State education officials seek feedback on proposed standards

The Arizona Department of Education and the state board of education are seeking the public’s input on proposed new academic standards for math and English — including adding cursive study to early grades levels.

In an effort to move away from Common Core, groups of Arizona educators have been working since November 2015 on reviewing all public comments on the 2010 standards for math and English in their effort to refine or revise the standards.

The focus of these draft standards were to really provide more clarity so that the teachers who are looking at them have a clear understanding of what the standards are, said Charles Tack, a spokesman for the education department.

The drafts also emphasize the standards — what students should know by what grade level — are not to be confused with curriculum. “These standards are designed to set what the students need to know,” Tack said. “Actual teaching methods are decided at the district, school and classroom level.”

Some of the key changes in math standards are as follows:

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• All examples that provided guidance on how a standard should be taught were removed.
• Standards involving calculating money and time were added.
• Standards for Algebra I and II, which used to be in category, were divided to provide additional clarity.

And for English language arts:

• There is no longer a required percentage for students to read literary versus informational material.
• Examples that dictated curriculum were removed.
• A standard for K-3 cursive reading and writing was added that requires students to be proficient in cursive writing by the end of the third grade.

The Legislature previously had an unsuccessful effort to mandate schools teach cursive reading and writing. Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed a bill in the last legislative session, saying that while he believes that cursive should be taught in schools, that decision should be made by the state board of education.

The public is invited to give feedback until Oct. 3. They can do so online or attend one of the 17 public hearings across 13 counties. In Tucson, the hearing will be held Sept. 12 at Catalina Magnet High School.