In 2015-2016, Ohio embarked on an updating process resulting in revised standards that the State Board of Education adopted in February 2017. Ohio's State Tests will assess the content of the revised 2017 standards.
To access the standards for language arts, please click the link below:
How to read the standards for English/Language Arts:
The standards are first divided by strand: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language strands; then, the 6-12 history/social studies, science, and technical subjects section focuses on reading and writing. Each set of College and Career Readiness (CCR) Anchor Standards, arranged by strand, follow this initial information.
Standards for each grade within K-8 and for grades 9-10 and 11-12 follow the CCR Anchor (CCRA) Standards in each strand. Each grade-specific standard corresponds to the same- numbered CCRA standard. Put another way, each CCRA Standard has an accompanying grade-specific standard translating the broader CCRA statement into grade-appropriate end-of-year expectations.
Each strand, CCR status, and number (R.CCR.6, for example) provide identification for individual CCRA Standards. Individual, grade-specific standards can be identified by their strand, grade, and number (or number and letter, where applicable), so that RI.4.3, for example, stands for Reading, Informational Text, grade 4, standard 3 and W.5.1a stands for Writing, grade 5, standard 1a. Strand designations are in brackets alongside the full strand title.
In addition, there have been three key shifts in English/Language Arts.
- Regular practice with complex texts and their academic language.
Rather than focusing solely on the skills of reading and writing, the ELA/literacy standards highlight the growing complexity of the texts students must read to be ready for the demands of college, career, and life. The standards call for increasing complexity so that all students are ready for the demands of college- and career-level reading no later than the end of high school. The standards also outline a progressive development of reading comprehension so that students advancing through the grades are able to gain more from what they read.
- Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and informational
Rather than asking students questions they can answer solely from their prior knowledge and experience, the standards call for students to answer questions that depend on their having read the texts with care.
The reading standards focus on students’ ability to read carefully and grasp information, arguments, ideas, and details based on evidence in the text. Students should be able to answer a range of text-dependent questions, whose answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text.
-Building knowledge through content-rich fiction
Students must be immersed in information about the world around them if they are to develop the strong general knowledge and vocabulary they need to become successful readers and be prepared for college, career, and life. Informational texts play an important part in building students’ content knowledge. Further, it is vital for students to have extensive opportunities to build knowledge through texts so they can learn independently.
In K-5, fulfilling the standards requires a 50-50 balance between informational and literary reading. Informational reading includes content-rich nonfiction in history/social studies, sciences, technical studies, and the arts. The K-5 standards strongly recommend that texts—both within and across grades—be selected to support students in systematically developing knowledge about the world.
In grades 6-12, there is much greater attention on the specific category of literary nonfiction, which is a shift from traditional standards. To be clear, the standards pay substantial attention to literature throughout K-12, as it constitutes half of the reading in K-5 and is the core of the work of 6-12 ELA teachers. Also in grades 6-12, the standards for literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects ensure that students can independently build knowledge in these disciplines through reading and writing. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening should span the school day from K-12 as integral parts of every subject.
Program Overviews:
Grounded in decades of literacy research and a proven history of efficacy in the classroom, SRA Open Court Reading has been building strong readers, writers, and thinkers for more than 60 years.
Underpinned by findings from learning theory and cognitive science—also known as the Science of Reading—and proven to achieve reading gains in a diverse range of readers from beginning to fluent, Open Court Reading is research-validated as well as research-based. A carefully crafted instructional plan and a purposeful progression of skills empower teachers and help make research actionable. By recognizing foundational skills as critical building blocks, Open Court Reading prepares students for a lifetime of literacy and learning.
Wonders is an evidence-based K–5 ELA program that empowers students to take an active role in learning and exploration. Your students will enjoy unparalleled opportunities to express and assess themselves through reading, writing, and speaking. They will encounter the right content at the right moment in their learning journey to promote strong educational outcomes for all.
Students can access their language arts programs with a single sign on using their Google accounts that end in @nortonpanthers.org. There is a McGraw Hill app in each students' Google waffle.