The State Board today approved new Missouri Learning Standards. Schools will begin to implement the standards during the 2016-17 school year.

“These standards represent thousands of hours of work, the majority of it done by volunteers,” said State Board President Charlie Shields. “These are true Missouri standards, developed by Missourians, and we should be proud.”

Local districts will now determine curriculum to meet the new standards. The Department will work with educators during the transition and will develop new assessments to measure student progress. The new assessments for English language arts and math will be administered in spring 2018.

Work groups made up of educators and parents developed proposed standards over the past year. The Department received more than 3,600 comments from Missouri lawmakers, educators, academic researchers and the public during a feedback period on the proposed standards. That feedback was carefully considered for inclusion in the approved set of standards.

"We are pleased with the end result,” said Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven. “Missouri’s challenging standards will help ensure our students are prepared for postsecondary success and for life.”

Ensuring that students graduate ready for college and career is a primary goal of the Top 10 by 20 initiative, which aims for student achievement in Missouri to rank among the top 10 states by 2020.