(FRANKFORT, KY) – Members of the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Office of Teaching and Learning shared revisions to the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies at the General Assembly’s Interim Joint Committee on Education (IJCE) meeting on June 2.
KRS 158.6453(2) requires KDE to implement a process for reviewing standards every six years and subsequently present recommendations and public feedback to the IJCE.
KDE’s Director of the Division of Academic Program Standards Chrystal Rowland outlined the social studies review process led by the review committee and advisory panels, which consisted of teachers, public postsecondary professors and members of the public.
Following two rounds of public comment, the advisory panels considered the feedback and proposed changes to the current social studies standards, while the review committee considered the recommended changes in development of the revised standards for social studies.
“The standards were designed to give students real opportunities to question, create and collaborate as they think about the future,” said Rowland. “The goal is for students to engage with social studies, disciplinary concepts, and practices of civics, economics, geography and history. Across all grades, the focus is on critical thinking, evaluating sources and communicating clearly so students are prepared for informed civic participation.”
Initially, the KAS for Social Studies was open for public comment for 30 days, with almost 400 responses from stakeholder groups consisting of teachers and administrators; parents and guardians; business and community partners; and postsecondary education representatives. Standards flagged for review were considered for revision.
More than 175 respondents commented on the revisions during the second public comment period, with 94% of the standards approved “as is.” The remaining 6% were flagged for review and revised as needed to complete the current draft KAS for Social Studies.
Committee Chair Rep. James Tipton asked KDE staff to explain the differences between standards and curriculum.
KDE’s Chief Academic Officer Micki Marinelli said KDE defines the standards as the grade-level learning goals for students, specific to the grade level or grade band. The Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) contain the minimum requirements of what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade level. The purpose of the KAS is to ensure all students across Kentucky focus on a common set of standards and are provided opportunities to learn at high levels.
While the standards address what is to be learned, they do not address how learning experiences are to be designed or what instructional resources are to be used. Therefore, the curriculum addresses how learning experiences aligned to the academic standards are designed at the local level.
Rowland said the curriculum includes all of the text, materials and instructional resources “that are used at the local level to implement standards-aligned instruction.”
“We are trying to support districts in identifying what we call high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) that would be aligned to the standards to support teachers in making the instructional moves for implementing the standards effectively,” said Marinelli.
The next steps in the review process for the KAS for Social Studies include convening the Standards Assessments Process Review Committee in July and presenting the revised standards to the Kentucky Board of Education in August. If approved by the board, there will be another round of public comment, and then the standards will begin the legislative process.
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