What is Essential Learning?

Essential Learning statements outline the most important bits and pieces of the curriculum that a student must know before he moves on to the next grade.

Ideally, they would be tiered across the grade levels. Professional Learning teams should work together to make sure that the essential learning statements are achievable and of importance to everyone.

The statements are broad enough to cover multiple standards but are narrow enough to cover specific curriculum concerns or issues. 

Some schools combine the essential learning statements across disciplines. This idea works well when schools make literacy a school wide priority.

Students demonstrate their mastery of the essential learning in concrete ways. Teachers use multiple forms of assessments to show the learning.