Groups of North Dakota teachers are working on new draft standards for math and English.
It’s the first step in a process to improve and update those standards, which were adopted six years ago. The two groups met in Bismarck to finish those first drafts.
State school superintendent Kirsten Baesler said when she first announced the rewrite, some teachers had concerns.
"There was an immediate, 'Oh, my gosh -- what does this mean?'" Baesler said. "'We just invested six years of our lesson planning, of our instructional strategies behind these standards.'"
But Baesler said, after talking with their local principals and superintendents, as well as their colleagues, they understood.
"This is just us improving and updating our standards," Baesler said. "Then the excitement tended to build."
The draft standards will be given to review committees, and will eventually be posted on line for public comment. Baesler said the plan is to have the new standards finalized by next March or April, and then the state will look for new assessment tests. She said the standards will take effect in the 2017-2018 school year.
