The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History
Representatives from a group of state education agencies and the leading organizations in social studies collaborated to create a framework to provide states with voluntary guidance for upgrading existing social studies standards. This framework does not include all that can or should be included in a set of robust social studies standards, and intentionally preserves the critical choices around the selection of curricular content taught at each grade level as a decision best made by each state. The framework aims to support states in creating standards that prepare young people for effective and successful participation in college, careers, and civic life.
The C3 Framework is well-written and organized. The four dimensions in the Framework – developing questions and planning inquiries; applying disciplinary concepts and tools; evaluating sources and using evidence; and communicating conclusions and taking informed action – are habits of mind, which dovetail nicely with the Standards for Practice in mathematics and science. Evidence of effectiveness for this framework is still pending.