STEM
STEM Standards
- Standard 1
- Standard 2
- Standard 3
- Standard 4
- Standard 5
- Standard 6
- Standard 7
- Standard 8
- Standard 9
- Standard 10
- Standard 11
- Standard 12
- Standard 13
- Standard 14
- Standard 15
- Standard 16
Standard 1
School/program provides equitable opportunities for students to engage in high quality STEM learning.
Concept 1 - School/program has adopted an inclusive model of STEM education that is representative of community served by the institution.
Concept 2 - School/program engages in proactive strategies to recruit and support engagement from students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields of work and learning.
Standard 2
STEM educators collaborate to develop, implement, and improve high quality STEM learning activities.
Concept 1 - STEM educators and leaders have formal, protected time scheduled on a regular and frequent basis to plan, revise, and improve STEM learning experiences and pedagogical best practices.
Concept 2 - Collaborative time for STEM staff and leadership is structured using a research-based model for effective educator collaboration.
Standard 3
School/program engages diverse STEM community in order to support and sustain STEM programs and initiatives.
Concept 1 - School/program establishes and maintains sustainable partnerships with a variety of community organizations, including local businesses, STEM practitioners, institutions of higher education, and individuals/families.
Concept 2 - School/program proactively seeks resources and support from STEM partners to improve STEM teaching and learning.
Standard 4
School/program has established a shared vision for STEM and has leadership structures to support effective implementation.
Concept 1 - School/program has developed a model of shared leadership whereby structures exist both internally (i.e. STEM Leadership Team, STEM Coordinator) and externally (i.e. STEM Advisory Board, STEM Stakeholder Committee) to support and sustain STEM initiatives.
Concept 2 - STEM leadership has effectively communicated a shared vision and mission for the STEM culture, with goals and intended outcomes for STEM initiatives.
Standard 5
Leaders ensure that all stakeholders have ongoing opportunities to access information and learn about STEM implementation.
Concept 1 - School/program utilizes a variety of strategies and platforms to share and communicate STEM vision, mission, goals, outcomes, responsibilities, roles, events, and activities to internal and external stakeholders
Concept 2 - School/program plans for and facilitates a variety of STEM events and activities for the school community during and beyond the regular school day
Standard 6
Educators and leaders participate in an ongoing system of STEM-specific professional learning.
Concept 1 - School/program facilitates professional learning opportunities for educators and leaders that lead to improved efficacy in specific areas of responsibility (such as STEM disciplinary content knowledge or instructional coaching).
Concept 2 - School/program facilitates professional learning opportunities for educators and leaders that lead to improved efficacy in STEM-specific practices (such as project-based learning, STEM integration, technology integration, etc.).
Standard 7
Students engage collaboratively in authentic inquiry during ongoing units of study.
Concept 1 - Students are provided opportunities to work collaboratively during project and inquiry-based units of study.
Concept 2 - Learning experiences provide opportunities for students to engage in authentic inquiry that requires problem identification, investigation, and analysis.
Standard 8
Students engage in self-directed STEM learning guided by educators who are effective facilitators of learning.
Concept 1 - Students are encouraged to be critical and creative thinkers as owners and managers of their own STEM learning experiences.
Concept 2 - STEM educators serve as facilitators who provide guidance and support for students as self-directed learners.
Standard 9
School/program provides within-school and extra-curricular opportunities for students to extend STEM learning.
Concept 1 - School/program provides a variety of STEM-specific extracurricular and extended day opportunities for all learners (clubs, competitions, summer camps).
Concept 2 - Students have multiple formal, age-appropriate opportunities to engage with STEM practitioners, community experts, and/or other STEM partners.
Standard 10
Students demonstrate their learning through performance-based assessments and have opportunities to develop self-assessment and self-monitoring skills.
Concept 1 - Students engage in STEM-specific performance assessments that provide opportunities for public demonstrations of learning.
Concept 2 - Students engage in goal-setting, formative self-assessment, and reflections on learning.
Standard 11
STEM learning experiences integrate all STEM disciplines with an emphasis on processes and practices associated with STEM.
Concept 1 - The curriculum and associated learning activities integrate learning across all STEM disciplines (and additional content disciplines in schools that have adopted other inclusive models of integrated learning, such as The Arts for STEAM schools).
Concept 2 - The curriculum engages students in STEM processes and practices (such as the Engineering Design Process).
Standard 12
School/program provides high quality STEM courses and curriculum aligned to recognized standards and organized into interdisciplinary frameworks.
Concept 1 - The STEM curriculum is mapped and aligned to formally adopted and recognized sets of standards and/or benchmarks.
Concept 2 - The STEM curriculum is organized around multiple real world, interdisciplinary problem- and/or project-based units of study.
Standard 13
Students demonstrate STEM content knowledge representative of STEM literacy outcomes that prepare them for the next level of learning and work.
Concept 1 - School/program has identified learning standards and aligned sources of student performance data for each of the STEM disciplines, as well as content areas included in the institution’s integrated model (i.e. STEAM, STREAM, etc.).
Concept 2 - Trend data indicate student growth and mastery of learning standards and expectations associated with frameworks adopted by the school/program for all STEM disciplines, as well as content areas included in the institution’s integrated model (i.e. STEAM, STREAM).
Standard 14
Students develop STEM skills and cross-cutting competencies that support workforce readiness.
Concept 1 - School/program has identified discipline-specific skills and cross-cutting competencies (i.e. 21st Century Skills, soft skills) and aligned sources of student performance data for each of these areas.
Concept 2 - STEM events, curriculum, and learning activities provide opportunities for career exploration and workplace experiences.
Standard 15
School/program engages in a continuous improvement process for STEM.
Concept 1 - School/program engages in a research-based process for continuous improvement that involves establishing strategic vision and STEM goals, as well as planning for, implementing, monitoring and adjusting STEM initiatives.
Concept 2 - School/program engages in a process for strategic resource management to ensure that there are adequate resources and supports for the full implementation of the STEM program.
Standard 16
School/program conducts evaluative activities to ensure the effectiveness of STEM implementation.
Concept 1 - School/program engages in a formal process to evaluate the effectiveness of its STEM initiatives and activities in terms of impact on student learning and development.
Concept 2 - School/program engages in a formal process to evaluate the effectiveness of its STEM initiatives and activities in terms of improvement of professional and teaching practices.