San Rafael City Schools

High School District Priority Standards

A team of leaders from our high schools collaborated to establish our District Priority Standards. Priority standards are those standards that are most essential, the minimum, that students must learn to reach high levels of learning. They are the standards that are the focus of most of the classroom instruction. The process for identifying the priority standards was consistent, comprehensive and systemic.

The criteria used to identify the most essential standards included:

Endurance: Those standards that provide students with knowledge and skills beyond a single test date.
Leverage: Those standards that provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines (example non-fiction writing).
Readiness: Those standards that provide knowledge and skills that are necessary for success in the next grade or level of instruction.

Below are the District's Priority Standards organized by subject area.

What is Standards Based Learning?

Standards Based Learning for San Rafael City schools will include identifying the most important, or priority, standards to ensure all students are learning the most important content of each class. Students then use proficiency scales to get feedback from teachers and self assess their mastery of the content. Finally, Standards Based Leanring, includes thoughtful, valid assessments that are directly tied to the priority standards for the unit or course.

Ultimately, an approach like Standards Based Learning helps take bias out of grading and focuses on the knowledge students have gained during each unit rather than clouding assessments with subjective measures such as homework completion, participation, and tardies. Those behaviors will ultimately be measured separately, outside, of the course grades as they are important skills to have for success in college and career.

SCIENCE

Living Earth

Chemistry in the Earth System

Physics of the Universe

SOCIAL SCIENCE

MATH