Academic Standards
Office of Academic Standards
The primary purpose of the Office of Academic Standards is to serve as the authoritative source for the review, revision, and support for the implementation of state content standards in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The Office of Academic Standards additionally supports multiple legislative and grant-related programs, initiatives, and reporting requirements. Please visit the webpages on the side-rail to access information, materials, and resources across areas and programs.
New 2023-2024 Grant Opportunities
On behalf of the Department of Public Instruction, the Office of Academic Standards is excited to announce two new competitive grant opportunities for the 2023-2024 school year. All PSUs are eligible to apply.
The documents provide information regarding grant priorities, timelines, criteria, budget requirements, application rubrics as well as additional details. These grants are similar to previous grant opportunities but there are some differences. Any interested PSUs should read the guidance and planning information closely. Please contact Dr. Charles Aiken (charles.aiken@dpi.nc.gov) or Mr. Howard Ginsburg (howard.ginsburg@dpi.nc.gov) with any questions.
North Carolina Standard Course of Study (SCOS) Internal Procedures Manual
In April 2023, the State Board of Education approved the updated internal procedures' manual for reviewing, revising, and implementing content standards.
The purpose of this manual is to provide explanation of and guidance on:
- the process to be followed when developing or revising a section of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS),
- the topics, categories, and minimum supporting materials to be included in the contents of a standard course of study, and
- the considerations that must be made as standards are being reviewed/revised/implemented.
The manual is designed to assist with the task of revising or developing a content area of the NCSCOS. It is not intended to guide the development and/or revision of local curriculum guides or other curriculum support documents.
Download the manual at the bottom of the page.
Standards Review and Revision Updates
All Stakeholders Standard-by-Standard Survey for Draft 1
State Board of Education (SBE) policy specifies that the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will formally collect feedback on the draft revised standards from educators, administrators, parents, students, institutions of higher education, business/industry representatives, national organizations, and other education agencies. The purpose of this survey is to obtain input from educators and stakeholders familiar with the Standard Course of Study (SCOS) for Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, and Visual Arts in order to inform revision decisions.
This process began with the review phase, conducted during the 2022 - 2023 school year. This review phase included gathering relevant research and analyzing data obtained through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The data obtained was compiled by the NCDPI Office of Learning Recovery (OLR) and provided to the Arts Education Data Review Committee (DRC) for review and analysis. The DRC completed a formal report summarizing the data and trends within the feedback and making recommendations for changes. The report was provided to the Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, and Visual Arts Standards Writing Teams (SWT) as the basis to start the revision process for the 2023 - 2024 school year. The SWT launched their work in July 2023 and have created Draft 1 for public review and feedback using this survey.
The Arts Education team in the Office of Academic Standards requests your thoughtful input and comments on Draft 1 of the proposed K-12 academic standards for Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, and Visual Arts to inform any additional revisions, which may include changes, clarifications, additions, deletions, or replacements to the draft standards and their objectives.
Any individual who wishes to provide input on Draft 1 of the new SCOS for Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, and/or Visual Arts may complete this survey by clicking on the button below. This survey is estimated to take about 10-20 minutes to complete one arts discipline and should be done in one sitting. We thank you for your time and input. Your feedback is extremely valuable to the Arts Education standards revision process.
Submit Feedback on Draft 1 (survey closes November 5, 2023)
Data Collected & Being Processed
The NCDPI ELA Team would like to thank everyone who submitted a survey or participated in focus groups and interviews for their input and comments on the current K-12 ELA Standard Course of Study. The State Board of Education's threshold of 75% LEA participation was surpassed at 89.57%. All surveys closed on November 10th.
The data is being compiled by NCDPI's Office of Learning Recovery (OLR), so that it can be analyzed by the ELA Data Review Committee (DRC) when they meet in late January. The feedback from the surveys, focus groups, and interviews will inform Draft 1 of the proposed ELA Standards, which may include changes, clarifications, additions, deletions, or replacements to the current standards.
Data Review Committee (DRC) Applications Closed
The ELA Data Review Committee (DRC) application closed on November 30, 2023. Over 100 applications were submitted and will be reviewed as part of the screening and approval process. Applicants selected for the ELA DRC will represent classroom teachers, administrators, and higher education faculty members who will be able to provide varying perspectives and experiences regarding the current standards.
Planning is underway for the initial meeting of the DRC, which will be virtual. The DRC will analyze the data and research collected to make recommendations for revision to the K-12 ELA Standard Course of Study. These recommendations will be used by the ELA Standards Writing Team which will be convened later this school year.
On May 31st, 2023, the NC State Board of Education granted permission for NCDPI to move forward into the revision phase of the standard process. The recommendation from the Data Review Committee from the review phase was to adopt the ASCA Student Standards.
The NC State Board of Education Standard Course of Study Manual specifies that the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will formally collect feedback from educators, administrators, parents, students, institutions of higher education, business/industry representatives, national organizations, and other education agencies on each phase of the standards process.
The feedback surveys for the adoption of ASCA Student Standards were sent to the field in June 2023 and closed September 10, 2023.
The data will be analyzed by the NCDPI Office of Learning Recovery and provided to the Guidance Standards Data Review Committees (DRCs) for further review. Based upon the data, the DRCs will make final recommendations to the State Board of Education in the fall of 2023.
On May 5, 2022, the NC State Board of Education granted permission for NCDPI to move forward with the review and revision of the K-12 Healthful Living standards, per SCOS-012.
The NC State Board of Education Standard Course of Study Manual specifies that the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will formally collect feedback from educators, administrators, parents, students, institutions of higher education, business/industry representatives, national organizations, and other education agencies on each draft of the revised K-12 Health and Physical Education Standards.
The feedback surveys for the first draft of the Healthful Living Standard Course of Study closed September 18th.
The data will be analyzed by the NCDPI Office of Learning Recovery and provided to the Health and Physical Education Standards Data Review Committees (DRCs) for further review. Based upon the data, the DRCs will make recommendations to the Standards Writing Teams (SWT) to use if adjustments are needed. The SWT will edit the first draft to create draft #2. Once complete this draft will be shared for general feedback through surveys available to both stakeholders and PSUs.
On May 5, 2022, the NC State Board of Education granted permission for NCDPI to move forward with the review and revision of the K-12 Science standards, per SCOS-012. The manual was revised at the April 2023 State Board of Education meeting.
The Office of Academic Standards’ Science team is excited to announce that the 2023 K-12 Science Standards were approved by the State Board of Education at their July 6th, 2023 meeting. The work was completed under the processes and protocols outlined in the NC Standard Course of Study Manual. The process included feedback from focus groups in each State Board region, one-on-one interviews and over 14,000 responses to surveys. Nearly 60 different professional educators from across NC districts, charter schools, and institutions of higher education helped review the response data and revise the standards. Thank you to everyone who participated in the review and revision process.
The adoption of the 2023 K-12 Science Standards is the end of the first stage in the process, with the focus now moving to the “installation” stage. Over the 2023-2024 school year, NCDPI will be working alongside leaders from PSUs to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the new standards, have opportunities to review changes from the 2009 standards, and prepare for the new standards to be implemented beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. Please note, the current 2009 Science standards will remain in place for classroom instruction and assessment for the 2023-2024 school year.
To support the start of the “installation” stage, the Science Team has prepared several documents to support school and district leaders.
K-12 Science Standards Installation Timeline - This is an initial timeline for installation of the 2023 standards with key activities and steps for NCDPI, PSU leaders, and teachers. The Science team will begin working with school and district science leads later this summer to prepare future support documents and plan professional development.
2023 K-12 Science Standards - A folder containing ALL grades/courses within one document as well as each individual grade/course’s set of standards
Crosswalks of the 2009 and 2023 Standards - A folder with a crosswalk document for each individual grade/course’s standards
The Science team looks forward to working closely with PSU leaders over the coming months to support all stakeholders in preparing to implement the 2023 K-12 Science Standards beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.
Please be on the lookout for more information and details in the near future. Be sure to join the K-12 Science listserv to receive updates.
Draft 1 Standard-by-Standard Surveys Closed & Being Processed
The World Languages team would like to thank everyone who submitted a Standard-by-Standard survey for their input and comments on Draft 1 of the proposed K-12 World Language academic standards. Both surveys, the All Stakeholders for Individuals and the Public School Units (PSUs) for Groups, closed last week. The data is being compiled by NCDPI's Office of Learning Recovery (OLR) so that it can be analyzed by the World Languages Data Review Committee (DRC) when they meet in late November. The feedback from the surveys will inform future drafts and their revisions, which may include changes, clarifications, additions, deletions, or replacements to the Draft 1 standards and their objectives.