Learning Standards

General

Illinois Learning Standards – The Illinois State Learning Standards were adopted in 1997 by the Illinois Board of Education.  They clearly set out state achievement goals by age level in the areas of English/language arts, mathematics, science, social science, physical development & health, fine arts, and foreign languages.
Copies of the Illinois Learning Standards should be available in each of the district buildings.  The high school library has several copies that may be borrowed.  Illinois Learning Standards are also available online.

See also the main ISBE site for more information.

Illinois School Improvement web site- Helps educators use data to construct school improvement goals.   Users can select a school or district and view specific data

Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning – a guide to information literacy written by the American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.  Information Power is an in-depth set of standards for research and information skills, and has been used as a model by many other organizations when creating national standards.  Contact the high school library to borrow a copy.  Nine standards of information literacy and some other information are available online.

Linking for Learning – the Illinois School Library Media Association's version of Information Power.  Linking for Learning incorporates Illinois Learning Standards and Information Power standards.  It focuses on integrating information and technology into learning.  Contact the high school library to borrow a copy.

Information Power and Linking for Learning can be used in lesson/unit plans that incorporate research skills and information technology into classroom projects/goals.

Education World - This page has links to standards formed by national professional organizations, including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for the Social Studies, National Academies of Science, and several others. The site also contains links to the web pages of these organizations.  The site also contains links to state learning standards (by state and by subject area) and sample lesson plans, suggestions, etc.

Project 2061 - Project 2061’s benchmarks come from the American Association for the Advancement of Science The enumerate what all students should know or be able to do in science, mathematics, and technology by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12. Their benchmarks are published online and are broken down by general subject area, then by age group.

Subject Area Standards

English/Language Arts – standards published by the NCTE to prepare K-12 students for “the increasing literacy demands of today and tomorrow.”  There is a copy on order for the high school library professional collection.  See web site for standards and excerpts from book.

Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Expectations of Excellence – Standards created by the National Council for the Social Studies.  There is a copy on order for high school library professional collection.  See web site for table of contents and excerpts from book, including the introduction and executive summary, which includes the ten themes of social studies education.

The National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts – developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations
A copy is on order for high school library professional collection.  Some information is available online, but little that will be helpful in developing lesson plans.  See the Illinois State Learning Standards until a print copy of the Fine Arts standards is available.

Principles and Standards of School Mathematics – published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, incorporates standards for all areas of mathematics and all grade levels.
The high school library has a copy in its professional collection, and portions of the standards are available online:

Moving Into the Future: National Physical Education Standards: A Guide to Content and Assessment – written by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, details seven standards for physically educated students.  A copy is on order for the high school professional library.  Basic standards, background & purpose available online:

National Science Education Standards – published by the National Academies of Science, includes standards for teaching, professional development & assessment. A print copy on order for high school professional library.  The entire text of the standards is available online.

National Technology Education Standards-  Technology standards developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).  Standards are divided by grade level.  Standards are available online.