After having held four public hearings, the South Dakota Board of Education Standards (BOES) has unanimously approved (May 4, 2026) new Math Standards for K-12 public schools.
South Dakota Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Dr. Joe Graves said the new standards introduce several important updates aimed at “improving clarity, coherence, and instructional alignment across grade levels.” He said the new math standards were developed by DOE using research and input from K-12 educators and the post-secondary education field. The process included analyses of a wide array of state mathematics plans, meta-analyses, and other standards.
The updates to the math requirements are:
- Consolidation of redundant standards and more simplified terminology to ensure that the standards are easily understood by educators, students, and parents;
- Updated organization and labeling for improved readability and lesson planning, without the need to cross reference across grade levels;
- Clearly labeled fluency standards that include expectations for how the student should compute a math problem to ensure deep comprehension from students;
- Explicit call for real-world scenarios to be applied to many of the standards and all written with a balance of conceptual understanding and the “why” behind the math;
- Increased emphasis on using drawings and visual models to support understanding, particularly in early grades; and
- Shifts in instruction with a focus on reasoning, modeling, and problem-solving are embedded throughout.
South Dakota Board of Education Standards President Steve Perkins said they are approaching education with “common sense, empowering parents and everyone in the community to be equipped to support our students.”
Governor Larry Rhoden said now parents will be better able to help students with their homework. He said the updates were made to improve clarity, readability, and to ensure alignment across grade levels.
The BOES also approved updated standards for Health courses during their meeting this week.
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