Standards Survey

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K-12 English Language Arts Draft Standards

Thank you for your interest in Nebraska’s English Language Arts Draft Standards. On this website you will find:

You may want to print the draft standards as you review them in order to make them easier to read and annotate.

Should you wish to submit comments regarding the draft standards, you may do so by emailing your comments to: nde.standardsinput@nebraska.gov.

There are a few things to keep in mind as you review the draft standards.

1.   Nebraska’s standards are organized with three levels of specificity:

  • K-12 Comprehensive Standards – these are broad, general statements that cover key areas in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and multiple literacies. (They are shaded in the document and are at the very top of the page.)

  • Grade Level Standards – Nebraska standards are specific for grade levels K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-10, and 11-12;  they are not course specific.  (These are also shaded and are just beneath the K-12 comprehensive standard.) The grade level standards are also organized strands that identify what students should know and be able to do by the end of a specified grade level. The strands are noted on the far left side of the document. They are:

    • Reading – Concepts of Print, Phonological Awareness, Word Analysis, Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension.

    • Writing – Writing Process, Writing modes

    • Speaking and Listening – Speaking, Listening, Reciprocal Communication

    • Multiple Literacies – Information Fluency, Digital Citizenship

     

  • Curricular Indicators – These statements provide more specific information to distinguish expectations between grade levels. Districts are expected to teach all curricular indicators but are free to add more indicators based on local needs.

The numbering system is as follows:

ELA numbering

 

2.   Nebraska has historically been a local control state with no mandated curriculum or textbooks. Therefore, the curricular indicator level may seem a bit less specific than some other state standards but they are not a curriculum. Districts are expected to align their local curriculum to the Nebraska Standards to add more specificity.  They also have the choice to adopt their own standards only if they are more rigorous than the state standards.

3.   Nebraska’s draft standards are written using verbiage that describes the knowledge and skills students are expected to master at the various grade levels rather than using performance expectation language. 

ELA numbering

Thank you for taking the time to visit this page and for your interest in the education of Nebraska’s students.

 

 

Updated July 25, 2017 8:03pm