State Standards

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Mathematics Good-Paying Careers in Data Are Booming. But Schools Aren't Teaching It
In Utah and other states business leaders are pushing schools to teach more about data science and statistics.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 31, 2023
7 min read
Fourth-grade students Briley Williams, 9, left, and Jacqueline Naula, 9, work together in their English Language Arts class at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Conn., on Dec. 9, 2022. School accountability measures show Meriden schools making academic gains including attendance and addressing social-emotional learning needs.
Fourth-grade students Briley Williams, 9, left, and Jacqueline Naula, 9, work together in their English/language arts class at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Conn., on Dec. 9, 2022. Meriden schools have made progress on attendance and addressing social-emotional learning needs.
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Student Well-Being & Movement Social-Emotional Learning Persists Despite Political Backlash
Social-emotional learning has generated a political backlash, but states are keeping SEL in their standards.
7 min read
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar in West Columbia, S.C. July 18, 2023. For DeSantis, Tuesday was supposed to mark a major moment to help reset his stagnant Republican presidential campaign. But yet again, the moment was overshadowed by Donald Trump. The former president was the overwhelming focus for much of the day as DeSantis spoke out at a press conference and sat for a highly anticipated interview designed to reassure anxious donors and primary voters that he's still well-positioned to defeat Trump.
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in West Columbia, S.C., on July 18, 2023. Florida officials approved new African American history standards that drew national backlash, and which DeSantis defended.
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Standards & Accountability Florida's New African American History Standards: What's Behind the Backlash
The state's new standards drew national criticism and leave teachers with questions.
Ileana Najarro, July 25, 2023
9 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida State Board of Education in the teaching of Black history.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida state board of education in the teaching of Black history.
Fran Ruchalski/The Florida Times-Union via AP
Standards & Accountability Here’s What’s in Florida’s New African American History Standards
Standards were expanded in the younger grades, but critics question the framing of many of the new standards.
Ileana Najarro, July 25, 2023
1 min read
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Standards & Accountability Opinion How One State Found Common Ground to Produce New History Standards
A veteran board member discusses how the state school board pushed past partisanship to offer a richer, more inclusive history for students.
Rick Hess, July 20, 2023
10 min read
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Xia Gordon for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion We Don't Teach Enough About Black Fear in U.S. History
Here’s what I learned researching social studies standards: Teaching about Black fear drastically challenges popular narratives of U.S. history.
Brittany L. Jones , January 31, 2023
4 min read
Social Studies Video Updating Social Studies Expectations in the ‘Critical Race Theory’ Era
Always a focal point for controversy, updating what students should know in history class became especially charged in late 2021 and 2022.
Lauren Santucci & Stephen Sawchuk, January 3, 2023
5:23
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Social Studies Writing Social Studies Standards: A (Dramatic) Year in Review
This year proved to be politically fraught for revising state social studies standards. Take a look back at some major developments.
Ileana Najarro, December 23, 2022
4 min read
Compilation of images including an urban cityscape of Washington, DC. National Archives Building, Lincoln memorial, United States Flag.
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Social Studies What's Really Going on in History Classrooms? A New Project Aims to Find Out
The American Historical Association is researching how secondary schools choose materials and instructional priorities.
Sarah Schwartz, December 15, 2022
2 min read
USA flag fractured in pieces over whole flag.
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Standards & Accountability Political Debate Upends Texas Social Studies Standards Process
The Lone Star State is the latest to throw out a set of standards after conservative activists organized in opposition.
Ileana Najarro, September 9, 2022
7 min read
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Curriculum Sex Education: 4 Questions and Answers About the Latest Controversy
Why the touchy issue of sex education has erupted again, and what it means for schools.
Stephen Sawchuk, August 24, 2022
4 min read
Illustration of contraceptives and anatomical diagrams of internal reproductive organs and cells
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Standards & Accountability The Sex Ed. Battleground Heats Up (Again). Here's What's Actually in New Standards
Vocal opposition from some conservative groups has put a spotlight on schools’ instructional choices.
Sarah Schwartz, August 22, 2022
11 min read
Thousands of people attend a protest for abortion access after the Supreme Court reversed the federal right to abortion decided in Roe v. Wade. The legal basis for the decision could be used in the future as precendent to overturn other rights not explicitly stated in the Constitution (e.g., same-sex marriage). With the exception of Thomas, all of the conservative justices in the majority testified under oath in their confirmation hearings that they consider abortion access 'settled law.'
Thousands of people attend a protest for abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned <i>Roe v. Wade,</i> which guaranteed the right to an abortion.
Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP
Curriculum How the Overturning of 'Roe v. Wade' Will Reverberate Through Classrooms
Some teachers are looking for ways to address with students the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn the abortion rights precedent.
Sarah Schwartz, August 5, 2022
8 min read
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Social Studies Revamped Florida Civics Education Aims for ‘Patriotism.’ Will It Catch On Elsewhere?
In what could be a model, Florida is now emphasizing patriotism, American exceptionalism, and—some critics say—religious themes.
Ileana Najarro, July 12, 2022
10 min read