Maryland education staff outline streamlined ELA standards, show new online 'launchpad'

The Education Policy Committee of the Maryland State Board of Education heard an informational presentation on proposed revisions to the state’s English language arts and literacy standards on the evening the committee met.

Maryland State Department of Education officials said the revisions are meant to make the standards easier for educators, families and the public to use, to improve clarity and to ensure alignment with national expectations and Maryland statutory and policy goals. “We developed guiding questions” that framed work around ease of use, validity and clarity, Stephanie Dale, a literacy coordinator, told the committee.

Dale described two main changes staff will publish for public review: a single consolidated document that merges separate ELA materials into one place and a web-based "launchpad" that will let users click to grade-level standards and see the grade-before and grade-after standards side by side. “That should allow teachers to go right to their grade level,” Dale said, adding that the launchpad will include K–5 literacy standards, embedded literacy standards for science and social studies at K–5, and a separate 6–12 grouping that includes more technical subject language appropriate to secondary students.

The presenters said anchor standards tied to national expectations were retained. Grade-level standards were edited for clarity, with the review process using highlights to show added language, strikethroughs to show removed language and bolding to indicate where rigor changes between grades. “The anchor standards that you see have not changed,” Dale said.

Committee members asked how the standards respond to multilingual learners and the volume of grade-level expectations. In reply, Dr. Elise Brown (MSDE) said standards define expectations; local districts decide how to address multilingual learner needs. She added that Maryland will release an MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) document to guide differentiation and supports for multilingual students.

Dale said public comment strongly requested that pre-K and foundational skills be included rather than in a separate companion document; staff said they are incorporating those pre-K items into the main standards to preserve clarity and ease of use.

The presentation was informational; the committee did not vote on the ELA revisions at the meeting. Staff said the committee will receive updated drafts and samples in time for the board’s July meeting and encouraged members to submit follow-up feedback.

Looking ahead, the presenters said the next steps include posting the consolidated standards and launchpad to the website, circulating revised drafts with pre-K content and continuing public and district-level engagement ahead of committee and full-board action.

The discussion on ELA was part of a broader standards update that night; MSDE staff emphasized the materials were still in the public-feedback stage and that districts will have time to prepare implementation resources and professional learning before any final adoption.