Content Standards Review and Revision

Planned review and revision of academic content standards is a critical endeavor for states and school districts because priorities for instruction shift over time in response to the changing education context at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. Your content standards must be clear, coherent, consistent, and comprehensive – embodying the rigor needed to prepare students for college and careers. WestEd provides quality services to help state and local clients undertake this effort.

Service Details

Our services include reviewing standards and/or facilitation; and technical support for external educator review of the standards. WestEd’s review and revision processes for standards are customized to meet your needs. They may include meetings with the client’s staff and stakeholders, technical support for educators reviewing the standards, or an independent review of standards by WestEd content specialists.

Post-review steps include presenting findings (e.g., summary reports) and, if relevant, an overview of proposed revisions and recommendations. Depending on the scope of work, the process can usually be completed in two to six months. 

Our researchers emphasize reviewing standards every two years with the assistance of subject-matter experts as a best practice. The experts should also be stakeholders in the particular education system undertaking the review (i.e., local teachers).

What Makes This Service Unique

WestEd has provided standards review and revision services to numerous states and districts, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oregon, and Maricopa County (AZ).

Our work enables states and districts to meet research-supported guidelines for developing and implementing rigorous college- and career-readiness standards. 

Who Facilitates This Service

WestEd’s standards review and revision processes are led by senior researchers with significant national-, state-, and local-level experience in review and revision protocols. Assisting them are a cadre of content specialists familiar with standards at all grade levels and experienced in evaluating and revising standards.

Our senior researchers work closely with clients to understand their needs and then design and propose a process to best meet those needs.

What Research Informs the Work

Our standards review and revision services are grounded in research- and best-practice recommendations from various publications, including:

• The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014) 
• The National Resource Council’s Knowing What Students Know (2002) 
• The U.S. Department of Education Peer Review of State Assessment Systems – Non-Regulatory Guidance for States.

In addition, our review and revision of standards are grounded in well-respected, research-based recommended practices, such as those from other countries (e.g., Finland), the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and other organizations (e.g., Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and National Council of Teachers of English).

Cost

Cost varies based on the number of sets of standards to be reviewed and/or revised. Cost factors also include technical support, meetings, and travel.

Learn More

To learn more, contact Bryan Hemberg at 510.302.4298 or bhember@wested.org.