K-12 education content standards in Iowa

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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 Iowa public schools:

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

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 Iowa?

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

Iowa K-12 education content standards
Entity	Recommendations or requirements?	Statute or Regulation
State Board of Education	Requirements	IA Code § 256.7 (2022)

IA Code § 256.7 (2022):

“

Duties of state board. 28. Adopt a set of core content standards applicable to all students in kindergarten through grade twelve in every school district and accredited nonpublic school. For purposes of this subsection, “core content standards” includes reading, mathematics, and science. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall include, at a minimum, the core content standards adopted pursuant to this subsection in any set of locally developed content standards. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools are strongly encouraged to set higher expectations in local standards. As changes in federal law or regulation occur, the state board is authorized to amend the core content standards as appropriate.

”

See also

• K-12 education content standards in the states
• Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development
• Use of the term critical race theory (CRT)

External links

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