There are five standards altogether, each of which has a number of lettered strands. These standards, and their associated strands, are enumerated below:

The first four of these "standards" also serve as what have been called "content clusters" in the current state assessments; the lettered strands replace what have been called "macros" in the directories of test specifications. The fifth standard will continue to provide the "power base" of the assessments. It is anticipated that the expectations presented here will be used as the basis for test specifications for the next version of the statewide assessments.

For the first four standards, student expectations are provided for each strand at each of eight grade levels: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12. The expectations for the fifth standard are intended to address every grade level. With the exception of indicators for grades 3, 5, and 7, which were developed at a later time, items presented at one grade level are not generally repeated at subsequent grade levels.¹ Teachers at each grade will need to refer to the standards at earlier grade levels to know what topics their students should have learned at earlier grades.

Bulleted items that appear below expectations indicate terminology, concepts, or content material addressed in that expectation. When an indicator is followed by bulleted content material, the list provided is intended to be exhaustive; content material not mentioned is therefore not included in the expectation at that grade level.² When examples are provided, they are always introduced with "e.g." and are not intended to be exhaustive.

____________________

     ¹ Since students learn at different rates, narrowing indicators to a single grade level was not always possible; thus indicators at grade levels 3, 5, and 7 are generally similar to, or modifications of, indicators developed for the next higher grade level.

     ² In the standards for content areas other than mathematics, bulleted lists are not intended to be exhaustive.