Common-standards addicts have a new tidbit today: North Dakota has joined the ranks of the adopters. That means that 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the standards.
We can’t link you to an official statement, since our news here comes ahead of the state’s formal announcement. But Greg Gallagher, the state’s director of standards and achievement, told me that Wayne Sanstead, the state superintendent of public instruction, has formally approved the standards. That’s all that’s required in North Dakota; no involvement of the state board or legislature is necessary. So this is a done deal.
The final document, the result of months of review by math and English/language arts educators statewide, will include commentary and interpretation to help the field transition from the state’s current standards to the new ones, Gallagher told me. The current standards will be in effect through June 2013. Teachers will be expected to teach to the new expectations in the fall of 2013, he said.
Between now and then, a consortium of school districts will be working to create a curriculum template and other instructional resources for teachers, he said.
Here, at long last for you standards addicts, is an updated map of adoptions:
