Power Standards and the Iowa Core: Guidance from the DE

Power Standards and the Iowa Core: Guidance from the DE

Many schools have determined that they are going to be focusing their energy on identifying and teaching “power standards” in the Iowa Core. Last spring, guidance from the Iowa Department of Education related to this topic was shared with educators in Iowa. That guidance included the following:

“Power Standards” take on a different meaning in the Iowa Core. The Iowa Core represents a much more focused set of standards intended for all students.  Defining Power Standards in order to determine standards that will not be taught and assessed

is not in compliance with Iowa Code 256.7 (26).

An important first step in prioritizing implementation of the Iowa Core is helping educators develop deep understanding of the standards. Your local AEA can provide tools and resources for English Language Arts and Math. Next, collaborative learning teams can spend time examining the skills and knowledge inherent in standard for Mathematics and English Language Arts by using the StandardsInsight tool.  Collaborative
learning teams can then take on the task of determining priorities for instruction from the standards.

*Published with permission from the Keystone AEA "Daker Report"