Draft Social Studies Standards Released, Public Review Set for November

Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise today released a draft of revised statewide standards for social studies and announced members of a new state team who will conduct a public review of the draft standards.

The draft standards, developed over the past year by an Iowa writing team, outlines what students should know and be able to do in social studies from kindergarten through 12th grade. The draft represents the first statewide effort to update Iowa’s social studies standards, which were adopted in 2008. A recent survey showed many Iowa teachers want clearer, more specific expectations than those outlined in the current social studies standards.
 
According to their writers, the new draft social studies standards:

• Go beyond content that students should master, emphasizing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that students need to be successful in postsecondary education and training and to compete for today’s most rewarding jobs. 
• Weave in Iowa history and financial literacy, which are not reflected in the current social studies standards.
• Outline what students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through eighth grade, rather than being organized by spans of grades. In grades 9 through 12, the draft standards are organized by content area within social studies.
• Embrace new research on best practices.
  

“We worked together with the goal of improving Iowa’s social studies standards in a way that challenges students to think critically, that connects learning to real-life situations, and that prepares students to be engaged citizens,” said Kim Heckart, a College Community School District teacher who participated on the writing team.

The Social Studies Standards Review Team will convene Tuesday, Nov. 8 to begin a public review of the draft social studies standards. Local and AEA members of the review team are Amber Davison, teacher leader, Des Moines Public Schools; Beverley McPherson, teacher, Des Moines Public Schools; Holly Glade, teacher, Dallas Center-Grimes CSD; Linda Linn, consultant, Prairie Lakes AEA; and Greg Dufoe, superintendent, Adel-Desoto-Minburn CSD.

For more information on the Social Studies Standards Review Team, visit the Iowa Department of Education’s website.