Education Standards

General Standards | State Standards | Subject Standards | Teaching Standards | Resources

General Standards

Educational standards define the knowledge and skills students should possess at critical points in their educational career. "Standards serve as a basis of educational reform across the nation as educators and policy makers respond to the call for a clear definition of desired outcomes of schooling and a way to measure student success in terms of these outcomes" (National Research Council 2001).  National, state and local educators play an important role in improving student learning through development and implementation of standards throughout the country.

A number of organizations provide general information for those working in research, practice and evaluation of standards-based education. Some sites providing general standards information are linked below:

• American Academy for the Advancement of Science's Benchmarks Online - Project 2061's Benchmarks for Science Literacy is part of a long-term initiative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to reform K-12 science, mathematics, and technology education nationwide.
• Developing Educational Standards: Overview (Wappingers Central School District) - serves as a repository for information on educational standards and curriculum frameworks from a variety of internet sources (national, state, local, and other).
• Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning's (McREL) resources for standards-based education - McREL collaborates with key organizations and works with schools, districts, and states to improve practices and capitalize on the potential that standards-based education holds for students.
• The Nation's Report Card - National Asssessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) - reports statistical information about student performance and factors related to educational performance for the nation and specific subgroups of the population. It includes students drawn from both public and nonpublic schools and reports results for student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12.
• National Center on Education and the Economy's (NCEE) "New Standards" Performance Standard and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation: Standards, Testing, and Accountability - this joint project of the NCEE and the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh created a system of internationally benchmarked standards for student performance and an assessment system for measuring student performance against the standards.
• Standards for Success - connected high school standards with university success by creating tools for K-12 staff to help students develop the skills necessary to be successful in their first year of college. This program has been completed.

State Standards

In response to concerns over the educational achievement of students in the United States, individual states are establishing sets of learning standards defined by grade level or clusters of grades. Curriculum and assessment systems are then organized around these expectations in the core subject areas of English, mathematics, science, and social studies.

The following sites provide resources related to state educational standards for Illinois and its five contiguous states.

Illinois

The Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) define what students in all Illinois public schools should know and be able to do as a result of their elementary and secondary schooling in the following subjects:

In addition, Performance Descriptors and Classroom Assessments and Teacher's Guide to Classroom Assessments supplement the ILS standards.

Indiana

Indiana Academic Standards covers the subject areas of English/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. These subject areas are further subdivided by K-8, high school, teacher's edition (K-12) and other standards.
Indiana Academic Standards Resources site provides teaching resources to help students meet the expectations set by Indiana's Academic Standards.
Indiana Academic Standards Assessments provide end-of-course tests of what students know and are able to do after taking specific Core 40 courses. They are aligned with Indiana’s Academic Standards adopted by the Indiana State Board of Education.

Iowa

Iowa standards are not currently available on the web.

Kentucky

Kentucky's Student Performance Standards define specific performance levels as well as the level of student work that matches each performance category in each content area and grade level.  In addition, Kentucky's Core Content for Assessment tool represents the content identified as essential for all students and will be included on the state assessment. This Assessement was designed for use with Kentucky's Program of Studies and outlines the minimum content required for all students before graduating from Kentucky high schools.

Missouri

Show-Me Standards were developed as a result of the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 to ensure that "graduates of Missouri’s public schools have the knowledge, skills and competencies essential to leading productive, fulfilling and successful lives as they continue their education, enter the workforce and assume their civic responsibilities." Missouri's academic standards are grouped around four educational goals and their knowledge standards encompass the subject areas of communication, fine arts, health/physical education, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Model Academic Standards were issued and approved under Executive Order 326 in 1998. The state provides core standards in the subject areas of: English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Each core standard web page also includes content standards for each subject at grade levels 4, 8 and 12 as well as glossaries and resource lists.

Other for State Standards

Achieve State Standards Database is a searchable online collection of academic content standards and benchmarks for K–12 education. Users can subscribe to this tool for a fee to analyze and compare standards from states or countries by subject, grade level, key word or reference category.

Subject Standards

Educational standards are often developed by the national organzations supporting those specific disciplines.  While nationally mandated standards do not exist, subject-area professional associations have developed national standards in the subject areas listed below:

Art and Music Civics Economics English as a Second Language Foreign Language Geography Health Education

History Language Arts Mathematics Physical Education Science Education Social Studies Technology

Teaching Standards

Standards assist educators in evaluating accomplished teaching. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) developed a process to determine whether a teacher possesses the attributes of accomplished teaching based on their standards in each of the certificate areas. In addition, many national organizations are working to develop standards to assist educators in improving curriculum, instruction, assessment, educator preparation and professional development. Sites listed below provide resources related to standards development.

• Mathematics Teaching Standards
• National Academy of Science's Teacher Preparation Standards
• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
• National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
• National Educational Technology Standards
• Science Teaching Standards
• Standards for Reading Professionals

State Specific Teaching Standards

• Illinois Professional Teaching Standards
• Iowa Department of Education Teaching Standards
• Wisconsin Standards

Resources

The following resources include the call number and UIUC Library location for items located at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign.

Content Knowledge:  A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education.  John S. Kendall.  Aurora, CO:  Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory, c1996.  (371.26 K334c -- Education Library)

Education on Trial: Strategies for the Future.  William J. Johnston, ed.  San Francisco, Calif. : ICS Press, 1985.  (370.973 ED838 -- Main Stacks)

Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.  National Council for Social Studies, 1994.  (307 N21B -- Education Library)

High Standards for All Students.  U. S. Department of Education.  Washington, D.C.:  The Department, 1994. (370.218 H537 -- Education Library)

Illinois Learning Standards by Illinois State Board of Education.  Springfield, IL: Illinois State Board of Education, 1997.  (371.262 Il6x -- Education Reference)

Learning Standards for Social Studies.  Rev. ed. Albany, NY: University of the State of New York, State Education Dept., [1996].  (372.83044 L479 1996 -- Main Stacks)

National Standards and Benchmarks in Science Education: A Primer. ERIC Digest ED402156, 1997.

National Standards for History by National Center for History in the Schools (U.S.).  Basic ed.  Los Angeles, CA : National Center for History in the Schools, 1996.  (907 N213N 1966 --Education Library)

National Standards for Civics and Government.  Calabasas, Calif.: Center for Civic Education, c1994.  (370.21873 N213 -- Education Reference)

National Standards for Physical Education.  Judith C. Young. ERIC ED406361, 1997.

National Standards in American Education:  A Citizen’s Guide. Diane Ravitch. Washington, D.C.:  Brookings, c1995.  (379.1580973 R197N -- Education Library)

The Nine Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning - K-12.  Chapter Two:  Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning of Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1998.  (025.56780973 In3 -- Library and Information Science Library)

A Parent's Guide to the Illinois Learning Standards.  Illinois State Board of Education.  Springfield, IL: Illinois, 1999. (DOC.IllEd1.2:p24 --Law Library)

Performance Standards: English, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Applied Learning.  Washington, DC : New Standards, c1997.  (Q.371.262 N479p -- Education Reference)

Performance Standards in Education:  In Search of Quality. Paris:  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Washington, D.C.: OECD Publications and Information Center [distributor], c1995.  (371.26 P4161 -- Education Library)

Setting Performance Standards: Concepts, Methods, and Perspectives.  Gregory J. Cizek, ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, c2001.  (371.260973 Se784 -- Education Library)

Standards for the English Language Arts by the National Council of Teachers of English. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1996.  (808.042071 N213s -- Education Reference)

Standards: What Are They?  Improving America's School: A Newsletter on Issues in School Reform. Spring 1996.

Taking Stock : What have we learned about making education standards internationally competitive?  Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1997.  (370.21873 T139 -- Education Library)

The State Content and Student Performance Standards Setting Process.  Improving America’s School:  A Newsletter on Issues in School Reform.  Spring 1996.

The State of State Standards. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. (370.21873 St29 -- Education Reference)

World Class Schools: New Standards for Education. Donald M. Chalker. Lancaster, PA: Technomic Publishing, c1994. (379.158 C351w -- Education Library)