Prioritize Learning Standards

What is a Learning Standard?

A learning standard unifies content (what a student knows) and competency (what they do with that knowledge) into one single, actionable sentence or statement, often described as a "Know-Do" framework.

Here are a few ways to combine them in one sentence, depending on your subject area:

Science: "Students will analyze the phases of the lunar cycle (competency) to explain how the relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and sun affect tides (content)."
Language Arts: "Students will evaluate a persuasive text (competency) by identifying the author's use of bias and evidence (content)."
Math: "Students will model real-world scenarios (competency) using linear equations and graphs (content)."
General/Universal: "Students will demonstrate their understanding of [insert content concept] by [insert competency action]."

Why do we need to prioritize standards?

According to Garth Larson, Ken O'Connor, and Becky Peppler, the number of learning standards in BC's curriculum requires school teams to develop a process to determine which standards are an absolute priority for all students to become proficient in (STAGR Center, FIRST Educational Resources, 2023).

Standards can be evaluated by the following criteria:
R - Readiness: Does the standard prepare students for future grade, competency, and content levels? Is it a prerequisite for future learning?
E - Endurance: Is this standard valuable over time, beyond a single test date? Is it taught and assessed many times throughout the school year?
A - Assessments: Does this standard adequately prepare students for local and provincial assessments?
L - Leverage: Is this standard useful in multiple disciplines? Does it have cross-curricular implications? Is it taught in one subject, but used in another?

How many do we need to teach?

Ken O'Connor recommends teachers explicitly instruct and assess 4-8 standards per subject, per year.