Feedback Received Will Inform Science Instruction in Louisiana's Classrooms
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Department of Education today announced the launch of the Louisiana Student Standards Review Portal, which gives parents, educators, and all other stakeholders the opportunity to provide input on Louisiana's Student Standards for science. The portal provides the public with the first look at the initial draft of the new standards, and an opportunity to submit feedback on their content and relevancy in preparing students for a successful transition to college or a career.
The science standards review process, approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) in June, is designed to replace Louisiana's current grade-level expectations for science which were established in 2005. "As BESE members, we are committed to reviewing and, when necessary, updating Louisiana's student standards to ensure that our children are receiving high-quality and relevant instruction that will prepare them to meet the everincreasing expectations of college and the workplace," said Jada Lewis, District 8 BESE Member.
Since August, two workgroups representing grades K-8 and 9-12 and consisting of a diverse group of over 80 educators, leaders in business and industry, and the broader science community, have spent over 4,000 hours developing new science standards for grades K-12.
"It has been both a pleasure and privilege to work alongside this incredible team of educators and stakeholders as they have fully immersed themselves in the challenging process of revising Louisiana's science standards," said Cathi-Cox Boniol, veteran educator in Lincoln Parish with 37 years of experience and Chair of the Louisiana Science Standards Review Committee. "From the moment we started in August, our focus has remained on creating a framework that will allow Louisiana's students to experience the highest levels of success through deep conceptual understanding necessary to emerge both equipped and empowered for the challenges and
rewards the future holds. That makes this work essential not only for our education community but Louisiana as a whole."
All public comments received through the portal by January 6, 2017, will be shared with
the workgroups and committee and will be posted on the Department's website. Within the online portal, commenters will have the opportunity to review each standard, make
suggestions, and to recommend whether the standard should:
- remain as written
- be moved to another grade-level
- be rewritten
- be removed
In January, the content workgroups will review all feedback submitted through the portal,
revise the standards accordingly, and present a final draft to the Standards Committee on January 25, 2017. If needed, the content workgroups will meet again in early February to make final revisions to the standards before the Standards Committee reviews and approves the final draft at their February 13 meeting, and presents it to BESE for approval in March.
"I encourage all educators, parents, business and community leaders to review these new standards and share your feedback with the Department," said Kathy Edmonston, District 6 Board Member. "These standards are a critical step in ensuring that our students are fully prepared to leave high school and pursue careers in Louisiana's rapidly growing STEM industries, and I very much want the public to weigh in on them."
Pending BESE's approval, Louisiana educators will receive tools and resources to support the implementation of the new standards during the Teacher Leader Summit in June, and throughout the 2017-2018 school year.
To access the Louisiana Student Standards Review Portal, please click here.
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