Review of Iowa’s education standards begins with science standards

The Department of Education last week began a series of meetings designed to review Iowa’s education standards and seek public and professional input on those standards. The first phase in the series of meetings, which started Nov. 4, is around Iowa’s science standards for K-12 students.

The move comes in response to Gov. Branstad’s Executive Order 83, signed in October 2013, related to local control of education standards and assessments. The Executive Order states: “… the adoption of state standards should be done in an open, transparent way that includes opportunities for Iowans to review and offer input.”

This is the first phase of the project to review all education standards. Under this first phase, 19 Iowans will serve on a state team to review the science standards, as well as rigorous science standards from other states, and make a preliminary recommendation for improvement early next year.

The preliminary recommendation will be taken to the public for feedback. The team will then consider the public feedback before sending a final recommendation to the education department and to the State Board of Education next spring.

The review of science standards will be followed by reviews of the other parts of Iowa’s statewide standards, which cover social studies, mathematics, English language arts and 21st century skills. Each review will follow a similar format.

Review teams will be made up of Iowans with expertise in each subject area. For example, the science standards review team will include education and business leaders with expertise in physical science, life science, earth and space science, and engineering, technology and application.

Iowa lawmakers adopted statewide academic standards in 2008. The standards set consistent expectations for learning in schools across the state. The standards are a set of goals, not a curriculum, so decisions about how to help students reach the standards remain in the hands of local school administrators and teachers.

Earlier this year the House unanimously passed a bill designed to create a similar process. House File 2439 would have provided greater transparency and opportunities for public input on the state’s education standards, among other things.

It required the department of education and the State Board of Education solicit public input and suggestions to revise or amend any standards. It also required at least three public meetings across the state with public input being collected through the department’s website with the goal to identify any opportunities to strengthen the standards with input from Iowans. The bill received no consideration in the Senate.

Further meetings in the department's series are open to the public. Meeting dates, agendas and minutes will be posted to the Iowa Department of Education's website. https://www.educateiowa.gov/resources/boards-commissions-committees-councils-and-task-forces/iowa-core-science-standards-review-team#Meeting_Dates_Agendas_and_Notes