Other Subjects

We demand rigor in all elementary and secondary education subject and content areas. Find information here about the standards that govern our arts, health and physical education programs.

Arts

The arts are a distinctive vehicle to discover who we are and share our identity and viewpoint with the world. They have shaped every culture on earth, and every individual has experienced the joy and impact of connecting to themselves and others through diverse art forms. The arts require humans to synthesize various ways of thinking, applying mathematical, scientific, linguistic, cultural, and social skills in authentic creative endeavors. By providing equitable access to high-quality arts education for Rhode Island students, we celebrate their unique creative perspectives, support their daily well-being, and promote the development of well-rounded learners.

The Arts Curriculum Framework provides guidance to educators and families around the implementation of the National Core Arts Standards, particularly as it relates to the design and use of curriculum materials, instruction, and assessment. The frameworks should streamline a vertical application of standards and assessment across the K–12 continuum within Tier 1 of a Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS). Further, the frameworks should increase opportunities for all students to meaningfully engage in grade-level work and tasks, and ultimately support educators and families in making decisions that prioritize the student experience. These uses of the curriculum frameworks align with the overarching commitment to ensuring all students have access to high-quality curriculum and instruction that prepares students to meet their postsecondary goals.  

The Rhode Island Council for the Arts presented a request to RIDE to endorse the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) based on the belief that NCAS provides a unified quality arts education for students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve.  The standards were developed collaboratively by the National Arts Educator Associations and teacher leaders from across the country; RISCA reported these standards are supported by many teachers in Rhode Island.   

On January 10, 2017, the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, unanimously endorsed the National Core Arts Standards.  The new standards address Dance, Music, Media Arts, Theater, and Visual Arts. 

These standards replace the current Rhode Island Fine Arts Grade Span Expectations.  Local education agencies should begin to align curriculum to these standards and plan to fully implement NCAS aligned curriculum beginning in the 2019-2020 school year. 

For more information on the standards, please visit the National Core Art Standards website.

Health Education

The Rhode Island Health Education Framework provides district curriculum committees with a resource to help develop, evaluate, revise, improve and/or purchase health education curricula. It links health education to other federal and state education reform efforts which seek to improve teaching and learning and contribute to high levels of achievement for all students. To increase the likelihood that young people will develop healthier lifestyle practices and resist engaging in risky health behaviors, instruction, as guided by this Framework, should be skills-based and emphasize the development of health literacy.

The Framework, aligned with the National Health Education Standards, was developed by a task force comprised of a diverse group of educators, administrators, parents, health professionals, State Department staff and community-based organization staff. The Framework was endorsed by the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education in 2022.

For more information on Health, please review our Health & Safety standards.

The Comprehensive Health Instructional Outcomes [PDF, 2.3MB] (rev. 2015) complement the Rhode Island Health Education Framework, by attaching content specific topics to the performance descriptions for each standard. Specific performance descriptors are presented across each of the seven health education standards, grouped by grade spans (K-4, 5-8, 9-10, and 11-12), for each of seven major health content areas:

  1. Personal Health,
  2. Mental and Emotional Health,
  3.  Injury Prevention,
  4. Nutrition,
  5. Sexuality and Family Life,
  6. Disease Prevention and Control, and
  7. Substance Use and Abuse Prevention. 

 

Physical Education

Physical education (PE) is planned, sequential instruction that promotes lifelong physical activity. It is designed to help students develop the knowledge, movement skills, self-management skills, social skills, attitudes and confidence they need to adopt and maintain physical activity throughout their lives.

State Requirements

Physical education is required by state law for all students in grades 1-12. Students should receive at least an average of 100 minutes per week of health and physical education (combined). Recess is not counted as physical education for the purposes of this requirement.
The physical education curriculum is required to be aligned, by September 2012, with the physical education standards of the Rhode Island Physical Education Framework: Supporting Physically Active Lifestyles through Quality Physical Education [PDF, 796KB]. The curriculum should be sequential, developmentally appropriate and comprehensive.

About the Framework

The Rhode Island Physical Education Framework [PDF, 796KB] is designed to help district curriculum committees develop, evaluate, and revise physical education curricula. The six standards describe what all Rhode Island students should know and be able to do as a result of K-12 physical education. Performance indicators describe what a student must demonstrate to show competency in meeting the standard at points along K-12 instruction. A quality PE program works across activities and units to address all standards, and selects those that will be formally assessed. The focus should be on developing and maintaining health-related fitness, rather than on sports and competition.

The Framework and standards are aligned with national standards and were developed by the RI Departments of Education and Health, in partnership with the Rhode Island Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (RIAHPERD), other educators, parents, health professionals, and other community members. The Framework was endorsed by the Rhode Island Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2003.

Rhode Island’s Physical Education Standards

Vision: As a result of daily, high quality physical education instruction from K-12, all students will have the knowledge and skills to lead a physically active lifestyle.

A physically educated person:

  1. Demonstrates competency in many movement forms and proficiency in a few movement forms.
  2. Applies movement concepts and principles to the learning and development of motor skills.
  3. Understands the implications of and the benefits derived from involvement in physical activity.
  4. Applies physical activity-related skills and concepts to maintain a physically active lifestyle and a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
  5. Demonstrates responsible personal and social behavior in physical activity settings.
  6. Understands that internal and external environments influence physical activity.

Rhode Island Physical Education Framework: Supporting Physically Active Lifestyles through Quality Physical Education [PDF, 796KB]

Financial Literacy

The June 2021 enactment of RI General Laws 16-22-13 requires that the state adopt Personal Finance standards by the end of the current calendar year. The standards below are the October 2021-released National Standards for Personal Finance Education. 

These K-12 standards revise and replace the current CEE standards that Rhode Island adopted in 2014 for what was then voluntary implementation by the districts. In alignment with the Financial Literacy legislation of 2021 RI General Laws 16-22-13, RIDE's K-12 Council has endorsed these standards formally. 

National Standards for Financial Literacy [PDF, 513 KB]

Computer Science/CS4RI

RI K-12 Computer Science Standards [PDF, 1519KB] - NEW - Endorsed by the Council 5/15/18

The Rhode Island Computer Science Education Standards identify the knowledge, practices, and skills in computer science (CS) that all students should know and be able to do at each level in their education.  They inform, encourage, and drive a sustainable computer science education program by creating realistic pathways and expectations for all students.

The CS Education Standards Advisory Committee represented a broad range of expertise including elementary, middle, and high school teachers, district coordinators and administrators, higher education faculty, and industry professionals.  Experts in cybersecurity and specialists in digital literacy also contributed to the development of the standards.  Additionally a secondary Review Team composed of Rhode Islanders active in education and industry provided feedback to the draft standards.  Members of the public also contributed to the review offering insightful comments.  Through the collaborative efforts of many including CS4RI and RIDE, the Rhode Island K-12 CS Education Standards have been developed to actively engage students in computer science.

The Rhode Island Computer Science Education Standards align with the nationally-recognized K-12 Computer Science Framework, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Computer Science Standards, and CS standards work in other states. 

The goal of broadening participation guided the Committee’s work. Equity aspects are embedded in the standards themselves, the descriptions, and the accompanying suggested activities.  Additionally, standards can be met without computing devices or with a limited amount of available hardware so implementation is possible for all schools.

You can find more information on Computer Science in Rhode Island schools at the CS4RI website here.

You may also reach out to Brittany.Brown@ride.ri.gov or for information on high school programs, Carlyle.Vincent@ride.ri.gov or Karen.Bryer@ride.ri.gov

World Languages

On June 18, 2019, The Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, unanimously endorsed the standards as Rhode Island World Language Standards. The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages create a roadmap to guide learners to develop competence to communicate effectively and interact with cultural competence to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world. The five goal areas of the Standards establish an inextricable link between communication and culture, which is applied in making connections and comparisons and in using this competence to be part of local and global communities.1

Rhode Island has endorsed the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages as its state standard for World Language. ACTFL is the leading national organization in the development of World Language Standards, and these are equally applicable to all grade levels and languages. The standards were developed collaboratively by 17 professional language education organizations including modern and classical spoken and signed languages. The ACTFL revises the standards when necessary in keeping with current research in the field.

1 The National Standards Collaborative Board. (2015). World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. 4th ed. Alexandria, VA: Author.

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is committed to ensuring all students have access to high-quality curriculum and instruction as essential components of a rigorous education that prepares every student for success in college and/or their career.

As part of this effort, RIDE has developed a curriculum framework for world languages drawing on the expertise of a team of educators.

The World Languages Curriculum Framework provides guidance around the implementation of the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, particularly as it relates to the design and use of curriculum materials, instruction, and assessment. 

The framework streamlines a vertical application of standards and assessment across the K–12 continuum within Tier 1 of a Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS), increases opportunities for all students, including multilingual learners and differently-abled, to meaningfully engage in grade-level work and tasks, and ultimately supports educators and families in making decisions that prioritize the student experience. These uses of the curriculum framework align with RIDE’s overarching commitment to ensuring all students have access to high-quality curriculum and instruction that prepares students to meet their postsecondary goals. 

Review and Feedback

During the development of the framework, we engaged various stakeholders to provide feedback on this document to ensure it is clear, comprehensive, and responsive to the needs of Rhode Island students and their families. Additional feedback was also collected via an online feedback form. Feedback received from stakeholders and via the form has been used to fine tune the framework and/or noted as items to consider for future revisions. 

 

The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements and ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, used in conjunction with the World-Readiness Standards, provide a tangible guide to both World Language teachers and learners, allowing them to set learning goals and chart their progress. While the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages provide the goals of language learning, the Can-Do Statements and the Proficiency Guidelines inform both teacher and learner at what level and in what manner the student performs towards each of the goals.

Library