Aligning Instruction with Academic Content Standards: Finding the Link

Abstract

For students to have full access to the general curriculum, they need the opportunity to learn academic content that links closely to the standards for their grade level. In this article, we synthesize what we have learned through our research on aligning instruction for students with significant cognitive disabilities with state's academic content standards. In finding these links between state content standards and instruction for students with significant cognitive disabilities, we have discovered that it is important to understand (a) the implications of current federal policy; (b) the evidence for academic learning by this population; (c) the nature of national and state standards; (d) the importance of starting with universal design and general education collaboration; and (e) the concept of alignment.