WDE Seeks Public Input on the Proposed English Language Arts Standards

The Wyoming Department of Education is collecting informal public input on the 2025 Wyoming Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) at the request of the State Board of Education (SBE). The collected input will be shared with the SBE. 

The proposed 2025 ELA Standards are designed to support strong reading, writing, speaking, and vocabulary skills from early learning through high school. The standards are now organized into four clear areas, or domains:

• Reading: Combines literature and informational text into one domain, helping students build skills across all types of texts, with increasing depth and complexity as they grow.
• Writing: Begins with basic skills like handwriting and sentence-building in the early grades, then expands into writing strong arguments, stories, and research-based pieces as students move up.
• Speaking & Listening: Encourages respectful, thoughtful conversations about ideas and texts, helping students learn how to communicate clearly and work with others.
• Vocabulary Acquisition & Use: Focuses on building strong word knowledge, which research shows is key to reading comprehension and helping students express themselves well.

Overall, these updated standards are intended to give teachers a clear path for helping students grow into confident readers, writers, and communicators. They are designed to offer flexibility in how learning happens. while making sure every student gets the foundational skills they need at the right time.

Stakeholders and educators can provide input through the following options:

1. Complete the ELA Input Survey by 11:59 p.m. on September 23. 
2. Attend a regional Public Input Session.
3. Click the links below to attend a virtual Public Input Session:

Each meeting will start with a 10-minute presentation on the standards review process, the review timeline, and a question-and-answer session. The remainder of the session is dedicated to collecting public input. 

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Media Contact:
Linda Finnerty, Chief Communications Officer
307-777-2053
linda.finnerty@wyo.gov