College Board Standards for College Success
The College Board has published content standards for middle school and high school English Language Arts and Mathematics and Statistics. The College Board Standards for College Success define a developmental progression of rigorous learning objectives for six courses in middle school and high school that will lead all students to being prepared for AP or college-level work. The College Board has published these standards freely to provide a national model of rigorous academic content standards that states, districts, and schools may use to vertically align curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development to AP® and college readiness.
The College Board initiated the effort to develop the Standards for College Success in 2003. To guide the process, the College Board convened committees of middle school and high school teachers, college faculty, subject matter experts, assessment specialists, teacher education faculty, and curriculum experts with experience developing content standards for states and national professional organizations. The committees first defined the academic demands students will face in an AP or first-year college course in English language arts and mathematics and statistics. This involved reviewing the assessment frameworks for relevant AP Exams, SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) exams, and selected university placement programs. The committees also reviewed the results of several surveys and course content analyses conducted by the College Board to define the academic expectations of faculty who teach first-year college courses. Definitions of college readiness gathered through these surveys and course content analyses represent the most rigorously researched, empirically validated definitions of college readiness available.
The College Board uses these frameworks to align our own curriculum and assessment programs, including SpringBoard™, to college readiness. States and districts interested in integrating SpringBoard and AP into a program of college readiness preparation can use the Standards for College Success as a guiding framework.
Contact your College Board regional representative for more information on College Board Standards for College Success.
- English Language Arts (.pdf/1.4M)
- Mathematics & Statistics (.pdf/535K)
- Mathematics & Statistics Adapted for Integrated Curricula (.pdf/368K)
- Mathematics & Statistics Three-Year Alternative for Middle School (.pdf/121K)
