Standards Review and Revision Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles for the Standards Review and Revision Process

The following Principles define the values of the State Board of Education which in turn will guide the department as it facilitates the standards review and revision process.

The standards review and revision process will be:

• Transparent: Decisions and processes for the standards review and revision will be public.
• Inclusive: The review process will include substantial and frequent opportunities for the public to weigh in.
• Research-informed: Recommendations will be based on research.
• Consistent: The review and revision process will be consistent with state law and past standards reviews.
• Substantive: The review and revision will focus on the substance of the actual standards.
• Improvement-oriented: The focus will be to improve what exists today rather than start from scratch.

Principles for Design and Content

• Be Aligned.
  The Colorado Academic Standards will align with the legislative requirements articulated within section 22-7-1005(6) C.R.S., Colorado’s Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K).

1. Alignment with the postsecondary workforce readiness description and career and technical education standards,
2. Comparability with the highest national and international standards, and
3. Development of a range of skills critical to preparing students for the twenty-first-century workforce and for active citizenship.

• Describe Learning Expectations for All Students.
  The Colorado Academic Standards will define what all graduates of Colorado’s schools should know, understand and be able to do. The learning expectations will be necessary for all students but only sufficient for some. That is, the standards will describe the floor not the ceiling for student learning.
   
• Lead to Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness.
  The Colorado Academic Standards will provide a road map to help ensure students are successful in college, careers and life.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Colorado Academic Standards form the foundation of Colorado’s public education system by defining what every graduate of a public school in Colorado should know, understand and be able to do.

Getting the standards right relies on the participation of all those with a stake in the quality of education Colorado students receive.

One center circle and three circles surrounding the center circle. Center circle is the state board as decision makers in the process. Other circles are the stakeholders that provide feedback, review committees that propose revisions to the standards and CDE staff that facilitate the review process.

Standards Review and Revision Committees

The application window for Group 1 is now closed.

CDE will conduct an open and transparent standards development process by engaging educators, business leaders, representation from higher education and parents in standards development committees. The department will solicit committee participation through an online application process for each of the content areas. Applicants will be required to demonstrate their content area expertise and willingness to serve. Applications will be reviewed using a blind-review process, considering only the applicants’ qualifications. Each of the standards development committees will choose a chair/co-chairs to guide the meetings. CDE content specialists will staff the committees, meet with the chair/co-chairs to plan meetings and ensure consistency across committee work plans. All meetings will be open to the public and all meeting notes will be shared with the State Board of Education and posted on the CDE website. Committee members will be expected to participate in all meetings (5-6 will take place) in addition to completing work between meetings.

To learn more about the past processes, visit History and Development.