(BOISE) – Initial drafts of new Idaho Content Standards for Math, Science and English language arts (ELA) are available for review, and Idaho citizens are encouraged to study these drafts, comment on the standards and provide feedback that will guide the remaining work to be done on the standards before they are finalized and presented to the State Board of Education next fall and the 2022 Legislature.

“Our Content Standards set the bar for what students statewide need to know and be able to do by the end of each grade as they progress through school. Parents, prospective employers and other stakeholders all have a vested interest in reviewing Idaho’s standards,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said. “Transparency and public engagement have been top priorities since we began this process last June.”

Educators, parents, school board members, legislators and others from across the state volunteered to serve on review committees for each content area and worked throughout the summer and fall to bring forward these initial drafts.

“I’m tremendously grateful for the tireless, excellent work of the volunteers who are reviewing Idaho’s existing standards, who looked into other states’ standards and then proposed initial drafts of new Idaho standards,” Superintendent Ybarra said.

To review the initial draft standards, go to the State Department of Education’s Content Standards Review
page and select math, science or ELA. To share your thoughts once you’ve reviewed a draft, go online to fill
out the appropriate comment form:

https://form.jotform.com/IdahoSDE/MATH
https://form.jotform.com/IdahoSDE/SCIENCE
https://form.jotform.com/IdahoSDE/ELA

Public comment will be accepted until June 1, and the review committees will consider that input as they prepare a second draft to submit to the State Board of Education. Additional opportunities for public comment will occur in the summer and fall. The State Board of Education will vote on final new standards by November. Legislators will consider the proposed standards in the 2022 session.

During the 2020 session, legislators called for a review of Idaho’s math, science and ELA standards. With ongoing direction from a legislative interim study committee, participants in the review process were asked to consider simplifying and reducing the number of standards, prioritizing the standards and assessing the appropriateness of standards for age and grade level