Model Core Curriculum Project

Overview

The intent of the Model Core Curriculum Project is twofold:
  1. To ensure that all Iowa students have access to a rigorous and relevant curriculum to prepare them for success in post-secondary education and the emerging global economy, and
  2. To provide a tool for Iowa educators to use to assure that essential subject matter is being taught and essential knowledge and skills are being learned.

The project was developed in response to needs identified by the Department and the State Board of Education through an intensive high school information and data gathering process undertaken in the spring of 2005 and the passage of Senate File 245 during the 2005 legislative session. SF 245 requires the identification of a model core curriculum and establishes a statewide core curriculum completion rate goal. It also requires districts to develop for each eighth grader a core curriculum plan and report progress on the completion of that plan to parents/guardians annually.

To accomplish this project the Department convened a Project Lead Team and Work Teams in the content areas of literacy, mathematics, and science.

The Charge:

The charge given to the Project Lead Team was to define and collaborate with subcommittees in identifying the essential content and skills of a world-class core curriculum. The initial phase of model core curriculum work focused on the areas of literacy, mathematics, and science.

Important considerations in completing this work included the following:

  • The needs of students. These needs include not only legacy content like reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past, but also those Marc Prensky, author of "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" refers to as future content (2001). The "future" content is digital and technological, including software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, and genomics and the ethics, politics, sociology, and languages that come with them.
  • The needs of a changing workforce. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, jobs requiring science, engineering, and technical training will increase by 51 percent between 1998 and 2008, four times faster than overall job growth. By 2008, there will be six million job openings for scientists, engineers, and technicians.
  • The need to remain globally competitive. The sheer number of college graduates from other countries will change world dynamics. No longer do students from foreign countries have to come to the U.S. for higher education. No longer will the U.S. have enough engineers and scientists to fill the needs. Other countries will have the numbers that create new ideas, building companies that launch innovations, and produce goods wanted by the world.

The Outcome:

  • The most critical curriculum in literacy, mathematics, and science has been identified for Iowa educators. This is based upon a review of research and best practice literature; examination of national standards; and information from Iowa Testing Services, the National Assessment of Education Progress, ACT, and the College Board.
  • Iowa graduates who know these essential concepts and possess these essential skills should find success in any post-high school endeavor, whether that be in a classroom or the workplace.
  • The Model Core Curriculum encourages instructional practices that deeply engage students by requiring them to be active learners and critical thinkers who can apply their learning to new and unpredictable situations.
  • As a district determines the courses it will accept as part of the 4-3-3-3 graduation requirement, educators are encouraged to review local curriculum to ensure that these skills and concepts are part of the educational program of every graduate.