Office of Teaching and Learning

Draft 4 Adopted as the 2026 ELA Standard Course of Study

On January 8, 2026, the NC State Board of Education (SBE) adopted Draft 4 as the 2026 ELA Standard Course of Study for implementation in the 2027-2028 school year. The current 2017 ELA Standard Course of Study will remain in place for classroom instruction for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. The newly approved K-12 ELA SCOS aims to serve as the framework that guides each Public School Unit (PSU) in the development of the curriculum and instruction for English Language Arts. View the adopted 2026 ELA SCOS K-12 or by grade-band via the ELA Virtual Implementation Kit (VIK).

Key features of the adopted 2026 English Language Arts Standard Course of Study include:

• Standards and objectives format for consistency with other content area Standard Courses of Study, including a streamlined structure with three strands and one substrand.
• Standards and objectives rooted in three fundamental principles: complex text at the center of instruction; integration of literacy domains (i.e. reading, writing, speaking, and listening); and use of a variety of text genres, modes, formats, and lengths.
• Foundational skills extended to span K-12.
• Language structures and vocabulary skills integrated across all strands.
• Grammar and conventions listed explicitly as grade-level objectives.
• Written and spoken student products expanded to include opinion/persuasive, informational, explanatory/expository, poetry, descriptive, and narrative products.

Initial Installation Resources Available

Throughout the installation phase, supporting resources will be developed and shared. Initial installation resources that are currently available include:

• Communications Toolkit
  • Email Templates
  • Talking Points
  • Introduction Slide Deck
  • Frequently Asked Questions Document
  • Installation Timeline
• 2017 & 2026 ELA SCOS Crosswalk
• Glossary
• Unpacking Documents by Grade
• NAEP & ACT Mapping Document

Stay Updated

Additional details regarding professional learning opportunities and forthcoming resources will be shared via listservs and social media channels. Consider encouraging colleagues to subscribe to the ELA Team listserv and/or follow the ELA Team Instagram and Facebook pages, so they can stay informed throughout installation and implementation of the 2026 ELA Standard Course of Study!

Acknowledgements

The NCDPI K-12 ELA Team expresses their gratitude to the thousands of stakeholders--educators, state and national experts, and community members--who contributed to the development of these standards. Their collaboration and expertise have been crucial to ensure the standards set expectations that will allow students to be innovative thinkers and competitive in post-secondary pursuits--college, career, or military--and throughout their lives.

Release of Draft 2 of the Proposed 2026 K-12 Math Standards

The NCDPI K-12 Math team is excited to announce the release of the second draft of proposed revisions to the K-12 Math Standard Course of Study. North Carolina State Board of Education policy specifies that the NC Department of Public Instruction will formally collect feedback on the proposed draft 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 stakeholders on Draft 2 of the proposed 2026 K-12 Math Standard Course of Study to inform additional revisions, which may include changes, clarifications, additions, deletions, or replacements to the current standards and standards proposed in Draft 2. 

The K-12 Math team requests your thoughtful input and comments on Draft 2 of the proposed K-12 Math standards. Your insights are a key part of informing and guiding the revision process. To help you review the Draft 2 standards and provide feedback, the K-12 Math team is sharing several resources to provide additional background information. These include:

• Draft 2 Video and Draft 2 Video Script -The video gives a high-level overview of the standards drafting process, highlights some key points of interest with Draft 2, as well as some of the resources below. 
• Summary of K-12 Draft 2 Notes - This document provides greater detail on some of the recommended edits/revisions to Draft 2 based on previous feedback. 
• 2026 K-12 Math Standards FAQ 
• K-12 Progressions - This folder contains the vertical progressions for K-5, 6-8, Math 1 and 2, as well as the new progressions document, which outlines the vertical alignment for the proposed new high school courses. The folder also has a spreadsheet with all of the draft 2 standards by grade/course.
• AP Precalculus resources - We have provided revised versions of these resources based on edits to Draft 2
  • AP Precalculus Expected Levels of Understanding 
  • AP Precalculus Framework
• Recommended Placement of NC Math 3 and NC Math 4 standards based on Draft 2 revisions
  • NC Math 3 standards
  • NC Math 4 standards

Participants will have the choice of providing either specific standard-by-standard feedback for any or all grades and courses OR choosing a more abbreviated 10 question survey giving feedback on the Draft 2 K-12 standards as a whole. 

If you have any questions please contact Dr. Charles Aiken, Section Chief for Math, Science and STEM at charles.aiken@dpi.nc.gov. 

Thank you for being a vital part in the review and revision of the North Carolina K-12 Math standards. 

All survey responses must be submitted by 5:00pm EST on Monday, May 18th, 2026.

You can use this link to access the All-Stakeholder Survey for Draft 2 of the 2026 K-12 Math Standards