Standards And Instruction

Colorado Standards

The Office of Standards and Instructional Support leads the state in the research and management of Colorado’s student educational expectations. This unit reviews the states and nations which most effectively define mastery and help students and teachers achieve clearer results in order to guide Colorado schools to greater outcomes. The Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) are the expectations of what students need to know and be able to do at the end of each grade. They also stand as the values and content organizers of what Colorado sees as the future skills and essential knowledge for our next generation to be more successful. State standards are the basis of the annual state assessment.

This office is responsible for on-going public conversations and information sessions conducted with schools, higher education, school boards, policy makers, and the media about these learning principles.

Colorado has ten content areas:

• Colorado Arts:
  • Music
  • Visual Arts
  • Theatre
  • Dance
• Comprehensive Health and Physical Education
• Mathematics
• Reading, Writing, and Communicating
• Science
• Social Studies
• World Languages

In addition, the state had developed standards for Extended Evidence Outcomes for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Colorado also adopted Colorado English Language Proficiency (CELP) standards to support English language learners.

For Standards Web site technical assistance, please e-mail Anna Huffman.