K-12 education content standards in Connecticut

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See also: K-12 education content standards in the states

This page features the following information about who sets K-12 education content standards in Connecticut public schools:

  • The state entity with the authority to approve K-12 education content standards.
  • Whether Connecticut requires or recommends that local schools or districts follow the K-12 education content standards.
  • The statutory or regulatory language in Connecticut governing the development and application of K-12 education content standards.

Background

State education officials develop content standards in order to facilitate curriculum development for public schools. This section examines the role of content standards in public instruction and the different state approaches that either require or recommend their use in public schools.

What are content standards?

Content standards are educational learning and achievement goals that state education officials either require or recommend that local schools satisfy in K-12 instruction. Content standards are not curriculum but rather aim to guide the development of what state officials view as a robust K-12 curriculum.[1]

The development of K-12 education content standards in public schools varies across the 50 states. State boards of education, state education agency leaders, and local school districts, for example, may play a role in the development and approval of content standards.

Do states recommend or require schools to follow content standards?

State statutes or regulations may require or recommend the use of K-12 education content standards in public instruction.

Some states require local schools to align curriculum with content standards by establishing content standards as a minimum course of study. Such states may also require local schools or districts to adopt content standards as part of their curriculum, or they may require students to demonstrate mastery of content standards through state assessments.

Other states recommend that local schools or districts follow state content standards.

Who sets state K-12 education content standards in Connecticut?

The following section provides information about the development and application of K-12 education content standards in Connecticut as of 2022.

The table below identifies the state entity tasked with setting content standards, whether the content standards are recommendations or requirements for local schools, and the governing statute(s). The text of the governing statute(s) is provided below the table.

Connecticut K-12 education content standards
Entity Recommendations or requirements? Statute or Regulation
State Board of Education Recomendations CT Gen Stat § 10-4 (2022)


CT Gen Stat § 10-4 (2022):

State Board of Education. Department of Education; Duties of board. Reports. Comprehensive plan for elementary, secondary, vocational, career and adult education.


Said board shall have general supervision and control of the educational interests of the state, which interests shall include preschool, elementary and secondary education, special education, vocational education and adult education; shall provide leadership and otherwise promote the improvement of education in the state, including research, planning and evaluation and services relating to the provision and use of educational technology, including telecommunications, by school districts; shall adopt state-wide subject matter content standards, provided such standards are reviewed and revised at least once every ten years; shall prepare such courses of study and publish such curriculum guides including recommendations for textbooks, materials, instructional technological resources and other teaching aids as it determines are necessary to assist school districts to carry out the duties prescribed by law; shall conduct workshops and related activities, including programs of intergroup relations training, to assist teachers in making effective use of such curriculum materials and in improving their proficiency in meeting the diverse needs and interests of pupils; shall keep informed as to the condition, progress and needs of the schools in the state; shall develop or cause to be developed evaluation and assessment programs designed to measure objectively the adequacy and efficacy of the educational programs offered by public schools and shall selectively conduct such assessment programs annually and report, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, on an annual basis; and shall establish and keep an inventory account, in accordance with the provisions of section 4-36, of all property owned and in the custody of the Department of Education, secure such inventory to prevent theft or loss and establish controls over the disposal of such inventory.[2]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Common Core State Standards Initiative, "What are educational standards?" accessed April 21, 2022
  2. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.