What are Academic Standards?

Denise Burson
Jun 22, 2009

The standards movement in US Education was driven by two major national concerns in the early 1990s. First, students in the United States would not be able to compete in a global economy if education was allowed to be determined at each local school or district. Second, there was a significant achievement gap between minority and non-minority students. The goal of the standards movement was to assure all students would be provided with the quality education necessary to reach much higher expectations. In fact, it was said, "It was passed to institute a system to define and measure academic quality in education and thus... help the public schools ... achieve high quality and expand the life opportunities and options for all students."

The essential components of the reform movement brought about by the Standards are:

  1. Set rigorous academic standards for all students.

  2. Measure student progress against those standards.

  3. Hold students and educators accountable for meeting them.

Academic standards are clear and precise narrative public statements about what all students should know and be able to do at each grade level throughout their school careers. Standards are designed to promote the highest possible achievement for every student by defining the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students should acquire at each grade level.

The academic standards define the learning outcomes expected for every student, regardless of their situation. The standards do not prescribe how teachers should teach in order to get the students to this level of performance but do specify exactly what students must know and be able to do. Standards provide the focus for reform efforts, and all students must reach them.

Academic content standards have the ability to provide a set of clear and rigorous expectations for student achievement. In order to achieve at the expected levels, all students need to learn more and do more complex work at all grade levels, as they progress through school. The academic content standards provide similar clarity for all teachers of what content and skills must be taught and learned at each grade-level.

Public education is a serious responsibility. The state superintendent, legislature and state departments of education are responsible to ensure all children have equal access to high quality education programs. They are also responsible to make sure all students are learning and succeeding. To do so requires clear and specific statements of what all children in each state must know and be able to do, as well as evidence that shows how well students are meeting these expectations. The academic standards also provide a foundation on which to establish a statewide assessment system.

How can we use the standards?

Students learn better in a standards driven environment because everybody is working towards the same goal.

You can use the standards to develop instruction and assessment. You can also see how well your students are doing by looking at their progress toward reaching the standards. The Learning-Focused Strategies Model is the only standards-driven model for planning w hat students need to learn in every unit, lesson, and activity.

Schools and districts can use the standards and the Learning-Focused Power Curriculum to prioritize the standards and map their local curriculum into standards driven Student Learning Maps, as well as provide related professional development for teachers.

Parents can use the standards to keep track of what their children are learning and to know what their children should be learning at any given point in time. Students can use the standards to monitor their progress towards meeting established expectations for learning. Not using the standards to determine what students are expected to learn has consequences similar to lack of clear and precise goals in any pursuit. Without clear standards, students are far less likely to reach the levels of achievement desired and deserved for everyone.