ACADEMICS

Iowa Core Curriculum

Q. What is the Iowa Core Curriculum?

A. The Iowa Core Curriculum is a statewide effort to bring increased consistency to the knowledge and skills all high school graduates possess. In the words of Department of Education leaders, the vision for the Iowa Core is to “…ensure the success of each and every student by providing a world-class curriculum. The Iowa Core is designed to improve achievement of all students, preparing them for the world of work and lifelong learning. It identifies the essential content and instruction of critical content areas that all students must experience.”

However, the Iowa Core is much more than a revised set of curriculum content standards. The Iowa Core is also a school reform process that requires each district to carefully examine its instructional practices and the level of student learning those practices produce. Important questions within this ongoing process include: Are we guaranteeing that all students have access to the Iowa Core content? How must we restructure our school day and year to both maximize student learning and improve opportunities teachers have to improve instruction? How do we deliver daily lessons that stretch student learning beyond the basics? What types of evidence do we need to determine if each part of our educational system is improving? Thus, the Iowa Core is equal measures of two critical elements: a 21st Century curriculum delivered within a school system continually striving to produce high levels of learning for all students. 

Iowa Standards