A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

APPLICATION NO  :  R215E40040 APPLICANT       :  State Superintendent of Public Instruction                    721 Capitol Mall                    Sacramento, California  94244-2720 CONTACT PERSON  :  Diane L. Brooks AWARD TO DATE   :  $410,711 PROJECT PERIOD  :  10/01/94-09/30/97 

The California Department of Education (CDE), in collaboration with the National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS), will develop and implement State Content Standards, kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) for history. Related social sciences, specifically geography and civics, are to be included and will be integrated into the History State Content Standards as appropriate to the history content. The resultant History-Social Science State Content Standards will comprise a series of grade-level publications for school improvement in curriculum, instruction and assessment; and for strengthening teacher education and certification, professional development and recertification programs in history-social science.

The Standards will serve as guides for challenging content and for defining what students should know and be able to do, and how well. Related, current research on reform and restructuring efforts at the elementary, middle, and secondary grades; on developmental theory; on meeting special student needs (those in Title 1 or LEP programs, gifted and talented, and those with disability) and appropriate functional life skills will be incorporated with the history-social science content.

The project will reflect a statewide consensus. Standards development will be done by classroom teachers working collaboratively with university scholars in history. Scholars in geography and civics, experts in learning theory, faculty in schools of education, those involved in providing teacher in-service, and those with expertise in educating children with special needs will be part of the developmental team. An Advisory Committee will consist of representatives from various levels of authority and responsibility in education, government, business, and other sectors and will reflect California's diversity. The involvement of county office personnel, the California History-Social Science Project, and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing ensures a concerted effort in dissemination and implementation, from school sites to schools of education and state authorities.

Each publication of the series will articulate topics for study and related Content Standards; lengths of time for study; varied instructional resources (print, non-print, and primary sources appropriate to the standard); content-appropriate strategies to meet varied student needs; extended resources (including literature and the arts); strategies which show curriculum integration (history with the humanities); functional life skills and social skills; and examples of performance levels and curriculum embedded assessment. These publications will be vital as a means of unifying national standards with the sometimes disparate efforts occurring at various educational levels.

[Developing and Assimilating...]

[Standards-Based Instruction...]