A: The K-12 ASL Content Standards comprises four parts: an introduction and rationale, the Anchor Standards and grade-level standards, a glossary, and a reference section.
The Standards were developed by the Clerc Center in collaboration with a team of researchers from the fields of ASL linguistics and deaf education, educators from several universities and their school partners, and the California School for the Deaf, Fremont. The team of researchers helped develop the research foundation for the Standards during the first phase of this project. Teachers, faculty, staff, and leaders from participating schools, universities, and organizations also made important contributions to the development of knowledge through research and practice.
ASL teachers, specialists, and experts participated as reviewers in feedback groups in ASL Round Table (ASLRT) conferences from 2014 to 2017. Their feedback, summarized and shared with the California School for the Deaf, Fremont, guided the final development of the Standards.
Feedback from reviewers participating in feedback groups also led to the development of glossary terms. The support of the ASLRT members who provided guidance made it possible to develop terms in ASL that reflect ASL instruction and content standards language.
The Clerc Center also implemented an open comment process to collect feedback. Feedback was used to guide the design and development of the Standards as a web-based resource to support the instruction of ASL teachers and specialists who teach ASL as a first language to deaf and hard of hearing students.