Washington State Learning Standards Review

Learning standards define what all students need to know and be able to do at each grade level. As required by state law (RCW 28A.655.070), OSPI develops the state’s learning standards and periodically revises them based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210.

Update to the Learning Standards Review Project: May 2026: Bulletin No. B018-26

Standards Review Project

OSPI has launched the Washington State Learning Standards Review project to:

  • Establish a process to periodically review the state learning standards, and how those standards are used at a classroom, school, and district level to support student learning. 
  • Refine and prioritize the learning standards with a lens of clarification, integration, and understandability. 
  • Develop wrap-around guidance that clarifies for educators the opportunities within the learning standards for cultural responsiveness, inclusionary practices, universal design, support for multilingual learners, social-emotional learning, cross-content integration, and standards-based assessment practices. 
  • Develop an implementation plan for the following two to five years to help educators learn about and use the new resources and tools. 

Learning Standards Review FAQs

This page contains frequently asked questions about the Learning Standards Review and Revision Project. It will be updated periodically. 

Below are links to key documents that provide more information about the project:

Learning Standards

Financial Education

Learning standards for Financial Education (FE) are now in the Initial Adoption and Implementation phase. The learning standards will be available in a Word, PDF, and an Excel format.  The Excel file contains a crosswalk to the 2016 Financial Education learning standards. Another document released with the initial adoption of the learning standards is the What’s New in the FE Standards.  A feedback survey is open through June 30th.  Please use the initial standards in your local context and then respond to the survey.

Washington State K-12 Standards for FE

2026 FE Learning Standards Open Office Hours 

English Language Arts (ELA)

Learning standards for English Language Arts (ELA) are now in the Initial Adoption and Implementation phase. The learning standards will be available in a Word, PDF and an Excel format. The Excel file contains a crosswalk to the Common Core State Standards adopted in 2011. Other documents released with the initial adoption of learning standards are the Key Shift in the Standards and What's New in the Standards. A feedback survey was open from mid-March through early-May 2026.

Washington State K-12 Learning Standards for ELA

Resources

2026 ELA Learning Standards Open Office Hours 

Transition to Kindergarten (TK) English Language Arts Feedback Opportunity 

Participants will review the proposed TK English Language Arts Learning Standards and provide feedback. The same information will be provided in both sessions, so educators only need to attend one session.

World Languages, Health Education, Physical Education, and Science

Washington adopted learning standards for World Languages in 2015, for Health Education and Physical Education in 2016, and for Science in 2013. These standards are in the Engagement and Revision step.

Mathematics

Learning standards for Mathematics are now in the Initial Adoption and Implementation phase. The initial learning standards are available in a Word, PDF and an Excel format. The Excel file contains a crosswalk to the Common Core State Standards adopted in 2011. Other documents released with the initial adoption of learning standards are the Key Shift in the Standards and What's New in the Standards. A feedback survey was open from December 2025 - February 2026.

Washington State K-12 Learning Standards for Math

Resources

Topic Focused Math Learning Standards Webinars

These will be recorded and posted on the website the following week for those that can't attend live.

Updates and materials will be posted as the project progresses.