For Families

Academic Vision

Every student in Massachusetts has access to a safe and supportive school environment that cultivates academic curiosity and confidence. Students have equitable access to an excellent education. Students read meaningful texts across content areas, work on complex real-world problems, participate in the arts, and share their ideas through speaking and writing using evidence, all in an effort to understand the world, their personal identities and their roles in the world.

Instruction is most powerful when educators have strong content knowledge and access to high-quality instructional materials and professional learning that promote inclusive practice accessible to all students, including English learners and students with disabilities; support authentic, engaging, and interdisciplinary student learning experiences; and invest families and students in their learning.

To support standards-based learning, we believe that every student should engage:

• with grade-appropriate text every day
• with meaningful real-world problems every day
• in scientific conversations using data every week

… in a school environment that supports social-emotional learning, health, and safety

Family Guides

These guides to the Massachusetts learning standards help families understand what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. Designed to help families and teachers work together to support learning, the guides are available in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese. Promotional materials advertising these resources are also available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Standards-Based Learning Videos

The following videos illustrate standards-based learning. They provide an overview of how educators are approaching standards-based learning in different content areas and grades. We encourage you to share them with members of your educational community.