of appendixes.)
Source: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
Each state in the U.S. has
its own set of standards and assessment requirements. Links to the various
state curriculum standards pages are listed below with a short description of
what the standards represent in each of the states.
State Curriculum Standards
AL AK AZ AR CA CO
CT DE FL GA HI ID
The Classroom Improvement Section is responsible for the
development, implementation, and assessment of the minimum curriculum content
(standards) and course design for K-12 students in the public schools. It is
responsible for instructional support that includes courses of study,
instructional materials and research, curriculum alignment materials,
recognition and scholarship programs, the textbook adoption program, and
counseling and guidance services. The state assessment program, designed to
measure the effectiveness of the implementation of instruction and curriculum,
is also developed and implemented through this section. Implementation of the
accountability law as defined by the Alabama Legislature is a major
responsibility of Classroom Improvement.
The Courses of Study Documents (COS) are available under Publications on the side menu. Of you have difficulty with the
menus you can also use their search and enter “Course of Study” as
the search term.
In 1993, developed content
standards in ten core subject areas. The standards represent what Alaskans want
students to know and be able to do as a result of their public schooling.
This website
presents the content standards and their associated key elements for
English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Government and
Citizenship, Skills for a Healthy Life, Arts, World Languages, and Technology.
During 1994
and 1995, the Alaska State Board of Education adopted these standards and key
elements as voluntary guidelines for Alaska’s schools.
Download
an 8-1/2 x
11 poster of Alaska’s curriculum standards.
Abobe
Acrobat is required for this file.
In addition to housing a
complete copy of the Arizona curriculum standards, this site provides for the
collection and reporting of statewide student achievement data through
administration of both a nationally standardized, norm-referenced achievement
test and a test of the Arizona Academic Standards, developed in conjunction
with Arizona educators.
Arkansas’ Learning Standards are defined in the
Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks, discipline-based documents which clearly
describe what students must know and be able to do in each academic content area
at three critical levels: grades 4, 8, and 12.
The rigorous academic content standards and the student
learning expectations within each document provide the focus for instruction
for each local school district, without rigidly prescribing every element of
the local curriculum. Student demonstration of the standards and learning
expectations within the Arkansas Frameworks is the anchor for the entire
education system, with instructional programs, state-level assessments,
professional development, school improvement planning, teacher/administrator
licensure, and accountability sharing the common goal of improved student
learning and performance around these standards.
The California State Board of Education has adopted core
academic content standards in four curriculum areas for kindergarten through
grade 12: English-language arts, mathematics, history-social science, and
science. The core content standards are the basis for the subject matter
frameworks, the adoption of K-8 instructional materials, and the
standards-aligned tests in California's student performance assessment system.
The Challenge Standards
- The Challenge Standards are provided to help school
districts establish standards for content areas not adopted by the California
State Board of Education.
The Colorado General
Assembly and the State Board of Education have built Colorado's new education
system around challenging academic standards. On this page find Colorado's
model content standards for grades K-12, along with suggested grade level
expectations for some subject areas and additional information on the
standards-based education effort in Colorado.
The Connecticut Framework:
K-12 Curricular Goals and Standards is a revised issuance of the Connecticut
Common Core of Learning and a new guide to K-12 program development in 10
separate disciplines. The new curriculum frameworks are not a state mandate.
They are intended to provide guidance to schools and districts that are
developing curriculum. Additional
information can be found at the State Department of Education- Division of Teaching
and Learning.
This Teacher's
Desk Reference to Standards and Performance Indicators for Curriculum Planning
and Unit Development is part of the Department of Education's ongoing efforts
to provide assistance and support to local school districts in their development
of a standards-based curriculum.
The Delaware
Teachers' Desk Reference
is in Adobe Acrobat format. The Teachers' Desk Reference has been divided into
three levels, Elementary, Middle and Secondary. You may download the files by
clicking on the files under the appropriate educational level. These files
are large and may take a few minutes to download.
The Sunshine State Standards were approved by the State
Board of Education in 1996, to provide expectations for student achievement in
Florida. The Standards approved in 1996 were written in seven subject areas,
each divided into four separate grade clusters (PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). However, in the subject areas of language
arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, the Sunshine State Standards
have been expanded to include Grade
Level Expectations.
These Grade
Level Expectations will eventually become the basis for state assessments at
each grade 3-10 in language arts and mathematics--and may eventually be used in
state assessments in science and social studies. In addition to the Grade Level
Expectations, course specific information for students in grades 6-12 can be
found in the Florida Course
Descriptions.
In 1995, the
Quality Core Curriculum was revised. The revised QCC includes content standards
for all subjects K-8 and 9-12 courses in English/language arts, mathematics,
science, social studies, foreign languages, fine arts, health, physical
education, technology/career education, agriculture, and English Speakers of
Other Languages (ESOL).
The following are key documents in the ongoing process of
Standards-Based Reform...
- Hawaii
Content and Performance Standards (HCPS) (Fall 99)... defines what students need to know, be able to do,
and care about.
- Comprehensive Needs
Assessment (Apr 99)...
assesses the extent to which our public school system is meeting the
educational needs of its students and suggests priorities for improvement
- Strategic Plan for
Standards-Based Reform PDF
(Fall 99)... lists the events, actors, and timetable needed to implement
standards based reform.
- HCPS Performance Indicators... defines what does good performance look
like? How good is good enough? Used by teachers to devise ways of teaching
and measuring the students' achievements in attaining the content
standards.
- Standards Implementation Design
(SID) System (Aug 00).. framework
for analyzing school performance, planning for improvement based on the
analysis or performance, implementing the improvements, and assessing and
evaluating results.
Exiting Standards are a means to ascertain that students
not only complete particular courses, but that they have a specific level of
content knowledge and demonstrated application in those subject areas.
Standards guide program development and review as well as student assessment
and program evaluation. Standards drive the alignment of curriculum,
instruction, and assessment as well as textbook and material adoption.
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