For Curriculum Developers

Content Standards for Alaska Students

The Content Standards are broad statements of what students should know, be able to do as a result of their public school experience. They have been adopted into regulation by the Alaska State Board of Education & Early Development.

The Content Standards are available in the following areas:

• Arts
• Employability
• English/Language Arts (Reading/Writing)
• Geography
• Government and Citizenship
• History
• Library/Information Literacy
• Mathematics
• Science
• Skills for a Healthy Life
• Technology
• World Languages

Performance Standards for Alaska Students

Performance Standards are measurable statements of what students should know and be able to do. The State Board of Education & Early Development adopted Performance Standards in reading, writing and mathematics in January 1999. They are presented in four benchmark levels, for ages 5-7; ages 8-10; ages 11-14; and ages 15-18. Performance Standards, unlike Content Standards, can be measured with a variety of testing instruments. The performance standards are the basis for the test questions used for the Alaska Benchmark Examinations at the 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades and for the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination.

The Performance Standards are available in the following areas:

• Mathematics
• Reading
• Writing

The complete Content and Performance Standards are available to download: Alaska Student Standards Booklet.

Cultural Standards for Alaska Students

The Alaska Cultural Standards for Students were developed by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network in 1988. They also were adopted by the State Board of Education and Early Development in the same year. The standards are broad statements of what students should know and be able to do as a result of their experience in a school that is aware of and sensitive to the surrounding physical and cultural environment. The standards are meant to enrich the Content Standards and provide guidelines for nurturing and building in students the rich and varied cultural traditions that continue to be practiced in communities throughout Alaska.

Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools were also developed for educators, schools, curriculum and communities by Alaska native educators to provide a way for schools and communities to examine the extent to which they are attending to the educational and cultural well being of the students in their care (Source: Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools).

Other Standards

The Department of Education and Early Development has also created standards in the following areas:

• Standards for Administrators
• Standards for Quality Schools
• Standards for Teachers
• Alaska Employability Standards
• [Proposed] Alternate Performance Standards for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

National Standards

McREL - (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks. Online Standards, a compilation of content standards for K-12 curriculum in searchable or browsable formats.

National Educational Technology Standards Project
Provides educators with criteria to use and factors to consider for better implementation of technology

National Science Education Standards

Standards Education Database
Database is formatted so that you can quickly find links to available standards education online. ...

Developing Educational Standards
implications for standards and assessments.