Core Curriculum

Utah Core Language Arts and Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects

Action by the Utah State Board of Education in January 1984 established a policy requiring the identification of specific Core Curriculum standards, which must be completed by all students K-12 as a requisite for graduation from Utah’s secondary schools. This action was followed by three years of extensive work involving all levels of the education family in the process of identifying, trial testing, and refining these Core Curriculum standards for Utah’s schools.

The Core Curriculum represents those standards of learning that are essential for all students. They are the ideas, concepts, and skills that provide a foundation on which subsequent learning may be built.

The Core should be taught with respect for differences in learning styles, learning rates, and individual capabilities without losing sight of the common goals. Although the Core Curriculum standards are intended to occupy a major part of the school program, they are not the total curriculum of a level or course.