New math and English Language Arts standards being drafted for North Dakota school students

(Fargo, ND) -- North Dakota's Superintendent of Public Instruction says a new effort is underway to draft new standards for math and English Language Arts.

"Essentially standards are different than curriculum. The state is responsible for setting the what students should be able to know and do at every grade level and then local school boards and their school superintendents, their leaders within the local school districts decide the how," said Kirsten Baesler.

The state superintendent is now asking the state's educators who want to be involved in writing the new standards to apply through her department's website. Applications must be in by May 31st. The standards for these subjects were last revised in 2017 and Baesler says it's a routine process that typically happens every 5 to 7 years. Standards simply show what students in grades K through 12 should know by a certain time during the school year.